brm lecture3

7/18/2019 BRM Lecture3

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The Research Proposal



Purpose of the Research

Proposal

• To present the question to be researched

and its importance• To discuss the research efforts of others

who have worked on related questions

(Literature Review)

• To suggest the data necessary for solving

the question



The Research Sponsor

• All research has a sponsor in one form

or another:• In a corporate setting management

sponsors research

• In an academic environment the studentis responsible to the class instructor



Benefits of the Proposal to a

Researcher

• !llows the researcher to plan and review the

pro"ect#s steps

• $erves as a guide throughout the investigation%

& ! review of management and research literature indeveloping the proposal encourages the researcher to

assess previous approaches to similar management

questions and revise the research plan accordingly%

• 'orces time and budget estimates



Types of Research Proposals: Internal

and External

• Internal & Internal proposals are short and snappy a

one to threepage memo from the researcher

to management outlining the problemstatement study ob"ectives research designand schedule is enough to start an e*ploratorystudy%

& In the small scale proposal the literaturereview is not stressed and can be statedbriefly in the research design%



Types of Research Proposals contd.

• +*ternal & !n e*ternal proposal is either solicited or

unsolicited%

& ! solicited proposal is developed in response

to a request for proposals (R',) and is likelyto compete against several others for thecontract or grant%

& !n unsolicited proposal represents a

suggestion by a contract researcher for aresearch that might be done% $uch proposalsdo not compete against others%



Proposal Complexity

• 3 leels of complexity:

& The exploratory study is used for the most

simple proposals

& The small-scale study is more comple* and

common in business

& The large-scale professional study is the most

comple* costing millions of dollars



Structurin! the Research

Proposal

• -reate proposal modules

• ,ut together various modules to tailor your

proposal to the intended audience



"odules in a Research Proposal

• +*ecutive $ummary• ,roblem $tatement• Research .b"ectives• Literature Review

• Importance of the $tudy• Research /esign• /ata !nalysis• 0ature and 'orm of Results• 1ualifications of Researcher • 2udget

• $chedule• 'acilities and $pecial Resources• ,ro"ect 3anagement• 2ibliography• !ppendices



RP "odules: Executie Summary

•+*ecutive $ummary is essentially an informativeabstract giving e*ecutives the chance to grasp

the essentials of the proposal without having to

read the details%

• It should include brief statements of themanagement dilemma and management

question the research ob"ectives4research

question(s) and the benefits of your approach%

• If the proposal is unsolicited (voluntary uncalled

for) a brief description of your qualifications is

also appropriate%



RP "odules: Executie Summary

• Internal proposals are more concise (tothe point) than e*ternal ones% ! onethreepage memo from the researcher tomanagement outlining the problemstatement study ob"ectives researchdesign and schedule is enough to start ane*ploratory study%

• !n e*ternal proposal is either solicited orunsolicited% ! solicited proposal is often inresponse to an R',%



RP "odules: Pro#lem Statement

• $tatement of the management dilemma

its background its consequences and the

resulting management question clearly

without the use of idioms%

• !ny areas of the management question

that will not be addressed should also be

included in this section%



RP "odules: Research

$#%ecties• This module addresses the purpose of investigation%

Laying out e*actly what is being planned by theproposed research% & In a descriptive study the ob"ectives can be stated as the

research question% The research question can be further brokendown into investigative questions% If the proposal is for a causalstudy the ob"ectives can be stated as a hypothesis%

• The ob"ectives module flows naturally from the problemstatement giving the sponsor specific concrete and

achievable goals%• The research question or hypothesis if appropriate

should be separated from the flow of the te*t for quickidentification%



RP "odules: Research

$#%ecties contd.

• The research ob"ectives section is the

basis for "udging the remainder of the

proposal and ultimately the final report%

• This section verifies the consistency of the

proposal by checking to see that each

ob"ective is discussed in the research

design data analysis and results section%



&iterature Reie'

• This section e*amines recent (or historicallysignificant) research studies company data orindustry reports that act as a basis for theproposed study%

• 2egin your discussion of the related literatureand relevant secondary data from acomprehensive perspective moving to morespecific studies that are associated with your

problem%• If the problem has a historical background beginwith the earliest references%



&iterature Reie' contd.• !void details (no comprehensive report) and

give a brief review of literature%• !lways refer to the original source%

• +mphasi5e the important results andconclusions of other studies the relevant data

and trends from previous research andparticular methods or design that could beduplicated or should be avoided%

• /iscuss how the literature applies to the study

you are proposing show the weaknesses orfaults in the design discussing how you wouldavoid similar problems%



&iterature Reie' contd.

• If your proposal deals solely withsecondary data discuss the relevance of

data and the bias or lack of bias in it%

•-lose the literature review section bysummari5ing the important aspects of the

literature and interpreting them in terms of

your problem%

• Refine the problem as necessary in the

light of your findings%



Importance of the Study

• Importance4benefits of the study depends

on the needs for the research%

• Research cannot solve a potential

unioni5ation problem%

• 6our research can help the management

in responding to employees concerns and

forge a linkage between those concerns

and unioni5ation%



Research (esi!n

• The design module describes what you are

going to do in technical terms%

• It provides information on your proposal design

for tasks such as sample selection and si5edata collection method instrumentation

procedures and ethical requirements%

• It discusses the method you have re"ected and

why your selected approach is superior%



(ata Analysis

• ! brief section on the methods used foranaly5ing the data is appropriate for large scale

contract research pro"ects and doctoral thesis%

• 7ith smaller pro"ects the proposed data

analysis would be included within the researchdesign section%

• It is in this section that you describe your

proposed handling of the data and thetheoretical basis for using selected techniques%



(ata Analysis contd.

• This module is often a tough section to write%6ou can make it easier to write read and

understand your data analysis by using sample

charts and tables featuring 8dummy9 data%

• The data analysis section is so important toevaluating contract research proposals that the

researcher should contract an e*pert to review

the latest techniques available for use in the

particular research study and compare these to

the proposed techniques%



)ature and *orm of Research

• :pon finishing this section the sponsor

should be able to go back to the statement

of the management question and research

ob"ectives and discover that each goal ofthe study has been covered%

• .ne should also specify the types of data

to be obtained and the interpretations thatwill be made in the analysis%



+ualifications of Researchers

• This section should begin with theprincipal investigator and then providesimilar information on all individuals

involved with the pro"ect% Two elementsare critical; & ,rofessional research competence (relevant

research e*perience the highest academic

degree held and membership in businessand technical societies)%

& Relevant management e*perience%



Bud!et

• The budget should be presented in the form the

sponsor requests%

• The budget statement in an internal research

proposal is based on employee and overheadcosts%

• The budget presented by an e*ternal research

organi5ation is not "ust the wages or salaries of

its employees but the person4hour price that the

contracting firm charges%



Schedule

• The schedule should include ma"or phases of thepro"ect their timetables and the milestones that

signify the completion of a phase%

& 'or e*ample ma"or phase may be i) e*ploratory

interviews ii) final research proposal iii) questionnairerevision iv) field interviews v) editing and coding vi)

data analysis and vii) report generation%

& +ach of these phases should have an estimated time

schedule and people assigned to work% -hart yourschedule using

& -,3 if the pro"ect is large%



*acilities and Special Resources

• .ften pro"ects will require special facilities or resourcesfor instance a contract e*ploratory study may needspeciali5ed facilities for focus group sessions% -omputerassisted telephone or other interviewing facilities may berequired%

• !lternatively your proposed data analysis may requiresophisticated computer algorithms and therefore youneed access to an adequate system%

• These requirements will vary from study to study% Theproposal should carefully list the relevant facilities andresources that will be used%

• The costs for such facility use should be detailed in yourbudget%



Pro%ect "ana!ement

• The purpose of this section is to show to thesponsor that the research team is organi5ed in away to do the pro"ect efficiently%

• ! master plan is required for comple* pro"ects toshow how all the phases will be brought

together% The plan includes; & The research team organi5ation & 3anagement procedure and controls for e*ecuting

the research plan

& +*amples of management and technical reports & The research team#s relationships with the sponsor & 'inancial and legal responsibility and & 3anagement competence



Bi#lio!raphy

:se the appropriate and required format

for listing references%



Referencin!

• The research paper should follow anacademic style of referencing%

• There are four referencing systems from

which to choose (2utcher <=><) and

• 6ou need to adopt the one that is

acceptable to your university and

academic discipline%



Referencin!

•?The first of these is used in most generalbooks the second mainly in science and

social science books the third and fourth

less frequently# (2utcher <=>< p%<@A)%

• The four referencing systems are;

The shorttitle system

The authordate system The reference by number system

The authornumber system%



,ritin! a Bi#lio!raphy

• There are several wellestablished

systems for writing a bibliography andyour choice is dependent upon thepreference of the discipline and university%

• In the social sciences some of the mostcommonly used ones are (Longyear <=>Bp%>B);

The Carvard system

The !merican ,sychological !ssociationsystem



Bi#lio!raphy ,ritin! Systems

The !merican 3edical !ssociation

$ystem

The 3cDrawCill $ystem

The 3odern Languages !ssociation

$ystem

The footnote system%



,hat to include in the

Appendices-

• ! glossary of concepts constructs and

definitions

• $amples of the measurement instrument

• .ther materials that reinforce the body of

the proposal

brm lecture3

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