McGraw-Hill © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Preparing Research Proposals and Reports Chapter Twenty-Four

McGraw-Hill © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Preparing Research Proposals and Reports Chapter Twenty-Four

McGraw-Hill © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. What is a Research Proposal? It is a written plan of a study. It spells out in detail what the researcher intends to do. It permits others to learn about the intended research and to offer suggestions for improving the study. It also helps the researcher clarify what needs to be done and to avoid unintentional problems.

McGraw-Hill © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. The Major Sections of a Research Proposal There are four topics addressed in this area: There are four topics addressed in this area: 1) 1) The purpose of the study 2) 2) The justification for the study 3) 3) The research question/hypothesis, including variables to be investigated 4) 4) The definition of terms See Figure 24.1, Organization of a Research Report.

McGraw-Hill © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Organization of a Research Report (1) (Figure 24.1) Introductory section Title Page Table of Contents List of Figures List of Tables Main Body I.Problem to be investigated A.Purpose of the study (including assumptions) B.Justification of the study C.Research question and hypotheses D.Definition of terms E.Brief overview of study II.Background and review of related literature A.Theory, if appropriate B.Studies directly related C.Studies tangentially related III.Procedures A.Description of the research design B.Description of the sample C.Description of the instruments used (including scoring procedures)

McGraw-Hill © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Organization of a Research Report (2) (Figure 24.1) D.Explanation of the procedures followed (the what, when, where, and how of the study) E.Discussion of internal validity F.Discussion of external validity G.Description and justification of the statistical techniques or other methods of analysis used IV.Findings Description of findings pertinent to each of the research hypotheses or questions V.Summary and conclusions A.Brief summary of the research question being investigated, the procedures employed, and the results obtained B.Discussion of the implications of the findings—their meaning and significance C.Limitations—unresolved problems and weaknesses D.Suggestions for further research References (Bibliography) Appendixes

McGraw-Hill © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Purpose of the Study The purpose states succinctly what the researcher proposes to investigate. This should be a concise statement, providing a framework to which details are added later. Clarification of the field of interest should be considered here.

McGraw-Hill © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Justification of the Study The researcher must make clear why this particular study is important to investigate. He or she must present an argument for the study. A good justification should also include any specific implications that follow if relationships are identified. There could be an implication that current methods are not good enough, however, this should be made explicit.

McGraw-Hill © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Research Question or Hypothesis The particular question to be investigated should be stated here. The particular question to be investigated should be stated here. Favoring hypotheses will help clarify and become a strategy point. Favoring hypotheses will help clarify and become a strategy point. It should be clearly stated as concisely as possible. It should be clearly stated as concisely as possible. There should be any inference made if a hypothesis is well-stated. There should be any inference made if a hypothesis is well-stated.

McGraw-Hill © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Definitions All key terms should be defined. All key terms should be defined. The researcher’s task is to make the definitions as clear as possible. The researcher’s task is to make the definitions as clear as possible. Sometimes, terms will have to be modified to fit the present study. Sometimes, terms will have to be modified to fit the present study. While it is probably impossible to eliminate all ambiguity, the clearer the terms used, the fewer the difficulties that will be encountered with the study. While it is probably impossible to eliminate all ambiguity, the clearer the terms used, the fewer the difficulties that will be encountered with the study.

McGraw-Hill © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Background and Review of Literature This may be a lengthy section since it is a partial summary of previous work related to the focus of the study. The researcher should demonstrate a familiarity with previous research and understand the relevance of the study being planned. A major weakness of many literature reviews is that they cite references without indicating their implications for the planned study.

McGraw-Hill © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Procedures The procedures section includes discussion of the following: The procedures section includes discussion of the following: Research Design Research Design Sample Sample Instrumentation Instrumentation Procedural detail Procedural detail Internal validity Internal validity Data analysis Data analysis

McGraw-Hill © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Results/Findings Results of a study can be presented only in a research report. Results are usually not found in the proposal section. This section is found near the end of the research report and constitutes the description of what kind of analyses were performed. The data are revealed by the form of statistical analysis that was applied to the data, and any significance that was observed.

McGraw-Hill © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Discussion The discussion section of a report presents the author’s interpretation of what the results imply for theory and/or practice. Researchers place their results in a broader context. Here, difficulties as well as limitations of the study are noted, and suggestions for future considerations are included. Results and Discussion sections should be kept separate, since the Discussion section goes beyond the data.

McGraw-Hill © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. General Rules to Consider A research report should be written as clearly and concisely as possible. Research reports are always written in the past tense and free from jargon. A style manual (APA manual) should be consulted before beginning the report. Once the report is completed, it is a good idea to have a thesis formatter/editor check for style and grammar. Computerized programs have made research reports easier to complete, due to self-correcting programs.