CHAPTER TWO

RESEARCH PROPOSAL
AND ITS COMPONENTS
 What is research proposal?
• A research proposal is a document written by a
researcher that describes in details the program for
a proposed research.
• It is like an outline of the entire research process
that gives a reader a summary of the information
discussed in the research/project.
• Research proposals are written in future tense and
have different points of emphasis.
• A proposal should present strict research plan in
order to distribute research time according to tasks
importance and their time consuming capacity.
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• A research proposal is a document of usually three to
seven pages that informs others of a proposed piece of
research idea/problem.
• A research proposal can be rejected as unsuitable or
poorly designed.
– The proposal is, therefore, an important document;
one that is worth spending some time on to get right.
• If the proposal is well-designed, it can form an outline of
the research to follow, and ideally, can be mapped onto
various parts of the final research.
• Research Proposal:
– Where you express your intentions and plans (Future).
– The detail plan of study.
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 Components of Research Proposal
– The Research Topic or Title
– Introduction/background of the study
– Statement of the problem & its
justification
– Objectives of the study
– Research Question/hypothesis
– Literature Review (not detail)
– Scope/delimitation of the Study
– Methodology of the study
– Significance/benefits of the study
– Budget Schedule
– Time Schedule
– l

– List of references used in preparing the 4

 The Research Topic or Title
• Defining the research problem is the first step and one of the
most difficult in research undertaking.
• Each problem that is proposed for research has to be judged
according to certain guidelines or criteria.
• The following are some of the criteria's for selecting a
research problem/idea:
– Relevance/Significance
– Avoidance of duplication (should be new)
– Urgency of data needed (timeliness)
– Feasibility of study (feasibility of the idea)
– Applicability of results
– Interest to the researcher
– Ethical acceptability 5
• After selecting the research idea/problem should
consider the following in formulating the research
title or topic:
– Create a title that conveys the idea of your investigation.
– The title of your research should state your topic/idea
exactly in the smallest possible number of words.
– All words in the title should be chosen with great care,
and association with one another must be carefully
managed.
– The topic should be explanatory of the research
problem/ the study.
– The topic/title should be clear and understandable.
– A good title should:
• Orient your readers to the idea/topic you will research.
• Indicate the type of study you will conduct.
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 Introduction & background of the study
• The introduction should be as brief as possible (a
paragraph or two).
– Whatever you do, don’t ramble on for pages;
• you need to make this part of the proposal clear and
crisp.
• In the introduction, you need to give a sense of the
general field of research of which your area is a part.
– You then need to narrow to the specific area of your
concern. This should lead logically to the gap in the
research that you intend to fill. When the gap is
identified, a research question can then be raised. The
answer to this question is called the thesis statement.
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• Brief overview of the general area.
• Introduce readers about the topic/problem
area.
• Provides readers with the background
information for the research proposal.
• Its purpose is to establish a framework for
the research, so that
– Readers can understand how it is related to
other research.

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• Be sure to include a hook at the beginning of the
introduction.
– This is a statement of something sufficiently
interesting to motivate your reader to read the rest
of the proposal, it is an important/interesting
scientific problem that your study either solves or
addresses.
• The introduction should cite those who had the
idea or ideas first, and
• Should also cite those who have done the most
recent and relevant work. You should then go on
to explain why more work is necessary (your
work, of course.)=what motivates/initiates you? 9
• Generally, the introduction provides necessary
background information to your study and
provides readers with some sense of your overall
research interest. A good introduction should:
– Establish the general territory (real world or
research) in which the research is placed.
– Describe the broad foundations of your study,
including some references to existing literature
and/or empirically observable situations.
• In other words, the introduction needs to
provide sufficient background for readers to
understand where your study is coming from.
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– Indicate the general scope of your study, but do
not go into so much detail because the later
sections (purpose/literature review) become
irrelevant.
– Provide an overview of the sections that will
appear in your proposal (optional).
– What motivates you to investigate the study.
– Highlight the statement of the problem.
– Engage the readers.

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 Statement of the problem
• A problem might be defined as the issue that exists in
the literature, theory, or practice that leads to a need
for the study.
• The prospective researcher should think on what caused
the need to do the research (problem identification).
• The question that he/she should ask him/herself is:
– Are there questions about this problem to which
answers have not been found up to the present?
• The research problem should be stated in such a way
that it would lead to analytical thinking on the part of
the researcher with the aim of possibly concluding
solutions to the stated problem. 12
• Effective problem statements answer the question
“Why does this research need to be conducted.”
• Generally, in the statement of the study should:
– Answer the question: “What is the gap that needs
to be filled?” and/or “What is the problem that
needs to be solved?”
– State the problem clearly early in a paragraph.
– Limit the variables you address in stating your
problem or question.
– Describe the problem & explain the severity of the
problem at hand.
– Describe the problem & suggest possible solutions.
– Explain opportunities behind the problem.
– Justify the reasons why you study and selected it.
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• You may want to consider framing your problem
“statement” as a question, since you are really
seeking to answer a question (or a set of
questions) in your study.
• Sources of research problems are:
– Observation.
– Literature reviews.
– Professional conferences.
– Experts.
• People who has experience and knowledge in a certain
research area can be good source of research topic.
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 Objective of the study
• The objectives of a research delineate the ends
or aim which the inquirer seeks to bring about
as a result of completing the research
undertaken. Or Objective/Aim of research is:
– A solution to a problem
– What is to be achieved by the study.
• Objectives should be
– Closely related to the statement of the problem.
– Simple (not complex),
– Specific (not vague),
– Stated in advance (not after the research is done), and
– Stated using “action verbs” that are specific enough to
be measured.
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• Objectives are classified into general objectives
and specific objectives.
 General objective
– What exactly will be studied?
– General statements specifying the desired outcomes
of the proposed Research.
– They are broad /high level objectives
 Specific objectives
– list of objectives to achieve the general objective
– Specific statements summarizing the proposed
activities and including description of the outcomes
and their assessment in measurable terms.
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– It identifies in greater detail the specific aims of the
research project, often breaking down what is to be
accomplished into smaller logical components
– Specific objectives should systematically address the
various aspects of the problem as defined under
‘Statement of the Problem’ and the key factors that
are assumed to influence or cause the problem. They
should specify what you will do in your study, where
and for what purpose

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• A clear statement of Objective/purpose will:
– Explain the goals and research objectives of the
study (what do you hope to find?).
– Show the original contributions of your study by
explaining how your research questions or
approach are different from previous research
(what will you add to the field of knowledge?).
– Provide a more detailed account of the points
summarized in the introduction.
– Include a rationale for the study (why should we
study this?).
– Be clear about what your study will not address
(this is especially important if you are applying for
competitive funding; narrowly focused studies are
more likely to win funding).
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– Describe the research questions and/or hypotheses of
the study.
– Include a subsection defining important terms,
especially if they will be new to some readers or if you
will use them in an unfamiliar way.
– State limitations of the research.
– Provide a rationale for the particular subjects of the
study.
• Research Question/ Hypothesis
– Question- research focus to be answered
– Hypothesis- potential answer for the study
» A predicted answer to a research question
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The Role of Research Questions
1. Organize the research project and give it
direction and coherence
2. Delimit the research project – show the
boundaries
3. Keep the researcher focused
4. Indicate the data that will be needed
5. Provide a framework for writing up the project

Note that the research question may not be a

question as such, but rather a statement of a
problem to be investigated.
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 Review of Literature
• This is where you provide about what others have done in
the area, and what you propose to do.
• The literature review is a critical look at the existing
research that is significant to the work that you are
carrying out.
• Obviously, at this point you are not likely to have read
everything related to your research questions, but you
should still be able to identify the key texts with which
you will be in conversation as you write your dissertation.
• Literature reviews often include both the theoretical
approaches to your topic and research (empirical or
analytical) on your topic.
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• Writing the literature review allows you to
understand:
– How other scholars have written about your topic (in
addition to what they have written).
– The range of theories scholars use to analyze their
primary materials or data
– How other scholars connect their specific research
topics to larger issues, questions, or practices within
the field.
– The best methodologies and research techniques for
your particular topic.

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• The literature review has four major functions or
rhetorical goals that you should keep in mind as
you write:
– It situates the current study within a wider disciplinary
conversation.
– It illustrates the uniqueness, importance of and need
for your particular project by explaining how your
research questions and approach are different from
those of other scholars.
– It justifies methodological choices.
– It demonstrates your familiarity with the topic and
appropriate approaches to studying it.
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• Effective literature reviews should:
– Flesh out the Introduction’s brief description of the
background of your study.
– Critically assess important research trends or areas of
interest relevant to your study.
– Identify potential gaps in knowledge.

– Establish a need for current and/or future research

projects.
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 Scope/delimitation of the Study
• Defining the research focus/concern
– Set the set of activities that will be done in achieving
the research objectives.

• Limiting the research boundary: Activities

– Physical & Logical boundaries

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 Research Methodology
• Defining the ways/procedures to be followed in
conducting the study.
• This section includes a description of the general
means through which the goals of the study will
be achieved: methods, materials, procedures,
tasks, etc.
• The methods or procedures section is really the
heart of the research proposal.
– You must decide exactly how you are going to achieve
your stated objectives: i.e., what new data you need in
order to shed light on the problem you have selected
and how you are going to collect and process this data.
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 – The activities should be described with as much detail as
possible, and the continuity between them should be
apparent. Indicate the methodological steps you will take to
answer every question, to test every hypothesis illustrated in
the Questions/Hypotheses section or address the objectives
you set.
• Generally, in the research methodology the following
points should be included/considered:
• Research Area
• Research type
• Data collection tools to be used
• Sample design/ methods
– Determine he sampling size
– Description of study participants
• Data collection procedure/tools
• Data analysis and interpret tools & techniques
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 Significance of the Research
• What are importance of the study/ Why is this work
important?
• The importance of the research outcome(s)
• Potential beneficiaries at different levels
– Individual level
– Organizational level
– National level
• Plainly state the practical and/or theoretical
importance of the problem and/or objectives of
your study, given current knowledge and practices.
• Explain the usefulness or benefits of the study, if
possible (and especially for funding agencies), to
both the outside world and the research
community. 28
 Budget schedule
• Resources needed to conduct the research
• Money required for each activity

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 Timeline schedule/Plan of Work
• A schedule, chart or graph that summarizes the
different components of a research proposal and
how they will be implemented in a coherent way
within a specific time-span. It may include:
– The tasks to be performed;
– When and where the tasks will be performed;
• Including the beginning and end of each
activity.
– Who will perform the tasks and the time each
person will spend on them;
– The plan specifies how each project activity is to
be measured in terms of completion, the time
line for its completion;
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 List of references
• This must be provided in the usual scholarly
fashion.
• It helps to convince your reader that your
proposal is worth pursuing if you can identify
literature in the field and demonstrate that you
understand it.
• It makes a very strong impact if you can identify
where there is a research gap in the literature
that your proposal hopes to fill.
• This is your contribution to the scholarly
conversation. 31
Writing a Research Proposal and Research
Report
• Research Proposal: Where you express your
intentions and plans (Future)
– It should be Written in future tenses

• Research Report: Where you present what you

have done (past).
– It should be Written in past tenses.

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 Relationship between the Proposal and final Report
Research Proposal Research Report
1.1 Introduction/background of the study 1.1 Introduction/background of the study
1.2 Statement of the problem 1.2 Statement of the problem
1.3 Objective 1.3 Objective
1.4 Research question/hypothesis 1.4 Research question/hypothesis
1.5 Scope of the study 1.5 Scope of the study
1.6 Related literature review (not in detail) 1.6 Significance/Application of the study
1.7 Methodology 1.7 Limitation of the study
1.8 Significance/Application of the study 2. Related Literature review (in detail)
1.9 Budget schedule 3. Methodology
1.10 Time schedule 4. Data Analysis
List of references 5. Conclusions and Implications
References
Appendices
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THANK YOU!!

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