Summary of components/elements of

research proposal

Title
Operational definitions of terms used
Introduction
Statement of the problem
Objectives of the research
Significance of the research
Scope and limitations of the study
Review of literature
Methodology Used
Organization of the report/chapter outline
Time schedule/work plan
Budget/estimated cost built up
Bibliography/References
Elements of research proposal Cont…

Time schedule/work plan

Time line of the assigned tasks
 Time line of the resource flow
Budget/estimated cost built up
Cost built up – resource personnel, support staff,
stationery, transport, utilities, house rents, miscellaneous,
etc
Organization of the report/chapter outline
Outline of the dissertation/report
Major parts of the report: introductory, literature review, research
design, findings and discussion, summary, and conclusion
Examples illustrated in next slide
3
 Item description Quantity Unit cost (Birr) Total cost (Birr)
Personnel – data collectors 40 500.00 20,000.00
Transport (within ) 15,000.00
Equipment and supplies
o Laptop 1 10,000.00 10,000.00
o Printer 1 3,000.00 3,000.00
o Memory stick 1 300.00 300.00
o Printing paper 30 40.00 1,200.00
o Duplication paper 40 35.00 1,400.00
Internet (access hours) 3,000 0.20 600.00
Relevant reference materials
o Books 20 500.00 10,000.00
o Articles 40 200.00 8,000.00
Miscellaneous 5,000.00
Contingencies (10%) 7,450.00
Total project cost (approximately $8,200) 81,950.00

4
Elements of research proposal Cont…

References usually come at the end of a text (essay or

research report) and should contain only those works cited
within the text. So, use the term 'References' to cover
works cited
A Bibliography is any list of references at the end of a
text, whether cited or not. It includes texts you made use of,
not only texts you referred to in your paper, but your own
additional background reading, and any other articles you
think the reader might need as background reading.
Both Refs. & Bibliog. must be in alphabetical order; and
each entry must be laid out in a strictly ordered sequence.
Styles, Citation and Documentation

 All source materials, primary or

secondary, (published or unpublished)
must be credited and correctly cited.
 Failure to do so constitutes plagiarism.
 All citations should include a reference in
the body of the text to the author as well
as an entry in the bibliography.
Cont…

 No matter how styles may vary between

Oxford, Cambridge, American
Psychological Association (APA), all
citations should include a reference in the
body of the text to the author as well as
an entry in the bibliography.
 An important issue in citation is to
consistently use a single citation style.
Quotation and Paraphrase

 Quotation involves taking the precise

wording of the author in a sentence or
paragraph.
 In such cases the researcher needs to put
the sentence or paragraph in a quotation
mark (“ ”) and as well s/he is required to
cite the source, which includes the name
of the author, the date of publication and
the page number.
Cont’d…

 Example: Habtamu (2001:4) explained that

“decentralization has ceased to be a local
government affair and has turned into a
local governance issue.”
 Whenever the sentence is more than five
lines, it should be indented.
Cont’d…
 Example: According to Litvack et al. (1998:1), in the Third World
countries, the change and the emphasis on decentralization in the
current context is derived from different factors that include:
the advent of multi-party political systems in Africa;
the deepening of democratization in Latin America;
the transition from a command to a market
economy in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union;
the need to improve delivery of local services to large
populations in the centralized countries of East Asia;
the challenge of ethnic and geographic diversity in
South Asia, as well as ethnic tensions in other
countries[…] and the attempt to keep centrifugal
forces at bay by forging asymmetrical federations;
and the plain and simple reality that central governments
have often failed to provide effective public services.
Cont…

 Where a quotation has been changed or

words are added, it should be indicated as
follows:
1.“[…] it is clear that according to the current understanding
of governance, government is one among many societal
players or actors that are concerned with public issues.”
 This indicates omitted parts before the
sentence included in the quotation.
Cont…
2.“Development is […] a cumulative process.”
 This indicates that something has been omitted in
between.
3. “The change should be very well felt by [ the
community ] and local officials.”
 This shows that the community is the author’s own
insertion.
 Sentence that is quoted from secondary source,
which was quoted by another author should be
indicated by stating as quoted by Alex (2006:43)
Cont…
 Paraphrasing- sources may be
paraphrased where exact wording is not
essential.
 This means the researcher is adopting the
view points of the author.
 Care should be taken however, not to
change the original meaning through
paraphrase, and all paraphrased
sources must be fully cited.
Cont…

 Example: Traditionally, political

scientists have used governance to
express the nature of the relationships
between the ‘RULES, RULERS, and the
RULED’ (Samuel, 1999, 2002).
Citing within the paper/chapter
 Single author: example Gorge Smith 1999
should be cited as (Smith, 1999)
 Two authors: example Mathew White and Fresew
Belay 2004 should be cited as (White and
Fresew, 2004).
 The same is true for three authors.
 If it is more than three authors, use “et al.”
 Example, (Andargachew et al.,2003)
Bibliography

 Bibliography is a complete documentation

of the source materials used in the
research.
 The documentation system is not the
same for all types of source materials.
Bibliography/Reference citation

A. Book with a Single Author

Fleming, T. (1997) Liberty!: The American
Revolution. New York: Viking.
 Important Elements: Author, date of
publication, title of the book, place of
publication, publisher.
Cont’d…

B. Book with two or three Authors

Schwartz, D., Ryan, S., & Wostbrock, F.
(1995) The Encyclopedia of TV game
shows. New York: Facts on File.
Note: the commas and full stops in between
the authors!
Cont’d…

C. . Book with more than three authors

Azfar, O. et al. (1999) Decentralization,
Governance and Public Services: the
Impact of Institutional Arrangements: A
Review of Literature. IRIS Centre:
Maryland University Press.
Cont’d…
D. Article within a Book
Adhana H. (1994) “Mutation of Statehood and
Contemporary Politics”, in Abebe Z. and S. Abera
(eds.) Ethiopia in Change: Peasantry,
Nationalism and Democracy, pp. 12-29. London:
British Academic Press.
 Important Elements: Author of the article, date of
publication, title of the article, editor(s) of the
book, title of the book, page numbers of the
article, place of publication, and publisher.
Cont’d…

E. Articles from a Printed Journal

Abbink, J. (1997) “Ethnicity and Constitutionalism
in Contemporary Ethiopia”, Journal of African
Law 41(2): 159-174.
 Important Elements: Author of the article, date
of publication, title of the article, title of journal,
volume and issue number of the journal, page
numbers of the article.
Cont’d…
G. Article from a Printed Newspaper
Holden, S. (1998, May 16) Frank Sinatra dies at 82:
Matchless stylist of pop. The New York Times, pp.
A1, A22-A23.
Important Elements: Author of article, date of
publication, title of article, name of newspaper,
section, page location of article.
H. Website sources
Brosio, G. (2000) Decentralization in Africa.
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/seminar/2000/fisca
l/brosio.pdf (accessed 24/10/2007)