1. PhD Proposal write-shop Ridar Hotel, Nov 10-12, 2011 Supported under the Carnegie NGA Project 2010-2012

2. Objectives & Outputs Key Objective – Support PhD students finalise their proposals Key Output – Proposal ready for submission

3. GUIDELINES FOR THE FORMAT OF RESEARCH PROPOSALS

4. What is a Proposal This is a written presentation of an intended research specifying the problem, the purpose, scope/objectives, methodology, references and the financial plan/budget. A synopsis is an outline of the research proposal of 3-5 pages length (including references) which is currently required for provisional admission to PhD and other doctoral degree studies at Makerere University.

5. Components of a Research Proposal Title / Topic Background / Introduction Research Problem / Statement of the Problem General Objective / Aim / Purpose Specific Objectives Significance/Importance/Contribution Justification/Rationale (Answers the question – Why?) Theoretical / Conceptual Framework Scope (where applicable) Literature Review Hypotheses / Postulates / Research Questions (where applicable) Methodology Ethical Consideration Environmental Considerations Gender Consideration Limitations / Anticipated Problems (Optional) References Appendices

6. Length of Proposals and submission A proposal for Masters Degree research should be up to 15 pages excluding appendices. While the PhD and postdoc proposal should not exceed 25 pages excluding appendices.

7. Research Report, Thesis/Dissertation Format Definition of Report Is a detailed account of the study The research report comprises of: The Preliminaries The Body/Text (Page numbers in Arabic numerals) The Bibliography The Appendices

8. The Preliminaries (pages numbered in Roman numerals) to consist of:- (i) Title page (Not numbered) (ii) Declaration (compulsory for certificate & Degree research) (iii) Copyright statement (iv) Dedication (optional) (v) Acknowledgement (vi) Table of Contents (vii) List of Tables (where applicable) viii) List of illustrations (Figures) (where applicable) (ix) Abbreviations (Acronyms) (where applicable) x) Abstract

9. Cont’d The Body/Text (Page numbers in Arabic numerals) i) For thesis / dissertation as a publication The text consists of: 1. Introduction 2. Literature Review and/or Theoretical Analysis 3. Methodology/Materials and Methods 4. Presentation of results/findings 5. Discussion of results/findings 6. Conclusions and Recommendations. ii) Thesis/Dissertation published as papers and /or as manuscripts The text consists of: 1. General Introduction 2. Literature Review and/or Theoretical Analysis 3. General Methodology/Materials and Methods

10. Cont’d Each of the objectives forms a standalone chapter of a published paper or a manuscript with: i) Introduction ii) Materials and Methods iii) Results iv) Discussion v) Conclusion Then follows the sections (numbered consecutively): 5. General Discussion 6. Conclusion 7. Recommendations

11. Copyright Written permission to use previously published text, tables, figures, or tests should be available on request and acknowledged in reference to the text, table, figure, plate or tests using asterisk

12. Footnotes Because they are distracting to readers, footnotes should be included only when necessary. In most cases, important information is best presented in the text, not in a footnote.

13. Organizing and structuring documents with Headings: Documents are organized and structured by dividing them into different levels. Levels are divided into sections. The sections are given headings. Divisions or sections of the same importance are given same headings. For example, research proposals are usually divided into Background to the study, Literature Review, and Methodology. These three sections belong to the same level and are equally important. All documents should have a hierarchical (top-down) arrangement. Each section or divisions of the document should begin with the highest level possible, then lower and the lowest levels should be given. The headings (titles) given should also begin with the highest level possible, then lower and the lowest headings should be given.