MERU UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Proposal Development Format & Brief Guidelines
The proposal should not exceed Twenty (20) pages in Times New Roman, font size 12, and
spacing of 1.5. It must contain the following sections:
a) Title of the research project
b) Statement of problem
c) Specific study objective(s)
d) Research questions/hypotheses
e) Justification of the study
f) Up-to-date literature review
g) Methodology
h) Expected outputs and outcomes
i) References
j) Work plan/log frame
k) Itemized budget
A. Title Page (See Format Attached)
The front page will consist of the following:
MERU UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION (SED)
Project Title: This shall be short, precise and descriptive of the study.(At most 20
words)
Student’s Name
Reg. No.FXXX
Statement: “A proposal submitted in fulfillment for the award of the Degree of (insert
name of degree) in the (insert Department where candidate is registered) in MUST”.
Researcher: Full name of the researcher.
Address: Department where the candidate is registered.
Supervisors: Names of all supervisors.
Date: Date of submission of proposal.
DECLARATION (New Page)
I hereby declare that this project proposal is my original work except as cited in
the references and has not been presented for the award of degree in any other University.
Sign:......................................... Date:............................................
Name: Jimbo Kaunda Kenneth
Reg. Number:
This proposal has been submitted for examination with our approval as the University
supervisors.
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Sign:.......................................
Date:……...................................
Supervisor:
Other sections (not a must to include )
Dedication (New Page)
Acknowledgement (New Page)
B. Table of Contents (Begins on a New Page)
The second page should contain a table of contents with page numbers.
List of Figures
List of tables (Begins on a new page)
Abbreviations (Begins on a new page)
C. ABSTRACT (Begins on a new page, usually one paragraph)
D. Proposal Body
The body of the proposal should consist of the following subsections.
1. CHAPTER ONE: Introduction
1,1 Background of study
This section shall provide a brief overview of the proposed area of study. It should be short
(maximum four (4) pages); telling the reader what the study will be about and why it is
important and timely.
1.2 Problem Statement / Statement of Research Problem
This section should provide brief information identifying the gaps in knowledge or
problems to be addressed in the study.
1.3 Objectives
These should clearly state how the problem will be addressed.
1.4 Main objective
1.4.1 Specific objective
1.5 Research questions
questions should be included and tally with the objectives
1.6 Hypothesis
should be included and tally with the objectives.
1.7 Scope
Describe what will be done in the project
2. CHAPTER TWO: Literature Review
This section shall present information on the evolution and present state of theory, practice
and research of the topic proposed for investigation. A candidate is expected to demonstrate
review of most recent and relevant publications not more than 10 years old (2013 or newer)
which must be properly cited in the references. This section may be organized with
subheadings to represent different areas of emphasis.
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The best way to approach this section is to write the literature review of every objective.
This ensures that no item in the process research is left out and the researcher conducts
research based on informed knowledge.
It is at this chapter that citations are done and paraphrasing based on the literature that is
done.
3. CHAPTER THREE: Materials and Methods / Methodology
Focused on addressing the objectives of the study.
Detailed enough that the study is repeatable and reproducible.
Where standard methods are used, adequate reference should be provided.
4. Chapter 4 Expected outcomes (proposal)
4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Final report
5. CONCLUSION
6. RECOMMENDATIONS
Normally this Chapter is not included in the proposal
REFERENCES
There are two widely used methods of citing references in documents such as a thesis or
project report. In the first method, the reference is cited as a number in the text, thus:
“These results are similar to those that have been found by other researchers [1, 2]”. In
this method, it is not necessary for the authors’ names to appear in the text, though they
frequently appear. In the references section, the cited references are then listed, in proper
numerical sequence, as follows:
1. Wismer, R. D. and Luth H. J. Off-road traction prediction for wheeled
vehicles. Journal of Terramechanics, 10(2):49-61. 1973.
2. Kepner, R. A., Bainer R. and Barger E. L. Principles of Farm Machinery,
AVI Publishing Co., Inc. 1972.
In the second method, the authors’ names and the year of publication of cited literature are
used in the text, in citing the literature, thus: “These results are similar to those that were
found by WISMER and LUTH (1973) and by KEPNER et al. (1972)”. In the references
section, the cited references are then listed, without numbering but in proper alphabetical
order, as shown below:
Kepner, R. A., Bainer R. and Barger E. L., (1972). Principles of Farm Machinery, AVI
Publishing Co., Inc.
Wismer, R. D. and Luth H. J. (1973). Off-road traction prediction for wheeled vehicles.
Journal of Terramechanics, 10(2):49-61.
Note: All web-based cited references should be of reputable institutions to facilitate
independent verification.
Appendices
The appendices should be clearly labelled and placed after the reference section. The
labelling system should be e.g. Appendix A (A1, A2 …), Appendix B (B1, B2), etc. They
should be listed in the table of contents.
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WORK PLAN / SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES (proposal)
The work plan should indicate the duration of planned activities in a logical sequence.
BUDGET
Shall be based on all envisaged activities of the study.
Shall comprise costs relevant to the above activities, including all the materials and
contingencies.
SAMPLE COVER PAGE
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