CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH PROPOSAL

3.1 INTRODUCTION

Before an attempt is made to start with research project, a research proposal should be compiled.
For the beginner researcher this is usually among the most difficult part. It is however, the most
important aspect of the research project and should be considered carefully by the researcher.
This does not only require subject knowledge, but insight in to the problem that is going to be
investigated, so as to give logic and structure to the research envisaged. This unit of the research
methodology module is a guide to write a research proposal. Use the guide lines as a point of
departure for discussions with your advisor/instructor. They may serve as a straw-man against
which to build your understanding of both your study and proposal writing.

3.2 IDENTIFYING A RESEARCH TOPIC

Defining the problem is the first step and one of the most difficult in research undertaking. There
is a tendency for the beginner in researcher to ask questions that are usually diffuse or vague.
Each topic that is proposed for research has to be judged according to certain guidelines or
criteria. There may be several ideas to choose from. Before deciding on a research topic, each
proposed topic must be compared with all options.

3.3 WHAT IS A RESEARCH PROPOSAL?

The 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. The research
proposal is the detailed plan of study. The term "research proposal" indicates that a specific
course of action will be followed. It is a document, which sets out your ideas in an easily
accessible way.

After proper and complete planning of a research, the plan should be written down. The research
proposal is the detail plan of the study. The term “research proposal” includes that a specific
course of action will be followed. It is a document which sets out your ideas in easy an

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accessible way. The intent of the written research proposal is to present focused and scholarly
presentation of a research problem and plan. The early presentation of a research plan in the post
graduate training of students is intended to promote critical and analytical thinking, focused
research effort, and extensive interaction with their thesis advisor throughout the research.

The objective in writing proposal is:

 To describe what you will do?

 Why it should be done?
 How you will do it?
 What you expect will result?

Being clear about these things from the beginning will help you complete your research in a
timely fashion. A vague, fuzzy or weak proposal can lead to a long, painful and often
unsuccessful research writing exercise. A clear well thought-out, proposal forms the backbone
for the research itself. A good research proposal hinges on a good idea. Getting a good idea
hinges on familiarity with the topic. This assumes a longer preparatory period of reading,
observation, discussion and incubation. Read everything that you can in your area of interest.
Figure out what are important and the missing parts of our understanding. Figure out how to
build/discover those pieces. Live and breathe the topic. Talk about it with anyone who is
interested. Then just write the important parts as the proposal.

THE WRITTEN PROPOSAL:

 Force the students to clarify their thoughts and to think about all aspects of study
 Is essential if the study involves research on human subject or on experimental animals,
in order to get the institution’s ethical approval, criteria for selecting a research topic
 Relevance/signification
 Avoidance of duplication
 Urgency of data needed (time lines)
 Feasibility of study
 Applicability of result
 Interest to the researcher
 Ethical acceptability

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  Is an essential component submitted for funding

From the process of the development of the research proposal, students benefit from the advice
of their supervisor, experts and colleagues in referring to their plan. But once a proposal for a
study has been developed and approved, and the study has started and progressed, it should be
adhered to restrict and should not be changed. Violations of the proposal can discredit the whole
study.

A well thought out and a well written proposal can be judged according to three criteria:

 Is it adequate to answer research question, and achieve the study objective?

 Is it feasible in the particular set-up for the study?
 Does it provide enough detail that can allow another investigator to do the study and
arrive at comparable results?

3.2 FUNCTION OF THE RERSEARCH PROPOSAL

As can be derived from its concept, the research proposal may serve the following functions:

1. It provides guidelines to the researcher for adopting the systematic approach towards the
solution of the problems.
2. It provides a basis for the evaluation of the proposal by researchers. it makes aware the
researcher of the problems and difficulties he/she will have face in his study
3. It restores confidence in researcher about the feasibility and worth of his investigations.
4. It stimulates the researcher and moves him to the goal of completing his project
5. It also enables the adviser to assess the progress of work of his advisee at regular
intervals
3.3 General Format of Proposal
The basic components of a research proposal are the same in many fields. However, how they
are phrased and staged may vary by discipline. The following components can be regarded as
steps in the writing of research proposal. They are important and should be followed for the
actual compositions of the proposal. The organization of the contents of a proposal may vary
somehow with the nature of the activities proposed. Generally, the basic components of a
proposal are described in this unit in the order in which they most logically appear in a proposal.
However, when it comes to related research, the inquirer may find it useful, even necessary, to
incorporate some parts of the discussion in to other sections of the proposal.

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 COMPONENTS OF THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL:
1. Title
2. Summary/ abstract
3. Introduction/Background
4. Statement of the problem
5. Hypothesis/ Questions
6. Objective of the study: general and specific
7. Significance of the study
8. Research methodology: study area, study design, sample size, sampling method,
method of data collection, description of variables, data analysis and interpretation
9. Scopes/ delimitations
10. Limitations
11. Work plan
12. Budget
13. References
14. Appendix/annexes
TITLE PAGE:
Purpose: To provide a brief, informative summary that will attract your target
audience
The Title should:
 Contains a few words
 Describes the content of the paper
 Describes the subject in limited space
 Avoids abbreviations, formulas, and jargon
 Put title at the top, write why you are doing this study, your name, the name of your
advisor, your organization, college & department, and date of delivery at the bottom.
 The title page has no page number and it is not counted in any page numbering

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PROSPECTS AND CHALLENGES OF ETHIOPIAN COMMODITY EXCHANGE
PARTICIPANTS “this is title)

A SENIOR ESSAY REQUIRED FOR THE PARTIAL FULFILLMENT FOR THE

AWARD OF BACHELORS DEGREE IN MANAGEMENT PROGRAM “this is for
what purpose study is to undertaken”

PREPARED BY:

XY

YZ

ADVISOR: AC

HU UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS

MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT

March, 2020

Hawassa, Ethiopia

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 ABSTRACT:

Purpose of abstract is to highlight key points from the major sections of the topic under
consideration

 The abstract will be the first (and for busy decision makers most likely the only)
part of your study that will be read
 The abstract is a brief summary of the area of investigation and expected
outcome.
 It is optional, some organizations demand an abstract for a proposal others don’t.
 It Is short, and Stands on its own/ Complete in itself
 The abstract is a summary of the basic information contained in all the other
sections of the proposal
 Generally, abstracts are limited to 200 to 300 words, but the exact word limit will
be stated by the publication, conference, or organization requesting the abstract
 Do not overload an abstract with unnecessary information
The abstract should tell the reader:
 The problem to be studied
 The main objective of the study
 The major expected implications of the study
 When the study will be conducted
 Where the study will be conducted
 What methods will be used to conduct the study
 What resources are required for the study

Components of an abstract:

1. Motivation or Statement of the Problem:

 Why do we care about the problem?
 What practical, theoretical, scientific gap is your research filling?

2. Methods or Approach: What did you actually do to get your results?

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3. Results or Product: what did you learn, create, or invent?

4. Conclusions or Implications: What are the larger suggestions of your findings, especially for
the problem or gap identified.

INTRODUCTION:

In developing introduction, consider the following guidelines:

 Create reader interest in the topic.

 Briefly discuss the historical developments of events regarding the specific topic you are
interested to study
 Begins with background information regarding the problem under investigation.
 Lay the broad foundation for the problem that leads to the study/research problem
 Justify why you think there is still a need to further study the topic
 Place the study within the larger context of scholarly literature/including the deficiencies.
 The importance of the study for a specific audience
 Purpose statement

RESEARCH QUESTION:

Development of the research question is determined in response to a number of questions:

 What is the purpose of the research?

 What is it that the researcher wants to know?

 What type of knowledge is going to be generated?

 What is known already?

 What is the influence of the researcher?

 (Questions can start with “can?”, “should?”, “is?”, “how?”, “what?”, “why?” etc.
Each of these will have a different focus,

The following questions will be answered in this study:

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1. What does the ECX trading practice looks like?

2. Does the ECX authority effectively regulate the exchange?

3. What are the major constraints/challenges of the ECX member participants?

4. What possible and viable recommendation could be forwarded to ensure the smooth
functioning of the exchange?

FORMULATION OF RESEARCH OBJECTIVES:

What is a research objective?

 It is a statement that clearly depicts the goal to be achieved by a research project.

 In other words, the objectives of a research project summarize what is to be achieved by
the study
 Objectives should be closely related to the statement of the problem

Why should research objectives be developed?

 The formulation of the objectives will help you to

 Focus the study (narrowing it down to essentials)
 Avoid the collection of data which are not necessary for understanding & solving the
problem identified (to establish the limits of the study)
 Organize the study in clearly defined parts or stages
 Facilitate the development of research methodology
 Orient the collection, analysis, interpretation & utilization of data

Characteristics of good objectives:

 Logical & clear
 Feasible
 Realistic - considering local conditions
 Defined in operational terms that can be measured
 Phrased to clearly meet the purpose of the study
 SMART:

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  Specific/not vague  Realistic

 Measurable  Time bound

 Achievable

How should objectives be stated?

Objectives should be stated using “action verbs” that are specific enough to be measured

Example:

To determine……., To compare……..

To verify….., To calculate……

To describe….., To assess………etc

To find out

Avoid the use of vague non-action verbs such as;

To appreciate…… To study

To understand……, To believe…….

What formats can be used for stating research objectives?

 Depends on the type of study that will be undertaken.

 If the study is descriptive or exploratory in nature, objectives are stated in the form of
questions or positive sentences.
 Questions: “The objectives of this study are to answer the following questions …”
 Positive sentence: “The objectives of this study are to determine …”
 If the researcher knows enough to make predictions concerning what he/she is studying,
then hypotheses may be proposed:
 Hypothesis: “The objective of this study is to verify the following hypothesis...”.

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TYPES OF RESEARCH OBJECTIVES:

Commonly, research objectives are classified into general objectives and specific objectives.
They are logically connected to each other. General objectives: aim of the study in general terms

What exactly will be studied?

 Is closely related to the statement of the problem

 Sometimes called purpose of the research

 Identifies in general terms what is to be accomplished by the research and why.

Title: prospects and challenges of the Ethiopian commodity exchange participants:

General objective:

 The overall objective of the study will be to assess the trading practices and identify the
challenges of participants of the Ethiopian commodity exchange

Specific objectives: measurable statements on the specific questions to be answered.

 Unlike the general objectives, the specific objectives are more specific and are
related to the research problem situation.
 They indicate the variable to be examined and measured.
 Identify in greater detail the specific aims of the research project, often breaking
down what is to be accomplished into smaller logical components.
 Identify questions that the researcher wants to answer
 Systematically address the various aspects of the problem as defined under
‘Statement of the Problem’ & the key factors that are assumed to influence or
cause the problem.
 specify what to do in a study, where & for what purpose

Example of Specific objectives:

 To assess the trading practices of the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange

 To identify the challenges of Ethiopian Commodity Exchange participants

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  To describe the regulation system of the exchange

 To provide relevant recommendation that could significantly contribute for ensuring

commodity exchange system for participants in Ethiopia

 One of the most important problems usually observed among students is the tendency of
stating too many study objectives which are not appropriately addressed in the sections
that follow.

 It should be noted that it is on the bases of these specific objectives that the methods,
results and discussion sections will be presented.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The significance of the study answers questions like:

Why is your study important?

To whom is it important?

What benefit(s) will occur if your study is done?

DELIMITATIONS AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

Delimitations describe the scope of the study or establish parameters or limits for the study.

Such as:

 setting limits on the sample size,

 extent of the geographic region from which data are collected,
 response formats included in data-collecting instruments, or
 The time frame for the study makes the study feasible for the researcher, and such delimitations
should be noted here.

Technically, delimitations are factors which the researcher controls

Examples of delimitations might include the following:

1. In order to assure manageability of the collected data, survey instruments used only multiple-choice
items and did not include open-ended response items.

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2. Due to the large number of potential participants in the study population, the population involved in the
current study focused only on members located within Hawassa City

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

Limitations are factors:

 Usually beyond the researcher's control,

 That may affect the results of the study or
 How the results are interpreted.

Stating limitations of the study may be very useful for readers because they provide a method to admit
possible errors or difficulties in interpreting results of the study.

In any case, limitations should not be considered alibis or excuses;

They are simply factors or conditions that help the reader get a truer sense of what the study results mean

Examples of frequently encountered limitations might include the following:

1. Due to the small/unique sample available for the study, results may not be generalizable beyond
the specific population from which the sample was drawn.
2. Due to the failure of sample respondents to answer with candor, results might not accurately
reflect the opinions of all members of the included population.
3. 3. Due to the length of the study, a significant number of respondents available in the preliminary
testing may be unavailable or unwilling to participate in the final stage of testing.
Although stating limitations of the study assists the reader in understanding some of the inherent
problems encountered by the researcher, still the research is indicating it incompleteness.

WORK PLAN/IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

What is work plan?

A work plan is a schedule that summarizes, in a clear fashion, various components of the
research project

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 A work plan may include:

 The tasks to be performed (ACTIVITIES)

 When the tasks will be performed (TIME)

 Who will perform the tasks & the time each person will
spend on them (PERSON and PERSONDAYS)

 The relationship of the tasks to each other. (FLOW)

Points to keep in mind when preparing a work plan include:

 Simple, realistic & easily understood by those directly involved.

 It should cover both the pre-project period and the implementation phase of the
project,

 The activities covered (technical work, administrative tasks, training & other
support level tasks

Use of work plan:

A work plan can serve as:

 A tool in planning the details of the project activities and later the project funds

 A visual outline or illustration of the sequence of the project operations

 A management tool for the principal investigator & members of the team,
showing what tasks & activities are planned, their timing, & when various
members will be involved in the tasks

 A tool for monitoring & evaluation, when the current status of the project is
compared to what was foreseen in the work plan.

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When should the work plan be prepared?

 The first draft of the work plan should be developed when the project proposal is being
developed, so the schedule can be discussed easily with the relevant authorities

 A more detailed work plan should be prepared after the pretest in the study area

 After the project is underway & based on reassessment of what can be realistically
accomplished in the coming days/months, it is wise to revise the work plans or preparing
new ones

 The preparation is usually be made by a research team under the leadership of the
principal investigator

The Work Schedule:

A work schedule is a table that summarizes,

 the tasks to be performed;

 the time/dates each task should begin & end

 research team, research assistants, & support staff (drivers & typists)
assigned to the tasks

 person-days required by all involved persons (the number of person-days

equals the number of working days per person).

◦ The work schedule shows the tasks to be completed, time & who is responsible,
but does not show how various tasks are related,

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  Eg. WORK PLAN

Operational activities scheduling time of activities

S.No

Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June

1 Approval of title and Xx

contact with advisor

2 Designing and proposal Xx

writing (first draft)

3 Review of the proposal Xx

procedures

4 Submission of proposal xx

4 Developing questionnaires xx

5 Distributing Xx
questionnaires

6 Data collection and Xx

analyzing

7 Interpreting the collected Xx

data

8 Reviewing the overall xx

activities

9 Writing final paper xx

10 Final submission of the xx

paper

11 Finalizing the paper and xx

presentations

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Budget preparation

 Why do we need to prepare budget?

◦ To identify which resources are already available & which additional resources
may be required

◦ The process of budget preparation will encourage us to consider aspects of the

work plan we have not thought about before.

 When should budget preparation begin?

◦ A complete budget is not prepared until the final stage of project planning

◦ Remember there is a limit for research project budgets

 How should the budget be prepared?

◦ Use the work plan as a starting point

◦ Specify, for each activity in the work plan, what resources are required

◦ Determine for each resource needed the unit cost & the total cost

◦ The budget for the fieldwork component of the work plan will include for
personnel, transport, supplies, incentive….

◦ Use separate column for each funding source (specially If more than one budget
source is used, indicate in the budget source for each cost

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 Example of budget preparation:

Unit measurement

S.No. Descriptions Quantity Unit price Total price

Birr Cents Birr Cents

1 Stationeries - 650 00 650 00

2 Internet service 40hrs 0 25 600 00

3 Photo copy 3600 Pages 0 40 1400 00

4 Printing documents 1100 pages 1 50 1650 00

5 Transportations cost - 600 00 600 00

6 Writing cost - 800 00 800 00

7 Contingency expenses - 500 00 500 00

Total price 6200 00

REFERENCES

Citations are part of the reward system of science.

In the standard scientific paper, credit is explicitly acknowledged in three places:

• In the list of authors,

• In the acknowledgments of contributions from others, and

• In the list of references or citations.

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 Purposes of Citations in a scientific paper:

• They acknowledge the work of other scientists,

• Direct the reader toward additional sources of information,

• Acknowledge conflicts with other results, and

• Provide support for the views expressed in the paper

• Citations place a paper within its scientific context, relating it to the present state of
scientific knowledge.

You must give references to all the information that you obtain from books, papers in journals,
and other sources. References may be made in the main text using index numbers in brackets
(Vancouver style) or authors name (Harvard style)……

Every reference in your main text must appear in the list at the end of your proposal, and every
reference in the list must be mentioned in your main text.

The information you give in the reference list must be enough for readers to find the books and
papers in a library or a database.

CITATIONS OF REFERENCES:

Textual citation

Use name and date for published works

 FAO (1997) indicated…. Or … (FAO 1997)

For co-authored published works, write the first names of

both authors and the date for two authors.

• Tekalign Mamo and Mengistu Huluka(1996)….

 If more than two authors, give the first name of the first author and use et al to mean ‘and
others’

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  Smith et al (1999) reported….

 When referring to different materials published by the same author, give the first name of
the author and the publication dates, separated by commas.

 Mungai (1990, 1992) …Or (Mungai 1990a, 1990b)

 For unpublished works, write ‘unpublished’.

(Taye Kehlot, unpublished) or (MoA, unpublished)

 Handle second-hand citations in one of these ways.

 Muluken Dessalegene (1995) cited in Hailu Tefera(1998) discusses … Or

 Hailu Tefera(1998) quoting Muluken Dessalgne (1995) discusses…

 Arrangement of entries is dictated by house styles. The most common arrangement is as

follows, in the most common author/date system

Arrange references in alphabetical order of the surnames of authors.

LISTING REFERENCES:

For a journal paper give:

 the names of the authors,

 the year of publication,

 the title of the paper,

 the title of the journal,

 the volume number of the journal,

 the first and last page numbers of the paper.

Author (s) name (s). Date. Title. Journal name in full, volume number: beginning and ending
page numbers.

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Nicks R E. 1982. Early abortion of colonies of leaf rust, Puccinia hordei, in partially resistant
barley seedlings. Canadian Journal of Botany 60: 714-723.

 IF YOUR DATA FROM BOOKS:

the author, the year of publication, the title, and the edition number if there is one, the name of
the publisher,

Author (s) name (s). Date. Title. Publisher, place.

• Bues A M and Sacher G A. 1952. Mineral cycling in south-eastern eco-systems.

Prentice Hall, NJ, USA.

• Forget reprint dates, if any, and use first publication date.

• In case of revised editions, use the date of revised edition and indicate next to the
title which edition you used.

 PART OF A BOOK

Author‘s name. Date. Title of part. Publisher, Place (city).

 Ruthenburg H. 1976. Farming systems in the tropics. 2 nd ed. Oxford:

Clarendon Press. Pp. 157- 84.

CHAPTER IN A BOOK:

Author’s name. Date. Title of chapter.Pp. In: Name (s) of ed (s). Title of book. Publisher, city.

 Singh G B. 1987. Agroforestry in the Indian subcontinent: past, present

and future. Pp 117-40. In: Steppler HA and Nair PKR (eds.). Agroforestry,
a decade of development. Nairobi, ICRAF.

 ENTIRE PROCEEDINGS:

Name (s) of ed (s) (sponsoring institution, if there is no editor). Date of publication. Title of
proceedings, date of conference, place of conference. Publisher, total pages.

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  ICRISAT (International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics). 1975.
Proceedings of the international workshop on grain legumes, ICRISAT, 18 Jan 1974,
Hyderabad, India. ICRISAT Patancheru, A.P., India.
 Hawtin G and Webb C (eds). 1982. Faba bean improvement: Proceedings of the faba
bean conference, ICARDA/IFAD Nile Valley Project, 7-11 May 1981, Cairo, Egypt.
Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, The Hague, The Netherlands. 398pp.

 PAPERS IN PROCEEDINGS:

Author of paper. Date of publication. Title of paper. Pages. In: Proceedings (name of workshop),
name of editor (s), if any, sponsor, date of workshop, place held, publisher’s address.

 Saxena M C and Yadav D S. 1975. some agronomic considerations of pigeonpeas and

chickpeas. Pp31-61. In: Proceedings of the International Workshop on Grain Legumes,
ICRISAT, 18 Jan 1974, Hyderabad, India. ICRISAT, Patancheru A.P., India.

 PUBLISHED REPORTS:

Author/institution. Date. Title of report. Publisher. Place. Total pp.

EARO Annual Report 2002. EARO, Addis Ababa.

 PART OF REPORT:

Author/institution. Date. Title of part. Pp. In: Title of report. Publisher, Place.

 EARO (Ethiopian Agricultural Research Organization). 2003.

Agroforestry. Pp 45-53. In: EARO Annual Report 2002. EARO, Addis
Ababa.

REFERENCES FROM THE INTERNET

 the author of the web page,

 the title of the item on the web page,

 the date the item was posted on the web page

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  the date the item was accessed from the web page

Particularly with references obtained from websites, it is important to establish the reputability
and reliability of the website you are making reference to.

Citations from Internet sources are discouraged as the sources are posted on the net only for a
limited period.

If you still find it a must to cite them, in addition to all the details discussed before for the
different categories, include date of retrieval and the website the information was posted on.

APPENDIX

May include:

 Biographical data of the principal investigator

 The study questionnaire if you have it.

 A copy of the approval from the Review Board & if available from ethical
clearing bodies.

 Any explanatory material such as about the institution or the originator under
whose name the study will be conducted.

 A list of references if you have cited literature in the proposal

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