UNIVERSITY OF HARGAISA

College of Business and Public Administration

Chapter two

RESEARCH PROPOSAL
By: Abdishakur Ismail
Research proposal

The research process requires a sequence of steps

There are different steps, but most
researchers follow the following steps
✓Selecting a topic
✓Focus research question
✓Familiarise yourself with the literature
✓Check tractability (manageability)

Formulate clear and concise objectives

 SELECTING A TOPIC
A topic is an area within a given field of study that
you would like to explore in your research
The topic is the subject discussed or to be discussed
The best way to identify a topic are:
Draw up a shortlist of possible topics that have
emerged from your reading or from your own
experience that look potentially interesting .
 SELECTING TOPIC CONT…..
The state of knowledge in a field
Basic research is driven by new research findings
and theories that push at the frontiers of
knowledge.
Your knowledge of the field suggests a topic for a
research project.
Solving a problem — applied research topics
often begin with a problem that needs a
solution.
Personal values — some people are highly
committed to a set of religious, political or social
values.
Most good researches gets hard at some point
 Choosing a topic cont.…
In order to persevere through the difficult spots, one
commonly needs to be committed to the topic, the
methods, or both,
The best researchers honestly enjoy what they do,
even if they find particular problems frustrating or
discouraging,
So figure out what you enjoy and you will do it to
the best of your abilities in spite of the inevitable
challenges. Almost all good theses do at least one of
three inherently interesting things:
1.resolve a previously unsolved puzzle,
2.expose received wisdom as demonstrably incorrect, and/or
3.test important hypotheses with new, appropriate data
 Selecting a topic cont.……
The set of topics of interest to undergraduate students is
unmanageably large and imprecise.
So one needs to narrow further.
It is essential to establish the importance of the topic.
Dare to ask big questions.
If you’re going to invest a great deal of time, emotional and
intellectual energy in a topic, it may as well be important ,
perhaps especially, important to the lives of the ordinary
people.
Often, the best check on this importance question is to talk
over topics with related interests groups or individuals.
The tittle
The title is the most widely read part of your proposal.
The title will be read by many people who may not
necessarily read the proposal itself, or even it's
abstract.
It should be long enough to be explicit but not too
long so that it is tedious — usually between 12 and
20 words.
 Tittle cont..

There are three types of titles: indicative, hanging and question title.
Indicative titles are by far the most common type: they state the subject of the proposal
rather than expected outcomes.
E.g., ‘The role of agricultural credit in alleviating poverty in a low-potential area of
Kenya’.
If a title written in this form becomes too long, however, consider rewriting it using the
hanging format.
Hanging titles have two parts: a general first part followed by a more specific second
part. This title type may be useful in rewording an otherwise long, clumsy and
complicated indicative title.
E.g., ‘Alleviation of poverty in low-potential area of Kenya: the impact of agricultural
credit’.
Question-type titles are used less commonly than indicative and hanging titles.
However, they are acceptable where it is possible to use few words –
say less than 15. Example could be ‘Does agricultural credit alleviate poverty in a low-
potential area of Kenya’.
 Introduction
The first job of the introduction is to tell the reader what your
topic  is and why it’s interesting or important.

This is generally accomplished with a strong opening hook.

The hook is a striking opening sentence that clearly conveys the

relevance of your topic.

E.g. Are cows responsible for climate change?

E.g. The rise of social media has been accompanied by a sharp

increase in the prevalence of body image issues among women
and girls.
Tips for writing good
introduction
Start broadly and then narrow down

State the aims and importance

Clearly State either your hypothesis or research

question

Consider giving an overview of the paper

Keep it short( 500-1000 words)

Don't bury your readers in detail

Sample 1
A recent study (RIVM, 2019) shows that cattle farmers
account for two-thirds of agricultural nitrogen emissions in
the Netherlands. These emissions result from nitrogen in
manure, which can degrade into ammonia and enter the
atmosphere. The study’s calculations show that
agriculture is the main source of nitrogen pollution,
accounting for 46% of the country’s total emissions. By
comparison, road traffic and households are responsible
for 6.1% each, the industrial sector for 1%.
 Sample 2
Various empirical studies have been conducted into
Facebook usage among adolescent girls (Tiggermann
& Slater, 2013; Meier & Gary, 2014). These studies
have consistently found that the visual and interactive
aspects of the platform have the greatest influence
on body image issues. Despite this, highly visual
social media (HVSM) such as Instagram have yet to
be robustly researched.
 background
After you’ve caught your reader’s attention, specify a bit more,
providing context and narrowing down your topic.

The background of the study provides context to the information

that you are discussing in your paper.

Provide only the most relevant background information.

The introduction isn’t the place to get too in-depth; if more

background is essential to your paper, it can appear in the body

Typically, the background of a study includes a review of the

existing literature on the area of your research, leading up to your
topic. 
 Background cont.….
Don’t write a background that is too long or too short.
Focus on, including all the important details but write concisely.  
Don’t be ambiguous.(Writing in a way that does not convey the message to
the readers defeats the purpose of the background, so express yourself
keeping in mind that the reader does not know your research intimately).  
Don’t discuss unrelated themes. (Try and centre your discussion around the
pivotal aspects of your research topic i.e. highlight the gaps in the
literature, state the novelty of the study, and the need to conduct the
study.)
Don’t be disorganised. (Not discussing the themes in a chronological
manner can confuse the reader about the progress in the field, so try and
organise your writing)
Statement of the problem

Statement of the problem constitutes the scientific

justification for the study; i.e., the basis of the need for
research to generate further knowledge that will
contribute to existing knowledge.
The statement must be written in a way that gives
empirical references to describe the situation and also
clearly specifies the gaps in existing knowledge of the
problem and/or the existing controversy and the non-
conclusive evidence.
Moreover, there may be very conclusive evidence for
knowledge considered to be established, but the
investigator questions the accumulated knowledge
because of certain events that he or she intends to
subject to verification.
Statement of the problem cont..
It is at this point where the investigator defines the
object of study and conveys the questions or
broader issues motivating the research.
The problem statement should make a convincing
argument that there is not sufficient knowledge
available to explain the problem and its possible
alternative solutions, or it should make a convincing
argument for the need to test what is known and
taken as fact, if it is called into question by new
findings or conditions. 19
Statement of the problem
cont.,,
The significant content of the justification is that no work
has been carried out to try to solve the stated problem, or
that little work has been carried out to try to solve the
stated problem, or that some work has been done but
gaps still exit; hence the need to conduct the study.
If as far as you know, no work has been conducted in the
area being proposed for study, then this part becomes a
simple, one-or two-sentence statement.
However, attempts have usually been made to solve the
problem, or work on a related topic may have been
conducted.
In this case, the work being proposed may be intended to
fill gaps, use existing knowledge to provide solutions, or
carry further an effort that has already been started or is
even advanced.
Statement of the problem cont..
This section will show that the work is firmly
premised in previous, relevant work.
To do this, cite relevant references of work already
conducted.
This section should provide a brief overview of the
literature and research done in the field related to
the problem and of the gaps that the proposed
research is intended to fill.
 Characteristics of good
statement of the problem
1. The problem reflects felt needs
2. The problem is non-hypothetical, i.e. it must be based on factual
evidence
3. It should suggest meaningful and testable hypotheses — to avoid
answers that are of little or no use to the alleviation of the problem
4. The problems should be relevant and manageable, the problem
statement is therefore a very important device for keeping you on track
with your research.
It is also one means by which your research will be evaluated — does the
research address the problem as stated.
 Manageability of your problem
A few more considerations that assist a researcher to ensure that the
study will remain manageable and that you will remain motivated are :

A. Interest: a research endeavour is usually time consuming, and involves

hard work and possibly unforeseen problems.

One should select topic of great interest to sustain the required

motivation.

B. Magnitude: It is extremely important to select a topic that you can

manage within the time and resources at your disposal. Narrow the topic
down to something manageable, specific and clear.

C. Measurement of concepts: Make sure that you are clear about the
indicators and measurement of concepts (if used) in your study.

D. Level of expertise: Make sure that you have adequate level of expertise
for the task you are proposing since you need to do the work yourself.
 Manageability cont.…
F. Relevance: Ensure that your study adds to the existing body
of knowledge, bridges current gaps and is useful in policy
formulation. This will help you to sustain interest in the
study.
G. Availability of data: Before finalising the topic, make sure
that data are available.
H. Ethical issues: How ethical issues can affect the study
population and how ethical problems can be overcome
should be thoroughly examined at the problem formulating
stage
 Sample statement of the problem
An established trend in the small business start-up financing in Kenya is to establish funds. Some of
these funds include the youth fund and women fund. These funds have helped improve the rate of
start-ups in the country. However, after the start-up stage, the ventures start developing problems.
First, they face problems in management which lead to a marketing problem and eventually to
stagnation and early exit.

A study by the Institute of Development Studies (RoK, 2015) revealed that only 38% of the
businesses are expanding while 58% have not added workers. According to the survey, more
enterprises are likely to close in their first three years of operation. Four years later the same
institute conducted another study in Central Kenya. This study revealed that 57% of small
businesses are in stagnation with only 33% of them showing some level of growth.

In our current project, we propose to examine factors that have an impact on small business
sustainability. We will employ both qualitative and quantitative approaches to gather both primary
and secondary data and information with the objective of determining success factors for the
growth of small business in Kenya.

Specifically, we shall employ the product life cycle (PLC) model to identify the needs of a small
 Research objectives
The objectives section of a proposal is typically very brief,
usually half a page at most. This is because the rationale for
each objective will already have been established in the
previous section, while the ways of achieving the objectives
should be explained in the methodology section.
The general objective provides a short statement of the
scientific goal being pursued by the research.
The specific objectives are operational in nature. They may
indicate specific types of knowledge to be produced, certain
audiences to be reached, etc.
These are the objectives against which the success of the
research will be judged. It is important to distinguish the
specific objectives from the means of achieving them, such
as pursuing fieldwork, organising a workshop, or publishing a
book.
Objectives cont…
An objective for a proposal should be Specific,
Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-
bound – that is, SMART.
It must flow logically and clearly from the
purpose, problem statement and justification
 
already stated.
23
 Formulating SMART objectives
As a rule of dumb, there would be one research aim and several research
objectives. Achievement of each research objective will lead to the achievement
of the research aim.
Consider the following as an example:
Research title: Effects of organisational culture on business profitability: a case
study of Gob-Soor food chain
Research aim: To assess the effects of Gob-Soor organisational culture on
business profitability
Following research objectives would facilitate the achievement of this aim:
Analysing the nature of organisational culture at Gob-Soor by July 2022
Identifying factors impacting Gob-Soor organisational culture July 2022
Analysing impacts of Virgin Gob-Soor organisational culture on employee
performances July 2022
1. Providing recommendations to Gob-Soor strategic level management in terms
of increasing the level of effectiveness of organizational culture
 SMART Research objectives
study the impacts of management practices on the
levels of employee motivation at Coca-Cola Somaliland
by December  5, 2022
Analysing changes in consumer behaviour in catering
industry in the 21st century in the Kenya by March 1,
2022
Formulating recommendations to Toyota Motor
Corporation  management  on the choice of appropriate
strategy to enter US market by June 9, 2022
Assessing impacts of integration of social media into
marketing strategy on the level of brand awareness by
March 30, 2022
 Research questions
The topic you have chosen is too broad for
conducting research
The researcher needs to narrow down or focus
the topic into a specific research question that
you can address in the study.
A research question has one or a small number
of casual relationship. E.g. Is family size
associated with income — two variables, family
and income.
N.B. What determines income? — Is not a
good research question.
 Techniques for narrowing a topic into a research
question

Techniques for narrowing a topic into a research

question
i. Examine literature — when learning about a
topic and narrowing the focus, the researcher
usually reviews past research or literature, on the
chosen topic,
➢Published journal articles provide ideas for research questions,
➢Explore unexpected findings discovered in previous research,
➢Follow suggestions an author gives for future research at the end
of an article,

Extend an existing explanation or theory to a new topic

 Techniques cont.….
Challenge findings or attempt to refute a relationship
i. Talk over ideas with others
ii. Apply
to a specific context
➢Focus the topic onto a specific historical period or time
period
➢Narrow the topic to a specific society or geographical unit
➢Consider which subgroups or categories of people/units are
involved and whether there are differences among them
iii.Define
the aim or desired outcome of the study
➢Will the research question be for an exploratory, explanatory, or
descriptive study?
➢Will the study involve applied or basic research?
Research question formulations
Describing and exploring

What are the characteristics of X?

How has X changed over time?
What are the main factors in X?
How does X experience Y?
How has X dealt with Y?
Explaining and testing

What is the relationship

between X and Y?
What is the role of X in Y?
What is the impact of X on Y?
How does X influence Y?
What are the causes of X?
Evaluating and acting
What is the relationship
between X and Y?
What is the role of X in Y?
What is the impact of X on Y?
How does X influence Y?
What are the causes of X?
How to make your research
questions focused and researchable
What effect does social What effect does daily use of
media have on people’s Twitter have on the attention
span of under-16s
minds? What are the most effective
What should the communication strategies for
government do about increasing voter turnout among
low voter turnout? under-30s?
Has there been How have economic and
political factors affected
an increase in
patterns of homelessness in
homelessness in the UK the UK over the past ten
in the past ten years? years?
Is X or Y a better policy How effective are X and Y
than z? policies at reducing rates of Z?
Scope of the study
Scope of the study refers to the elements that will be covered in a
research project
 It defines the boundaries of the research.
The scope is always decided in the preliminary stages of a study.
Deciding it in the later stages creates a lot of ambiguity regarding the
research goals.
The main purpose of the scope of the study is that it explains the
extent to which the research area will be explored and thus specifies
the parameters that will be observed within the study
The major things that the researcher should
keep in mind while writing the scope of the
study are as follows
Time period: While writing the scope of the study the researcher
should first mention or state categorically the time periods the study
will cover. 
Geography: In addition to this another major point where the
researcher should keep in mind that scope of the study should state
the specific aspect of the data that needs to be collected like the
geographic locations and the variables.
Research population: Another major aspect that should be involved
while writing the scope of the study is the sample size or the
population that the researcher has selected for the study
Cont.…
Theories: The researcher should state the academic
theories that are being applied to the data collected so
that the reader better knows the lens of the analysis. 
Purpose: The scope of the study must indicate the
purpose behind it.
It must briefly define the larger picture, i.e., the overall
goal the researcher is trying to achieve.  
 Example of scope of a study.
With the increase in the number of the social media users and its use in
everyday communication at the individual and the organisational levels,
there has been a corresponding increase in its incorporation in the
educational development and especially in a country like India. In view of
this situation, the present study analyses the role of social media on the
educational development of the students. To this end, the study will also
cover the changes in the usage of the social media in educational filed
over the time period ranging from 2000-2015. The scope of the study is
restricted to select social media platforms, specifically Facebook, Twitter
and YouTube. The empirical study in this research is restricted to five
universities located across India, wherein the opinions of 30 teachers were
studied in interview sessions. Further, the study also involves an analysis
of students’ perspectives on the role of social media in education from the
same university. Therefore the scope of this study is limited to India, and
more specifically to those offering Arts and Science-related courses.
 significance of the study
The significance of the study is a written statement that explains why
your research was needed.
It’s a justification of the importance of your work and impact it has on
your research field, it’s contribution to new knowledge and how others
will benefit from it.
Generally, a component of the significance of the study is to elucidate
exactly how you will extend the current literature.
Specifically, a component of the significance of the study is to
determine who benefits from the study and how that specific
audience will benefit from its findings.
What contribution will your study make to the literature or to the field?
1. What do you hope others will learn from your study?
2. Who benefits?
 Example of a significance of a
study
By comparing the two marketing strategies presented by this research,
there will be an expansion on the current understanding of the firms on
these marketing strategies in terms of cost, acceptability, and
sustainability. This study provides a clear presentation on these
marketing strategies on small clothing enterprises, giving them insights
on which strategy is more appropriate and useful for them. 

Specifically, this research will benefit start-up clothing enterprises in

deciding which marketing strategy should they employ. Long-time
clothing enterprises may also consider the result of this research to
review their current marketing strategy.

Furthermore, a detailed presentation on the comparison of the

marketing strategies involved in this research may serve as a tool for
further studies to innovate the current strategies being employed in the
clothing Industry.
 Limitations of the study
Limitations of the study are issues and challenges that
researchers face during the study that may influence
or impact the results and interpretations of those
results
A limitation is therefore not necessarily
anything/everything inimical and negative about a
project
It is the issues that are sometimes beyond the control
of researchers but affects the methodology/outcome of
the research
They can also be unforeseen issues the research
Possible limitations
Sample size

Sample profile

Method

Data collection

Time

Equipment

Expenses

Access to literature
 End chapter two
Now you can start your proposal
Good lucky