khalid-writing research proposal-ics.ppt

7/27/2019 Khalid-Writing Research Proposal-ICS.ppt

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Writing Research Proposal

Khalid Mahmood, PhDProfessor of Library & Information Science

University of the Punjab

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Research objectives

Specify the outcome of your study, the endproduct

Keep your objectives SMART

Specific: Indicate precisely what you intend toachieve through your project

Measurable: What you accept as proof of projectsuccess

Attainable: Given the resources available

Realistic: Given the local conditions

Time bound: Can be achieved in the given time

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Research objectives

Importance

Focus the study

Give direction to the research design,

method to be adopted

Prevent collection of irrelevant, redundantdata not necessary to achieve the objective

Organize the study in clearly defined parts

or phases

Provide criteria by which to evaluate theoutcome to the research

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Research objectives Examples from market research

Sample verbs Sample findings

Identify Problems, opportunities, criteria

Define Concepts, requirements

Describe Processes, usage, environments

Explore Perceptions, reactions

Generate Ideas, hypotheses, alternatives, explanations

Evaluate Feasibility, attractiveness, support

Select Theme, service, product, concept, ad

Test Assumptions, preferences

Measure Size, growth, frequency

Prioritize Market segments, needs, opportunities

Monitor Trends, competition

Track Awareness, satisfaction 4


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Research objectives

Examples

To find out methods used for watertreatment

To determine the feeding habits of theunder fives

To assess the perception of the

community regarding care and supportfor people living with HIV/AIDS

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Research questions

Premised on the problem statementidentified, list possible researchquestions that could be asked inorder to achieve the researchobjectives of the study

Main question and sub-questions

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Research questions

Examples

Is there a correlation between metacognitive andcognitive strategy use and writing performance?

Are the more strategies used, the higher the writtentext scores are?

Is there a correlation between metacognitivestrategies and the task completion, betweencognitive strategies and the languageachievement?

Which of the metacognitive and cognitive strategiesused lead to more successful writing performance?

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Hypotheses/Theses

Hypotheses are research questionsthat could be statistically tested

Research hypothesis

Null hypothesis

Thesis statement

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Hypotheses

Examples

There is a positive correlation between theavailability of hours for work and the

productivity of employees Worker satisfaction increases worker

productivity

Amount of sun exposure will increase the

growth of a tomato plant Childhood obesity is tied to the amount of

sugary drinks ingested daily

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Thesis statement

Examples

The life of the typical college student is characterized bytime spent studying, attending class, and socializing withpeers

Rates of HIV and AIDS in Zimbabwe are among the highestin the world, and increasing most quickly among youngfemales. Levels of morbidity and mortality seriously affectall levels of society. Nearly two decades of preventionefforts appear to have made little difference in halting orreversing these trends. Many are calling for contextual

studies to better understand local realities (Kalipeni, 2000;McGrath et al., 1993; Nzioka, 1996; UNIFEM,2000). There has been insufficient culturally relevantknowledge of the experiences and beliefs of Zimbabweanwomen regarding health promotion and HIV prevention.

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Rationale and significance

Rationale

Reasons or justification for conductingthe study

Significance

Addition in existing knowledge

Implications for policy and practice

Likely benefits for society at large

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Delimitations

Characteristics selected by theresearcher to define the boundaries ofthe study.

The researcher makes consciousexclusionary and inclusionary decisionsregarding the sample (including such

information as geographic location), thevariables studied, the theoreticalperspectives, the instruments, thegeneralizability, etc.

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Delimitations

Participants

Participation in this study is delimited toteachers who (a) teach third grade in a

private school, (b) in the state ofCalifornia, and (c) have taught morethan five years.

Teachers who meet all otherqualifications but have previously taughtin a public school environment will beexcluded from the study.

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Delimitations

Variables

The study will be delimited to examination ofteachers' self-efficacy when teaching mathematics.

Instrumentation Self-efficacy will be measured on a Likert-type scale

with an instrument designed specifically for theproposed study.

Generalizability

The results of the proposed study will begeneralizable to teachers who (a) teach third grade ina private school, (b) in the state of California, and (c)have taught more than five years.

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Limitations

Factors, usually beyond the researcherscontrol, that may affect the results of the studyor how the results are interpreted.

Examples Due to the small sample available for the study,

results may not be generalizable to the population.

Due to the length of the study, a significant numberof respondents available in the preliminary testing

may be unavailable or unwilling to participate in thefinal stage of testing.

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Availability of resources

Equipment

Materials

Literature Human resources

Budget

Additional resources needed andmethods to acquire

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Work schedule Gantt chart

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Proposed contents

Outline of chapters

1. Introduction

2. Literature review

3. Design of the study

4. Data analysis and discussion

5. Summary, conclusions and

recommendations

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Questions???

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