Most
students and beginning researchers do not fully understand what a research
proposal means, nor do they understand its importance. To put it bluntly, one's
research is only as a good as one's proposal. An ill-conceived proposal dooms
the project even if it somehow gets through the Thesis Supervisory Committee. A
high quality proposal, on the other hand, not only promises success for the
project, but also impresses your Thesis Committee about your potential as a
researcher.
A
research proposal is intended to convince others that you have a worthwhile
research project and that you have the competence and the work-plan to complete
it. Generally, a research proposal should contain all the key elements involved
in the research process and include sufficient information for the readers to
evaluate the proposed study.
Regardless
of your research area and the methodology you choose, all research proposals
must address the following questions: What you plan to accomplish, why you want
to do it and how you are going to do it.
The
proposal should have sufficient information to convince your readers that you
have an important research idea, that you have a good grasp of the relevant
literature and the major issues, and that your methodology is sound.
The
quality of your research proposal depends not only on the quality of your
proposed project, but also on the quality of your proposal writing. A good
research project may run the risk of rejection simply because the proposal is
poorly written. Therefore, it pays if your writing is coherent, clear and
compelling.
This
paper focuses on proposal writing rather than on the development of research
ideas.
Title:
It
should be concise and descriptive. For example, the phrase, "An
investigation of . . ." could be omitted. Often titles are stated in terms
of a functional relationship, because such titles clearly indicate the
independent and dependent variables. However, if possible, think of an
informative but catchy title. An effective title not only pricks the reader's
interest, but also predisposes him/her favourably towards the proposal.
Abstract:
It
is a brief summary of approximately 300 words. It should include the research
question, the rationale for the study, the hypothesis (if any), the method and
the main findings. Descriptions of the method may include the design,
procedures, the sample and any instruments that will be used.
Introduction:
The
main purpose of the introduction is to provide the necessary background or
context for your research problem. How to frame the research problem is perhaps
the biggest problem in proposal writing.
If
the research problem is framed in the context of a general, rambling literature
review, then the research question may appear trivial and uninteresting.
However, if the same question is placed in the context of a very focused and
current research area, its significance will become evident.
Unfortunately,
there are no hard and fast rules on how to frame your research question just as
there is no prescription on how to write an interesting and informative opening
paragraph. A lot depends on your creativity, your ability to think clearly and
the depth of your understanding of problem areas.
However,
try to place your research question in the context of either a current
"hot" area, or an older area that remains viable. Secondly, you need
to provide a brief but appropriate historical backdrop. Thirdly, provide the
contemporary context in which your proposed research question occupies the
central stage. Finally, identify "key players" and refer to the most
relevant and representative publications. In short, try to paint your research
question in broad brushes and at the same time bring out its significance.
The
introduction typically begins with a general statement of the problem area,
with a focus on a specific research problem, to be followed by the rational or
justification for the proposed study. The introduction generally covers the
following elements:
1.
State the research
problem, which is often referred to as the purpose of the study.
2.
Provide the context and
set the stage for your research question in such a way as to show its necessity
and importance.
3.
Present the rationale of
your proposed study and clearly indicate why it is worth doing.
4.
Briefly describe the
major issues and sub-problems to be addressed by your research.
5.
Identify the key
independent and dependent variables of your experiment. Alternatively, specify
the phenomenon you want to study.
6.
State your hypothesis or
theory, if any. For exploratory or phenomenological research, you may not have
any hypotheses. (Please do not confuse the hypothesis with the statistical null
hypothesis.)
7.
Set the delimitation or
boundaries of your proposed research in order to provide a clear focus.
8.
Provide definitions of
key concepts. (This is optional.)
Literature
Review:
Sometimes
the literature review is incorporated into the introduction section. However,
most professors prefer a separate section, which allows a more thorough review
of the literature.
The
literature review serves several important functions:
1.
Ensures that you are not
"reinventing the wheel".
2.
Gives credits to those
who have laid the groundwork for your research.
3.
Demonstrates your
knowledge of the research problem.
4.
Demonstrates your
understanding of the theoretical and research issues related to your research
question.
5.
Shows your ability to
critically evaluate relevant literature information.
6.
Indicates your ability
to integrate and synthesize the existing literature.
7.
Provides new theoretical
insights or develops a new model as the conceptual framework for your research.
8.
Convinces your reader
that your proposed research will make a significant and substantial
contribution to the literature (i.e., resolving an important theoretical issue
or filling a major gap in the literature).
Most
students' literature reviews suffer from the following problems:
- Lacking organization and
structure
- Lacking focus, unity and
coherence
- Being repetitive and verbose
- Failing to cite influential
papers
- Failing to keep up with recent
developments
- Failing to critically evaluate
cited papers
- Citing irrelevant or trivial
references
- Depending too much on secondary
sources
Your
scholarship and research competence will be questioned if any of the above
applies to your proposal.
There
are different ways to organize your literature review. Make use of subheadings
to bring order and coherence to your review. For example, having established
the importance of your research area and its current state of development, you
may devote several subsections on related issues as: theoretical
models, measuring instruments, cross-cultural and gender differences, etc.
It
is also helpful to keep in mind that you are telling a story to an audience.
Try to tell it in a stimulating and engaging manner. Do not bore them, because
it may lead to rejection of your worthy proposal. (Remember: Professors and
scientists are human beings too.)
Methods:
The
Method section is very important because it tells your Research Committee how
you plan to tackle your research problem. It will provide your work plan and
describe the activities necessary for the completion of your project.
The
guiding principle for writing the Method section is that it should contain
sufficient information for the reader to determine whether methodology is
sound. Some even argue that a good proposal should contain sufficient details
for another qualified researcher to implement the study.
You
need to demonstrate your knowledge of alternative methods and make the case
that your approach is the most appropriate and most valid way to address your
research question.
Please
note that your research question may be best answered by qualitative research.
However, since most mainstream psychologists are still biased against
qualitative research, especially the phenomenological variety, you may need to
justify your qualitative method.
Furthermore,
since there are no well-established and widely accepted canons in qualitative
analysis, your method section needs to be more elaborate than what is required
for traditional quantitative research. More importantly, the data collection
process in qualitative research has a far greater impact on the results as
compared to quantitative research. That is another reason for greater care in
describing how you will collect and analyze your data. (How to write the Method
section for qualitative research is a topic for another paper.)
For
quantitative studies, the method section typically consists of the following
sections:
1.
Design -Is it a
questionnaire study or a laboratory experiment? What kind of design do you
choose?
2.
Subjects or participants
- Who will take part in your study ? What kind of sampling procedure do you
use?
3.
Instruments - What kind
of measuring instruments or questionnaires do you use? Why do you choose them?
Are they valid and reliable?
4.
Procedure - How do you
plan to carry out your study? What activities are involved? How long does it
take?
Results:
Obviously
you do not have results at the proposal stage. However, you need to have some
idea about what kind of data you will be collecting, and what statistical
procedures will be used in order to answer your research question or test you
hypothesis.
Discussion:
It
is important to convince your reader of the potential impact of your proposed
research. You need to communicate a sense of enthusiasm and confidence without
exaggerating the merits of your proposal. That is why you also need to mention
the limitations and weaknesses of the proposed research, which may be justified
by time and financial constraints as well as by the early developmental stage
of your research area.
Common
Mistakes in Proposal Writing
1.
Failure to provide the
proper context to frame the research question.
2.
Failure to delimit the
boundary conditions for your research.
3.
Failure to cite landmark
studies.
4.
Failure to accurately
present the theoretical and empirical contributions by other researchers.
5.
Failure to stay focused
on the research question.
6.
Failure to develop a
coherent and persuasive argument for the proposed research.
7.
Too much detail on minor
issues, but not enough detail on major issues.
8.
Too much rambling --
going "all over the map" without a clear sense of direction. (The
best proposals move forward with ease and grace like a seamless river.)
9.
Too many citation lapses
and incorrect references.
10.
Too long or too short.
11.
Failing to follow the
APA style.
12.
Slopping writing.
