搜索
HowtoWriteaResearchProposalMoststudentsandbeginningresearchersdonotfullyunderstandwhataresearchproposalmeans,nordotheyunderstanditsimportance.Toputitbluntly,one’sresearchisonlyasagoodasone’sproposal.Anill-conceivedproposaldoomstheprojectevenifitsomehowgetsthroughtheThesisSupervisoryCommittee.Ahighqualityproposal,ontheotherhand,notonlypromisessuccessfortheproject,butalsoimpressesyourThesisCommitteeaboutyourpotentialasaresearcher.Aresearchproposalisintendedtoconvinceothersthatyouhaveaworthwhileresearchprojectandthatyouhavethecompetenceandthework-plantocompleteit.Generally,aresearchproposalshouldcontainallthekeyelementsinvolvedintheresearchprocessandincludesufficientinformationforthereaderstoevaluatetheproposedstudy.Regardlessofyourresearchareaandthemethodologyyouchoose,allresearchproposalsmustaddressthefollowingquestions:Whatyouplantoaccomplish,whyyouwanttodoitandhowyouaregoingtodoit.Theproposalshouldhavesufficientinformationtoconvinceyourreadersthatyouhaveanimportantresearchidea,thatyouhaveagoodgraspoftherelevantliteratureandthemajorissues,andthatyourmethodologyissound.Thequalityofyourresearchproposaldependsnotonlyonthequalityofyourproposedproject,butalsoonthequalityofyourproposalwriting.Agoodresearchprojectmayruntheriskofrejectionsimplybecausetheproposalispoorlywritten.Therefore,itpaysifyourwritingiscoherent,clearandcompelling.Thispaperfocusesonproposalwritingratherthanonthedevelopmentofresearchideas.Title:Itshouldbeconciseanddescriptive.Forexample,thephrase,“Aninvestigationof...”couldbeomitted.Oftentitlesarestatedintermsofafunctionalrelationship,becausesuchtitlesclearlyindicatetheindependentanddependentvariables.However,ifpossible,thinkofaninformativebutcatchytitle.Aneffectivetitlenotonlypricksthereader’sinterest,butalsopredisposeshim/herfavourablytowardstheproposal.Abstract:Itisabriefsummaryofapproximately300words.Itshouldincludetheresearchquestion,therationaleforthestudy,thehypothesis(ifany),themethodandthemainfindings.Descriptionsofthemethodmayincludethedesign,procedures,thesampleandanyinstrumentsthatwillbeused.Introduction:Themainpurposeoftheintroductionistoprovidethenecessarybackgroundorcontextforyourresearchproblem.Howtoframetheresearchproblemisperhapsthebiggestprobleminproposalwriting.Iftheresearchproblemisframedinthecontextofageneral,ramblingliteraturereview,thentheresearchquestionmayappeartrivialanduninteresting.However,ifthesamequestionisplacedinthecontextofaveryfocusedandcurrentresearcharea,itssignificancewillbecomeevident.Unfortunately,therearenohardandfastrulesonhowtoframeyourresearchquestionjustasthereisnoprescriptiononhowtowriteaninterestingandinformativeopeningparagraph.Alotdependsonyourcreativity,yourabilitytothinkclearlyandthedepthofyourunderstandingofproblemareas.However,trytoplaceyourresearchquestioninthecontextofeitheracurrent“hot”area,oranolderareathatremainsviable.Secondly,youneedtoprovideabriefbutappropriatehistoricalbackdrop.Thirdly,providethecontemporarycontextinwhichyourproposedresearchquestionoccupiesthecentralstage.Finally,identify“keyplayers”andrefertothemostrelevantandrepresentativepublications.Inshort,trytopaintyourresearchquestioninbroadbrushesandatthesametimebringoutitssignificance.Theintroductiontypicallybeginswithageneralstatementoftheproblemarea,withafocusonaspecificresearchproblem,tobefollowedbytherationalorjustificationfortheproposedstudy.Theintroductiongenerallycoversthefollowingelements:1.Statetheresearchproblem,whichisoftenreferredtoasthepurposeofthestudy.2.Providethecontextandsetthestageforyourresearchquestioninsuchawayastoshowitsnecessityandimportance.3.Presenttherationaleofyourproposedstudyandclearlyindicatewhyitisworthdoing.4.Brieflydescribethemajorissuesandsub-problemstobeaddressedbyyourresearch.5.Identifythekeyindependentanddependentvariablesofyourexperiment.Alternatively,specifythephenomenonyouwanttostudy.6.Stateyourhypothesisortheory,ifany.Forexploratoryorphenomenologicalresearch,youmaynothaveanyhypotheses.(Pleasedonotconfusethehypothesiswiththestatisticalnullhypothesis.)7.Setthedelimitationorboundariesofyourproposedresearchinordertoprovideaclearfocus.8.Providedefinitionsofkeyconcepts.(Thisisoptional.)LiteratureReview:Sometimestheliteraturereviewisincorporatedintotheintroductionsection.However,mostprofessorspreferaseparatesection,whichallowsamorethoroughreviewoftheliterature.Theliteraturereviewservesseveralimportantfunctions:1.Ensuresthatyouarenot“reinventingthewheel”.2.Givescreditstothosewhohavelaidthegroundworkforyourresearch.3.Demonstratesyourknowledgeoftheresearchproblem.4.Demonstratesyourunderstandingofthetheoreticalandresearchissuesrelatedtoyourresearchquestion.5.Showsyourabilitytocriticallyevaluaterelevantliteratureinformation.6.Indicatesyourabilitytointegrateandsynthesizetheexistingliterature.7.Providesnewtheoreticalinsightsordevelopsanewmodelastheconceptualframeworkforyourresearch.8.Convincesyourreaderthatyourproposedresearchwillmakeasignificantandsubstantialcontributiontotheliterature(i.e.,resolvinganimportanttheoreticalissueorfillingamajorgapinth