Research Proposal Writing Resource Person : Furqan-ul-haq Siddiqui Lecture on; Wednesday, May 13, 2015 Quetta Campus

The Research Proposal A research proposal is a document that describes in details the plan for a proposed research project.  It can be for a supervised project submitted to research supervisor as part of an educational degree (e.g. a Master’s thesis or a Ph.D. dissertation) or  It can be for a research project proposed to a funding agency.

Purpose of the Research Proposal  To act as a ‘map’ to guide your research.  Essentially a road map, showing clearly the location from which a journey begins, the destination to be reached, and the method of getting there  lets your supervisor and department or faculty know what you would like to research and how you plan to go about it.

The process includes:  Choosing a topic  Narrowing and focussing your topic  Formulating research objectives or questions and ideas for analysis  Outlining the key literature in the topic area  Deciding on research methodology, research design and methods  Proposing an approach to data analysis  Developing a timeline  Developing a budget and resources you will need  Developing a bibliography

Verb Tense Generally (except for introductions, summaries, and literature review), proposals are written in future tense, explaining what the researcher “will” do.

Format of Research Proposal 1. Title page: 2. Acknowledgement 3. Abstract Typically, an abstract addresses these in words:  an outline of your proposal,  What your research will involve,  Research questions or hypothesis, Research methods and  How you will analyse the data.

4. Introduction The introduction is the part of the paper that provides readers with the background information for the research reported in the paper. Sufficient details should be given in this discussion (1) to make clear what the research problem is and exactly what has been accomplished; (2) to give evidence of your own competence in the field; and (3) to show why the previous work needs to be continued.

Background 1. This sets out why you chose your topic 2. what prompted your interest in the topic 3. The links with previous research 4. Ways your Research is different or unique 5. States the research objectives, questions or hypothesis.

5. Literature Review Literature Review- This essentially mentions the major preceding research. It needs not be exhaustive but you should spend some time in looking at the major research works on the topic. (what is known and unknown about the topic) References are curtail part of literature review. Without references, literature review is of no worth.

The literature review accomplishes several purposes. It shares with the reader the results of other studies that are closely related to the study being reported It provides a framework for establishing the importance of the study, as well as a benchmark for comparing the results of a study with other findings.

 Why is this work important?  What are the implications of doing it? How does it link to other knowledge?  This should show how this project is significant to our body of knowledge. Why is it important to our understanding of the world? 6. Significance of Study

7. Research Questions/Problem Statement Your work to date It should give a sense that you are in a position to add to the body of knowledge.

8. Model/Framework to be used:  It is a conceptual model of how one theorizes the relationship among the several factors that have been identified as important to the problem (identifying, explaining and labeling variables of interest)

9. Proposed Research Hypothesis:  A hypothesis can be defined as a logically conjectured relationship between two or more variables expressed in the form of a testable statement  Both an hypothesis and a problem contribute to the body of knowledge which supports or refutes an existing theory. An hypothesis differs from a problem. A problem is formulated in the form of a question; it serves as the basis or origin from which an hypothesis is derived. An hypothesis is a suggested solution to a problem. A problem (question) cannot be directly tested, whereas an hypothesis can be tested and verified.

10. Research Methodology/Design  This section identify the methodology that underpins your research and give a rationale for your approach.  the purpose of the study (exploratory, descriptive, and explanatory)  the unit of analysis (individuals, dyads, groups)  time dimension (Cross sectional & longitudinal)  Choice of Research Design: Mode of Observation (survey, experiment, content analysis, field observation, case study, focus group discussion.)  Sampling Design  Statistical Techniques  Data Processing and Data Analysis

11. Limitations  A limitation  identifies potential weaknesses of the study.

12. Expected Results This section should give a good indication of what you expect to get out of the research. It should join the data analysis and possible outcomes to the theory and questions that you have raised. It will be a good place to summarize the significance of the work.

13. References  Follow APA guidelines regarding use of references in text and in the reference list.