Writing A Research Proposal

Why “A Research Proposal”?

Organize Ideas Clarify your thoughts Organize ideas into a coherent statement Convince Audience To amend initial ideas accordingly To imply that the proposed research is achievable Contract with the client In a project with a commercial client acceptance of the research will be followed by the proposal

Content of the Research Proposal

BackgroundQuestion & ObjectivesMethodTimescaleResources & Reference

Background To tell why the research is worth the effort To demonstrate you knowledge An overview of the key literature sources

Research Question & Objective Indicate what your research seek to achieve Whether it is realistic

Method How you intend o achieve research objectives Research Design – Explaining where you intend to carryout the research – Whether it is based on questionnaire, interviews, etc – How are they implemented Data Collection – Survey strategy and research instrument – Statement of the ethical guidelines

Timescale Help the reader to decide on the viability of the proposal Give an idea on what is possible within the given time Can be presented by using a Gantt Chart

Resources Finance Data Equipment

References Literature sources which have been referred

Evaluation of a Research Proposal

The extent to which the components of the proposal fit together Viability of the proposal Absence of preconceived ideas