RESEARCH PROPOSAL WRITING

A research proposal describes what you will investigate, why it’s important, and how you will conduct
your research. It sets out the central issues or questions that the research intends to address. It outlines
the general area of study within which the research falls, referring to the current state of knowledge and
any recent debates on the topic.

The format of a research proposal varies between fields, but most proposals will contain at least these
elements:

1. Title page
2. Abstract
3. Table of Contents
4. Introduction
5. Literature review / Theoretical framework
6. Materials and Methods/Methodology
7. Reference list / Bibliography
8. Budget
9. Work Plan

Whenever in doubt about how your research proposal should be structured, always check your
Department’s guidelines and consult with your supervisor.

A research proposal serves as a blueprint and guide for your research plan, helping you get organized
and feel confident as you prepare to start the actual research work.

In addition to helping you figure out what your research can look like, a proposal can also serve to
demonstrate why your project is worth pursuing to a funder, educational institution, or supervisor.

TITLE PAGE
The very first page of the research proposal contains the title, your name, institution, department,
University logo, degree program and submission date, your student registration number, your
supervisor’s name. Most institutions have strict requirements for formatting the research proposal title
page. The title page is often used as cover when printing and binding your proposal.

Usually, the title should be informative, consisting of important keywords, and adequately exhibit the
topic of the research proposal.

ABSTRACT
The abstract is a short summary of your research proposal, usually about 150-300 words long. You
should write it last after you’ve completed the rest of the proposal. In the abstract, make sure to briefly:

 State the background of the proposed research topic

 Describe the problem to be investigated
 State the objectives of your research proposal

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  Briefly describe the experimental design and highlight the major methods to be used in your
study.

Note: Although the abstract is very short, it’s the first part (and sometimes the only part) of your
proposal that people will read, so it’s important that you get it right and must reflect a true summarized
representation of your proposal.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
In the table of contents, list all your chapters and subheadings and their page numbers. The proposal
contents page gives the reader an overview of your proposal structure and helps easily navigate the
document. You can generate a table of contents automatically in Word.

INTRODUCTION
The first part of your proposal is the initial pitch for your project. Make sure it clearly explains what you
want to do and why. In the introduction, you set up your proposed research topic, purpose, and relevance,
and tell the reader what to expect in the rest of the proposal. The introduction should have the following
subtitles:

i) Background
 Introduce your research topic, giving necessary background information and
accompanying literature citations to contextualise your work.
 Give the state of existing research on the topic by stating:
o How much is already known about the topic?
o What is missing from this current knowledge?
o What new insights does your research topic contribute?
 Explain the relevance of your research topic to the broader problem or debate.
 A strong background demonstrates that you’re not simply repeating what other people
have already done but rather using existing research information as a starting point for
your own.
 The background should not be too lengthy since there is an opportunity to expound on its
content when it comes to the detailed literature review section of your research proposal.

By the end of the background, all key words in the title must have been addressed or at least
hinted on.

ii) Problem Statement: Based on the background information, briefly and precisely state the
problem that your research proposal seeks to address.
 You may not have to cite any reference in this section since the background already
caters for all the cited literature on which the problem statement is based.
 You should also avoid a lengthy problem statement which could end up appearing to be
an extension of the background hence losing the precision and clarity.
 A brief and precise problem statement is an indication of how well the prospective
investigator understands the problem that the study seeks to address

iii) Objectives: Clearly state your objectives. The objectives are based on the stated problem and
indicate the researcher’s proposed approach to solving the problem in question.

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iv) Justification: Explain why it is important to undertake the proposed research. Why do you believe
that particular research is worth doing?

v) Significance: Explain the potential implications or impact of your proposed research findings on
the current state of affairs after it is done.

vi) Research Question or hypothesis: Clearly state your research questions or hypothesis. What
questions does your study/research seek to answer? Try as much as possible to formulate one or
more research questions or hypotheses.

vii) Conceptual framework: Give an overview of your proposal’s structure. How do you plan to
conduct the research/study and achieve each of the stated objectives?

Note: Everything in the introduction should be clear, engaging, and relevant to the research topic. By
the end, the reader should understand the what, why and how of your research is to be conducted.

LITERATURE REVIEW / THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

As you get started, it’s important to demonstrate that you’re familiar with the most important existing
research articles on your topic. A strong literature review shows your reader that your project has a solid
foundation in existing knowledge or theory. Therefore, before you start on your research, you should
conduct a literature review to gain a thorough understanding of the academic work that already exists on
your topic. This implies:

 Collecting sources (e.g. books and journal articles) and selecting the most relevant ones
 Critically evaluating and analyzing each source
 Drawing connections between them (e.g. themes, patterns, conflicts, gaps) to make an overall
point

In the literature review section, you shouldn’t just summarise existing studies, but develop a coherent
structure and argument that leads to a clear basis or justification for your own research. For example, it
might aim to show how your research:

 Addresses a gap in the literature

 Takes a new theoretical or methodological approach to the topic
 Proposes a solution to an unresolved problem
 Advances a theoretical debate
 Builds on and strengthens existing knowledge with new data

The literature review often becomes the basis for a theoretical framework, in which you define and
analyse the key theories, concepts and models that frame your research. In this section you can answer
descriptive research questions about the relationship between concepts or variables.

The literature review section also gives the researcher a chance to give details that could not be
adequately addressed within the background section of the introduction.

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MATERIALS AND METHODS / METHODOLOGY

This section is best introduced with the experimental design where you briefly describe the overall
approach on how you plan to carry out the proposed study and the practical steps you will take to
achieve the stated specific objectives. It allows the reader to assess the validity of the methods to be used
in your study.

You should generally include:

 Tools and materials to be used (e.g. computer programs, lab equipment)
 The overall approach and type of research (e.g. qualitative, quantitative, experimental,
ethnographic)
 Your methods of collecting data (e.g. interviews, surveys, archives)
 Details of where, when, and with whom the research will take place
 Methods to be used for analysing data (e.g. statistical analysis, discourse analysis)
 An evaluation or justification of your proposed methods
 The focus and scope of the proposed research.

Your aim in the methodology is to accurately report what you intend to do, as well as convincing the
reader that this would be the best approach to answering the proposed research questions or objectives.

REFERENCE LIST/ BIBLIOGRAPHY

You must include full details of all sources that you have cited in a reference list (sometimes also called
bibliography). It’s important to follow a consistent reference style. Each style has strict and specific
requirements for how to format your sources in the reference list.

Your Institution / University will often specify which referencing style you should use – for example,
Makerere Univesity uses APA style. Make sure to check the requirements, and ask your supervisor if
you’re unsure.

To save time creating the reference list and make sure your citations are correctly and consistently
formatted, you can use some reference managers such as Endnote or Mendeley software programs.

BUDGET
This should cater for the predicted costs of all aspects of the research and then add an additional
allowance for unpredictable disasters, delays and rising costs. All items in the budget should be justified.

RESEARCH ACTIVITY TIMELINE

This basically shows the chronological order of events that you plan to do during your proposed research.
It is supposed to give the reader a broad overview of the probable research activities and their
corresponding timelines.

Timelines are not only helpful in organizing the work that needs to be done, but they hold the researcher
accountable for completing the work in time.

Below is sample of a research activity timeline

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 Timeline

2030 2031
Activity Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun July Aug
Proposal writing
Proposal Submission
Presentation & Approval
Data collection (field work)
Data analysis
Dissertation writing
Dissertation defense