CHAPTER THREE

Research Proposal and Guide to Prepare a Proposal

The term "research proposal" is coined from two words, research and
proposal. Research has been defined in first chapter.
Proposal lexically means a course of activity proposed. Therefore, a research
proposal can be defined as a written document requesting both
authorization and funds to undertake a specific research project. It always
includes a statement explaining the purpose of the study or a definition of the
problem. It systematically outlines the particular research methodology and
details the process that will be utilized at each stage of the research process
In research proposal:
▪ What information will be required?
▪ What research procedures will be implemented? Will be clearly
specified so that others may understand their exact implications.

Function of the research proposal

Research proposal may function at least in three ways, namely, as a means

of communication, as a plan and as a contract
1. Proposal as a means of communication serves to communicate the
investigator’s research plan to those who-give consultations and / or
disburse fund. Proposal is the primary source on which the graduate
students’ thesis or dissertation committee must base the function of:
review, consultation and more importantly, approval for
implementation of the research project
In general, the quality of assistance and the probability of financial
support will all depend directly on the clarity and justification of the
proposal.
2. Research proposal as plan helps the researcher to organize his idea in
a systematic manner and to look for strengths and flaws. A successful

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 proposal sets out the plan in step-by-step detail. That is, it provides an
inventory of what must be done and which materials have to be
collected as a preliminary step.
Generally, the acceptability of results is judged exclusively in terms of
the adequacy of the methods employed in recording, analyzing and
interpreting the data in the planned study
3. Proposal also functions as a contract. A completed proposal approved
for execution and signed by all members of the sponsoring committee,
constitute a bond of agreement between the researcher and that
committee. An approved grant proposal results in a contract between
the investigator (and often the university) and funding sources.
Proposal for thesis and dissertation should be in final form prior to the
collection of data. Once document is approved in final form, neither
the student nor the sponsoring faculty members should be free to alter
the fundamental terms of the contract by unilateral decision.

Importance of the research proposal

The research proposal has the following importance.

➢ It serves as a basis for determining the feasibility of the research
project.
➢ It provides a systematic plan of procedure for the researcher to follow.
➢ It gives the research supervisor a basis for guiding the researcher while
conducting the study.
➢ It reduces the probability of costly mistake.

Preparation of a full-fledged proposal is not a one-time endeavor. But, is the

result of continuous modification and amendment through discussion with
experts in the field.

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 General Format and Elements of Proposal
There is no a hard and a fast format in scientific research proposal writing. It
varies from one organization to anther and from one country to another.
Some universities and funding agencies make very specific demand for the
format of proposals. Others provide general guidelines for form and content.
Though the format varies, the essence expressed in different proposal remains
the same.
The major components (elements) of a scientific research proposal
1. Title
2. Abstract
3. Introduction (background and justification), Objective of the study
4. Literature review
5. Material and methods (methodology)
6. Work plan (time budget)
7. Cost budget
8. References
9. Appendix

Each of them can have their own separate section in research proposal.
Some can be merged some on the other hand can be split in to separate
section or into further subsections.
1. Title:
▪ The title should be as explicit as possible and transparent
▪ It should be clear and short
▪ It should capture and reflect the content of the proposal. It should
enable the readers to understand the concepts of the study
Try to get the title down to one line or two
2. Abstract:
Is summary, which reflects the whole content of the proposal (most of the
time less than 300 words?)

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Abstract should be concise, informative and should provide brief information
about the whole problem to be investigated.
The abstract of a proposal should contain the following points:
▪ Title or topic of the research
▪ Statement of the problem and objective
▪ Methodology of investigation
▪ Expected result (tentative only if a researcher starts with a
formulated hypothesis)

3. Introduction
This section in research proposal should give the general background of the
study and the need for undertaking the study. It reviews the previous work to
reveal what is known of the subject.
Some question to be addressed in this part may include:
▪ What are current and previous studies that have been made on
the issues to be studied?
▪ What is the present gap in knowledge and current trend?
▪ What makes worth studying?
▪ Why has the problem not been solved yet?
▪ What do we intend to fill the gap or solve the problem?
If the researcher finds this section to be very vast he can add (split this
section) a section (heading) called “rationale” and/or the problem
statement.

4. The Rationale
The Rationale provides some of the reasons for doing the study and its
importance. Citations from past research may be relevant here; likewise
recent political and economic events, previous efforts to solve the problem
that did not succeed can be mentioned. This section of the research
proposal can be merged with the above (introduction) section or in the
objective part of the proposal or in some cases where wider explanation and

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justification as to the rationale of the proposed study is needed it can be
shown in a separate section.
5. Objectives
In this section, the proposal can indicate what is expected to occur and why,
suggest the variables that determine a relationship, or provide an
explanation for a phenomenon that has been observed, which strengthens
the proposal and research agenda.
Generally this section should focus on the points
• What is to be achieved by the proposed investigation has to be
stated plainly and concisely
• Should be to the point and logically arranged
• Should be stated in a form which shows the relations between
variables
• Must clearly state the target of the research activity, i.e., what kind
of results are expected or sought from conducting research.

6. Literature review
Literature review means locating literature in a variety of sources reading it
carefully and thoroughly organizing it into themes along with the line of
investigation.
Objective of the literature review
• To establish a familiarity with a body of knowledge and establishes
credibility: A review tells a reader that he knows the research in an
area and knows the major issue.
• To show the path of prior research and how a current project is linked
to it: A review outlines the direction of research on a question and
shows the development of knowledge A good review places a
research project in a context and demonstrates its relevance by
making connections to a body of knowledge.
• To integrate and summarize what is known in the area. A review pulls
together and synthesizes different results. A good review points out

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 areas where prior studies agree, where they disagree, and major
questions remain. It collects what is known up to a point in time and
indicates the direction for future research.
• To learn from others and stimulate new ideas. A review tells what others
have found so that a researcher can benefit from the efforts of others.
A good review identifies blind alleys and suggests hypotheses for
replication. It divulges procedures, techniques, and research design
worth copying so that a researcher can better focus hypotheses and
gain new insights.

Types of reviewed literature can be

▪ Theoretical works and review
▪ Methodological review
▪ Original findings and reviews of them
It takes a researcher over year to complete an extensive professional
summary review of all the literature on a broad question. Reading or review
for research could take place in three stages of the research project. Theses
include the following
1. At the beginning of the research: the objective here is
To check what other research has been done
To focus your idea, and
To explore the context for your project
2. During your research: with the objectives of
• keeping your interest and up to date with development
• helping you better understand the method you are using and
the field you are researching and,
• serving as a source of data
3. After your research, with the objectives of
• seeing what impact you own work has had, and
• helping you develop ideas for further research project

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It is not necessary to have a separate heading for the review of literature in a
proposal. In many respects it is more useful to show that such a review has
been made by citing useful literature in problem statement (introductory
part), objective, methodology and where ever this information has been
helpful in developing the research proposal.
The researcher may decide to have a separate heading for review literature
when he wants to develop theoretical frameworks reviewed from different
sources, detailed explanation and extensive references of the research
outcomes related to the proposed study.
7. Material and Methods (Methodology) or Data and Methodology
The methodologies are the core and the largest part of the scientific research
proposal. The methodologies are largely descriptive. This section is an
essential prerequisite for validating the results and hence acceptability of the
proposal.
An accurate, clear and valid methodology is required so that peers can:
 replicate the experiments described in an experimental research
 modify them with the assurance that the modification is different
from the original in particular way
 apply them under different conditions

Methodology should give full details to show how the research activity is
going to be carried out. Since this section is the largest and the most
important part of the research proposal, researchers are advised to split it in
to sub-sections. Such effort makes the proposal transparent and clear to the
readers as well as to the reviewing committee and therefore, minimizes the
risk of being rejected by a research committee (examiners board).
The suggested sub-sections can be:
• Data (materials)
• Methodology (methods) used

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7.1. Data (some authors prefer Materials)
In this subsection of the methodology, information required to attack the
problem is explained. Each variable or indicator identified by a researcher is
explained and justified to show how it is relevant to the current study. The
source of the data, the site (location) of the study and time that will be
included (relevant time period) should also be specified. Detailed techniques
of sampling, data collection and method of analysis would be left to the next
sub section. This is important particularly when a researcher plans to collect
primary data to test the basic hypothesis.

7.2. Methods (Methodology)

In this subsection the details of all technical matters will be explained, which
includes,
Method of data collection: How the data are obtained from earlier specified
sources? There are different methods to collecting primary data. All available
methods are expected to be considered by a researcher and the best one is
selected. The researcher explains and justifies how his selection of a particular
method is relevant and appropriate to his study.
Method of sampling: From which elements are the data collected? The
researcher has to specify the elements from which the desired information is
collected and how these elements are selected. There are different sampling
techniques. The researcher is expected to consider all of them and select the
one, which is appropriate for the current study. Justification of his choice of a
particular sampling technique is relevant here. The sample size should also be
specified with its method of sample size determination.
Method of analysis: Once the information is collected how it will be
processed and analyzed should also be explained in this part. Particularly if
the researcher uses mathematical models like simple or multiple regression,
time series or liner programming models, he has to show their mathematical
derivations and relations briefly to demonstrate their relevancy for the current
study.

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 Method of presenting the outcome: Sometimes it is worth to mention how
the outcome of the research will be presented to consumers (general
public). This is important if the research is not a part of a particular study
program (like, master or doctoral study).

8. Budget of Time:
A timetable explaining how the researcher expects to carry out his project
and when each of the important phases will be completed is helpful to both
the researcher and the reviewer. It is a plan in terms of numbers of weeks or
months and expected completion dates. Commonly researcher presents it in
a table form.
The length of time required for postgraduate study (Doctoral study) is
determined by the budget of the time presented by students. Thus,
researcher should be realist in budgeting his time.

9. Cost budget
Most proposals put together with the expectation that funding will be
necessary and an itemized list of items needed to carry out the methodology
is listed in some detail. Personal needs, including the principal researcher’s
time are included.
These are items like:
▪ Field expenses for data collection
▪ Pay for consultants where they are necessary
▪ Travel and all such items needed to be detailed
▪ A sum of money for contingencies
A carefully developed budget reflects the seriousness of the proposal and
the degree to which it is a realistic assessment of what is needed.
9. Reference (Bibliography/ Literature cited)
All works cited in the proposal are listed either alphabetically or numerically
at the end of the document usually under the heading of “References or
Bibliography “

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Some conservative authors would like to make distinction between
references and bibliography as mentioned below.
• References: are lists of literature, which have been cited in the text of a
document
• Bibliography: includes also items, which were not cited but are relevant
to the document.
There are several ways of making citation and recording references. The two
main systems of referring are:
A) Harvard System: This system uses author’s name, date, and page
reference. This system is used mainly by Anthropology, Social science and in
life science research. Harvard system is commonly used in business research.
B) Vancouver System: uses in-text number instead of an author, date, and
page reference. The same superscript or bracketed text number is given in
the text each time the source is sited. It is used in the applied science such as
chemistry, physics and mathematics. Example:
“In an investigation conducted in large factories, Gibbs1 reported that
absenteeism was higher on the night shift than the day”
Or
“In an investigation conducted in large factories, it has been reported that
absenteeism on the night shift was measured and found to be significantly
higher…Gibbs1

Harvard System
Since this system is used in business research it is presented in some detail
below.
▪ The reference list must include all published works referred to in the text.
▪ Each reference to a periodical publication must include, in order, the
name(s) of the author(s), the year of publication, the full title of the

1
Gibbs, Jennifer M. (1993) ‘Absenteeism in SME’s, International Small Business Journal, 13
(1), pp. 13-26.

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 article, the publication in which it appears, and the volume and
inclusive page number
▪ Reference to a book must give the author or authors’ name(s), the
year, the title, the edition, if other than the first; the publisher, the city of
publication, and the number of the volume (if two or more).

Example of some of the common types of literature citation as J. Hussey & R.

Hussey (997) put it presented here as follows:

i.) Citation
Citation under the Harvard system:
In an investigation conducted in large factories, Gibbs (1993) reported that
absenteeism was higher on the night shift than the day
Citing more than one authors
A number of research studies have been conducted into the effect of the
recession on small business (Smith, 1984; Anderson, 1990; Jones, 1995)…

ii. Referring or listing the cited works

A) Reference for books
Davidson, Alan. B. (1994), the Pursuit of Business, London, Chapman & Halls
B) Reference for Journal article
Porter, Michael E. (1994), competitive advantage of nations, Harvard Business
Review, 68(2), pp. 73-83
C) Other reference
It is possible to cite quote or paraphrase unpublished work if they are relevant
to the study.
Unpublished works are:
• Personal communication with experts (professionals).
• Unpublished data collected by other researchers
• Unpublished research works
• Public speeches

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 • Conferences discussion and the like
The researcher should not put such an unpublished work in reference list
unless it has been fully approved and a date set for its publication.
Unpublished references are not usually found or catalogued in libraries. And
such unpublished reference should be placed in the body of the text, not in
the reference list. Use parenthesis to enclose the complete name of the
author, the year (if available) and appropriate tattle, location, or other
information needed to establish the authenticity of the reference or help the
reader locate it.
E.g:
“ ……………….” (David Lee, Cornell University, 1995 personal Communication)
It is also possible to use numbered footnote and will be referred to by using
the number as a superscript at the proper position.

10. Appendix (Annex)

It is not mandatory to have this section. If the researcher thinks that having
this section will increase the quality of the research proposal he is free to do
so.
Information types provided in this section are those additional details, which
are difficult to accommodate within the standard headings
Stuffs to be included in appendix:
▪ Detail Questionnaires and interview schedules
▪ Detailed experimental design (in experimental research)
▪ Detailed statistical procedures
▪ Samples of research materials (chemical and some biological
materials)
▪ Survey and other geographic maps

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