NUST Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies (NIPCONS)

MAS Dept

Defining Futures

7th Semester
Research Methodology
RM – 6
Research Proposal Drafting & Presenting
A Research Proposal

Sponsor: Brig Aslam Rana (Retd)

 RESEARCH PROPOSAL

Basic Concept and Definition

1. A research proposal is a document proposing a research project, generally in

the sciences or academia, and generally constitutes a request for sponsorship of that
research. Proposals are evaluated on the cost and potential impact of the proposed
research, and on the soundness of the proposed plan for carrying it out. Research
proposals generally address several key points: What research question(s) will be
addressed, and how they will be addressed:-
a. How much time and expense will be required for the research.
b. What prior research has been done on the topic.
c. How the results of the research will be evaluated.
d. How the research will benefit the sponsoring organization and other parties.
Types
2. Research proposals may be solicited, meaning that they are submitted in response to
a request with specified requirements, such as a request for proposal, or they may
be unsolicited, meaning they are submitted without prior request. Other types of proposals
include "pre proposals", where a letter of intent or brief abstract is submitted for review
prior to submission of a full proposal; continuation proposals, which re-iterate an original
proposal and its funding requirements in order to ensure continued funding; and renewal
proposals, which seek continued sponsorship of a project which would otherwise be
terminated. Academic research proposals are generally written as part of the initial
requirements of writing a thesis, research paper, or dissertation. They generally
follow the same format as a research paper, with an introduction, a literature review, a
discussion of research methodology and goals, and a conclusion. This basic structure
may vary between projects and between fields, each of which may have its own
requirements.
How to Write a Research Proposal
3. Most students and beginning researchers do not fully understand what a research
proposal means, nor do they understand its importance. To put it bluntly, one's research is
only as a good as one's proposal. An ill-conceived proposal dooms the project even if it
 somehow gets through the Thesis Supervisory Committee. A high quality proposal, on the
other hand, not only promises success for the project, but also impresses your Thesis
Committee about your potential as a researcher.
4. A 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.
Generally, 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. Regardless of your research area and the methodology you choose, all
research proposals must address the following questions: What you plan to accomplish,
why you want to do it and how you are going to do it. The proposal should have sufficient
information to convince your readers that you have an important research idea, that you
have a good grasp of the relevant literature and the major issues, and that your
methodology is sound. The quality of your research proposal depends not only on the
quality of your proposed project, but also on the quality of your proposal writing. A good
research project may run the risk of rejection simply because the proposal is poorly
written. Therefore, it pays if your writing is coherent, clear and compelling. This paper
focuses on proposal writing rather than on the development of research ideas.
Title
5. It should be concise and descriptive. For example, the phrase, "An investigation of . ."
could be omitted. Often titles are stated in terms of a functional relationship, because such
titles clearly indicate the independent and dependent variables. However, if possible, think of
an informative but catchy title. An effective title not only pricks the reader's interest, but also
predisposes him/her favorably towards the proposal.
Abstract:
6. It is a brief summary of approximately 300 words. It should include the research
question, the rationale for the study, the hypothesis (if any), the method and the main
findings. Descriptions of the method may include the design, procedures, the sample and
any instruments that will be used.
Introduction
7. The main purpose of the introduction is to provide the necessary background or
context for your research problem. How to frame the research problem is perhaps the
biggest problem in proposal writing. If the research problem is framed in the context of a
general, rambling literature review, and then the research question may appear trivial and
uninteresting. However, if the same question is placed in the context of a very focused and
current research area, its significance will become evident. Unfortunately, there are no hard
and fast rules on how to frame your research question just as there is no prescription on how
to write an interesting and informative opening paragraph. A lot depends on your creativity,
your ability to think clearly and the depth of your understanding of problem areas. However,
try to place your research question in the context of either a current "hot" area, or an older
area that remains viable. Secondly, you need to provide a brief but appropriate historical
backdrop. Thirdly, provide the contemporary context in which your proposed research
question occupies the central stage. Finally, identify "key players" and refer to the most
relevant and representative publications. In short, try to paint your research question in
broad brushes and at the same time bring out its significance. The introduction typically
begins with a general statement of the problem area, with a focus on a specific research
problem, to be followed by the rational or justification for the proposed study. The
introduction generally covers the following elements:-
a. State the research problem, which is often referred to as the purpose of the
study.
b. Provide the context and set the stage for your research question in such a way
as to show its necessity and importance.
c. Present the rationale of your proposed study and clearly indicate why it is worth
doing.
d. Briefly describe the major issues and sub-problems to be addressed by your
research.
e. Identify the key independent and dependent variables of your experiment.
Alternatively, specify the phenomenon you want to study.
f. State your hypothesis or theory, if any. For exploratory or phenomenological
research, you may not have any hypotheses. (Please do not confuse the
hypothesis with the statistical null hypothesis.)
g. Set the delimitation or boundaries of your proposed research in order to
provide a clear focus.
h. Provide definitions of key concepts. (This is optional.)
Literature Review
8. Sometimes the literature review is incorporated into the introduction section. However,
most professors prefer a separate section, which allows a more thorough review of the
literature. The literature review serves several important functions:
a. Ensures that you are not "reinventing the wheel".
b. Gives credits to those who have laid the groundwork for your research.
c. Demonstrates your knowledge of the research problem.
d. Demonstrates your understanding of the theoretical and research issues
related to your research question.
e. Shows your ability to critically evaluate relevant literature information.
f. Indicates your ability to integrate and synthesize the existing literature.
g. Provides new theoretical insights or develops a new model as the conceptual
framework for your research.
h. Convinces your reader that your proposed research will make a significant and
substantial contribution to the literature (i.e., resolving an important theoretical
issue or filling a major gap in the literature
9. Most students' literature reviews suffer from the following problems:-
a. Lacking organization and structure
b. Lacking focus, unity and coherence
c. Being repetitive and verbose
d. Failing to cite influential papers
e. Failing to keep up with recent developments
f. Failing to critically evaluate cited papers
g. Citing irrelevant or trivial references
h. Depending too much on secondary sources
10. Your scholarship and research competence will be questioned if any of the above
applies to your proposal. There are different ways to organize your literature review. Make
use of subheadings to bring order and coherence to your review. For example, having
established the importance of your research area and its current state of development, you
may devote several subsections on related issues as: theoretical models, measuring
instruments, cross-cultural and gender differences, etc.It are also helpful to keep in mind that
you are telling a story to an audience. Try to tell it in a stimulating and engaging manner. Do
not bore them, because it may lead to rejection of your worthy proposal. (Remember:
Professors and scientists are human beings too.)
Methods
11. The Method section is very important because it tells your Research Committee how
you plan to tackle your research problem. It will provide your work plan and describe the
activities necessary for the completion of your project.
12. The guiding principle for writing the Method section is that it should contain sufficient
information for the reader to determine whether methodology is sound. Some even argue
that a good proposal should contain sufficient details for another qualified researcher to
implement the study. You need to demonstrate your knowledge of alternative methods and
make the case that your approach is the most appropriate and most valid way to address
your research question. Please note that your research question may be best answered by
qualitative research. However, since most mainstream psychologists are still biased against
qualitative research, especially the phenomenological variety, you may need to justify your
qualitative method.
13. Furthermore, since there are no well-established and widely accepted canons in
qualitative analysis, your method section needs to be more elaborate than what is required
for traditional quantitative research. More importantly, the data collection process in
qualitative research has a far greater impact on the results as compared to quantitative
research. That is another reason for greater care in describing how you will collect and
analyze your data. (How to write the Method section for qualitative research is a topic for
another paper.) For quantitative studies, the method section typically consists of the
following sections:-
a. Design -Is it a questionnaire study or a laboratory experiment? What kind of
design do you choose?
b. Subjects or participants - Who will take part in your study? What kind of
sampling procedure do you use?
c. Instruments - What kind of measuring instruments or questionnaires do you
use? Why do you choose them? Are they valid and reliable?
d. Procedure - How do you plan to carry out your study? What activities are
involved? How long does it take?
14. Results Obviously you do not have results at the proposal stage. However, you
need to have some idea about what kind of data you will be collecting, and what statistical
procedures will be used in order to answer your research question or test you hypothesis.
15. Discussion It is important to convince your reader of the potential impact of your
proposed research. You need to communicate a sense of enthusiasm and confidence
without exaggerating the merits of your proposal. That is why you also need to mention the
limitations and weaknesses of the proposed research, which may be justified by time and
financial constraints as well as by the early developmental stage of your research area.
16. Common Mistakes in Proposal Writing
a. Failure to provide the proper context to frame the research question.
b. Failure to delimit the boundary conditions for your research.
c. Failure to cite landmark studies.
d. Failure to accurately present the theoretical and empirical contributions by
other researchers.
e. Failure to stay focused on the research question.
f. Failure to develop a coherent and persuasive argument for the proposed
research.
g. Too much detail on minor issues, but not enough detail on major issues.
h. Too much rambling -- going "all over the map" without a clear sense of
direction. (The best proposals move forward with ease and grace like a
seamless river.)
i. Too many citation lapses and incorrect references.
j. Too long or too short.
k. Failing to follow the APA style.
l. Slopping writing.
 QUESTIONNAIRE TD RM - 6

Q – 1. What is a research proposal? Why is it necessary in a research work?

Q – 2. Write complete layout of a research proposal.

Q – 3. What are characteristics of a good research proposal?

Q – 4. List down commonly committed mistakes by students in writing a research proposal

REFERENCES FOR FURTHER STUDY

1. "Research proposal". BusinessDictionary.com. Retrieved 21 June 2016.

2. Wong, Paul T. P. "How to Write a Research Proposal". International Network on Personal
Meaning. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
3. Yousaf, Saeed T. P. "Keypoints of a Research Proposal". Scholarshipfellow.com.com.
Retrieved 7 January 2018.
4. "Writing a Research Proposal". University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Retrieved 21
June 2016.
5. "How to Write Academic Research Proposal". A Jonson Hillviews Magazine Editor.
Retrieved 20 December 2018.

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