[Talk] How to Write a Research Proposal
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How to Write a Research Proposal
Paul T. P. Wong, Ph.D., C.Psych.
Research Director, Graduate Program in Counselling Psychology
Trinity Western University
Langley, BC, Canada
Most students and beginning researchers do not fully understand
what a research proposal means, nor do they understand its
importance. To put it bluntly, one's research is only as a good as
one's proposal. An ill-conceived proposal dooms the project even
if it somehow gets through the Thesis Supervisory Committee. A
high quality proposal, on the other hand, not only promises
success for the project, but also impresses your Thesis Committee
about your potential as a researcher.
A research proposal is intended to convince others that you have a
worthwhile research project and that you have the competence and
the work-plan to complete it. Generally, a research proposal
should contain all the key elements involved in the research
process and include sufficient information for the readers to
evaluate the proposed study.
Regardless of your research area and the methodology you choose,
all research proposals must address the following questions: What
you plan to accomplish, why you want to do it and how you are
going to do it.
The proposal should have sufficient information to convince your
readers that you have an important research idea, that you have a
good grasp of the relevant literature and the major issues, and
that your methodology is sound.
The quality of your research proposal depends not only on the
quality of your proposed project, but also on the quality of your
proposal writing. A good research project may run the risk of
rejection simply because the proposal is poorly written.
Therefore, it pays if your writing is coherent, clear and
compelling.
This paper focuses on proposal writing rather than on the
development of research ideas.
Title:
It should be concise and descriptive. For example, the phrase, "An
investigation of . . ." could be omitted. Often titles are stated
in terms of a functional relationship, because such titles clearly
indicate the independent and dependent variables. However, if
possible, think of an informative but catchy title. An effective
title not only pricks the reader's interest, but also predisposes
him/her favourably towards the proposal.
Abstract:
It is a brief summary of approximately 300 words. It should
include the research question, the rationale for the study, the
hypothesis (if any), the method and the main findings.
Descriptions of the method may include the design, procedures, the
sample and any instruments that will be used.
Introduction:
The main purpose of the introduction is to provide the necessary
background or context for your research problem. How to frame the
research problem is perhaps the biggest problem in proposal
writing.
If the research problem is framed in the context of a general,
rambling literature review, then the research question may appear
trivial and uninteresting. However, if the same question is placed
in the context of a very focused and current research area, its
significance will become evident.
Unfortunately, there are no hard and fast rules on how to frame
your research question just as there is no prescription on how to
write an interesting and informative opening paragraph. A lot
depends on your creativity, your ability to think clearly and the
depth of your understanding of problem areas.
However, try to place your research question in the context of
either a current "hot" area, or an older area that remains viable.
Secondly, you need to provide a brief but appropriate historical
backdrop. Thirdly, provide the contemporary context in which your
proposed research question occupies the central stage. Finally,
identify "key players" and refer to the most relevant and
representative publications. In short, try to paint your research
question in broad brushes and at the same time bring out its
significance.
The introduction typically begins with a general statement of the
problem area, with a focus on a specific research problem, to be
followed by the rational or justification for the proposed study.
The introduction generally covers the following elements:
State the research problem, which is often referred to as the
purpose of the study.
Provide the context and set the stage for your research question
in such a way as to show its necessity and importance.
Present the rationale of your proposed study and clearly indicate
why it is worth doing.
Briefly describe the major issues and sub-problems to be addressed
by your research.
Identify the key independent and dependent variables of your
experiment. Alternatively, specify the phenomenon you want to
study.
State your hypothesis or theory, if any. For exploratory or
phenomenological research, you may not have any hypotheses.
(Please do not confuse the hypothesis with the statistical null
hypothesis.)
Set the delimitation or boundaries of your proposed research in
order to provide a clear focus.
Provide definitions of key concepts. (This is optional.)
Literature Review:
Sometimes the literature review is incorporated into the
introduction section. However, most professors prefer a separate
section, which allows a more thorough review of the literature.
The literature review serves several important functions:
Ensures that you are not "reinventing the wheel".
Gives credits to those who have laid the groundwork for your
research.
Demonstrates your knowledge of the research problem.
Demonstrates your understanding of the theoretical and research
issues related to your research question.
Shows your ability to critically evaluate relevant literature
information.
Indicates your ability to integrate and synthesize the existing
literature.
Provides new theoretical insights or develops a new model as the
conceptual framework for your research.
Convinces your reader that your proposed research will make a
significant and substantial contribution to the literature (i.e.,
resolving an important theoretical issue or filling a major gap in
the literature).
Most students' literature reviews suffer from the following
problems:
Lacking organization and structure
Lacking focus, unity and coherence
Being repetitive and verbose
Failing to cite influential papers
Failing to keep up with recent developments
Failing to critically evaluate cited papers
Citing irrelevant or trivial references
Depending too much on secondary sources
Your scholarship and research competence will be questioned if any
of the above applies to your proposal.
There are different ways to organize your literature review. Make
use of subheadings to bring order and coherence to your review.
For example, having established the importance of your research
area and its current state of development, you may devote several
subsections on related issues as: theoretical models, measuring
instruments, cross-cultural and gender differences, etc.
It is also helpful to keep in mind that you are telling a story to
an audience. Try to tell it in a stimulating and engaging manner.
Do not bore them, because it may lead to rejection of your worthy
proposal. (Remember: Professors and scientists are human beings
too.)
Methods:
The Method section is very important because it tells your
Research Committee how you plan to tackle your research problem.
It will provide your work plan and describe the activities
necessary for the completion of your project.
The guiding principle for writing the Method section is that it
should contain sufficient information for the reader to determine
whether methodology is sound. Some even argue that a good proposal
should contain sufficient details for another qualified researcher
to implement the study.
You need to demonstrate your knowledge of alternative methods and
make the case that your approach is the most appropriate and most
valid way to address your research question.
Please note that your research question may be best answered by
qualitative research. However, since most mainstream psychologists
are still biased against qualitative research, especially the
phenomenological variety, you may need to justify your qualitative
method.
Furthermore, since there are no well-established and widely
accepted canons in qualitative analysis, your method section needs
to be more elaborate than what is required for traditional
quantitative research. More importantly, the data collection
process in qualitative research has a far greater impact on the
results as compared to quantitative research. That is another
reason for greater care in describing how you will collect and
analyze your data. (How to write the Method section for
qualitative research is a topic for another paper.)
For quantitative studies, the method section typically consists of
the following sections:
Design -Is it a questionnaire study or a laboratory experiment?
What kind of design do you choose?
Subjects or participants - Who will take part in your study ? What
kind of sampling procedure do you use?
Instruments - What kind of measuring instruments or questionnaires
do you use? Why do you choose them? Are they valid and reliable?
Procedure - How do you plan to carry out your study? What
activities are involved? How long does it take?
Results:
Obviously you do not have results at the proposal stage. However,
you need to have some idea about what kind of data you will be
collecting, and what statistical procedures will be used in order
to answer your research question or test you hypothesis.
Discussion:
It is important to convince your reader of the potential impact of
your proposed research. You need to communicate a sense of
enthusiasm and confidence without exaggerating the merits of your
proposal. That is why you also need to mention the limitations and
weaknesses of the proposed research, which may be justified by
time and financial constraints as well as by the early
developmental stage of your research area.
Common Mistakes in Proposal Writing
Failure to provide the proper context to frame the research
question.
Failure to delimit the boundary conditions for your research.
Failure to cite landmark studies.
Failure to accurately present the theoretical and empirical
contributions by other researchers.
Failure to stay focused on the research question.
Failure to develop a coherent and persuasive argument for the
proposed research.
Too much detail on minor issues, but not enough detail on major
issues.
Too much rambling -- going "all over the map" without a clear
sense of direction. (The best proposals move forward with ease and
grace like a seamless river.)
Too many citation lapses and incorrect references.
Too long or too short.
Failing to follow the APA style.
Slopping writing.
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