Research Methodology Lecture Portion 5.ppt

Research Proposal Development
Dr Goitom Abraha Portion Five

 Major contents of research proposal
 Introduction
 Literature Review
 Methodology
 Things to be considered in research proposal
 Reasons why research proposals fail
Contents to be Covered in the Session

At the end of this session, participants will be able to:
 Realize major contents of research proposal
 Describe specific points to be incorporated in different parts of
research proposal
 Recognize points to be considered in research proposal development
 Identify some reasons why research proposals fail
Learning Outcomes

 When researchers desire to conduct a research, they first develop a
proposal.
 A proposal introduces the problem, objectives, significance,
scope of research question and/or hypothesis.
 It also gives a brief explanation of the theory guiding the study, a
review of relevant literature pertaining to the theory & the
procedure for the research.
 Research Proposal:

 The title should contain key words that describe your intended
research.
 It is necessary to state clearly and briefly, what the research is
about.
 This should be short & self explanatory.
Title:

 Introduces the study and states the focus of the study.
 Begins with background information regarding the problem under
investigation.
 Should provide readers with a brief summary of literature and
research related to the problem being investigated, and should
lead
up to the statement of the problem.
 Begins with a broader perspective of the problem and becomes
narrower as the introduction proceeds.
 Divided into separate sections.
1. Introduction

 This should give a brief overview of the general subject area, why
the researcher is interested in it, why he/she think his/her research
is significant & giving a summary of what he/she intend to research.
 This section should contain a rationale for the research which
answers the following questions:
 Why is the researcher undertaking the project?
 Why is the research needed?
Background:

 If you’re unable to find any other research which deals
specifically
with your proposed project, you need to say so, illustrating how your
proposed research will fill this gap.
 If there is other work which has covered this area, you need to
show how your work will build on and add to the existing
knowledge.
Background … Cont’d

 The “Statement of the Problem” is an imperative part of the
proposal, for in order for research to be conducted, one must notice a
problem in the existing literature that has not been previously
addressed.
Statement of the Problem:

 For this section, the following questions should be answered:
 Why does this research study need to be conducted?
 What specific issues does this study raise that have not been
observed in other literature pertaining to the topic?
 Answering these questions will allow readers to understand
why
this particular study is important and how the study will
attempt to answer new, never-before asked questions.
Statement of the Problem … Cont’d

 It is appropriate to include a sentence saying “The purpose of this
study is…” under this section.
 Clearly identify the goal of the study in one precise sentence.
 Why is this important area of study?
 Also, identify the unit of analysis or specific inquiry used.
 What are the specific aims and objectives of your research? Keep
your specific objectives succinct, clear and concise.
Purpose of the Study:

 Hypotheses and research questions emerge from the problem
statement.
 Research questions ask what relationships exist between the
different variables in the study, while the hypothesis predicts the
relationship between variables.
 List all the research questions and/or hypotheses in the study.
 Hypotheses and research questions also suggest methodology for the
study and serve as the basis for drawing conclusions.
Research Questions and/or Hypotheses:

This section addresses the "so what" of the study and report.
 It describes or explains the potential value of the study and
findings to the social sciences or the field of education.
 This section, therefore, should identify the audience for the study
and how the results will be beneficial to them.
 Remember, research is conducted to add to the existing
knowledge base and/or solve a problem how your particular
research will do this should be articulated in this section.
Significance of the Study:

 This section provides definitions for terms used in the proposal that
are unusual or not widely understood.
 Therefore, carefully define each concept/variable that will be used
in the study, citing other research studies as much as needed.
Definition of Terms:

 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 acknowledge possible errors or
difficulties in interpreting results of the study.
Limitations of the Study (Optional):

 This section will detail the theory that is guiding the proposed
study.
 From this theory, the researcher is able to inform the statement of
the problem, the purpose of the study, the questions and
hypothesis, the choice of instruments, and methodology of the study.
 In this section, explain the major tenants of the theory as well as
how the theory relates to the proposed study.
Theoretical Framework:

 The literature review provides the background for the research
problem and illustrates to the reader that the researcher is
knowledgeable about the scope of the theory.
 Research as many studies pertaining to the theory as possible, and
summarize them in a brief manner.
 Review various dissertations, as they may help one to understand
how to write and summarize previous research.
2. Literature Review:

 When writing the literature review, it is wise to separate the
various studies one finds into different categories.
 Use this section to demonstrate your awareness of the current
literature in your field of research, giving examples of issues,
debates and shortcomings within that literature.
 Briefly refer to key texts, displaying understanding of their
relevance and specify the gap in current literature which your
research intends to fill.
2. Literature Review … Cont’d

 Use this section to explain how you intend to conduct your research.
 Specify what research methods or approaches you will utilize,
justify why you have chosen them and what the limitations might
be (if any).
 In this section you need to describe your proposed research
methodology and methods and justify their use.
3. Methodology:

To do this you need to ask the following questions:
 Why have you decided upon your methodology?
 Why have you decided to use those particular methods?
 Why are other methods not appropriate?
3. Methodology … Cont’d

This section needs to include details about samples, numbers of
people to be contacted, method of data collection, methods of
data analysis and ethical considerations.
 If you have chosen a less well known methodology, you may need
to spend more time justifying your choice than you would need to
if you had chosen a more traditional methodology.

 The “Methodology” section is the most important section in the
entire proposal, as it explains each step the researcher will take in
order to conduct his or her research.
 This section discusses what measures the researcher will take in
order to test the study’s hypothesis.
 In this section, it is vital to include the following subheadings
while
expanding on them in as much detail as possible.

Research Design:
Include the proposed research design of the study.
 Then, explain how this design will derive results.
 Briefly discuss how the data will be administered and collected,
including how the subjects will participate in the study.
 Also, briefly discuss which theoretical model will guide this
study
and what the model predicts will be the results of the study.

Sampling:
This section should include an expanded discussion of the sample.
 First, discuss the population under consideration from where
will participants be selected?
Second, give the sampling method to be used. Which specific
sampling method will be used to select participants?
 Lastly, list the elements that will be characteristic of the
sample, such as sex, age, etc.

Instrumentation:
 In this paragraph, briefly outline the instruments that will be used
in the study, including any and all surveys, interviews, or
observation grids.
 Discuss how the instrument(s) will measure the study’s
independent and dependent variables.
 Each instrument should be discussed below in more detail under
separate subheadings.

 Explain the general plan for how the data will be collected,
especially how the letter of consent will be administered and
collected.
 Include any survey, interview, or observation procedures, and
identify any incentives for students participating in the study.
 Also, include what statistics or analytical tools will be used for
analyzing the data, such as ANOVA, SPSS, or SAS statistics, if
applicable.
Data Collection and Analysis Procedures:

 A detailed timetable scheduling all aspects of the research should
be produced.
 This will include time taken to conduct background research,
data collection, data analysis and report writing
 Research almost always takes longer than you anticipate. Allow
for this and add a few extra weeks on to each section of your
timetable.
Timetable:

 If you finish earlier than you anticipated, that’s fine as you have
more time to spend on your report.
 However, finishing late can create problems especially if you have
to meet deadlines.

 If you’re applying to a funding body you need to think about what
you will need for your research and how much this is likely to cost
 You need to do this so that you apply for the right amount of
money and are not left out of pocket if you have under budgeted.
 Funding bodies also need to know that you have not over budgeted
and expect more money than you’re going to use.
Budget and resources:

 Make a list of the key articles and texts you have referred to in
preparing your research proposal.
 You may also list other relevant texts not directly drawn upon when
writing your proposal, to show awareness of the scope of literature
in your subject.
 Use a standard referencing style (accepted styles for the college or
the university)
Bibliography:

 Avoid writing an overly-long proposal.
 Avoid proposals that are too broad in scope and/or too vague. This
will show that you have not thought enough about what you plan to
research, how it fits into current literature or how you intend to
achieve the research in the time available.
 Avoid submitting a proposal for which there is no interest of your
college or university
 Things to be Considered in Research Proposal:

From the onset, be clear on which research question you intend to
answer.
 Be clear on the nature of the research area you anticipate to cover .
 Be clear about the state of scientific debates in the chosen area and
ensure you have mastered the knowledge tree of your respective
discipline/specializations
Chose an area of research after careful consideration of a number
of factors like research ability, significance, utility etc
 Make sure that your research idea, question or problem is very
clearly stated, and gap in the existing literature is known.

 Make sure your research problem; research questions and
research
objectives are in harmony and sequentially placed within your
proposal.
 Make sure that you have your supervisors convinced by your
chosen area of research.
 Make sure that your proposal is well structured and follows the
stipulated guidelines including minor formatting issues.
 Ensure that the scope of your project is reasonable.

The proposal is about you demonstrating that you are capable of
the chosen level of study and have the potential to carry it through
to a successful conclusion.
 If possible, ask someone within the academic community to
proofread your proposal in order to make sure it conforms to
international academic standards.

 Aims and objectives are unclear.
 There is a mismatch between the approach being adopted and the
issues to be addressed.
 The overall plan is too ambitious and difficult to achieve in the
timescale.
 The researcher does not seem to have conducted enough in-depth
background research.
 Problem is of insufficient importance.
 Reasons why Research Proposals Fail:

 Information about the data collection method is insufficiently
detailed.
 Information about the data analysis method is insufficiently
detailed.
 Timescale is inappropriate or unrealistic.
 Resources and budget have not been carefully thought out.
 This topic has been done too many times before indicates a lack in
background research.

Research Methodology Lecture Portion 5.ppt

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