Chapter 4

Developing Research Proposal

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 Chapter Objectives
At the end of this chapter students will be able to:
 Understand the meaning and significance of a research
proposal
 Review the need for and process of literature review (chap-2)
 Review the essence and application of the theoretical and/or
conceptual framework in research (chap.-2)
 Address the major components of a research proposal
 Enable students prepare a standard research proposal

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4.1 What is a Research Proposal?
 The Research Proposal is a step-by-step plan of action, which
guides the research process.
 It is a written document that is submitted to spell out logically
the nature of the design, the means and strategies that are
going to be used.
 Writing the research proposal is the most crucial task in the
research process.

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Con…
A proposal tells us:
 What will be done
 Why it will be done
 How it will be done
 Where it will be done
 To whom it will be done, and
 What is the benefit of doing it?

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4.2 Functions of Research Proposal
►To present the problem to be researched and its importance
►To discuss the research efforts of others who have worked on
related problems.
►To set forth the data necessary for solving the problem
►To suggest how the data will be gathered, treated and
interpreted

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4.3 Major Components of Research Proposal
A research proposal usually consists of the following elements:
 Prefatory parts
 Introduction
►Background of the study
►Statement of the problem
►Research Questions
►Research Objectives
►Significance of the study
►Scope and Limitations of the study
► Review of related literature
►Definition of terms/concepts
►Theoretical/Conceptual Discussion
►Empirical Literature
►Theoretical/conceptual framework
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Con..
 Research Design, Strategy and Methodology
• Site Description and Selection
• Research Design and Strategy
• Data source
• Target population
• Sampling Technique and Sample Size Determination
• Data Collection Methods and Instruments
• Data Analysis and Discussion
• Budget and Budget Schedule
 Reference/Bibliogrpahy

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4.3.1 Prefatory parts

i. Title page
• Title of the Research
• (A Survey/Case Study of ……..)
• Purpose (why the Research is conducted )
• Name and Address of the investigator
• Advisor/Reader
• Month and Place where the proposal is written

ii. Contents
iii. List of Tables, if any
iv. List of Figures, if any
v. Acronyms/abbreviations (if any, alphabetically arranged)

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…Components of Research Proposal

4.3.2 Chapter-I: Introduction

4.4.2.1 (1.1) Background of the study –Deductive order (from
general to specific)
 This is essentially presentation of your research topic
 Presentation of research topic with current literature in a way it
links you to the problem statement
 Definitions and concepts related to the topic
 Global issues and trends about the topic
 Situations in Less Developed Countries or SSA
 National level
 Regional level Local level
 Show the importance of the topic Inverted Prism
(General to specific)

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…Components of Research Proposal

4.3.2.2 (1.2) Statement of the Problem or (Justification for the

study)
• Exactly specifying and measuring the gap
 Theoretical gap - gap in the theories
 Empirical gap - gap in researches made by others
o Spatial gap
o Time gap
o Methodological gap
 Practical gap – gap between principles, strategies, policies,
plans and their implementations
• Facts that motivated the investigator to conduct the research
• Hard facts or quantitative data about the topic for some previous
years, for example three years
• The iceberg principle illustrates that understanding the background
of a problem is vital.

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…Components of Research Proposal

• The statement of problem

 Elaborates the debate concerning theme
 Summary of important findings
 Indicate the knowledge niche
 Relevant background of the case-study

(For detail, refer chapter-2)

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4.3.2.3 (1.3) Research Questions
• After problem definition, researchers should prepare a written
statement that clarifies any ambiguity about what they hope the
research will accomplish
• Relates logically to research objective
• Clear, as concise as possible, with place (and time)
• Points to specific data
• Can be answered
• Incorporates concepts from the theoretical framework
• Do not repeat research objective with a question mark

Central research question

• Organizes the research, gives direction and coherence
• Delimits the research, showing its boundaries
• Keeps the researcher focussed
• Points to data that will be needed
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 Possible General Questions
 Does BPR seem to be successful in the public sector?
 Can we say there is equal employment opportunity in both the public and
the private sector?

i. Possible Specific for the first Question

 What changes has BPR brought in the attitudes of employees in relation
to commitment to work and the resulting reward system?
 Has BPR resulted in efficiency? ( or What is the contribution of BPR in
enhancing productivity?)
 What is the status and trend of team spirit after the implementation of
BPR?
 What are the trends of improvement in performance BPR
implementation?

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ii. Possible Specific Questions for the second question
 How do managers understand the concept of equal employment
opportunity?
 Is there real and similar understanding of managers about
EEOs in the private sector
 Do men and women have equal access to information about
employment?
 What is the extent of implementation of affirmative action?
 Are there jobs reserved for males in the mind of both men and
women?

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 4.3.2.4 (1.4) Research Objectives, (and Research Hypothesis
-optional)
a. (1.4.1) Research Objectives
• Ends to be met in conducting the research
• What the investigator will analyze and how;
• what comparisons to make and at what level
General objective
• Often one statement directly related to the topic

Specific Objectives (Often 4-7)

• what the researcher wants to achieve
• about s/he wants to collect data;
• what to analyze and compare

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 Don’ts of Objectives
 Too vague, ambitious or broad
 Repeat each other in different words
 Go into details of the research
 Contradict methods and techniques

b. (1.4.2) Research Hypothesis ( Optional)

• It is tentative propositions to be tested in the research

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 4.3.2.5 (1.5) Scope and Limitation of the study

• Scope provides the boundary or framework

 Theoretical/Conceptual
 Methodological
 Geographic
 Time
• Limitation is the implication or effect of the scope- does not
mean weakness or problems to be faced
 By and enlarge reflection of the scope
 Because of the scope, the research finding is not helpful to
generalize about the population.

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 No proposed research project is without limitations;
there is no such thing as a perfectly designed study.
 As Patton (1990:162; cited in Marshall and Rossman,
1999) notes, "There are no perfect research designs.

 NOTE THAT CHALLENGES ARE NOT LIMITATIONS!

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Components continued

4.3.2.6 (1.6) Significance of the study- Benefit of the study

(Who may use the findings)
 User organizations
 The society/the community/the country
 Other researchers

4.3.2.7 (1.7) Definition of key Terminologies and Concepts

(Optional)
• Conceptual definitions – general and related to their
contextual meaning
• Operational – in the context of the research paper and in
measurable terms

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4.3.3 (2) Reviewing the Literature
(Refer Chapter II)

 This topic will advise students on how to go about searching the

literature and engaging critically with the ideas of other writers.
 It will also help you to understand some of the expectations of the
literature review and give you some ideas about how to assess the
quality of existing research.
Important points in the literature
• Adequacy- Sufficient to address the statement of the problem and
the specific objectives in detail
• Better organized around your specific objectives
• Logical flow and organization of the contents
• Adequate citations - Plagiarism
• The variety of issues and ideas gathered from many authors

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4.3.4 (3) Research Design, Strategy and method
4.3.4.1 (3.1) Site Selection and Description
a. Site selection: revolves around why the study area is
selected, and should be supported by evidence.
b. Description of the Study Area/Organization: Tell the
readers briefly what the study area/organization looks like.

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4.3.4.2 (3.2 ) Research Strategies and Designs
a. Research design
• Cross-sectional
• Longitudinal
• Experimentation
• Case Study
• Comparative
(Refer chapter-3)
b. Research Strategy and Data Type
 Quantitative
 Qualitative
 Mixed methods
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4.3.4.3 (3.3) Data Sources
 Sources of Data (Primary data vs secondary data Sources)
• Data closest to the truth are the primary data – in the
literature this is what a research reports directly.
• Primary Sources (Specify exactly the sources for your data)
 Respondents ,administrators, key informants, users, etc
• Secondary data are further away from the truth – in the
literature this is what other researchers report about the
original researcher’s work.
• Secondary sources (Exactly specify the documents to be used
as secondary sources)
 Reports, manuals, Internal publications, data base systems,
Journals, websites, etc
 N.B. You are not required to put the instruments of data
collection here
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4.3.4.4. (3.4) Target Population
• Number/size
• Homogeneity, heterogeneity, and other population characteristics
4.3.4.5 (3.5) Sampling Size and Sampling Design
• Sample Size
 ( Use the sample size determination formula as a base and make
adjustments with due regard to the target population and the
homogeneity or heterogeneity of the population characteristics
 Sample size commonly used in the area of the research topic

• Sampling Design
 Show how and why you are going to use the different techniques of
probability and/or nonprobability sampling techniques
• Sampling Frame and Procedure
 clearly state the steps in sampling and show how each respondent or
subject of the study will be selected from the target population

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4.3.5 (3.6) Data collection Methods and Instruments
4.3.5.1 Quantitative data collection methods and instruments
• State the data collection tool or tools to be used with
necessary Justifications.
• Methods
 Interview,
 Questionnaire,
 Observation,
• instruments
 Semi-structured
 Structured
Questionnaire pretesting if necessary

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4.3.5.2 Qualitative data collection Methods, instruments and
procedures

• Methods
 Observations
 Interviews
 Focus groups
 Delphi and Nominal Group Technique etc.
• Instruments
 Unstructured or Semi-structured questionnaire

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4.3.5.3 (3.7) Data collection Procedures ( show in detail)

• How the data collection through the selected instruments will

be administered
 Who will be involved?
 How many people will be involved?
 When will data be collected?
 Where will data be collected?
• How data processing will be administered?
 Editing details

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How other methods will be applied in combination (Triangulation)
• Focus Group discussions
 Number of focus group discussions to be carried out
 Size of focus groups
 Composition of participants in each group
 Selection of participants
 Details of the moderator
 Timing in relation to other instruments
• Interviews
 With whom, how many, and why?
 Selection criteria and procedure
• Observation
 How will it be conducted and by whom?
 When will it be conducted and why?
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4.3.6 (3.8) Data Processing, Analysis and Interpreting
3.7.1 Data Processing
• Manual Vs Mechanical
• Editing: Field Vs in-house editing ( include reasons)
• Coding: Post coding
• Recording /Data entry/ or keyboarding
3.7.2 Data Analysis
• Quantitative tools
 Descriptive
 Inferential
 Econometric models
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• Qualitative tools
 Content analysis (study of recorded human Communications-
example gender and books)
 Discourse analysis (applied to forms of communication-
conversations, text )
 Narrative analysis (story analysis)
 Grounded theory analysis (inductive research)

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4.3.7 (3.9) Reliability and Validity of the research
3.8.1 Reliability
 The reliability is about consistency in result, which can be
found from homogeneous measurement
 Reliability measurements:
split-half and
test-retest methods
3.8.2 Validity
 Validity is “The accuracy of a measure or the extent to
which a score truthfully represents a concept.” (Zikmund
et. al. 2009)

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4.3.8 (3.10) Research Ethics

4.3.9 Preliminary Chapter layout

3.10 Time and Budget Schedule

3.10.1 Time Schedule
• Try to put reasonable and realistic time on the basis of
 The scope of the study
 The research objectives to be achieved
 The methods and techniques to be used
o Description or Activity
o Duration
o Final Date
o Remark

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 3.10.2 (3.11) BUDGET

• Realistic and detailed to reflect the activity schedule and

convincing for the reader or possibly the financier;
 Reflect real budget
 Must be realistic ,may be based on pilot study or pretesting
 Description or Activity
o Unit
o Unit Price
o Computations
o Total Cost
o Remark

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3.11 References/ Bibliography
• APA or Harvard style consistent with the citation used in the
text
• Alphabetically arranged
• Strictly following the rules for different sources

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