OROMIA STATE UNIVERSITY

College of Finance and Management Studies

Department of Accounting and Finance

A Brief Guide line For Writing A Research Proposal

Introduction

A research proposal is an intended plan of carrying out a research. Without a research proposal,
a researcher can only be poorly organized and is likely to produce unworkable, un-analyzable or
un-interpretable peace of research outputs. The purpose of a research proposal is, therefore, to
design a workable research that will result in an interpretable empirical finding of significant
merit.

The aim of this document is to give students practical guidance about how to write their thesis
proposal. Accordingly, the actual structure that should be followed in presenting the proposal is
outlined.

Structural Elements of a Research Proposal

Your research proposal should include the following components:

1. Title Page: This is the first page of the proposal document and contains the title of the thesis,
the author’s name, and affiliation, name of the advisor and the date and place of submission.
 Title of the Thesis: The title should summarize the main topic of the study. It should
clearly state the purpose of the study. The title should be written in a short and precise
manner and should be fully explanatory. Do not use abbreviations in a title. Spell out
all terms.
 Author’s Name: Indicate your full name including your ID number.
 Affiliation: Indicate the name of your school/institution and your status as a student.
 Name of advisor: Indicate the name of your thesis advisor.
 Date and Place: At the end of the title page, state the date of your proposal and the
name of the city where your institution is situated

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2. Introduction/Background of the study
 Under this section, discuss briefly the literature related to the study. However, note
that you are not expected to include exhaustive historical review.
 Introduce the problem briefly.
 Summarize earlier related works in brief, avoiding non-essential details. Focus on
brief and pertinent ideas, methods, findings and conclusions.
 State briefly the purpose of your study in a general format, connecting your brief
review of the literature with the problem you intend to investigate.
3. Statement of the Problem
Defining a research problem is the fuel that drives the scientific process, and is the foundation of
any research method and experimental design, from a true experiment to a case study.

Formulating the research problem begins during the first steps of the scientific process. As an
example, a literature review and a study of previous field experiments, and research, might throw
up some vague areas of interest. A scientist may even review a successful field experiment,
disagree with the results, the tests used, or the methodology, and decide to refine the research
process, retesting the hypothesis. This is called the conceptual definition, and is an overall view
of the problem. A science report will generally begin with an overview of the previous research
and real-world observations. The researcher will then state how this led to defining a research
problem. Define the problem that you intend to study. The problem statement that you
construct will become the focus of your study. So, you should clearly formulate and state
your problem. Discuss the background, efforts made so far, possible causes, and
consequences of the problem.
4. Basic Research Questions
A research question can be regarded as a statement of an intellectual puzzle.

 After briefly and clearly formulating and stating the problem that the study intends to
address, go directly to formulating the basic research questions that your study is
expected to answer based on the data collected and analyzed. The research questions
can be embedded in the statement of the problem or treated under a separate section.
 Your research questions may focus on description of what the situation, process
and/or magnitude of the problem is; explanation of why the problem occurred; and
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 prediction of what will happen next if the problem continues or discontinues.
Depending on the nature and scope of your research, you may focus on only some or
all of these guiding questions.
5. Objectives of the Study
As research questions are generated from the research topic or research idea/problem,
research objectives can be driven from the research questions. First indicate the general
objective of the study, and then state the specific objectives that your research intends to
achieve at the end.
Objectives
 are the steps you are going to take to answer your research questions or a specific list
of tasks needed to accomplish the goals of the project
 emphasize how aims are to be accomplished
 must be highly focused and feasible
 address the more immediate project outcomes
 make accurate use of concepts and should be sensible and precisely described
 are sometimes numbered so that each objective reads as an 'individual' statement to
convey your intentions
For each specific objective you must have a method to be used to attempt to achieve it. The
development of a realistic time schedule may help to prioritize your objectives and help to
minimize wasted time and effort.
Objectives should not:
 be too vague, ambitious or broad in scope
 just repeat each other in different terms
 just be a list of things related to your research topic
For Example:

 Research idea: The impact of stress on managers’ efficiency

 Research question: To what extent is stress related to managers’ efficiency?
 Research objective: To determine the influence of stress on managers’
efficiency.
6. Hypothesis (Optional)
 Hypotheses are usually generated from the research problem or questions. They
should be specific and testable.
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  Hypotheses are subject to acceptance or rejection following the result of the data.
Example:
The research question ‘To what extent is stress related to managers’ efficiency?’ could be
a source of specific hypotheses for testing as indicated below:
 High level of stress contributes to inefficiency of managers.
 Low level of stress contributes to inefficiency of managers.
 Moderate degree of stress contributes to efficient functioning of managers.
7. Definition of Terms
Relevant concepts or terms should be precisely defined in this section.
Your definition of terms could be conceptual or operational. Thus, you need to specify the
type or nature of your definition of terms.

 Conceptual Definition of Terms: refer to the definition of concepts/terms or

variables from the theoretical perspective. Sources of such definitions should be cited.
 Operational Definition of Terms: include practical definition of terms given by the
researcher as they appear to be in the text. If you are sure that your definition of terms
are operational, i.e., if they are your own definitions, there is no need of mentioning
any source.
8. Significance of the study
 Indicate how important your intention of studying the problem is.
 Specify whether your study will have practical or theoretical significance or both.
 If the study intends to empirically inform decision – makers and others concerned
about the problem at hand; to suggest ways and means of tackling the problem at
hand; to fill in current gaps specified by the problem; to shed light for further studies;
etc., it will have practical significance.
 If the study intends to develop a theory; to test a theory; etc., it will have theoretical
significance.

9. Delimitation/Scope of the Study

In this section, you are expected to clearly describe the boundary of your research.

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  The scope of your research can be delimited in terms of geographical location,
methods, variables, subjects or tools to be used. You should, therefore, clearly
state the delimitation of your study and specify the reasons thereof.
 Remember that scope or delimitation is usually induced due to resource and skill
constraints (money, time, experience, etc.).

10. Research Methodology

In this section, you are required to specify the type of your research, how your research work
is designed and the methods that you intend to employ in carrying out your research
undertaking, as indicated below:
a) Research Approach: Indicate what type of research you are undertaking and how it is
designed. Research design usually refers to the blue print of the research. It is similar to the
design of a building developed by an architect in which the building is constructed
accordingly.
There are two main approaches to a research design.

Qualitative Research approach

Qualitative research approach is a research method used extensively by scientists

and researchers studying human behavior and habits.
Qualitative research is often regarded as a precursor to quantitative research, in that it
is often used to generate possible leads and ideas which can be used to formulate a
realistic and testable hypothesis. This hypothesis can then be comprehensively tested
and mathematically analyzed, with standard quantitative research methods.

Qualitative researchers aim to gather an in-depth understanding of human behavior

and the reasons that govern such behavior. In qualitative research; smaller but
focused samples are more often needed, rather than large random samples. Purposive
sampling is normally used to have key informants in the sample. Data analysis use
nonstatistical methods and approaches to analysis are holistic and contextual.

When to choose qualitative research?

Qualitative research serves the following purposes:

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 Descriptive -reveal nature of certain situations, settings, processes, relationships, systems or
people.

Interpretations: to gain new insights about a phenomenon, develop new concepts and
theoretical perspectives, etc and discover the problem that exists within the phenomenon.

Verification: it allows the researcher to test the validity of certain assumptions, claims,
theories and generalizations within the real world.

Evaluation: a means through which a researcher can judge the effectiveness of a particular
policy, practice or innovation.

The Qualitative Research Designs (Leedy and Ormrod, 2005) includes case study, ethnography,
phenomological study, grounded theory study and content analysis.

We dig deep to get a complete understanding of the phenomenon in its natural context.

We collect different forms of data that is triangulation and examine them from various angles to
construct a rich and meaningful picture of a complex, multi-facetted situation.

Quantitative Method

1) Primary Data
 Experiments (Science Laboratory & field experiment)
 Research Survey
 Simulation
2) Secondary Data

 Quantitative research normally uses scientific experiments or surveys to

collect primary data or uses already collected (and processed) data called
secondary data in their studies.
 Quantitative research normally uses scientific experiments or surveys to collect
primary data or uses already collected (and processed) data called secondary data in
their studies.
Method of Data Collection

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  This must be discussed and justification of its use must be given, as well as advantages
and disadvantages. Examples are: face-to-face (or personal), mail (or postal) and
telephone interview.

Process of Reaching a Conclusion

 For the quantitative approach, deductive reasoning is used to reach

conclusions. It is the logical process of deriving a conclusion about a specific
instance based on a known general premise or something known to be true. E.g.,
we know that all business professors are human beings, if we also know that
‘Henry’ is also a business professor, and then we can conclude that ‘Henry’ is a
human being. A researcher starts with a theory, generates a hypothesis and
designs a study to collect data, and prove or disprove the theory.

b) Sample and Sampling Techniques

You must clearly indicate how the sample(s) was drawn. If, for instance, you used both
an experimental and control group and you matched them, you must clearly indicate in
terms of what variables the matching was to be done.

The samples must be clearly characterised: Aspects such as size, age, language,
socioeconomic status, educational level, must be explicitly mentioned. Sample size is not
an issue for the qualitative methodology. It must be large enough depending on the
population size for valid results in the case of quantitative methodology.

Sampling Methods

There are two classes of sampling methods

1) Probability Sampling: This is a concept of probability that a certain event will occur if

the experiment is to be executed once. Each element of the population has a known

positive probability of being selected as an element of the sample.

2) Non-probability sampling:

b) Sources of Data Collection: Indicate the source of your data (primary/secondary) and what
tools/instruments you will employ in collecting your data.

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 c) Instruments of Data Collection: You should use at least two data collection instruments
to enhance the reliability of the information obtained.
A combination of the following tools might be used to collect the required data.
 Questionnaires,
 Standardized tests/scales,
 Structured interview guides,
 Observation checklists,
 Focus group discussion guides, etc.

Also indicate what variables are treated in each instrument. Describing the basic
components of the variables to be measured by your instruments will provide clearer
insight to the reader about your instruments.

d) Procedures of Data Collection: In this section describe how you are going to gather your
data, specifying the steps involved during the data collection process. For example if you are
going to use structured interview to collect part of your data, you should clearly express what
steps you will follow before, during and after the interview session.
1) Data Analysis For Qualitative Data
Interview questions and responses are typically tape-recorded and then transcribed verbatim
before analysis is begun. Qualitative researchers often categorize data into patterns as
the primary basis for organizing and reporting results.

Transcription is extremely time-consuming (Marlow, 1993). Due to the large amount of data
that can be generated in qualitative research, a data reduction process must be used to aid
analysis. This procedure includes: organizing the data, identifying emerging themes,
categories, and patterns; and testing hypotheses against the data.

Either “indigenous” or “analyst-constructed” typologies may be constructed.

 In indigenous categories, the language of respondents is used to label types of
processes (Marshall and Rossman, 1989; Patton, 1990).
 In analyst-constructed categories, the researcher attaches a label to observed recurring
events.

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Narrative Descriptions of data collected through interviews, observations, and case records
are also used in qualitative analysis.
Content Analysis is often used in qualitative and quantitative research methods. Some
researchers view content analysis as a technique to quantify manifest (surface-level)
descriptive data (Allen-Meares, 1985), in which categories are developed, content is coded,
and category counts are conducted. Qualitative content analysis typically does not transform
the content into numeric patterns; instead, recurrent themes, and typologies and illustrations
of particular issues, are used.
The following are interpretive techniques:
i) Observer Impression
 The researcher examines the data, interpret it via forming an impression and
report his or her impression in a structured and sometimes quantitative form.
ii) Coding
 Helps to interpret the data by organizing the data and providing a means to
introduce the interpretations of it into certain quantitative methods.
 In most cases, coding requires the analyst to read the data and demarcate
segments within it.
 Each segment is labeled with a “code “-usually a word or short phrase that
suggests how the associated data segments inform the research objectives.
 When coding is complete, the analyst prepares reports via a mix of:
summarizing the prevalence of codes, discussing similarities and differences in
related codes across distinct original sources/contexts, or comparing the
relationship between one or more codes.
 Compare programs can assist in this regard.
The criticism of coding method is that coding seeks to transform qualitative data into
quantitative data, thereby reducing the detail (its variety, richness and individual character).
Careful definition of the codes and linking them to the underlying data can address this
concern.
iii) Recursive Abstraction

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  Some qualitative data sets are analyzed without coding. Data sets are summarized;
those summaries are then further summarized, and so on. The end result is a more
compact summary that would have been difficult to accurately portray.
 The common criticism of this method is that the final conclusion are several times
removed from underlying data such that poor initial summaries will yield an accurate
final report. What researchers do is to document the reasoning behind each summary
strep and cite examples from the data such that poor initial summaries will yield an
accurate final report. what researchers do is to documents the reasoning behind each
summary step and cite examples from the data where statements were included and
where statements excluded from the intermediate summary.
iv) Mechanical Techniques
 The researcher uses a computer to scan and sort large sets of qualitative data by
counting the same words or phrases within the data.
 This technique is particularly suitable for data sets that are too large for a human
to effectively analyze , or where analysis would be cost prohibitive relative to the
value of information they contain
 The criticism of the technique is the absence of a human interpreter.
e) Validity and Reliability
Validity and reliability are important aspects of the research methodology to get a better
explanation of the world. Validity determines whether the measuring instrument truly measures
what it was intended to measure or how truthful the research results are. To measure the validity
of results, we consider the theory and the measuring instrument used. Validity can be measured
by factor Analysis. In order to check and establish the validity and to increase the
accuracy of this research (Guion, 2002).
Data Triangulation, Methodological Triangulation and Analysis Triangulation are
critical to measure the validity of research findings.
Data triangulation is related to verifying the similarities of outcomes obtained from
different sources (Begley, 1996).Methodological Triangulations related to the use of
different methods of analysis and arrive at the same outcome (Hussein, 2009).

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 The extent to which results are consistent over time and an accurate representation of the total
population under study is referred to as reliability. If the results can be reproduced under a similar
methodology – then the instrument is reliable. Reliability can be measured by the Cronbach’s Alpha.
Triangulation (using more than one sources of data or data collection method) helps to improve the
validity and reliability of the results.

2) Data Analysis For Quantitative Data

Statistical methods are used to analyze quantitative data. We apply both descriptive and
inferential statistics. Descriptive analysis involves summarizing the data using measures of
central tendencies (i.e., arithmetic mean, median and mode), measures of variation or dispersion
(e.g., standard deviation) and presents the data with the help of frequency tables, and figures or
diagrams (e.g., histogram, bar-diagrams, graphs and pie charts). Statistical analysis involves both
descriptive and inferential analysis. The former helps the analyst to have the feel of the data
he/she is dealing with, and to guide him/her as to what variables and techniques should be used in
the inferential analysis. For inferential statistics, we use statistical techniques such as t-test,
correlation analysis, regression analysis, Chi-square, factor analysis, ANOVA, etc.

We use statistical techniques to estimate population parameters and test null hypotheses.
A null hypothesis is rejected when the probability of a test statistic is less than a pre-set
level of significance, Alpha; otherwise, we fail to reject it. Normally we set the Alpha at
0.01, 0.05 or 0.1.

f) Ethical Considerations

According to Kumar and Kandasamy (2012) ethical considerations in research work includes the
following:

 Right to Choose: everyone has the right to determine whether or not to

participate in a marketing research project.
 Right to Safety: research has the right to safety from physical or psychological
harm. While it is unusual for a respondent to be exposed to physical harm, it is
common for a respondent to be placed in a physiologically damaging situation.
Individuals might experience stress when an interviewer presses them to
participate in a study.
 Right to Be Informed: research participants have the right to be informed of all
aspects of a research task. Knowing what is involved, how long it will take, and

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 what will be done with the data, a person can make an intelligent choice to
whether to participate in the project.


Right to Privacy: all consumers have the right to privacy. Consumer privacy can
be defined in terms of two dimensions of control. The first dimension includes
control of unwanted telephone, mail, e-mail, or personal intrusion in the
consumer’s environment, and the second concerns control of information about
the consumer.
 Moreover, ethically, confidentiality concerns must be observed. For e.g., we use
only number codes to link the respondent to a questionnaire and storing the
name –to- code linkage information separately from the questionnaire, and
refuse to give the names of respondents to anyone outside the research project.
Individual respondents should never be identified in reporting survey findings;
completely anonymous summaries, for example, in terms of tables and charts
should be given. Respondents must be asked for their consent to participate in a
survey, and their privacy and rights must be observed.
11. Organization of the Research Report

Under this section, you are required to state the components of the main text of your research
report. Your research report is expected to comprise five chapters, which include the following:
1. Chapter One: Introduction
 This chapter should contain background of the study, statement of the problem,
basic research questions, objectives of the study, hypothesis (if any), definition of
terms, significance of the study, and delimitation/scope of the study.
2. Chapter Two: Review of Related Literature

This chapter deals with the literature relevant to your study.

Determinants of a Good Literature Review

Determining when you have done a good literature review is not that difficult.

Here is a checklist of what to look for:

 Has all the relevant literature been reviewed? Including other dissertations/theses.
 All literature is current as well as capturing key seminal contributions
 I feel confident I have not missed any important work - which tells ‘the story’ of the topic
 It is critical and evaluative, not just descriptive. It describes who has worked on this topic
before and how it was studied

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  It clarifies the state of constructs and variables related to the topic
 It summarizes methodological challenges associated with my topic
 It clearly states the gaps in the research on the topic
 It clearly supports the rationale for my proposed contribution and its significance
 It ends with a clear summary and hypotheses or propositions where appropriate
 It is interesting to read, well synthesized and well-written
 It could stand alone as a publication
 Exhaustive literature review
 All relevant studies have been critically analyzed and evaluated
 Shortcomings of published studies have been indicated. E.g. weaknesses in research
design, biased sampling, validity and reliability of measuring instruments, unsuitable
statistical analysis, etc
3. Chapter Three: Research Methodology
 Under this chapter, you are required to describe the type and design of your
research; the subjects/participant of the study; the sources of your data; the data
collection tools/instruments employed; the procedures of data collection; and the
methods of data analysis used.

12. Research /Time Schedule /Time Line

Indicate the schedule of your activities starting from the moment of proposal writing up
to the stage of submitting the research report. Refer to the timeline set by the school in
developing your time schedule. It is often appropriate to provide a schedule for the various
stages of research. Unless you have a timeline for accomplishing the several stages of research
and keeping in touch with how you are doing, you may end up in trouble.

13. Budget Schedule (Optional)

If you are expecting someone to sponsor your research, it is advisable to indicate the
budget required to undertake the study. You specify where and how the money will be used.
You may use the following factious table:
Ser. Activities Unit of Unit Cost/Rate Quantity Total Cost
No. Measure ( in Birr)
1 Stationery Pcs/Packages Overall 800.00

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 materials
2 Fee for data Man hour per 10 persons @ 5 250
collectors person birr/questionnaire 6250.00
3 Secretarial Overall 500.00
service
4 Sub Total 7550.00
4 Contingency (10%) 755.00
Grand Total 8, 7305

14. References

Indicate the reference materials or sources you consulted in preparing your research
proposal, following the American Psychological Association (APA) style guide, as
illustrated below:
 Reference Citation in Text (or Review text)
 One work by a single author: The surname of the author and the year of publication
should be inserted as shown below:
o Narayana (2003) compared reaction times …..
o In recent studies of reaction times, was established (Narayana, 2003).
o In 2003, Narayana compared……
 One work by two or more authors: When the work has two authors, always cite
both names every time, whenever the reference occurs in text.
Example: Ayele and Getachew (2004), found that …..
When the work has more than two authors: Cite all authors at the first time
the reference occurs; in subsequent citations include only the surname of the first author
followed by “et al.” and the year of publication, as indicated below:
o Abebe, Kebede, Yonas, Helen and Yohannes (2004) found that …. (First
citation).
o Abebe et al. (2004) found that ….. (In subsequent citations).

 Order of References in the Reference List

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 In preparing list of references, arrange entries in alphabetical order by the surname of the
first author. The following illustrate the form that different types of references should
take. Title underlined may be italicized instead; and references consisting of more than
one line should be indented five spaces from the normal margin, as indicated in the
illustrations.
1) Book with single author
 Aggrawal, J.C. (2001). Development and Planning of Modern Education. Delhi:
Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd.
2) Book with multiple authors
 Freeman, J.A.F., Gilbert, D.R. and Stomer, A.F (1995). Management. New Delhi:
Prentice-Hall Inc.
3) Editor as Author:
 Mitchell, J.V., (Ed). (1985). Mental Measurement Yearbook. Highland Park, New-
Jersey: Prentice – Hall
4) Journal Article
 Seltzer, M.M. (1984). Correlates of Community Opposition to Community
Residences for Mentally Retarded Persons. American Journal of Mental
Deficiency, 89, 1 – 8.
5) Magazine article
 Meer, J. (1984, August). Pet theories. Psychology Today, pp. 60 – 67.
6) Unpublished paper presented at a meeting:
 Abebe Mekonon, (1999, March). The Impact of Work Life on Productivity of
Workforce. A paper presented at the annual meeting of ILO, Nairobi.
7) Thesis or dissertation (Unpublished):
 Dessalegne Lemessa, (1996). A Study of Students Selection, Streaming and
Training in the Technical and Vocational Schools of Ethiopia. Unpublished
Master’s Thesis, Addis Ababa University.
8) Unpublished manuscripts
 Kahn, J.U. (1991). Using the Uzgiris and Hunt Scales to Understand Sign Usage of
Children with Severe and Profound Mental Retardation. Unpublished manuscript,
University of Illinois, Chicago.

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15. Additional Requirements

Be aware of the following points in preparing your research proposal:

 In order to write your proposal effectively, you are expected to have read many articles and
books related to the topic of your research (to be included in your List of Bibliography).
 In writing the proposal (and the thesis) you should strictly follow the style adopted by the
school Harvard or APA style whichever is preferred by you.
 You need to follow either of the approaches consistently.
 Your proposal should range from six to ten pages (one and a half spacing).
 Use the future tense in writing your proposal.
 Meet deadlines

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