Notes on Research Proposals

Components of the Research Proposal Problem Description/Statement Research Objectives Importance/Benefits of the Study Literature Review Research Design / Data Analysis Deliverables Schedule [Facilities and Special Resources] References Budget (Appendix)

Problem Statement Review the discussion from Week 2 on problem statements.

Purpose of the Problem Statement Represents the reasons/motivation behind your proposal (based on the specific domain of study). It specifies the conditions you want to change or the gaps in existing knowledge you intend to fill (this is the specification of the research problem). Should be supported by evidence. Specifies your hypothesis that suggests a solution to the problem. Shows your familiarity with prior research on the topic and why it needs to be extended. Even if the problem is obvious, your reviewers want to know how clearly you can state it.

Guidelines for writing a good abstract/problem statement All should have the following elements in this order: State the general case / problem Describe what others have done What’s missing / where is the gap in knowledge? Describe the proposed solution or research objectives/questions Specify one or more specific hypotheses Should include specific metrics/measurements Discuss how their validation addresses the research questions Specific results (or research design, if it is a proposal)

Purpose of the Research Objectives Section Specify the outcome of your project, the end product(s) Keep you objectives Specific: indicate precisely what you intend to change through your project Measurable –what you accept as proof of project success Logical – how each objective contributes to systematically to achieving your overall goal

Research Objectives Flows naturally from the problem statement state your hypotheses clearly give the reader a concrete, achievable goal Verify the consistency of the proposal check to see that each objective is discussed in the research design, data analysis and results sections

Literature Review Recent or historically significant research studies Always refer to the original source Discuss how the literature applies, show the weaknesses in the design, discuss how you would avoid similar problems How is your idea different/better?

Importance/Benefits of the Study Importance of the doing the study now What are the potential impacts on Research in the area Applications of the research if successful Broader impact (in other areas, on the society, in education, etc.) If you find this difficult to write, then most likely you have not understood the problem

Research Design What you are going to do in technical terms. May contain many subsections Be specific about what research methodology you will use and why Provide details of your proposed solutions to the problem and sub-problems Provide information for tasks such as sample selection, data collection, instrumentation, validation, procedures, ethical requirements

Schedule & Deliverables Include the major phases of the project exploratory studies, data analysis, report generation Critical Path Method (CPM) of scheduling may help Deliverables: Measurement instruments Algorithms Computer programs / prototypes Comparative evaluation Other technical reports

Budget and Resources Itemized Budget Provide a Budget Narrative Access to special systems or computers Infrastructure needs Costs of surveys, user studies, etc. Cost of travel if related to research design Provide a Budget Narrative This part is usually an appendix.

Proposal Characteristics Straightforward document No extraneous or irreverent material Don’t tell us why you became interested in the topic The first words you write are the most important ones Not a literary production Clear, sharp and precise economy of words; no rambling sentences Clearly organized Outlined with proper use of headings and subheadings

Suggested Organization Title, Abstract, Keywords (problem statement) Introduction and Overview Background information; problem description in context Hypotheses and objectives Assumptions and delimitations Importance and benefits Related Work/Literature Review Research Design and Methodology Plan of Work and Outcomes (deliverables, schedule) Conclusions and Future Work References Budget (appendix)

Weaknesses in Research Proposals Research Problem unfocused unimportant (done before!) more complex limited relevance

Weaknesses in Research Proposals Research Design so vague it prevents evaluation inappropriate or impossible data procedures inappropriate for problem Threats to validity Lack of reliable measures lacking controls

Purpose of the Research Design Describes your project activities in detail Indicates how your objective will be accomplished Description should include the sequence, flow, and interrelationship of activities It should discuss the risks of your method, and indicate why your success is probable Relate what is unique about your approach. Much more on this later ….

Writing Tips for Research Design Begin with your objectives Describe the precise steps you will follow to carry out each objective, including what will be done, and who will do it. Keep asking and answering the “What’s next?” question. Once you have determined the sequence of events, cast the major milestones into a time-and-task chart

Scientific Writing Prosaic Clear, accurate, but not dull Economy – every sentence necessary but not to the point of over condensing Ego less – you are writing for the readers not yourself

Scientific Tone Objective and accurate To inform not entertain Do not over qualify – modify every claim with caveats and cautions Never use idioms like “crop up”, “loose track”, “it turned out that”, etc. Use examples if they aid in clarification

Scientific Motivation Brief summaries at the beginning and end of each section The connection between one paragraph and the next should be obvious Make sure your reader has sufficient knowledge to understand what follows

Other Writing Issues The upper hand – inclusion of offhanded remarks like “ …this is a straightforward application …” Obfuscation – aim is to give an impression of having done something without actually claiming to have done it Analogies – only worthwhile if it significantly reduces the work of understanding, most of the time bad analogies lead the reader astray

Writing Issues Straw men – indefensible hypothesis posed for the sole purpose of being demolished “it can be argued that databases do not require indexes” Also use to contrast a new idea with some impossibly bad alternative, to put the new idea in a favorable light

Unsubstantiated Claims Example: Most user prefer the graphical style of interface. We believe that …. Example Another possibility would be a disk-based method, but this approach is unlikely to be successful. Another …, but our experience suggests that …

References and Citation Up-to-date Relevant (no padding) Original source First order: books and journal articles Second order: conference article Third order: technical report No private communications or forums ( material cannot be accessed or verified) if you must leave as a footnote not in the bibliography Do not cite support for common knowledge

Reference and Citation Carefully relate your new work to existing work, show how your work builds on previous knowledge, and how it differs from other relevant results. References – demonstrate the claims of new, knowledge of the research area, pointers to background reading

Citation Style References should not be anonymous Other work [6] -> Marsden [6] has … In self-references, readers should know that you are using yourself to support your argument not independent authorities Avoid unnecessary discussion of references, Several authors …., we cite …

Citation style Ordinal-number style, name-and-date style, superscripted ordinal numbers, and strings. Use anyone, but use one! Entries ordered By appearance of citation alphabetically

Quotation Text from another source If short – enclosed in double quotes If long – set aside in an indented block Long quotations, full material, algorithms, figures may require permission from the publisher and from the author of the original Use of quotes for other reasons is not recommended

Acknowledgements Anyone who made a contribution Advice, proofreading, technical support, funding resources Don’t list your family, unless they really contributed to the scientific contents

Ethics Don’t Present opinions as fact Distort truths Plagiarize Imply that previously published results are original Papers available on the internet – authors put out an informal publication and becomes accepted as a formal. It is expected that the informal version will be removed