Developing Research Proposal

Developing research proposals is a tough job for most research students. They are at
loss as to how they could begin and what has to be included in the proposal. The problem
is that if a proposal is not complete or thorough in putting forward legitimate reasons for
the research, the entire project might not take off. Students have to ensure that they
follow the standard norms of presenting a meaningful proposal. It is never too late to
follow guidelines before to write a proposal before presenting it to the thesis committee.

The most important criterion to consider is to be able to convince yourself first that the
undertaken project is practical and could be completed with some amount of essay help.
This is significant, because the proposal would be a shorter version of the research itself.
All the main points would have to be included in it. Students who are not confident might
miss out on important points, which assessors would be able to spot immediately.
Basically, they should know the what, why and how of the research process before
starting the proposal. Here are some guidelines on how you can start developing research
proposals.

The headline or title is the most important piece of content to be included in the proposal.
It should tell assessors exactly what you plan to do and how in just one sentence. This
might seem tough, but think of it as a statement where you have to convince consumers
to buy a product. You would have to present the one piece of information that would
convince them to buy. Similarly, the research proposal should have the most valid reason
in the title. It should be able to demonstrate that you have adequate knowledge of the
topic to be able to complete the essay assignment.

A brief summary should follow the title, which would include the thesis statement, a
breakdown of how research would be conducted, and relevant research content. It would
be a good idea to include pictures, graphics, and other media content. For example, an
audio or video clip could be included to describe graphics. Your aim should be to write a
custom essay.

Students get stuck with the thesis statement. The ideal way to write a thesis statement is
to follow the pattern of a good heading. For example, the research could be about
photosynthesis. We know that it is the process of converting light energy into chemical
energy. The heading could be, “The process of photosynthesis in a plant leaf – From
Sunlight to Adenosine Troposphere (ATP).” This is a compelling headline that tells
assessors you have adequate knowledge of the topic. Other students who follow the same
subject would also be able to follow the statement.

The assignment is not complete until you have clearly indicated why it would be worth
your time and effort to complete it. To arrive at a logical conclusion, ask essay questions
and break the topic into sub topics. Develop arguments that would address the thesis
statement within the sub topics. This would help in breaking down the whole project into
smaller segments that could be easily addressed. Developing research proposals would be
an easy task.
Structure of the research proposal
Depending on the scope of your research proposal, not all of the following need be
included in your proposal. It is also possible to combine some sections, or change
the order. The development of your research proposal will be in consultation with
your supervisor.
1. Title page: this should include the title of your project; your name and student
number; your department or faculty; the name of the degree sought; the names
of your supervisors, and the date of submission.
2. Abstract: this should include the problem under investigation; the research
methodology and theoretical orientation; and the expected outcomes and
implications of the research.
3. Table of contents: the inclusion of a table of contents will depend on the scope
of your research proposal.
4. Introduction: depending on the scope of your proposal, the introduction will
contain a number of sub-sections.
• background to the study
• the significance of the study/ aims and significance of the study
• the statement of the problem
• research questions and hypotheses
• definitions
5. Literature review: the literature review provides the rationale for your research
topic. It should give an overview of the current research on the topic area. It
should identify a gap in the research. This is important because it shows why
your topic is important. The literature review should also review relevant
methodologies, which show how your research is to be done.
6. Research design/ methodology: this section will include a number of subsections.
It should describe the type of study you propose to do as well as how
you propose to do it. You need to describe your participants/subjects, your
data collection procedure and method of data analysis, as well as the
limitations of your project.
7. Proposed timeframe: provide a brief timeline for your project
8. Expected outcomes: what you hope to achieve
9. References: a full list of all references cited in your proposal. Check with your
faculty for preferred referencing conventions.
Depending on your department or faculty you may also include a description of any
pilot studies which have been undertaken. Some departments also prefer the
research questions and hypothesis to follow the literature review. It may also be
advisable to include a section on your theoretical orientation. If your research
involves human participants you may need to include a section on ethical
considerations. These issues need to be clarified with your supervisor.

Content of a proposal for a thesis or any research project

Every proposal for thesis or any other research must have the following as to content:
 1. Title
2. Purpose: Statement about the general problem addressed. This specifies the
topic or area of work. It sets the stage for broadly identifying the area of research
and the problems encountered in that area.
3. Justification: An explanation of the significance of this area of inquiry.
4. Previous work: a review of the most pertinent literature, works or achievements
related to the problem at hand. This can include a few general works and a few
significant applications or research studies. This can be a sample of the relevant
literature, stated as an indication of what will be extended.
5. Theory or model: any theoretical background that will be used or may apply to
the investigation of the problem in this study. Or if there is no applicable theory,
any model(s) that may be applicable. This can be extracted from the literature and
modified as necessary. It can also be said that this is the starting model and will
be modified after the investigation, thus development of a model can be one of the
research objectives.
6. Research objectives: the specific issues addressed in the framework of this
problem. This can be in terms of either questions (ending with a “?”), statements
of specific issues, or hypotheses that will be tested. For each research question
there will be also a methodology and at the end of research a set of findings or
answers with discussion. Purpose is general. Objectives are specific and directly
connected with what is planned to be done.
7. Methodology: methods and procedures to be used for each research question in
gathering of data. These methods may include survey of literature on basis of
which models may be developed or extended; collection and synthesis of data;
surveys of given populations or institutions; observation of practices or behaviors;
experiments; etc. Social science, ethnographic, systems, historical, political
science and other methodologies can be used.
8. Analysis: methods and procedures used in analysis and synthesis of gathered data
data. This may be subsumed under methodology in general.
9. Expectation: a projection of results or achievements as the results of the
proposed research. This can be short and general.

Summary: This can be summarized in questions to be answered in each section:

1. What do you call this investigation?

2. What problem or area will you investigate in general?
3. Why is this problem important to investigate?
4. What was previously done in relation to this problem? What were some
of the significant studies?
5. What theory or model is going to guide your research?
6. What will you specifically investigate or do in the framework of that
problem? What are your specific research questions or hypotheses?
7. How will each research question be addressed? What methods will you
use for each research question?
8. How will the results be analyzed?
 9. What are the deliverables? What can or will be gained by investigation of
this problem?

Organization: It is not necessary to follow exactly this order, but it is important that all
of these points be clearly and directly addressed. For instance, it is usual to have the
problem statement in the introduction. This can be followed by research objectives, and
then other points, rather then following the order above.

Starting: To start developing the proposal in your own mind and on paper it is best first
to state clearly the problem and research questions, and as necessary restate them as you
go along. The process of developing a proposal is not linear but reiterative, with a lot of
feedback loops. Start with concentrating on questions 2 and 6.

Extensions: This list may be modified for organization and writing of papers presenting
results of research or for papers critically reviewing works related to a research topic or
an area of scholarly studies.