the research proposal4

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The Research ProposalElements of Research Proposal

By : Mrs . Najmunnisa Siddiqui



What is a research proposal?

A research proposal sets out the broad topic you

would like to research (substance), what the

research would set out to achieve (aims and

objectives), how you would go about

researching it (methodology), how you would

undertake it within the time available (outline

plan) and what the results might be in relation to

knowledge and understanding in the subject

(potential outcomes).



Purpose of 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.The purpose of a proposal is to sell your idea to the

funding agency. This means that the investigator

must convince the funding agency that:proposal.



The problem is significant and worthy of study

The technical approach is novel and likely to

yield resultsThe investigator and his/her research team

is/are the right group of individuals to carry

out and accomplish the work described in the

research



Title



Section A :Introduction

Background of the study

Statement of the problem

Purpose of the research

Research questions /hypotheses Synthesis of related literature

Significance of the study

Scope of the study

Delimitations of the study Assumptions of the study

Definitions of key terms



Background of the study

³The introduction is the part of the paper

that provides readers with the

background information for the research

reported in the paper. Its purpose is to

establish a framework for the research,

so that readers can understand how it is

related to other research´ (Wilkinson,1991, p. 96).



In an introduction, the writer should

create reader interest in the topic,

lay the broad foundation for the problem that leads

to the study, place the study within the larger context of the

scholarly literature, and

reach out to a specific audience. (Creswell, 1994,

p. 42)



The 5 'W's can be used to spark the

discussion about the problem.

Who«

When«

Where

What.«

Why,



FORMING A PROBLEM STATEMENT

I wish I k new how to eliminate drug use amongst youth in the community.´

Who« anyone under the age of 18 who is using drugs in mycommunity

When« after school, sometimes during school, on theweekends

Where« in the parks, in parking lots, at shopping malls, athome when parents are gone

What.« marijuana, stimulants, ecstasy, sniffing glue Why« bored, everyone else is doing it, makes me feel better ,

gives me energy, it¶s no big deal, it doesn¶t hurt

The answers generated make me reconsider the problem. After I look more



Example

Taken from Umbach, P. D. (in press). The contribution of facultyof color to undergraduate education. Research in Higher Education.

At the same time that the United States is becoming more diverse,

colleges and universities find they must defend themselves againstattacks on affirmative action. In response to lawsuits broughtagainst affirmative action in college admissions, many have arguedthat diversity is a µµcompelling interest¶¶ in that it enhances higher education through the benefits it brings to individual students(Astone and Nunez-Wormack , 1990; Duster , 1993; Hurtado et al.,

1998; Liu,

1998; Smith and Associates,

1997; Tierney,

1993). In aclimate where affirmative action is under increased scrutiny, it isimportant that researchers extend this line of inquiry to all levels of higher education. One avenue that is beginning to emerge is thepositive impact that diverse faculty have on student experiences.



Example

Taken from Umbach, P. D. & Kuh, G. D. (in press). Studentexperiences with diversity at liberal arts colleges: another claim for distinctiveness. The Journal Higher Education. Hu and Kuh (2003) found that students in private institutions more

frequently interacted with students from different backgrounds and thatstudents at large doctoral-extensive universities and liberal arts colleges

had more experiences with diversity than their counterparts at other types of institutions. It is not surprising that students at large universitieswould have more exposure to diversity, given that these institutionstypically enroll more students from different racial, ethnic and culturalgroups. Somewhat unexpected is that students at smaller liberal artscolleges would report equally frequent experiences with diversity.Historically, small liberal arts colleges have claimed to have distinctivemissions, especially when compared with large public universities(Clark, 1970; Kuh, Schuh,Whitt, & Associates, 1991; Townsend,Newell, & Wiese, 1992). But they also tend to be located in rural andless racially diverse locations. Even so, it appears that a distinctivedimension of contemporary liberal arts colleges is their ability to exposestudents to diversity in educationally purposeful ways. How they do thisis not clear.



Example

Problem Statement by Michelle Kraft © 2000

Through a historical/legal analysis of the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) clause of the Individualswith Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) amendments of

1997 (PL 105-17), and its intersection with a FreeAppropriate Public Education (FAPE), I will compare theintent of the mandate to its actual practice in a five-month case study of a junior high art class. A theoreticalframe consisting of values of equality, liberty, andefficiency guide data collection, analyses, and

interpretation of the relationships and disparities thatexist between the legal statute's intent and its actualpractice.



³I wish young people in my community were

more aware of the dangers of drugs and had

some place to go after school and on weekends

that offered beneficial recreation to keep themfeeling energetic and good about themselves

which, when combined may decrease the use of

drugs amongst them and their peers." My new

problem statement will help me come up withsolutions that address the root of the cause not

just the symptoms.



RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

The OBJECTIVES of a research projectsummaries what is to be achieved by thestudy.

Objectives should be closely related tothe statement of the problem. For example, if the problem identified is lowutilization of child welfare clinics, the

general objective of the study could be toidentify the reasons for this lowutilization, in order to find solutions.



The general objective of a study states whatresearchers expect to achieve by the study in generalterms.

It is possible (and advisable) to break down a generalobjective into smaller , logically connected parts.These are normally referred to as specific objectives.

Specific objectives should systematically address thevarious aspects of the problem as defined under

µStatement of the Problem¶ and the key factors thatare assumed to influence or cause the problem. Theyshould specify what you will do in your study, whereand f or what purpose.



General ObjectivesA study into the cost and quality of home-based

care for HIV/AIDS patients and their communities in Zimbabwe, developed at an HSR workshop, for example, had as its generalobjective:

To explore to what extent community home-based care (CHBC) projects in Zimbabweprovide adequate, affordable and sustainable careof good quality to people with HIV/AIDS, and toidentify ways in which these services can beimproved.



It was split up in the f ollowing specific objectives:

To identify the full range of economic, psychosocial,

health/nursing care and other needs of patients and their families affected by AIDS.

To determine the extent to which formal and informal supportsystems address these needs from the viewpoint of serviceproviders as well as patients.

To determine the economic costs of CHBC to the patient andfamily as well as to the formal CHBC programmesthemselves.

To relate the calculated costs to the quality of care provided tothe patient by the family and to the family/patient by theCHBC programme.

To determine how improved CHBC and informal supportnetworks can contribute to the needs of persons with AIDSand other chronically and terminally ill patients.

To use the findings to make recommendations on theimprovement of CHBC to home care providers, donors and

other concerned organisations,

including government.



Research Hypotheses

Based on your experience with the studyproblem, it might be possible to developexplanations for the problem, which can then

be tested. If so, you can formulate hypothesesin addition to the study objectives.

A HYPOTHESIS is a prediction of arelationship between one or more factors andthe problem under study that can be tested.

a hypothesis represents a declarativestatement of the relations between two or morevariables (Kerlinger, 1979; Krathwohl, 1988).



Example

In example concerning the cost and quality of HBC in Zimbabwe it would have been possibleto formulate and test the following hypotheses:

The role of first-line relatives in the provision of care to AIDS patients is more substantial in ruralthan in urban areas.

The silence and stigma surrounding AIDS

makes the formation of self-help groups of AIDSpatients and their relatives next to impossible,which in turn maintains the high level of stigmaon HIV/AIDS.



Research Questions

Questions are relevant to normative or censustype research (How many of them are there?

Is there a relationship between them?).

They are most often used in qualitative

inquiry, although their use in quantitative

inquiry is becoming more prominent.

A research question poses a relationship

between two or more variables but phrases therelationship as a question; (Kerlinger, 1979;

Krathwohl, 1988).



Examples of research questions

What is the impact of a study skills

program on student achievement?

What is the effect of teaching keyboardingskills to sixth grade students on word

processing skills and quality of writing?

· How does an elimination of number and

letter grades throughout the year (with the

exception of quarter and semester grades



SYNTHESIS OF RELATED

LITERATURE

The Synthesis of Related Literature presents the

researcher¶s intellectual journey to the Research

Questions. It tells the reader what other

researchers have discovered about the topic athand, and suggests the basis for reasonable

assumptions the present researcher may be

making concerning the relationship between

theory and variables, and one variable andanother, within the study at hand.



Significance of the Study

Indicate how your research will refine, revise,or extend existing knowledge in the area under investigation. Note that such refinements,revisions, or extensions may have either

substantive, theoretical, or methodologicalsignificance. Think pragmatically (i.e., cashvalue).

This can be a difficult section to write. Thinkabout implications²how results of the studymay affect scholarly research, theory, practice,educational interventions, curricula,counseling, policy.



Contd«

When thinking about the significance of your study, ask

yourself the following questions.� What will results mean to the theoretical framework that

framed the study?

� What suggestions for subsequent research arise from thefindings?

� What will the results mean to the practicing educator?� Will results influence programs, methods, and/or

interventions?

� Will results contribute to the solution of educationalproblems?

� Will results influence educational policy decisions?

� What will be improved or changed as a result of theproposed research?

� How will results of the study be implemented, and whatinnovations will come about?



Limitations and Delimitations

Alimitation

identifies potential weaknesses of thestudy. Think about your analysis, the nature of self-report, your instruments, the sample. Think aboutthreats to internal validity that may have beenimpossible to avoid or minimize²explain.

A delimitation addresses how a study will benarrowed in scope, that is, how it is bounded. This isthe place to explain the things that you are not doingand why you have chosen not to do them²theliterature you will not review (and why not), the

population you are not studying (and why not), themethodological procedures you will not use (and whyyou will not use them). Limit your delimitations to thethings that a reader might reasonably expect you to dobut that you, for clearly explained reasons, havedecided not to do.



Operational Definitions of Key Terms

An operational definition is a demonstration of aprocess ± such as a variable, term, or object ± in termsof the specific process or set of validation tests used todetermine its presence and quantity.

This section provides operational definition of terms that areunusual or unfamiliar. It identifies precisely the names of concepts, tests, or participants introduced in the Statement of the Problem and employed in the Hypotheses

Properties described in this manner must be sufficientlyaccessible, so that persons other than the definer mayindependently measure or test for them at will



Example

Corporate Social Responsibility

Operational Definition:

CSR is about how companies manage the

business processes to produce an overall

positive impact on society.

Acc ommod at ed independent person

Operational Definition accommodated independent person is an

independent person living in the parental home



Section B: Methodology

Design of the study

Population and sampling

Research InstrumentsPilot study

Instrument Reliability and Validity

Method of Data CollectionPlan of Data Analysis



Research Design

Design ± a description of the approach to be

used to reach objectives.

Clearly indicate the methods of data collection

either within a quantitative or qualitativemethodology; as well as the techniques for data

collection, e.g. questionnaires, and

measurement (the validation of the techniques).

Indicate whether field workers will be used tocollect data and whether computer programmes

will be employed to analyse the data.



Population and Sampling

A population can be defined as including

all people or items with the characteristic

one wishes to understand

Population sampling refers to the

process through which a group of

representative individuals is selected from

a population for the purpose of statisticalanalysis.



Apparatus and/or Instruments

In this subsection of the method section you describeany apparatus and or instruments you propose to usein your research study.

The following information should be included:

General description of the apparatus or instruments.

Variables measured by instruments.

Reliability and validity of instruments.

Why the instruments or apparatus are used.

Reference indicating where apparatus or instrumentscan be obtained.



Data Collection

Outline the general plan for collecting the data. This

may include survey administration procedures,

interview or observation procedures. Include an

explicit statement covering the field controls to beemployed. If appropriate, discuss how you obtained

entré.

.



Data Analysis

Specify the procedures you will use, and label themaccurately (e.g., ANOVA, MANCOVA, HLM,ethnography, case study, grounded theory). If codingprocedures are to be used, describe in reasonabledetail. If you triangulated, carefully explain how you went

about it. Communicate your precise intentions andreasons for these intentions to the reader. This helpsyou and the reader evaluate the choices you made andprocedures you followed.

Indicate briefly any analytic tools you will have availableand expect to use (e.g., Ethnograph, NUDIST, AQUAD,SAS, SPSS, SYSTAT).

Provide a well thought-out rationale for your decision touse the design, methodology, and analyses you haveselected.



Section D: Ethical/ Legal Consideration

Human research participants need:

� Informed consent

� Voluntary participation� Restricted use of deception

� Debriefing

� Confidentiality



Section D: Time Schedule

This section indicates exactly what will be done, thesequence of the various activities, and the products of deliverables that will be prepared. Specify the tasks,deliverables, and schedule in some detail, although there

is usually some latitude for offerers. In preparing grant proposals, there is more freedom to

define the tasks. In both cases, it is important that theproposed task structure includes all of the activitiesnecessary for completing the project.

Planning a viable schedule for carrying out the tasks isoften as important as developing a comprehensive list of tasks.

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