Satendra Kumar

What is a Research Proposal ?

• 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.

•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.

All Research Proposal must have the following questions :

•What do you want to accomplish ?•Why is the research important ?•How you are going to do it ? The quality of your research proposal depends not only on the quality of your proposed project, but also on the quality on your proposal writing . Therefore, it is essential that your writing is coherent, clear and compelling.

Elements of Research Proposal

• Title• Background• Statement of the problem• Objective of research • Literature review• Hypotheses or research questions• Scope and limitation of the study• Methodology

Title

• The title is the first thing that help the reader to understand the nature of the work• The title should be concise and clear• This should be short, focused and describe what your

research is about:•We must avoid ambiguous and confusing words

Background

•Definition of the topic of research•Magnitude of the problem• Brief statement on what is already known •A statement on what is not known (Gaps in the existing

knowledge)•What is the research question to be answered

Statement of the problem

• The problem statement describes the context for the study and it is also identifies the general analysis approach •A problem statement is a clear description of the issue(s), it

includes a vision and method that used to solve the problem• It explains that how the results will contribute to the existing

body of knowledge

Objective of Research

• States what your research hopes to accomplish

•Objectives are very specific issues through which the aim is going to be achieved

•Objective should be crafted very carefully as one is expected to fulfil all the objectives at the end of your research

Literature review

•The review of literature provides the background and context for the research problem. It should establish the need for the research and indicate that the writer is knowledgeable about the area•Shows that you have the theoretical knowledge in your

chosen research area

By reviewing related literature at this stage, it will make you:

•Aware of other similar work which has been done•Expose methodologies that have been adopted and which you may use or adapt•Provide sources of information that you do not have yet

Hypotheses or research questions

• Based on your experience with the study problem, it might be possible to develop explanations for the problem, which can then be tested. It so, you can formulate hypotheses in addition to study the objectives •A hypotheses is a prediction of a relationship between one or

more factors and the problem under study that can be tested •A hypotheses represents a declarative statement of the

relations between two or more variables

Scope and limitation of study

•A limitation identifies potential weakness of the study• It is not possible to include all aspects of a particular problem•State what is not included •Specify the boundaries of your research

MethodologyThis is the HEART of research proposalThe following aspects should be discussed while writing this:• Design of the study• Population and sampling • Research instruments• Pilot study• Instrument reliability and validity• Method of data collection• Ethical issues• Financial details