CHAPTER THREE

Research Proposal

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What is a Research Proposal?

 The research proposal is the detailed plan of study.

 The term "research proposal" indicates that a specific course of

action will be followed.

 The intent of the written research proposal is to present a

focused and scholarly presentation of a research problem and
plan.

 The objective in writing a proposal is to describe what you will

do, why it should be done, how you will do it and what you
expect will result.
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 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

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 Function of Research Proposal
i. Proposal as a means of communication:

 Serves to communicate the investigator’s research plan to those

who-give consultations and/or disburse fund.

ii. Research proposal as plan:

 Helps the researcher to organize his idea in a systematic manner

and to look for strengths and flaws.

 A successful proposal sets out the plan in step-by-step detail.

 It provides an inventory of what must be done and which

materials have to be collected as a preliminary step.
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ii. 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.

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 Developing a proposal helps the researcher to:

 Understand the existing literature more clearly.

 Identify the main considerations in the study

 Recognize potential pitfalls or challenges.

 Decide on the perspective or approach for the research.

 Determine the methods and sources for data collection.

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General Format and components of 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

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1. Title
 The title of research proposal should state the topic 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.

 A good title is defined as the fewest possible words that

adequately describe the contents of the study.

 Titles should almost never contain abbreviations.

 The title page has no page number and it is not counted in any page
numbering.
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2. Abstract
 Is summary, which reflects the whole content of the
proposal (most of the time less than 300 words).

 Abstract should be concise, informative and should

provide brief information about the whole problem to be
investigated.

 Do not put information in the abstract that is not in the

main text of your research proposal.

 Do not put references, figures, or tables in the abstract.

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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) .

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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.
 You need to demonstrate that you know what you’re
talking about and that you have knowledge of the literature
surrounding this topic.
 This is a statement of something sufficiently interesting to
motivate your reader to read the rest of the proposal.
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 You should then go on to explain why more work is
necessary (your work, of course).

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?

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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.

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5. Objectives
 The objectives of a research project summarize what is to be achieved
by the study.
 Objectives should be closely related to the statement of the problem.
Objectives should be
 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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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
 To show the path of prior research and how a current project is
linked to it
 To integrate and summarize what is known in the area
 To learn from others and stimulate new ideas.
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7. Material and Methods

 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.

 Should give full details to show how the research activity

is going to be carried out.

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 The proposal should describe in detail the general research
plan. (May not necessarily be true for all types of research)

 Description of study area

 Description of study participants (Target Population)

 Determination of sample size

 Description of selection process (sampling method)

 Methods of data collection

 Operational definition

 Method of data analysis, Presentation and Interpretation

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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.

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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 “

 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.
 Smith, J. (2020). Research Methods in Education. London: Routledge.
A) Vancouver System: uses in-text number instead of an
author, date, and page reference.
1. “Smith J. Research Methods in Education. London:
Routledge; 2020.”
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 Harvard System

Since this system is used in business research it is presented in some

detail below.

 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 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).

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Purpose

 To acknowledge authors’ work.

 To avoid plagiarism.

 To help readers locate the original sources.

 To show depth of your research.

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 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.

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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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