Proposal development and research design

What is a research proposal? A research proposal is a document written by a researcher that provides a detailed description of the proposed program. It is like an outline of the entire research process that gives a reader a summary of the information discussed in a project.

The purpose of the proposal All research proposals must address the following questions: 1.What you plan to accomplish 2.Why you want to do it 3.How you are going to do it.

Criteria of a good research proposal The quality of the research proposal depends not only on the quality of your proposed project, but also on the quality of your proposal writing

Criteria of a good research proposal A good research proposal is based on scientific facts and on the art of clear communication A PhD proposal must make an original contribution to knowledge in a particular field

Criteria of a good research proposal Avoid plagiarism Plagiarism is presenting someone else’s ideas or words as though they were your own. Paraphrase and quote

If you use a direct quotation from an original source, give the author(s) credit for her/his/their words as follows. Include the page number(s) of the quotation to enable your readers to find it. “Cognitive therapy is more effective than psychoanalysis in the treatments of phobias” (Jones & Smith, 2002, p. 44).

If you paraphrase from a source (i.e., translate it into your own words), give the author(s) credit for their ideas as follows. Phobias can be treated more successfully by cognitive therapy than psychoanalysis (Jones & Smith, 2002). OR According to Jones and Smith (2002), phobias can be treated more successfully by cognitive therapy than psychoanalysis.

The structure of the research proposal Title or the cover page Table of contents Abstract Background Research question/ Aim Research methods or Methodology Timetable/ Plan References

Background Why is your study important? Describe the significance of the research question or problem Answer the “so what?” question

Literature review What is the state of the science/art on this problem? Are there gaps in the literature? How will your study fill those gaps? – Synthesize recent literature (within the past 5 years)

Purpose Identify simply what you plan to do in your study The purpose can be framed as a research question or an aim

Materials and Methods This section of your proposal has multiple parts – Design – Sample/Sample size – Setting – Protocol – Analysis Plan Detailed enough so that the reviewers could conduct the study

Data Analysis Describe your analysis plan – What statistical tests will you use? – Be sure your statistics are appropriate for your study design

APA-Style References in the Reference Section of Your Paper

What questions are answered in an APA-style reference that will enable a reader to perform a successful search? Who wrote this document? When was it written? What was its title? Where was it published? Who published it?

References plagiarism/ plagiarism/