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Writing Strategies and Ethical Considerations

The document discusses formats for writing proposals for qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research. It provides examples of outlines for sections in a proposal, including an introduction, procedures, and expected impact. Key elements that proposals should address are the research problem, questions or hypotheses, methods, and ethical considerations.

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103 views

Writing Strategies and Ethical Considerations

The document discusses formats for writing proposals for qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research. It provides examples of outlines for sections in a proposal, including an introduction, procedures, and expected impact. Key elements that proposals should address are the research problem, questions or hypotheses, methods, and ethical considerations.

Uploaded by

nazlah.alrobiah93
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Writing Strategies and Ethical Considerations

efore designing a proposal, it is important to have an idea of the


B general structure or outline of the topics and their order. The structure
will differ depending on whether you write a quantitative, qualitative,
or a mixed methods project. Another general consideration is to be aware
of good writing practices that will help to ensure a consistent and
highly readable proposal (or research project). Throughout the project,
it is important to engage in ethical practices and to anticipate the ethical
issues prior to the study that will likely arise. This chapter provides
outlines for the overall structure of proposals, writing practices that make
proposals easy to read, and ethical issues that need to be anticipated in
proposals.

WRITING THE PROPOSAL

Arguments Presented in a Proposal

It is helpful to consider early in planning the study the major points


that need to be addressed in a proposal. These points—or topics—all
need to be interconnected to provide a cohesive picture of the entire
project. For me, these topics seem to span all proposals, whether the
project is qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods. I think that a good
place to start is by examining Maxwell’s (2005) list of the core arguments
that need to be advanced in any proposal. I will summarize them in my
own words:

1. What do readers need to better understand your topic?


2. What do readers need to know about your topic?
3. What do you propose to study?
4. What is the setting, and who are the people you will study?
5. What methods do you plan to use to collect data?
6. How will you analyze the data?
7. How will you validate your findings?
8. What ethical issues will your study present?
9. What do preliminary results show about the practicability and value
of the proposed study?

These nine questions, if adequately addressed in one section for each


question, constitute the foundation of good research, and they could
provide the overall structure for a proposal. The inclusion of validating
findings, ethical considerations (to be addressed shortly), the need for
preliminary results, and early evidence of practical significance focus a
reader’s attention on key elements often overlooked in discussions about
proposed projects.

Format for a Qualitative Proposal

Beyond these nine questions, it is also helpful to have an overall


outline or general structure for topics that will be included in the
proposal. Unquestionably, in qualitative research, no one structure for a
qualitative proposal prevails. I do think, however, that a couple of
general outlines would be helpful, especially for the student who has
never written a thesis or dissertation project. Here I propose two
alternative models. Example 4.1 is drawn from a
constructivist/interpretivist perspective whereas Example 4.2 is based
more on a transformative model of qualitative research.
Introduction
Statement of the problem (including existing literature about the
problem, deficiencies in the literature, and relevance of study for
audiences)
Purpose of the study
The research questions

Procedures
Philosophical assumptions or worldview of qualitative research
Qualitative design (e.g., ethnography, case study)
Role of the researcher

Data collection procedures

Data analysis procedures


Strategies for validating findings
Proposed narrative structure of the study
Anticipated ethical issues
Preliminary pilot findings (if available)
Expected impact and significance of study
References

Appendixes: Interview questions, observational forms, timeline, proposed


budget, a summary of the proposed content of each chapter in the final
study.

….
In this example, the writer includes introduction, procedures, ethical
issues, preliminary findings and expected impact of the study. A separate
section reviewing the literature may be included, but it is optional, as
discussed in Chapter 3. Several appendixes may seem unusual.
Developing a timeline

for the study and presenting a proposed budget provide useful


information to committees, although these sections are typically not
found in proposals. Also, because the number and type of chapters in
qualitative research is highly variable, a summary of the proposed
content of each chapter in the final study would be useful.

Examle 4.2 A Qualitative Transformative Format


Introduction
Statement of the problem (including the power, oppression,
discrimination, etc.; issue addressed; existing literature about the
problem; deficiencies in the literature; and relevance of the study for
audiences)
Purpose of the study
The research questions

Procedures
Philosophical assumptions or worldview
Qualitative research strategy
Role of the researcher
Data collection procedures (including the collaborative approaches
used with participants)

Data analysis procedures


Strategies for validating findings
Proposed narrative structure
Anticipated ethical issues
Preliminary pilot findings (if available)
Significance of the study and transformative changes likely to occur
References

Appendixes: Interview questions, observational forms, timeline, proposed


budget, and a summary of proposed chapters for the final study

This format is similar to the constructivist/interpretivist format except


that the inquirer identifies a specific tranformative issue being explored in
the study (e.g., oppression, discrimination), advances a collaborative
form of data collection, and mentions the anticipated changes that the
research study will likely bring.
Format for a Quantitative Proposal

For a quantitative study, the format conforms to sections typically found


in quantitative studies reported in journal articles. The form generally
follows the model of an introduction, a literature review, methods,
results, and discussion. In planning a quantitative study and designing a
dissertation proposal, consider the following format to sketch the overall
plan (see Example 4.3).

Example 4.3 A Quantitative Format


Introduction

Statement of the problem (issue, existing literature about problem,


deficiencies in literature, relevance of study for audiences)

Purpose of the study

Research questions or hypotheses

Theoretical perspective

Review of the literature (theory may be included in this section instead of


the introduction)

Methods
Type of research design (e.g., experimental,
survey) Population, sample, and participants
Data collection instruments, variables, and materials
Data analysis procedures
Anticipated ethical issues in the study
Preliminary studies or pilot tests

Appendixes: Instruments, timeline, and proposed budget


Example 4.3 is a standard format for a social science study (see Miller &
Salkind, 2002), although the order of the sections, especially in the use of
theory and the literature may vary from study to study (see, for example,
Rudestam & Newton, 2007). This format, however, represents a typical
order of topics for a quantitative proposal.
Format for a Mixed Methods Proposal

In a mixed methods design format, the researcher brings together


approaches that are included in both the quantitative and qualitative
formats. An example of such a format appears in Example 4.4 (adapted
from Creswell & Plano Clark, 2011).

Example 4.4 A Mixed Methods Format

Introduction

The research problem (existing research on the problem, deficiencies in


the literature, relevance of study for audiences)
The purpose or study aim of the project and reasons or rationale for a
mixed methods study

The research questions and hypotheses (quantitative questions or


hypotheses, qualitative questions, mixed methods questions)

Philosophical foundations for using mixed methods research

Literature review (optional review quantitative, qualitative, and mixed


methods studies)

Methods
A definition
of mixed
methods
research The
type of
design used
and its
definition
Challenges in using this design and
how they will be addressed
Examples of use of the type of
design
Reference and inclusion of a
diagram of procedures
Quantitative data collection
Qualitative data analysis
Mixed methods data analysis procedures
Validity approaches in both quantitative and qualitative research
Researcher’s resources and skills to conduct mixed methods research
Potential ethical issues
References

Appendixes: Instruments, protocols, diagrams, timeline, budget,


summary of major content for each

This format shows that the researcher poses both a purpose statement and
research questions for quantitative and qualitative components, as well as
mixed components. It is important to specify early in the proposal the
reasons (rationale) for the mixed methods approach and to identify key
elements of the design, such as the type of mixed methods study, a visual
diagram of the procedures, and both the quantitative and qualitative data
collection and analysis steps. All of these parts could make the mixed
methods proposal lengthier than either the qualitative or quantitative
proposal.

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