How to Write a Research Proposal

By: Paul T. P. Wong, Ph.D., C.Psych.

Research Director, Graduate Program in Counselling Psychology
Trinity Western University
Langley, BC, Canada

Most students and beginning researchers do not fully understand what a research proposal
means, nor do they understand its importance. To put it bluntly, one's research is only as
a good as one's proposal. An ill-conceived proposal dooms the project even if it somehow
gets through the Thesis Supervisory Committee. A high quality proposal, on the other
hand, not only promises success for the project, but also impresses your Thesis
Committee about your potential as a researcher.

A research proposal is intended to convince others that you have a worthwhile research
project and that you have the competence and the work-plan to complete it. Generally, a
research proposal should contain all the key elements involved in the research process
and include sufficient information for the readers to evaluate the proposed study.

Regardless of your research area and the methodology you choose, all research proposals
must address the following questions: What you plan to accomplish, why you want to do
it and how you are going to do it.

The proposal should have sufficient information to convince your readers that you have
an important research idea, that you have a good grasp of the relevant literature and the
major issues, and that your methodology is sound.

The quality of your research proposal depends not only on the quality of your proposed
project, but also on the quality of your proposal writing. A good research project may run
the risk of rejection simply because the proposal is poorly written. Therefore, it pays if
your writing is coherent, clear and compelling.

This paper focuses on proposal writing rather than on the development of research ideas.

Title:

It should be concise and descriptive. For example, the phrase, "An investigation of . . ."
could be omitted. Often titles are stated in terms of a functional relationship, because
such titles clearly indicate the independent and dependent variables. However, if possible,
think of an informative but catchy title. An effective title not only pricks the reader's
interest, but also predisposes him/her favourably towards the proposal.

Abstract:

It is a brief summary of approximately 300 words. It should include the research

question, the rationale for the study, the hypothesis (if any), the method and the main
findings. Descriptions of the method may include the design, procedures, the sample and
any instruments that will be used.

Introduction:

The main purpose of the introduction is to provide the necessary background or context
for your research problem. How to frame the research problem is perhaps the biggest
problem in proposal writing.

If the research problem is framed in the context of a general, rambling literature review,
then the research question may appear trivial and uninteresting. However, if the same
question is placed in the context of a very focused and current research area, its
significance will become evident.

Unfortunately, there are no hard and fast rules on how to frame your research question
just as there is no prescription on how to write an interesting and informative opening
paragraph. A lot depends on your creativity, your ability to think clearly and the depth of
your understanding of problem areas.

However, try to place your research question in the context of either a current "hot" area,
or an older area that remains viable. Secondly, you need to provide a brief but appropriate
historical backdrop. Thirdly, provide the contemporary context in which your proposed
research question occupies the central stage. Finally, identify "key players" and refer to
the most relevant and representative publications. In short, try to paint your research
question in broad brushes and at the same time bring out its significance.

The introduction typically begins with a general statement of the problem area, with a
focus on a specific research problem, to be followed by the rational or justification for the
proposed study. The introduction generally covers the following elements:

1. State the research problem, which is often referred to as the purpose of the study.
2. Provide the context and set the stage for your research question in such a way as
to show its necessity and importance.
3. Present the rationale of your proposed study and clearly indicate why it is worth
doing.
4. Briefly describe the major issues and sub-problems to be addressed by your
research.
5. Identify the key independent and dependent variables of your experiment.
Alternatively, specify the phenomenon you want to study.
6. State your hypothesis or theory, if any. For exploratory or phenomenological
research, you may not have any hypotheses. (Please do not confuse the hypothesis
with the statistical null hypothesis.)
7. Set the delimitation or boundaries of your proposed research in order to provide a
clear focus.
8. Provide definitions of key concepts. (This is optional.)
Literature Review:

Sometimes the literature review is incorporated into the introduction section. However,
most professors prefer a separate section, which allows a more thorough review of the
literature.

The literature review serves several important functions:

1. Ensures that you are not "reinventing the wheel".

2. Gives credits to those who have laid the groundwork for your research.
3. Demonstrates your knowledge of the research problem.
4. Demonstrates your understanding of the theoretical and research issues related to
your research question.
5. Shows your ability to critically evaluate relevant literature information.
6. Indicates your ability to integrate and synthesize the existing literature.
7. Provides new theoretical insights or develops a new model as the conceptual
framework for your research.
8. Convinces your reader that your proposed research will make a significant and
substantial contribution to the literature (i.e., resolving an important theoretical
issue or filling a major gap in the literature).

Most students' literature reviews suffer from the following problems:

• Lacking organization and structure

• Lacking focus, unity and coherence
• Being repetitive and verbose
• Failing to cite influential papers
• Failing to keep up with recent developments
• Failing to critically evaluate cited papers
• Citing irrelevant or trivial references
• Depending too much on secondary sources

Your scholarship and research competence will be questioned if any of the above applies
to your proposal.

There are different ways to organize your literature review. Make use of subheadings to
bring order and coherence to your review. For example, having established the
importance of your research area and its current state of development, you may devote
several subsections on related issues as: theoretical models, measuring instruments,
cross-cultural and gender differences, etc.

It is also helpful to keep in mind that you are telling a story to an audience. Try to tell it
in a stimulating and engaging manner. Do not bore them, because it may lead to rejection
of your worthy proposal. (Remember: Professors and scientists are human beings too.)

Methods:
The Method section is very important because it tells your Research Committee how you
plan to tackle your research problem. It will provide your work plan and describe the
activities necessary for the completion of your project.

The guiding principle for writing the Method section is that it should contain sufficient
information for the reader to determine whether methodology is sound. Some even argue
that a good proposal should contain sufficient details for another qualified researcher to
implement the study.

You need to demonstrate your knowledge of alternative methods and make the case that
your approach is the most appropriate and most valid way to address your research
question.

Please note that your research question may be best answered by qualitative research.
However, since most mainstream psychologists are still biased against qualitative
research, especially the phenomenological variety, you may need to justify your
qualitative method.

Furthermore, since there are no well-established and widely accepted canons in

qualitative analysis, your method section needs to be more elaborate than what is required
for traditional quantitative research. More importantly, the data collection process in
qualitative research has a far greater impact on the results as compared to quantitative
research. That is another reason for greater care in describing how you will collect and
analyze your data. (How to write the Method section for qualitative research is a topic for
another paper.)

For quantitative studies, the method section typically consists of the following sections:

1. Design -Is it a questionnaire study or a laboratory experiment? What kind of

design do you choose?
2. Subjects or participants - Who will take part in your study ? What kind of
sampling procedure do you use?
3. Instruments - What kind of measuring instruments or questionnaires do you use?
Why do you choose them? Are they valid and reliable?
4. Procedure - How do you plan to carry out your study? What activities are
involved? How long does it take?

Results:

Obviously you do not have results at the proposal stage. However, you need to have some
idea about what kind of data you will be collecting, and what statistical procedures will
be used in order to answer your research question or test you hypothesis.

Discussion:
It is important to convince your reader of the potential impact of your proposed research.
You need to communicate a sense of enthusiasm and confidence without exaggerating the
merits of your proposal. That is why you also need to mention the limitations and
weaknesses of the proposed research, which may be justified by time and financial
constraints as well as by the early developmental stage of your research area.

Common Mistakes in Proposal Writing

1. Failure to provide the proper context to frame the research question.

2. Failure to delimit the boundary conditions for your research.
3. Failure to cite landmark studies.
4. Failure to accurately present the theoretical and empirical contributions by other
researchers.
5. Failure to stay focused on the research question.
6. Failure to develop a coherent and persuasive argument for the proposed research.
7. Too much detail on minor issues, but not enough detail on major issues.
8. Too much rambling — going "all over the map" without a clear sense of
direction. (The best proposals move forward with ease and grace like a seamless
river.)
9. Too many citation lapses and incorrect references.
10. Too long or too short.
11. Failing to follow the APA style.
12. Slopping writing.

Format of Application
The first page of the research proposal should contain the
title of the project along with name of the investigator(s) and
their detailed institutional affiliation. In nowhere else the
identification of the investigator should be included in the
proposal. Y our proposal should be accompanied with a
detailed resume of the investigator(s) and the structure
should more or less follow the following pattern:
• Title of the research proposal
• Introduction/Background
• Rationale for the research proposal
• Broad aims and specific objectives
• Preliminary review of literature
• Hypothesis, if any
• Research design with rationale
• Plan of analysis
• Expected outcomes
 • Potential beneficiaries
• Timeline
• Budget (in details, item-wise)
• Bibliography & References

Microfinance Enterprise in the third world economy Research

Proposal
Microfinance has grown from a small program in the 1970s in Bangladesh
to a worldwide movement today. Microfinance is basically the small loans that
are granted to the third world poor. Such microloans are usually provided through
non-profit, humanitarian organizations. These new mechanisms are often
referred to as nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) whose focus is on
empowering poor families.
The movement to expand financial services for the poor as a grassroots
development strategy is a relatively recent phenomenon. Microfinance, which
emphasizes granting small loans to the poorest of the poor without requiring
collateral, rests upon the notion that the most impoverished people in developing
countries typically do not otherwise have access to traditional financial; services,
but that they do possess modest survival skills that make them credit-worthy.
Credit programs can offer the poor access to small amount of capital, and, in
turn, they use these loans for self-employment projects, to generate income and
eventually become self-reliant.
Microfinance was introduced by an economist named Muhammad Yunus
in Bangladesh in the 1970s. Before the introduction of microfinance, the worlds
poorest people were virtually under-served by financial institutions. This is
because poor people generally do not own property, making them unable to offer
the necessary collateral needed to secure loans. Most have no credit record.
Most lack education or a formal employment record. Many live in rural areas,
beyond the reach of traditional banks. And many cannot read or write or sign
their own names. Women are often further deterred in that some societies
stipulate that only a man may se3rve as guarantor to a loan. Furthermore, most
banks would not consider allowing loans small enough to be appropriate in those
instances, for the simple reason that transaction costs would be prohibitive. In
the absence of formal access to financial services, the poor traditionally had no
choices outside of being exploited by local money lenders.
The potential of using institutional credit and other financial services for
poverty alleviation in Kenya is quite significant. About 18 million people, or 60
percent of the population are poor and mostly out of the scope of formal banking
services. According to the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) of 1999, a
large number of Kenyans derive their livelihood from the (Micro and Small
Enterprises) MSEs. Therefore, development of this sector represents an
important means of creating employment, promoting growth, and reducing
poverty in the long-term. In the past, microfinance institutions (MFIs) established
using either an NGO or a savings and credit co-operative societies framework
have been important sources of credit for a large number of low income
households and MSEs in the rural and urban areas of Kenya. The Government of
Kenya recognizes that greater access to, and sustainable flow of financial
services, particularly credit, to the low-income households and MSEs is critical to
poverty alleviation. Over 100 organizations, including about 50 NGCs, practice
some form of microfinance business in Kenya. About 20 of the NGOs practice
pure microfinancing, while the rest practice microfinancing, while the rest practice
microfinancing alongside social welfare activities. The microfinance sector in
Kenya has faced a number of constraints that need to be addressed to enable
them to improve outreach and sustainability. The major impediment to the
development of microfinance business in Kenya is lack of specific legislation and
set of regulations to guide the operations in Kenya are registered under eight
different Acts of Parliament namely:

• The Non Governmental Organizations Co-ordination Act

• The Building Societies Act
• The Trustee Act
• The Societies Act
• The Co-operative Societies Act
• The Companies Act
• The Banking Act
• The Kenya Post Office Savings Bank
Some of these forms or registrations do not address issues regarding ownership,
governance, and accountability. They have also contributed to a large extent to
the poor performance and eventual demise of many MFIs because of a lack or
regulatory oversight.

Research Methodology
The planned methodology is secondary research. The researcher will make use
of published materials such as books, magazines and newspapers to collect data
and information regarding the topic. The researcher will also make use of the
internet to obtain information about the company such as its background and
other related information. For the research, the researcher will mainly rely on
secondary data in obtaining the information. Due to inaccessibility of the subject
or the case study, other research methods are not applicable. Secondary data
are data that have been collected for some other purpose. Secondary data can
provide a useful source from which to answer the research question(s). Punch
(1998) mentions several advantages of using existing data. Expenditure on
obtaining data can be significantly reduced and data analysis can begin
immediately, so saving time. Also, the quality of some data may be superior to
anything the researcher could have created alone (Thomas, 2004, p. 191). On
the other hand, the chosen research method also has several disadvantages.
Data that have been gathered by others for their own purposes can be difficult to
interpret when they are taken out of their original context. It is also much more
difficult to appreciate the weak points in data that have been obtained by others.
The data may be only partially relevant to the current research question
(Thomas, 2004, p. 191).