Chapter Three Developing A Research Proposal: 3.1. The Purpose of Proposals

CHAPTER THREE
DEVELOPING A RESEARCH PROPOSAL
After identifying and defining the problem, the researcher must arrange his ideas in order and write
them in the form of an experimental plan or what can be described as a research proposal. A research
proposal is also known as a work plan, prospectus, outline, statement of intent, or draft plan. It tells us
what will be done, why it will be done, how it will be done, where it will be done, to whom it will be
done, and what is the benefit of doing it. A research proposal is essentially a road map, showing clearly
the location from which a journey begins, the destination to be reached, and the method of getting
there.
3.1. THE PURPOSE OF PROPOSALS

The general purpose for writing proposals is
1. To present the problem to be researched and its importance.
2. To discuss the research efforts of others who have worked on related problems.
3. To suggest the data necessary for solving the problem and how the data will be gathered, treated,
and interpreted.
Proposals are also useful both for sponsors and for researchers.
1) For sponsors, it allows to assess the sincerity of the purpose, the clarity of the design, the extent
of the background material, and fitness of the researcher to undertake the project. The proposal
provides a document the sponsor can evaluate based up on the current organizational,
scholastic, or scientific needs. It allows the research sponsor to assess both the researcher and
the proposed design, to compare it against competing proposals, and to make the best selection
for the project. Proposals that fail to convince sponsors are not likely to be funded. The
proposal also provides a basis for the sponsor to evaluate the results of the project at the end of
the work. By comparing the final product with the stated objectives, it is easy to decide if the
research goals have been achieved.
2) For the researcher, proposal helps to have a tentative work plan that charts the logical steps
needed to accomplish the stated goals. Additionally, there is the opportunity to spot flaws in the
logic, errors in assumptions, or even problems that are not adequately addressed by the
objectives and design. After the acceptance of the proposal, the document serves as a guide for
the researcher throughout the investigation.
3.2. STRUCTURING A RESEARCH PROPOSAL

There is no single way of writing research proposals. There can be different formats for research
proposals depending on the funding organizations. Various organizations have their own styles and
formats of writing a proposal. However, the following proposal components are usually important.
Cover page
The cover page contains introductory information for the proposal: the name of the proposed project
(title), the author of the proposal or principal investigator, and the institution. Some funding agencies
have standardized cover pages that may contain additional information.
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Title
It is one of the most important parts of a proposal. It will immediately attract or loss the interest of any
potential donor. The title should use the fewest possible words that adequately describe the content of
the paper. In titles a researcher has to use specific, familiar, and short words. Use of ‘waste words’ like
‘A study on …’, ‘An investigation on…’, ‘An observation on…’ should be avoided.
Abstract
It is a short summary of the research proposal. This allows a busy manager or sponsor to understand
quickly the thrust of the proposal. It should be informative, giving readers the chance to grasp the
essentials of the proposal without having to read the details. It should include a brief statement of the
problem, the research objectives, and the benefits of the approach.
Background of the study

In the background, the researcher presents the background of what he wants to do and say briefly why
he thinks the works should be done and relate it to what is already known about the problem. This part
of the research provides some general theoretical basis or justifications for conducting a research. It tells
to the reader from what perspective that the research is to be conducted or the overall justification as
to why it is needed to conduct the study.
Statements of the problem

The statements of the problem typically come very early in the research proposal. Here a researcher has
to capture the reader’s attention by stating the problem, and its consequences. It is important that the
problem is distinct from related problems and that the sponsor can see the delimitations clearly. It may
focus on literature based disagreements concerning the issue under investigation. The researcher is
expected to state his problem clearly without the use of idioms or clichés. Each word of the statement
must be expressive, sharp, and indispensable.
Research objectives
This part addresses what to be done in the investigation. It is here that the researchers lay out exactly
what is being planned by the proposed research. The objectives flow naturally from the problem
statement, giving the sponsor specific, concrete, and achievable goals. It is best to list the objectives
either in order of importance or in general terms first, and moving to specific terms. The research
objectives section is the basis for judging the remainder of the proposal and, ultimately, the final report.
We need to verify the consistency of the proposal by checking that each objective is discussed in the
research design, data analysis, and result sections.
Research hypothesis
The researcher has to clearly state a working hypothesis. A hypothesis is a tentative predictive
statement that represents a very specific proposed answer to the problem statement. Hypotheses are
important to determine the nature of data needed, to offer the basis for selecting the samples, the
research procedures and method of analysis, to restrict the scope of the study thereby preventing it
from being too broad, and to set a framework for reporting the conclusions of the study.
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Significance of the research
This part shows the explicit benefits and the beneficiaries of the results of the research being conducted.
It states the importance or contribution that the study will have for different bodies. The importance
could be to create awareness about the problem, to provide basis for other researchers, or to extend
the scope of knowledge. Usually, this section is not more than a few paragraphs.
Delimitations (Scope) of the study:

This part indicates the scope (coverage) of the study. It should be delimited to manageable size. This
should be done in relation to the area coverage as well as to the treatment of the variables in the study.
In stating the scope, clearly show what is going to be investigated and what not.
Limitations of the study

This is a part that you will include some constraints or difficulties you think that they have influence on
the results of your study. This may be in relation to the weaknesses in the methodology, lack of access
to data, faulty instruments, sampling restrictions, lack of recent literature in the area etc. Any
restrictions or areas of the problem that will not be addressed must be indicated.
Literature review
A section in our research that explains, interprets and discusses what has been researched and
documented previously is known as review of related literature. The literature review section examines
recent research studies, company data, or industry reports that act as a basis for the proposed study.
Begin your discussion of the related literature and relevant secondary data from a comprehensive
perspective, moving to more specific studies that are associated with your problem.
Avoid the extraneous details of the literature; do a brief review of the information, not a comprehensive
report. Emphasis the important results and conclusions of other studies, the relevant data and trends
from previous research, and particular methods or designs that could be duplicated or should be
avoided. Discuss how the literature applies to the study you are proposing; show the weaknesses and
faults in the design, discussing how you would avoid similar problems.
Always refer to the original source to avoid any errors of interpretation or transcription. Close the
literature review section by summarizing the important aspects of the literature and interpreting them
in terms of your problem.
Research methodology
Here, the researcher is expected to clearly state what he is going to do in technical terms. In this part we
will indicate the variables that we will treat in our study, the subjects of our study, types and sources of
data, the sampling technique we will use, our method of data collection, and our method of data
analysis. As such, this section should include as many subsections as needed to show the phases of the
project.
Budget requirement
In order to carry out a given research you need to have money. The sources may be from government
budget or from supporting agencies. Whatever the source may be, we are expected to assign a
reasonable amount of money for the study in a form the sponsor requests. In addition, the money we
have, need to be planned on how to spend it. Budget breakdown has to be prepared for all activities. It
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may include the details of travel expenses, per diems, and capital equipment purchase, and other costs
together with allowance for contingencies. When the time comes to do the work, the researcher should
know exactly how much money is budgeted for each particular task.
Work plan (Time Schedule)

We should also prepare a realistic time schedule for completing the study within the time available by
dividing a study into phases and assigning dates for the completion of each phase. The work plan
(schedule) should include the major phases of the project together with their timetables. Major phases
may be questionnaire preparation, pre-testing, field interviews, editing and coding, data analysis, and
report generation.
Bibliography
In a research proposal we should give a list of books, journals, and other documents that we have used
in selecting the problem and which we may use while we conduct the study. For all projects that require
literature review, a bibliography is necessary. Use the bibliographic format required by the sponsor. If
none is specified, a standard style manual will provide the details necessary to prepare the bibliography.
Qualification of researchers
This consists of summaries of the experience, education, publications, and research activities of
individuals who will work on the proposed project. It is customary to begin with the principal
investigator and then to the co-investigators.

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CHAPTER THREE

DEVELOPING A RESEARCH PROPOSAL

3.1. THE PURPOSE OF PROPOSALS

3.2. STRUCTURING A RESEARCH PROPOSAL

Background of the study

Statements of the problem

Delimitations (Scope) of the study:

Limitations of the study

Work plan (Time Schedule)

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