CHAPTER TWO

Research Proposal
and Its Components
 What is research proposal?
 A research proposal is a document written by a researcher that
describes in details the program for a proposed research.
 It is like an outline of the entire research process that gives a
reader a summary of the information discussed in the
research/project.
 Research proposals are written in future tense and have
different points of emphasis.
 A proposal should present strict research plan in order to
distribute research time according to tasks importance and their
time consuming capacity.

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 A research proposal is a document of usually three to seven

pages that informs others of a proposed piece of research
idea/problem.
 A research proposal can be rejected as unsuitable or poorly
designed.
– The proposal is, therefore, an important document; one that
is worth spending some time on to get right.
 If the proposal is well-designed, it can form an outline of the
research to follow, and ideally, can be mapped onto various parts
of the final research.
 Research Proposal:
– Where you express your intentions and plans (Future).
– The detail plan of study.
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 Components of Research Proposal
– The Research Topic or Title
– Introduction/background of the study
– Statement of the problem & its justification
– Objectives of the study
– Research Question/hypothesis
– Literature Review (not detail)
– Scope/delimitation of the Study
– Methodology of the study
– Significance/benefits of the study
– Budget Schedule
– Time Schedule
– List of references used in preparing the proposal
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 The Research Topic (Title)
 Defining the research problem is the first step and one of the most
difficult in research undertaking.
 Each problem that is proposed for research has to be judged
according to certain guidelines or criteria.
 The following are some of the criteria's for selecting a research
problem/idea:
– Relevance/Significance
– Avoidance of duplication (should be new)
– Urgency of data needed (timeliness)
– Feasibility of study (feasibility of the idea)
– Applicability of results
– Interest to the researcher
– Ethical acceptability

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 After selecting the research idea/problem should consider the
following in formulating the research title or topic:
– Create a title that conveys the idea of your investigation.
– The title (topic) of the proposal should ‘accurately’ reflect the
scope and content of the study, exactly in the smallest possible
number of words (more than 20 words ).
– All words in the title should be chosen with great care, and
association with one another must be carefully managed.
– The topic should be explanatory of the research problem/ the
study.
– The topic/title should be clear and understandable.
– A good title should:
• Orient your readers to the idea/topic you will research.
• Indicate the type of study you will conduct.
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 Introduction & background of the study
 The background describes the context from which the research
idea has emerged.
 The introduction should be as brief as possible (a paragraph or two).
– Whatever you do, don’t ramble on for pages;
• You need to make this part of the proposal clear and crisp.
 In the introduction, you need to give a sense of the general
field of research of which your area is a part.
– You then need to narrow to the specific area of your
concern.This should lead logically to the gap in the research
that you intend to fill. When the gap is identified, a research
question can then be raised. The answer to this question is
called the thesis statement.

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 Brief overview of the general area.

 Introduce readers about the topic/problem area.

 Provides readers with the background information for the

research proposal.

 Its purpose is to establish a framework for the research, so that

– Readers can understand how it is related to other research.

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 Be sure to include a hook at the beginning of the introduction.
– Get your reader’s attention early on and do no waste space with
obvious and general statements.

– This is a statement of something sufficiently interesting to

motivate your reader to read the rest of the proposal, it is an
important/interesting scientific problem that your study
either solves or addresses.
 The introduction should cite those who had the idea or ideas
first, and
 Should also cite those who have done the most recent and
relevant work. You should then go on to explain why more
work is necessary (your work, of course.)=what
motivates/initiates you?
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 Generally, the introduction provides necessary background
information to your study and provides readers with some
sense of your overall research interest.
 A good introduction should:
– Establish the general territory (real world or research) in
which the research is placed.
– Describe the broad foundations of your study, including
some references to existing literature and/or empirically
observable situations.
• In other words, the introduction needs to provide
sufficient background for readers to understand where
your study is coming from.

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 Indicate the general scope of your study, but do not go

into so much detail because the later sections
(purpose/literature review) become irrelevant.
 Provide an overview of the sections that will appear in
your proposal (optional).
 What motivates you to investigate the study.
 Highlight the statement of the problem.
 Engage the readers.

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 Statement of the problem
• A problem might be defined as the issue that exists in the
literature, theory, or practice that leads to a need for the
study.
• The prospective researcher should think on what caused
the need to do the research (problem identification).
• The question that he/she should ask him/herself is:
– Are there questions about this problem to which
answers have not been found up to the present?
• The research problem should be stated in such a way that
it would lead to analytical thinking on the part of the
researcher with the aim of possibly concluding solutions to
the stated problem.
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• Effective problem statements answer the question “Why does
this research need to be conducted.”
• Generally, in the statement of the study should:
– Answer the question: “What is the gap that needs to be filled?”
and/or “What is the problem that needs to be solved?”
– State the problem clearly early in a paragraph.
– Limit the variables you address in stating your problem or question.

– Describe the problem & explain the severity of the problem at hand.

– Describe the problem & suggest possible solutions.

– Explain opportunities behind the problem.
– Justify the reasons why you study and selected it.
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• You may want to consider framing your problem “statement”

as a question, since you are really seeking to answer a
question (or a set of questions) in your study.
• Sources of research problems are:
– Observation
– Literature reviews
– Professional conferences
– Experts
 People who has experience and knowledge in a certain
research area can be good source of research topic.

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 Objective of the study
• The objectives of a research describe the ends or aim which the
inquirer seeks to bring about as a result of completing the
research undertaken.
• Objective/Aim of research is:
– A solution to a problem
– What is to be achieved by the study.
• Objectives should be
– Closely related to the statement of the problem.
– Simple (not complex),
– Specific (not vague),
– Stated in advance (not after the research is done), and
– Stated using “action verbs” that are specific enough to be
measured. 15
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• Objectives are classified into general objectives and specific

objectives.
 General objective
– What exactly will be studied?
– General statements specifying the desired outcomes of the
proposed Research.
– They are broad /high level objectives
 Specific objectives
– List of objectives to achieve the general objective
– Specific statements summarizing the proposed activities and
including description of the outcomes and their assessment in
measurable terms.

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– Specific objectives identifies in greater detail the

specific aims of the research project, often breaking
down what is to be accomplished into smaller logical
components.
– Specific objectives should systematically address the
various aspects of the problem as defined under
‘Statement of the Problem’ and the key factors that are
assumed to influence or cause the problem. They should
specify what you will do in your study, where and for
what purpose

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 Research Question/ Hypothesis
– Question- research focus to be answered
– Hypothesis- potential answer for the study
» A predicted answer to a research question
» subject to test, i.e., to confirmation or rejection on
empirical grounds.
 The Role of Research Questions
 Organize the research project and give it direction and
coherence
 Delimit the research project – show the boundaries
 Keep the researcher focused
 Indicate the data that will be needed
 Provide a framework for writing up the project
Note that the research question may not be a question as such, but
rather a statement of a problem to be investigated.
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 Review of Literature
 This is where you provide about what others have done in the
area, and what you propose to do.
 The more references you can find that relate to the given
problem statement, the more credibility it will have.
 This will give the reader an idea whether you have done your
“homework” and know enough about the topic to start with the
research project.
 The literature review is a critical look at the existing research
that is significant to the work that you are carrying out.
 Obviously, at this point you are not likely to have read
everything related to your research questions, but you should
still be able to identify the key texts with which you will be in
conversation as you write your research. 19
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 Writing the literature review allows you to understand:
– How other scholars have written about your topic (in
addition to what they have written).
– The range of theories scholars use to analyze their
primary materials or data.
– How other scholars connect their specific research
topics to larger issues, questions, or practices within the
field.
– The best methodologies and research techniques for
your particular topic.

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 The literature review has four major functions that you should
keep in mind as you write:
 It situates the current study within a wider disciplinary
conversation.
 It illustrates the uniqueness, importance of and need for
your particular project by explaining how your research
questions and approach are different from those of other
scholars.
 It justifies methodological choices.
 It demonstrates your familiarity with the topic and
appropriate approaches to studying it.

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 Effective literature reviews should:
– Flesh out the Introduction’s brief description of the
background of your study.
– Critically assess important research trends or areas of interest
relevant to your study.
– Identify potential gaps in knowledge.
– Establish a need for current and/or future research projects.

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 Scope/delimitation of the Study

 This is basically setting the boundary of your work.

 Defining the research focus/concern

– Set the set of activities that will be done in achieving the

research objectives.

 Limiting the research boundary: Activities

– Physical & Logical boundaries

 The scope of a research could depend on a number of factors,
such as resources – time, fund, manpower, and so on;
accessibility to the information, subject, and so on.
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 Research Methodology
 Defining the ways/procedures to be followed in conducting
the study.
 This section includes a description of the general means
through which the goals of the study will be achieved:
methods, materials, procedures, tasks, etc.
 The methods or procedures section is really the heart of the
research proposal.
You must decide exactly how you are going to achieve
your stated objectives: i.e., what new data you need in
order to shed light on the problem you have selected and
how you are going to collect and process this data.

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 The activities should be described with as much detail as
possible, and the continuity between them should be apparent.
 Indicate the methodological steps you will take to answer every
question, to test every hypothesis illustrated in the
Questions/Hypotheses section or address the objectives you set.
 Generally, in the research methodology the following points should
be included/considered:
• Research Area
• Research type
• Data collection tools to be used
• Sample design/ methods
– Determine the sampling size
– Description of study participants
• Data collection procedure/tools
• Data analysis and interpret tools & techniques 25
 Significance of the Research
 What are importance of the study/ Why is this work important?
 The importance of the research outcome(s)
 Potential beneficiaries at different levels
– Individual level
– Organizational level
– National level
 Plainly state the practical and/or theoretical importance of the
problem and/or objectives of your study, given current
knowledge and practices.
 Explain the usefulness or benefits of the study, if possible (and
especially for funding agencies), to both the outside world and
the research community.

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 Budget schedule
 Resources needed to conduct the research
 Money required for each activity
 The proposal should contain a detailed budget.
 The budget asked should be in proportion to the volume and
complexity of the work activities.
 Budget items need to be explicitly stated
 Cost for every budget item should be quantitatively shown
 There might be a need for budget justification of certain
costs whose requirement is not obvious.
 Typically, a proposal budget reflects direct and indirect costs.

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 Timeline schedule/Plan of Work
 A schedule, chart or graph that summarizes the different
components of a research proposal and how they will be
implemented in a coherent way within a specific time-span.
 It may include:
– The tasks to be performed;
– When and where the tasks will be performed;
• Including the beginning and end of each activity.
– Who will perform the tasks and the time each person will
spend on them;
– The plan of assessing the ongoing progress toward achieving
the research objectives
– The plan specifies how each project activity is to be measured
in terms of completion, the time line for its completion.
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List of references
 Here, the researcher should be able to indicate that he has
read at least some authoritative sources to collect the
background information, the problem, etc., presented in
the proposal.
 Follow a specific and consistent guideline regarding use
of references in text and in the reference list. (e.g. APA,
Turabian, Chicago, Harvard, etc.)
 It helps to convince your reader that your proposal is
worth pursuing if you can identify literature in the field
and demonstrate that you understand it.
 This is your contribution to the scholarly conversation.
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 References - Five rules

1. Any work not your own should be clearly marked
2. Any quotations within quotation marks
3. Every reference in the text should be listed
4. Every item in the list must have a reference in the text
5. Every table , figure or photograph must have a
reference in the text

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 Research Proposal and Research Report

• Research Proposal: Where you express your

intentions and plans (Future).
– It should be written in future tenses

• Research Report: Where you present what you

have done (past).
– It should be Written in past tenses.

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 Relationship between the Proposal and final Report
Research Proposal Research Report
1.1 Introduction/background of the study 1.1 Introduction/background of the study
1.2 Statement of the problem 1.2 Statement of the problem
1.3 Objective 1.3 Objective
1.4 Research question/hypothesis 1.4 Research question/hypothesis
1.5 Scope of the study 1.5 Scope of the study
1.6 Related literature review (not in detail) 1.6 Significance/Application of the study
1.7 Methodology 1.7 Limitation of the study
1.8 Significance/Application of the study 2. Related Literature review (in detail)
1.9 Budget schedule 3. Methodology
1.10 Time schedule 4. Data Analysis
List of references 5. Conclusions and Implications
References
Appendices 32
THANK YOU!!

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