Lecture 4

THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL

Lecture 4
LEARNING OBJECTIVES

to appreciate the nature and the importance

of the research proposal
to know how to put together the contents of
the research proposal
to understand the important issues involved
in the research
Lecture 4
LECTURE OUTLINE
recommended reading
the purpose of the research proposal
the importance of the research proposal
a headline contents list of the research proposal
expressing your research as
aims
research questions
hypotheses
setting out the stages of your research
Recommended reading:

Chapter 4: The Research Proposal, in the associated book:

Horn, R. (2009) Researching and Writing Dissertations.
London: CIPD
THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL
The research proposal is the key gateway
document to your dissertation. It sets out the
main details of how your research will be
conducted.
In many universities the dissertation cannot
be progressed until a supervisor has been
allocated and the research proposal agreed
between student and supervisor.
It is also a key document in formulating and
crystallising your topic ideas into a do-able
dissertation.
The research proposal:
PURPOSE
Organising and developing your topic ideas
Testing the scope of the research
Identifying an appropriate supervisor
Convincing other people of the merit of your idea
Initiating the research process
Obtaining support and early access rights
Being a basis on which to develop your research
The research proposal:
CONTENTS
1 Title
2 Background to the research
3 The research problem
4 The objectives of the research
5 Literature
6 Methodology
7 Ethical issues
8 Access issues
9 Time-scale.
10 Bibliography
The research problem:
THE AIM STATEMENT
An aim statement is a common way to express the research problem. It is
to give an example normally of the form:
The aim of this research is to investigate absence at SEDO Ltd.
Note that this is still a fairly loose statement of aim. This aim can be
tightened by further specifying the following:
the place of research
the guiding theory for the research
the type of study quantitative or qualitative
the method for example, a comparative study, a case study, etc.
The aim above could now become A qualitative case investigation of
absence at SEDO Ltd, using Steers and Rhodes (1978) notion of the
ability to attend.
Using an aim statement to specify a research problem works well when
the research is of a broad, exploratory or investigative nature.
Work-alone activity:
AN AIM STATEMENT
Time allowed: 10 minutes preparation
2 minutes feedback

Using your own research ideas, express them in the

form of an aim statement.
You may need to try this a few times to achieve the
required detail and precision.

Feedback to the group: The aim of my research is . . .

The research problem:
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Using research questions is a more specific way to state the research
problem.
The normal arrangement is to list a number of questions that the
research will answer, such as:
RQ1 What are the current attendance levels at SEDO Ltd?
RQ2 What is the pattern of absence for individual employees (using
the Bradford factor to measure this absence)?
RQ3 What aspects of the work design is affecting absence at SEDO
Ltd?
RQ4 What are the employee issues around ability to attend?
RQ5 What aspects are reported that lie outside the Steers and
Rhodes (1978) absence model?
Using this method expresses your research problem in a much
tighter manner from the start, and is suitable where you have a clear
set of issues arising from the literature that addresses the research
problem.
Work-alone activity:
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Time allowed: 15 minutes preparation
3 minutes feedback

Using your own research ideas, express them in the

form of research questions.
You may need to try this a few times to achieve the
required detail and precision.

Feedback to the group: My research questions are . . .

The research problem:
HYPOTHESES
The research problem can also be specified using a set of
testable hypotheses a set of logical, reasonable, tentative
explanations of the subject under investigation.

It is normal to reject the null hypothesis (H0) before

testing alternative hypotheses.

The null hypothesis states that the two variables under

consideration occurred solely by chance.

If the null hypothesis is rejected, alternative hypotheses may

be developed.
The research problem:
HYPOTHESES
Continuing with our example of absence management, the following
hypotheses could be tested (Burton, Lee and Holtom, 2002):
Hypothesis 1: Ability to attend will be positively related to the frequency of
absenteeism that is attributed to family issues.
Hypothesis 2: Ability to attend will be positively related to the frequency of
absenteeism that is attributed to transportation problems.
Hypothesis 3a): Motivation to attend will be negatively related to the
frequency of absenteeism that is attributed to illness.
Hypothesis 3b): Ability to attend will be positively related to the frequency
of absenteeism that is attributed to illness.
Hypothesis 4: Motivation to attend will be negatively related to the
frequency of absenteeism that results in a failure to notify the organisation.
Note that Hypothesis 3 is split into a) and b), in which a) tests the negative
relation and b) tests the positive relation to that factor.
The research problem:
HYPOTHESES
Hypotheses are never proved or disproved. In a research
study it is normal to either support or reject a hypothesis.
For a hypothesis to be rejected would commonly lead to
the substitution of a new hypothesis that is then either
supported or rejected.
If a hypothesis is supported by the data in your study, it
may later be supported by further studies. Eventually, a
hypothesis that is well supported from multiple sources
may be developed into a well-grounded theory. It could be
that your research is testing, in a different context,
hypotheses from earlier research studies.
Work-alone activity:
HYPOTHESES
Time allowed: 15 minutes preparation
3 minutes feedback

Using your own research ideas, express them in the

form of research hypotheses.
You may need to try this a few times to achieve the
required detail and precision.

Feedback to the group: My research hypotheses are . . .

THE OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH
Once the aim of the research has been clearly stated, the next section in the
proposal deals with the detail of how the aim is to be achieved. The
objectives are normally expressed as a set of closely specified statements
that would enable the aim to be achieved.
The objectives are likely to be the milestones of the research as it
progresses, and for a typical dissertation may look like this:
Objective 1 Critically review the literature and development of one
guiding theory.
Objective 2 Develop and pilot the methodology, consistent with the
theoretical framework adopted in Objective 1.
Objective 3 Clarify and define the population for the study, and select
the sample.
Objective 4 Distribute the questionnaires and follow up with a telephone
enquiry for maximum response.
Objective 5 Analyse the data and present the findings.
Objective 6 Make recommendations to improve management practice.
Work-alone activity:
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
Time allowed: 10 minutes preparation
2 minutes feedback

Using your own research ideas, express them in the

form of research objectives.
You may need to try this a few times to achieve the
required detail and precision.

Feedback to self/supervisor: My research objectives

are . . .
THE LITERATURE REVIEW
At the proposal stage the literature review is likely to be a list of possible
sources related to the research problem. Even at this stage it is important to
be critical and evaluative. The sources must be closely related to the
research you intend to carry out.
Most literature reviews in a research proposal for business topics contain
the following:
1 A critical explanation of three or four main theories that could guide the
research
2 An overview of two or three professional-body websites related to the
research topic
3 Ten to fifteen journal articles relating to the research. These may serve a
number of different uses:
empirical articles related to the research problem
articles that critique or extend the main theories
explanation and critique of methods and their use
articles containing data analysis techniques likely to be used in
the research
4 Secondary data sources related to your research study for example,
ESRC Labour Force Survey
ETHICAL ISSUES
All research has ethical implications and in this section
some thought should be given to the ethical issues of your
research.
In some areas of research such as research involving
children, medical research, psychological research there
are formal procedures to be followed, and ethical
approval is required from an ethics committee.
If you think your research will address one of these
areas or will include any human- or animal-based
research data that may cause harm, you must indicate
this clearly in the research proposal.
Ethical issues:
PERTINENT ETHICAL QUESTIONS
If your research does not require formal approval, your
proposal should address the following questions:
How will the research be designed and undertaken to
ensure integrity and quality?
How will research participants be informed about the
purpose, methods and intended possible uses of
the research?
How will possible risks of participating in the
research be considered?
How will you ensure the confidentiality of the
information supplied by participants, and how will
you assess the need for anonymity?
How will you ensure that participants engage with
your research voluntarily and without coercion?
Work-alone activity:
SCHEDULING MY DISSERTATION
Preparation for the next learning session

Prepare one PowerPoint presentation slide setting

out:
the stages of your research, and how long they are
likely to take to complete
REFLECTION
on the learning points of this lecture
The research proposal is the gateway to your
research.

Develop a clear set of aims and objectives.

If your research warrants it, use research questions

and/or hypotheses.

Consider the ethical implications of your research.