CHAPTER III: RESEARCH PROPOSAL

3.1. What is a research proposal?

The research proposal is a planning document that outlines your thinking about a
research problem and describes what is to be studied and how. The thesis writing is
a demanding project for which you need to plan. Without proper planning, it is very
likely that your reading will lack direction, your writing will lack focus and your
data collection will run into major problems. Of course, having a research proposal
is no guarantee that you will avoid these dangers, but having a clear proposal will
certainly minimize wasted time.
The main challenges you will be faced with in writing your proposal are:
To move from a research idea to a research problem;
To gain clarity on the unit of analysis
To select an appropriate research design
To conform to the style and format of a proposal.

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 3.2 .Importance of a research proposal

A research proposal is a useful document to you, your

supervisor, your funders and the broader research
community. For you, the student, it is helpful in that it
outlines your thinking about what you will be investigating
- the focus, the limits, the logical development of your
investigation and the methods you will be using to
investigate the topic.
The better your planning, the better your research
undertaking will be organized. Through the development of
the proposal, you come to a clearer understanding of the
literature, the main considerations, the potential pitfalls,
the perspective from which to approach your research, and
the ways in which you will gather information from
available sources. 2
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• For your supervisor, a proposal is an indication of whether you have done

adequate thinking about the topic and sufficient preparation for the study. It also
gives your supervisor an indication of your ability to put your ideas into clear
and logical writing. A proposal forms the basis of a kind of contract between
you and your supervisor - it effectively says what you wish to study and how. It
gives you and your supervisor a plan of action to follow in order to reach
completion of the thesis (your ultimate aim!).
• For funders the proposal gives a clear indication of whether you have thought
clearly about the topic, whether it is something feasible and worth supporting.
And for the rest of the academic community, it is an indication of the focus of
your investigation and how it links to the ongoing debates in the literature.
• Remember that you are the one who will invest most in this project and are the
one who has most to lose if you get into a situation where the research is a
failure or you find that you have wasted enormous amounts of time going in the
wrong direction. You want the best insurance policy you can get. So, it is worth
investing time and effort in developing a good research proposal.

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A good research proposal will help you:
 define and formulate your research question;
 narrow down the study to a manageable form within the prescribed time limits;
 structure the development of your writing;
 Avoid wasting time in the literature search and data collection stages of the project.

Bear in mind that different supervisors and examiners look for different things. Discuss
with your supervisor the main points that you should develop clearly in your proposal.
However, in general the following questions are usually considered in the examination
of proposals:
 Do you have a clear idea of what you plan to research? Does your proposal have focus?
 Is it a topic worthy of academic study and significance?
 Do you demonstrate an adequate understanding of the debates in the literature on this
topic?
 Is the project feasible? Do you have a realistic idea of how you are going to tackle the
investigation?
 Is it doable within the time constraints?
 Does the bibliography and referencing conform to accepted conventions? Is it
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technically faultless?
 3.3. Components of the Research Proposal

1. Title page
2. Summary/Abstract
3. Introduction/Background
4. Statement of the problem
5. Literature review
6. Hypotheses /Questions
7. Conceptual framework
8. Objective/Aim of the study
9. Research methods, materials and procedures
 Study area
 Study design
 Study subjects
 Eligibility Criteria (if any)
 Sample size
 Sampling methods
 Method of data collection
 Description of variables
 Data quality assurance
 Operational definitions
 Plan of data analysis
10. Work plan
11. Budget
12. References 5
13. Appendices/Annexes
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1. title
• The title should convey clearly and succinctly the topic being researched. The title should be
brief and provide a good idea about the focus of the thesis. Avoid obscure(vegue) and
unnecessarily lengthy titles.
2.Abstract
• In no more than 500 words, say what your central problem question is, why it is a
problem worthy of study, and how you will go about studying it. Your abstract
should be brief, clear and informative, giving a clear indication of what is intended
and why.
3.key words
• Provide key words or composite words which convey what the thesis is about. The
key words should be in a particular sequence: the first should give a broad indication
of the field of the research, the second should give a more specific indication, and the
third should be even more specific, and so on. Some programmes insist on individual
key words, others allow composite words. Check with your supervisor. Take care
when putting your key words together - these will be entered into a Library catalogue
and made available to a world-wide research community. Your key words should
reflect, the main areas or concepts of your thesis, so that someone who reads them
can get a fairly clear idea of the focus of your thesis and development of your 6
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4. Rationale / background
In this section you need to explain:
1. The context that gives rise to your research project. What conditions have led
you to propose your research project and to define your aim/s in the way that
you have done? (You may be aware of certain events, processes and debates and
be of the view that certain issues require systematic and focused research. You
may be of the view that our current knowledge of certain issues is inadequate or
that certain issues have been poorly researched. You may be in disagreement
with the interpretation advanced by a certain scholar and/or the methodology
s/he used, etc.).
2. Your motivation for the research project. What is your interest in the research
project? What motivates you to do the project? Why is it worthy of academic
investigation?
3. The importance of the proposed research. What do you consider to be the
significance of the research project? What contribution will the research project
make in terms of current knowledge around the issue or problem that is being
researched? The function of this section is to indicate the general importance of
the field and to start giving an indication of the nature of present understanding
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in the field.
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5. The Research Problem
• This part captures the essential focus of your thesis and it is therefore important
that you spend time on formulating a clear, focused and interesting problem that is
researchable. This problem is the engine of your thesis – it drives the various
sections, directs your discussion towards the destination you want to get to, and
informs the way in which you will develop your thesis.
6.Objectives
• Objectives should be measurable and attainable within the time frame of the study.
One possibility for the presentation of objectives is to include them in the
introduction of the proposal
• In this section include a statement of both your study’s main and sub objectives.
Your main objective indicates the central thrust of your study whereas the sub
objectives identify the specific issues you propose to examine.
• The objectives of the study should be clearly stated and specific in nature. Each sub
objective should delineate only one issue. Use action-oriented verbs such as ‘to
determine’, ‘to find out’ and ‘to ascertain’ in formulating sub objectives, which
should be numerically listed. If the objective is to test a hypothesis, you must
follow the convention of hypothesis formulation in wording the specific objectives.
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7.Research Questions/Hypotheses
• A hypothesis is a statement of your assumptions about the prevalence of a
phenomenon or about a relationship between two variables that you plan to
test within the framework of the study if you are going to test hypotheses, list
them in this section.
• When formulating a hypothesis you have an obligation to draw conclusions
about it in the text of the report. Hypotheses have a particular style of
formulation. You must be acquainted with the correct way of wording them.
In a study you may have as many hypotheses as you want to test. However, it
is not essential to have a hypothesis in order to undertake a study – you can
conduct a perfectly satisfactory study without formulating a hypothesis.
• Note:
• Hypotheses are not constructed in qualitative research.

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8.Significances
9.Scope
10.Limitation
• Here, problems refer to difficulties relating to logistical details, whereas
limitations designate Structural problems relating to methodological aspects
of the study. In your opinion the study design you chose may not be the best
but you might have had to adopt it for a number of reasons. This is classified
as a limitation of the study. This is also true for sampling or measurement
procedures. Such limitations should be communicated to readers.

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11.Review of literature
• The literature review is an integral part of the research process and makes a
valuable contribution to almost every operational step. It has value even
before the first step; that is, when you are merely thinking about a research
question that you may want to find answers to through your research journey.
In the initial stages of research it helps you to establish the theoretical roots of
your study clarify your ideas and develop your research methodology.
• The literature review serves to enhance and consolidate your own knowledge
base and helps you to integrate your findings with the existing body of
knowledge. Since an important responsibility in research is to compare your
findings with those of others, it is here that the literature review plays an
extremely important role.

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12.Methods
A. Study design
• The study type may dictate certain research designs. More commonly, the study
objectives can be achieved through a number of alternative designs. Students have
to select the most appropriate and most feasible design.
Describe the study design you plan to use to answer your research questions. (For
example, say whether it is a case study, descriptive, cross-sectional, before-and-
after, experimental or non-experimental design.) Identify the strengths and
weaknesses of your study design. Include details about the various logistical
procedures you intend to follow while executing the study design. One
characteristic of a good study design is that it explains the details with such clarity
that, if someone else wants to follow the proposed procedure, s/he will be able to do
exactly as you would have done. Your study design should include information
about the following:
• Who makes up the study population?
• Can each element of the study population be identified? If yes, how?
• Will a sample or the total population be studied?
• How will you get in touch with the selected sample? 12
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• The type of research design chosen depends on:
 the type of problem;
 the knowledge already available about the problem; and
 the resources available for the study.
Generally, there are two main categories of research design:
observational study, and experimental or intervention study. In the observational
study, the researchers stand apart from events taking place in the study. They
simple observe and record. In the experimental or intervention study, the
researches introduce an intervention and observe the events which take place
in the study.

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Observational studies
An observational study may be exploratory, descriptive or analytical. An exploratory
study is a small-scale study of relatively short duration, which is carried out when
little is known about a situation or a problem. If the problem and its contributing
factors are not well defined, it is always advisable to do an exploratory study before
embarking on a large-scale descriptive or analytic study. Small-scale studies may be
called exploratory case studies if they lead to plausible assumptions about the causes
of the problem and explanatory case studies if they provide sufficient explanations to
take action. A descriptive study is an observational study that simply describes the
distribution of a characteristic. An analytical study (correlation in some disciplines)
is an observational study that describes associations and analyses them for possible
cause and effect. An observational study may be cross-sectional or longitudinal.
In cross-sectional study, measurements are made on a single occasion. In a longitudinal
study, measurements are made over a period of time. A longitudinal observational
study may be retrospective or prospective. In a retrospective study, the researchers
study present and past events. In a longitudinal prospective study, the researchers
follow subjects for future events.
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Experimental or intervention studies
• In the experimental or intervention study, the investigators test the effect of an
intervention on the events taking place in the study. An experimental or
intervention study may be controlled or non controlled. A controlled
experimental study may be randomized or non-randomized. Randomized
controlled trials are intervention studies characterized by the prospective
assignment of subjects, through a random method, into an experimental group
and a control group. Controlled trails without randomization are intervention
studies in which allocation to either experimental or control groups is not based
on randomization, making assignment subject to possible biases influence
study results.

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• This section describes the methods you will use to achieve the stated
objectives, including what you will do, how you will do it, with whom,
and when. The objectives of your study will guide your choice of study
design. For example, you may wish to describe characteristics of a target
population (e.g., find out the needs of family caregivers), explain some
outcome, or implement and evaluate the effectiveness of some
intervention. Different types of objectives can lead to very different
study designs (e.g., surveys, interviews, focus groups, observational or
experimental studies). You must clearly justify the design and methods
you choose. As a rule, keep the design simple and clear.

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B.Sample Design/Sample Selection
This section describes how you will choose your participants (also called study
population or target group). There are several important considerations in
choosing participants.
C. Data Measurement
• This section describes whether you are collecting quantitative or qualitative
data (or both), how they “fit” with your research question(s), and the tools
or measures you will use to collect the information. Measurement can take a
variety of forms, ranging from scales and indexes (which are highly
structured) to personal accounts or observations (which may be slightly or
not at all structured).

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Qualitative data.
• Qualitative data are observations or information assessed according to themes or categories inherent
in the data collected, such as interviews, focus group discussions, daily journals, or field notes. Data
of this kind are often gathered when the topic in question is not well-defined or easily counted, or as
a preliminary step in developing more quantifiable measures. Qualitative data is valued for its rich,
in-depth, descriptive character, often not attainable using quantitative measures.
Quantitative data.
• Quantitative data are observations or information based on the numerical count of frequencies of
attributes, behaviors, or responses of individuals or groups. The variables or attributes to be
measured are largely or completely categorized in advance of data collection, although measures
such as survey questions may be refined following pilot testing. Quantitative data is valued as a
comparable, reliable form of measurement, as well as for its advantages for describing widely-
occurring phenomena and large populations.
Measurement tools.
• You must demonstrate that the measurement tools you will use in your study are valid and reliable.
It may be best to use established measures with a good “track record”, and cite references that
document their reliability and validity. If you are developing your own measure(s), include a clear
description of how you will develop and validate the measure(s). Pilot test. In most cases, you
should pilot test your data collection measures and procedures before proceeding with full data
collection. You can use preliminary analysis of pilot study data to establish that your measures are
valid, reliable, easy to use, clearly presented and that you have all data needed for analysis purposes
included in the measures. Pilot testing can illuminate weaknesses in data collection tools.
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D . Data Collection
• This section of the proposal describes how you will collect your data and the
procedures that you will use to ensure that the data are complete and of good
quality. You need a clear description and rationale for the data you collect. The
data you collect must be consistent with your objectives. Two pitfalls at this
stage are collecting too much data on topics that you think might be interesting
to look at, but are not consistent with your objectives, and failing to collect
data important for meeting the study objectives. Be sure that you collect data
that is relevant and complete.
• Include a clear description of data collection procedures. Will you collect data
through face to- face interviews, self-administered questionnaires, over the
telephone, etc.? What is the rationale for your choice of data collection
procedures? For quantitative research, how will you record the data, enter it
into a computer, and organize it for analysis? For qualitative research, how will
you transcribe data and organize it for analysis?

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E . Plan of Data Analysis
• Describe how you will analyze your data. For quantitative data, include a
description of the specific statistical procedures you will use. The analysis
should also include validation of key measures. Computer programs, such as
Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and
• Statistical Analysis System (SAS) are available for quantitative analysis. For
qualitative data, describe how you will analyze key themes and categories
emerging from the interviews, observations, documentation or other data. A
common pitfall in data analysis is to conduct a range of analyses not specified
in the objectives. Be sure to focus the analysis on your specific study
objectives.

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12 .work plan
• You must set yourself dates as you need to complete the research within a
certain time-frame. List the various operational steps you need to undertake
and indicate against each the date by which you aim to complete that task.
Remember to keep some time towards the end as a ‘cushion’ in case the
research process does not go as smoothly as planned.

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13 .Budget
• An effective budget is an important part of a successful research proposal.
Reviewers evaluate proposals based on the amount of funding requested, as
well as on the ideas presented in the proposal. In some agencies, the review
committee recommends an appropriate budget or suggests budget cuts
independent of the scientific or societal relevance of the proposal. Typical
budget items include personnel, travel expenses, and supplies and services
(i.e., telephone, postage, printing, and office supplies etc.).You must provide
a rationale for each budget item. Be aware of the types of expenses and
funding limits allowed by particular agencies. Some agencies fund capital
equipment (office furniture, computers, etc.) and some do not. Include
expenses for dissemination of the research results at the end of the project.

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Direct costs :
• Personnel: Salaries and wages of all participants of
• the study Principal investigator; supervisor; data
• Collector; drivers; guards; data entry clerks, datanalysis, report writing, etc
• Consumable supplies: office supplies (stationeries),
• computers, chemicals, and educational materials
• Equipments: properties which are expensive
• Travel: cost of projected-related travel
• Communications: postage, telephone, telegram, fax, e-mail charges
associated with a project
• Publication: the cost incurred of preparing and
• publishing the results of the research. It includes: technical reports, manuscripts,
illustrations, graphics, photography, slides, and overheads
• Other direct costs: costs of all items that do not fit into any of the above
direct costs
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Indirect costs:
• Those costs incurred in support and management of the proposed activities
that can not be readily determined by direct measurement. Examples includes;
• Overhead costs for institutions or associations
• General administrative cost
• Operational and maintenance

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14. References
• 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).
• You will also need to place a list of references, numbered as in the main text
(or alphabetically ordered), at the end of your research proposal. The exact
format for depicting references within the body of the text and as well as the
end of the proposal varies from one discipline to another. It is best that you
consult with someone who is familiar with the format in your particular area
of research.
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. It also demonstrates to those
interested in your proposal how well versed you are on the particular area of
research.

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As a general guideline, there are certain items that must be included from each
source reference. As mentioned above, the exact format applicable to your
particular area of study will be left for you to find out.
• 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.
• For a book give:
• the author,
• the year of publication,
• the title, and the edition number if there is one,
• the name of the publisher,
• the page numbers for your reference. 26
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• For an internet reference give:
• 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
• the date the item was accessed from the web page
• the complete and exact URL.

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• 15.Appendices/Annexes
• Include in the appendices of your proposal any additional information you
think might be helpful to a proposal reviewer.

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