WRITING RESEARCH PROPOSAL
• A research proposal is a written account of the
plan for the intended research study.
• It can be compared to the blue print of his
building
• It is a written statement of a study that an
individual or organization wants to undertake.
• Writing proposal or work plan is an initial yet the
most important step of the research process.
• It present an argument that why a particular
problem should be investigated and what is the
appropriate methodology to investigate it
• It set out what, how, why, where, when and at
what cost (in case of funded study) of the
projected research study
• Proposal is basically the foundation on which
whole of the research will be fabricated.
• All the researchers need to have fundamental
understanding of writing effective protocols
Purposes of writing a research proposal
• It forces the researcher to think through
various aspect of the study that might not
otherwise have been considered.
• The plan can now be evaluated by others who
may improve it by suggesting something that
has been left out
Purposes of writing a research proposal
• The written proposal acts as a guide to be
followed in carrying out the research
• A well thought out proposal saves time of the
researcher, helps avoid mistakes while
carrying out the research, serves as basis for
writing the final report of the study
• It helps to foresee the potential problems and
to solve them at the beginning rather than in
the end of the study
FORMAT OF A QUANTATIVE RESEARCH
PROPOSAL
The research proposal is basically divided into
three main sections;
• Preliminary pages
• Body of the proposal
• Supporting material
Preliminary pages
• Title
• Name, qualification, index number
• Table of content
• Abstract/summary
Body of the proposal
Introduction
• Background
• Problem Statement
• Justification
• Rationale/relevance/need of the study
• Aim
• Objectives/research questions
• Operational Definition
• Hypothesis/assumptions
• Delimitations
• Literature Review
Research Methodology
• Study Design
• Study setting
• Study population/subjects/participants
• inclusion/exclusion criteria
• Sample size estimation
• Sampling technique
• Instruments and materials
• Procedure of data collection
• Ethical consideration, consent form, privacy of information
• Data analysis
• Dissemination of result
• Pilot study
• References
DEVELOPING THE PROPOSAL
• According to Newman, “the process of writing
proposal has three steps-prewriting, writing
and revising”
Prewriting
• Jot down main points which should be there
• Plan time to go to the library
• Start reading articles to write literature review
• Just write the main headings under which
methodology will be developed
• Read well written previous proposals
• Once structure is framed, start expanding on the
key headings
Writing
• Expand and integrate on the previously written points
• Free writing is the best
• Put the ideas freely on paper as they keep coming in
mind without being bothering about grammar or
sequence
• Once it is done it has to be rewritten and developed
into draft
Revising
• Check for coherence, grammar, spellings,
citations etc
• Leave the draft for a while and then re-read
for finding mistake
• It can also be given for peer review
• Clear, concise, systematic and error free
writing speaks volume for a proposal.
Background
• It should include statement of problem,
purpose and significance of study.
• Basically it outlines why the study has been
planned
Study problem
• It is also referred to as research problem.
• It clearly state the purpose of the study
• It should be framed considering the three
most imperative questions of research
Imperative questions of research
• Why is there a need to conduct this research?
• What specific issues are being raised in the
study that has not being observed in the
literature pertaining to the topic?
• How the study will attempt to answer these
questions?
• The importance of the study will only be clear
when these questions are answered
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
AIMS OBJECTIVES
• What the research study • What is to be done to
will achieve, i.e. overall achieve the aim
purpose of the study • Characteristics of
• An aim need not fit in all objective are-SMART
the categories of SMART • An objective is more
• An aim is more abstract. It specific in character
can be a general statement
• Objectives are usually
• An aim does not have a
short term
time frame within which it
is to be achieved • Objectives are usually
• Aims may imply a set of time bound
goals
Characteristics of Research Objectives
1. Objective are SMART
• Specific-state exactly what one needs to
achieve
• Measurable-presence of quality or quantity to
reference to measure
• Achievable-should be achievable in the time
frame of study
• Realistic-practical and realistic. Availability of
resources to achieve objective
• Timely-should include a time line
Characteristics of Research Objectives
2. Objectives should always be worded using
strong positive statements which use strong
strong action verbs.
These should not contain weaker verbs.
The strong verbs include determine, obtain,
collect, construct, classify, develop, devise,
measure, produce, revise, select, synthesize
Characteristics of Research Objectives
However, the weak verbs are appreciate,
consider, enquire, learn know, understand, be
aware of, appreciate, listen, perceive
Strong and weak verbs
Verb to use Verbs to avoid
• Ascertain, explain, apply, predict,
identify, evaluate, describe, use, • Know, understand, really
assess, contrast, interpret, understand, fully
distinguish, sort, categorise, appreciate, internalize, to
solve, formulate, report, relate, grasp the significance of, to
organise, restate, recall, prepare, have an awareness of etc
review, list, arrange, classify,
name, construct, translate,
recognise, create, determine
3. Research objectives should be relevant,
fusible, logical, observable and unequivocal
4. The objective should include obtaining
answers to research questions or testing
research hypothesis
5. The objective should be listed in a priority
order
• Regarding the number of objectives, there is
no fixed number . However, these should be
sufficient in number to be able to appraise the
advancement toward meeting the aim of the
study
Importance of writing research objectives
• The clearly defined objectives of the study will help
the researcher to
• Focus on the study
• Avoid unnecessary collection of data
• Systematize the study in well defined component
or phase
• Assist in the development of research methodology
• Facilitate the researchers to orient them to
collection, analysis, interpretation and utilization of
data
Rationale/relevance/need of the study
• Rationale clearly indicates the importance or
the worth of carrying forward the research.
• It includes major issues and other relevant
problems to be addressed
• It sets the stage for research questions in such
a way to show its need
• It outlines what phenomenon and variables
are to be identified and studied
LITERATURE REVIEW
• It set the background and significance of the
investigation
• It is a critical summary of research topic, generally
done to justify a study problem
• It also explains why we don’t know it yet; and also
describe how it will be answered
LITERATURE REVIEW
• The researcher needs to read previous studies,
dissertations, thesis, abstracts, books,
systematic reviews, meta-analysis, periodicals,
etc to get a thorough, complete and up-to-
date knowledge about the current topic
• The literature review must be logical and not a
repetition of earlier studies
• To the reader, review of literature illustrates
how knowledgeable the researcher is
