Research Methodology

Research Proposal

By
Atakelt Hailu (PhD)
Assistant Professor
MBA, M.Com. BA
12/27/22
 2.1 Meaning of research Proposal
What is a research proposal?
• presents and justifies a plan of action and shows the investigation
plan
– a blue print of future activities of a research project

 What will be done?

 Why it will be done?
 How it will be done ?
 Where it will be done?
 why you selected the proposed strategies of investigation
 To whom it will be done?
 What is the benefit of doing it?
 How long it is going to take? and
 How much it is going to cost?   
 Cont’d
• A research proposal is an overall plan, scheme, structure
and strategy designed to obtain answers to the research
questions or problems
• detail operational plan for;-
• obtaining answers to your research questions or
Address your research objectives, test
hypotheses
• state your reasons for undertaking the study
• It is a document which shows researchers’ ideas in an easily
accessible way.
• The intent of the written research proposal is to provide a
focused and scholarly presentation of a research problem
and plan.
• It is written in future tense .
Cont’d
• A good research proposal centres in a good
idea.
– Getting a good idea hinges on familiarity with the
topic.
• Familiarity with a topic requires a preparation period of
reading, observation, discussion, and incubation.
• Read everything that you can in your area of interest.
• See what are the important and missing parts of our
understanding.
• Figure out how to build/discover those parts.
• Then write the important parts as the proposal.
Cont’d
• A proposal can be judged according to the
following main criteria.
– Is it adequate to answer the research question(s),
and achieve the study objective?
– Is it feasible in the particular set-up for the
study?
– Does it provide enough detail that can allow
another investigator to do the study and arrive at
comparable results?
 Purpose of a Research Proposal
A research proposal’s main function is to detail the operational plan for
obtaining answers to your research questions. In doing so it ensures and
reassures the reader of the validity of the methodology for obtaining
answers to your research questions accurately and objectively.
– what you are proposing to do;
– how you plan to proceed;
– Why you selected the proposed strategy.
A research proposal should communicate the purpose and plan of the
research in such a way that it:
– enables you to return to the proposal for your own guidance in
decision making at different stages of the research process;
– Convinces your research supervisor or a reviewer that your
proposed methodology is meritorious, valid, appropriate and
workable in terms of obtaining answers to your research questions
or objectives.
 Components of a research
proposal
• The basic components of a research proposal
are very much similar in many fields.
• However, how they are phrased and presented
may vary among disciplines.
• The following components may be taken as
the usual ones.
  3.3 General Format/ Elements of Research Proposal
• Though the exact format of the proposal is variable, most research proposals
contain the following. 2. Literature Review
I. Preliminary parts:  Conceptual definitions
i. Title page  Empirical findings
ii.
iii.
Table of contents
List of tables
 conclusion
iv. List of figures 3.Research Methodology
v. Acronyms
vi. Acknowledgements 3.1.Design of the study/ approach
vii. Abstract 3.2 Sources of data
3.3 Methods of sampling
II. Main Body 3.4 Methods of Data Collection /instruments
3.5Methods of Data processing and analysis
1. INTRODUCTION
4. Work plan / Time table
1.1. Background of the study
5. Cost Budget table
1.2 Statement of the problem
Research Questions/Hypothesis
1. 3 Objectives of the study III. Ending matter
1.4 Significances of the study • References
1. 5.Delimitations /scope of the study • Appendix
1.6 Limitation of the study
1.7 Definition of the terms
 1. Title - the research topic
• The topic is the subject matter of a proposed
study.
 The title should be concise and descriptive.
– Fully explanatory when standing alone.
 informative – It should give clue to the scope and key
objectives of the study ((including site/ location of study,
variables, target population, thus providing guidance on
internal consistency of the study).
 E.g
– “ANALAYZING ROAD PROJECT DELAY FACTORS IN THE CASE OF ADDIS
ABABA ROAD AUTHORITY
Cont’d

• Avoid use of uncommon and unnecessary abbreviations,

repetitions….

• It Should contain maximum of 15 to 21 words, it should be

clear and short

• Title should be written in capital letter and center alignment

Cont’d
• Title page needs to show your name, the name
of your department/faculty/college, the name
of your advisor(s) and date of delivery under
the title.
• The title page has no page number and it is not
counted in any page numbering;
Sample :- COVER PAGE(Outer Cover)

FACTORS AFFECTING SUCCESS OF PROJECT IN ADDIS ABABA CITY

ROADS AUOTHORITY

MSc THESIS (OR PROPOSAL)

BY
------------------------

JANUARY 17 , 2021
ADDID ABABA, ETHIOPIA
•
 
Sample Title Page (Inner Cover for Thesis)
FACTORS AFFECTING SUCCESS OF PROJECT IN ADDIS ABABA CITY
ROADS AUOTHORITY
MSc THESIS (OR PROPOSAL)
BY
------------------------
UNDER THE GUIDENCE AND SUPPERVISSION OF
……….
A THESIS/PROPOSAL SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF
--------------------------- SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES, ALPHA
UNIVERSITYIN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN PROJECT
MANAGEMENT
JANUARY 17 , 2021
ADDID ABABA, ETHIOPIA
 2. Declaration
• Should include space for both the candidate’s and the supervisor’s declaration
and duly signed.
• The student must declare in writing the originality, intellectual honesty and
compliance to anti-plagiarism for the work as follows:
• Candidate’s declaration
– I declare that this proposal is my original work and has not been presented in any
other university/institution for consideration of any certification. This research
proposal has been complemented by referenced sources duly acknowledged.
Where text, data (including spoken words), graphics, pictures or tables have been
borrowed from other sources, including the internet, these are specifically
accredited and references cited using current APA system and in accordance with
anti-plagiarism regulations.
Name …………………. ID …………………
Signature…………….…Date ……..
• Supervisors’ declaration:
– This proposal has been submitted for appraisal with our/my approval as University
Supervisor(s).
Name …………………. ID …………………
Signature…………,,,,,,Date ……..
– Candidate’s declaration
– This proposal/thesis is my original work and has not been
presented for a degree in any other University or any other
award.
• Name …………………. ID …………………
Signature ………Date ………
– Supervisor’s declaration
– This proposal/thesis has been submitted for examination
with our approval as University Supervisors
• Name……………… Signature……………..Date………………
• Name……………… Signature……………..Date………………
 3. Acknowledgement (optional)
• This is to appreciate the people who have assisted
you direct or indirect the course of your study.
– You should begin with appreciating your supervisors who
have walked with you the entire journey of your study
next to GOD
– give credit to individuals, groups(respondents), organizations,
institutions
• It does not exceed one page
 4. ABSTRACT (optional)
• Is a summary of the whole research -It represents the entire thesis
–summarize all major parts proposal:-
– statement of the problem, objectives of the study, target population,
sampling technique and sample size, instruments of data collection, methods
of data analysis and Expected result (tentative only if a researcher starts with
a formulated hypothesis)
• Abstracts cannot exceed 150 words for a MA thesis or 350 words for a
dissertation.
• Abstract is usually done after you finish your research proposal
• Should be brief , clear and interesting
• Format :-
– the heading “ABSTRACT” in all capital letters, and center it ”.
– One paragraph
– One double-spaced line below
– The abstract should be written in future tense
– Three/four key words
– Number the abstract page with the lower case Roman numeral iii
The abstract of final paper (research report) should contain
the following points in addition to what is mentioned for a
proposal:
 Results of the study
 Major Conclusion
 Recommendation

18
 4. Table of contents
Contain only
1. The chapter title heading- chapter titles should be in caps and bold
2. The subheadings should follow each chapter title should be in lower
case.
3. Reference
4. Appendices

•Note:- it is single spaced.

•Some important applications (word 2007)
2007
• Automatic table of content (tables and figures)
 Steps:
 select title
 Click “Reference”
 click “add text”
 select the type of heading
 repeat for all titles you have in your report
 Right click on the blank sheet under the part and select the type of heading from
the list
 5. List of Tables
• This should capture the title and page number where the table
is found.
• The numbering style should be two numbers level
• Titles for Tables should be placed above the table

6. List of Figures
• This should capture the title and page number of
the figure where figure is found.
• The numbering style should be two numbers level
• Titles of figures should be placed below the figure
7. Abbreviations and Acronyms
 II. MAIN BODY
Chapter one
1. Introduction
Note :-
– PARAGRAPH:-
– Format
– Font. The recommended fonts are Book Antiqua or Times New Roman.

– Font size in the text must be 12 and A larger font (14) can be used for headings.

– Line Spacing. The recommended line spacing is 1.5.

– Margins. Under page layout, choose ‘Mirrored’ Margins and set the ‘Inside’ margin
at 4 cm. The other margins (top, bottom, outside) should be set at 2 cm.
Read more to write proposal

Use Excel:- e.g

 Plagiarism

•Paraphrasing
•Direct quote from research using quotation mark ‘’ mmmm’’ at
starting and ending
Expected questions in thesis defense
Expected questions in thesis defense
 II. MAIN BODY
1. Introduction
• The introduction section includes the background, the statement of
the problem, the objectives of the study, the research
questions/hypotheses, the significance of the study, scope,
limitations, definitions of terms, and chapterization.
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 study. Alternatively,
specify the phenomenon you want to study
 Set the delimitation or boundaries of your proposed research in order to provide a
clear focus.
 Provide definitions of key concepts(This is optional).
 II. MAIN BODY
1. Introduction
1.1 Background of the study
 consist background information to the problem.
 This covers the research gap or justification of the problem
 The problem proposed to be studied is introduced in this section
 It should be short about one or two pages
Cont’d
• The introduction needs to create reader
interest in the topic,
– include a statement sufficiently interesting to
encourage readers to read farther and see the
significance in the study
– The statement is an important problem that your
study intends to address.
– establish the problem that leads to the study,
• Reviews the previous work to reveal what is
known of the subject

• Present a concise explanation on the

development, trend and current state of the
theme of the study

• Start by providing a global synopsis of the

subject and move to regional and specific to
country, local or institution situation
32
 Cont’d
Example:-Suppose you wanted to study the “ANALYZING ROAD
PROJECT DELAY FACTORS IN THE CASE OF ADDIS ABABA ROAD
AUTHORITY, Your background of the study should cover the following
– Overview of road construction projects -economic significance
– Issues, problems and advances about road construction project
– Theoretical and practical issues about road project delay factors
– Main findings relating to road project delay factors with gaps
 1.2 Statement of the Problem
• Provide a clear description of the problem what is to
be investigated i.e indicate exactly what the problem
is.
• Describe the problem & explain the severity of the problem
• description and justification of the problem to be
investigated
– Effective problem statements answer the question “Why does
this research need to be conducted.”
– What specific issues does this study raise that have not been
observed in other literature pertaining to the topic?
– Justify why you conduct the research by showing the problem
or need.
• - Length- Maximum 1 – 1.5 pages.
The research problem/gap
is the problem or issue that leads to the need for a
study.
the issue that exists in the literature, theory, or
practice
It might spring from an experience researchers
have had in their personal lives or workplaces.
It may come from an extensive debate that has
appeared in the literature.
Cont’d
• The purpose of reviewing studies in the
introduction is to justify the importance of the
study and to create distinction between
past studies and the proposed one.
• After advancing the problem and reviewing the
literature about it, the researcher then identifies
deficiencies (the missing parts) found in the
literature.
• In other words, the researcher needs to show why
more work is necessary (the proposed work)
Cont’d
• In any given study, authors may mention one or
more of these deficiencies.
• Deficiencies can often be found in the “suggestions
for future research” sections of journal articles
and authors can reference these ideas and provide
further justification for their proposed study.
In summary, when identifying deficiencies in the past
literature, proposal developers might use the
following research tips
– Cite several deficiencies to make the case even
stronger for a study
– Identify specifically the deficiencies of other
studies (methodological flaws, variables
overlooked)
 Cont’d
• Beyond mentioning the deficiencies, proposal writers need to tell how
their planned study will remedy or address these deficiencies and
provide a unique contribution to the scholarly literature.
In summary, five components of writing a good introduction:
a) establishing the problem leading to the study,
b) reviewing the literature about the problem;
c) identifying deficiencies in the literature about the problem;
d) targeting an audience and noting the significance of the problem for
this audience;
e) identifying the purpose of the proposed study.
– In a quantitative research problem, the emphasis is on the need to
explain, predict, or describe some outcome or event.
– In a qualitative study, the research problem focuses on exploring
some process, event, or phenomenon
• The significant content of the justification is that;
– no work has been carried out to try to solve the stated
problem, or that
– little work has been carried out to try to solve the
stated problem, or that
– some work has been done but gaps still exit; hence the
need to conduct the study.

39
1.3 Research Questions
• So as to conduct research, researcher must find the
problem
– The Problem poses the question to be answered; the
hypothesis presents the expected answer
• Should be questions and not statements.
 1.4 Objective of the study
• Objectives are statements what the researcher wants to
accomplish
• Objective of research is:
– A solution to a problem--the end result
– What is to be achieved by the study.
• Objectives should be
– Closely related to the statement of the problem.
– Simple (not complex),
– Stated in advance (not after the research is done),
– Stated using “action verbs” like “to determine,” “to
ascertain,” “to evaluate,” “to discover.” to assess
– Avoid the use of vague non-action verbs such as: to appreciate,
to understand, or to study.
41
 1.4 Objective of the study
A. General Objective:
– The general objective of a study states what researchers expect
to achieve by the study in general terms.
– One general objective which should be in line with the title.

B. Specific Objectives :
• It is possible (and advisable) to break down a general objective into
smaller, logically connected parts. These are normally referred to as
specific objectives

42
 1.6. Hypothesis
• it makes a prediction that in the general population, no
relationships or no significant difference exists between
groups.
• It is a tentative statement about the solution of the
problem.
Examples:
H0 : There is no academic performance difference between men and
women.
H1 : There is significant academic performance difference between
men and women.
 1.5 Significance of the study
• Why this study is significant?
• Potential beneficiaries at different levels
–Individual level
–Organizational level
–National level

How will the results be used, and who will be the

beneficiaries?
what are the benefits of this study:
a) To the researcher
b) To other researchers
c) To the organization in question (the case study)
d) To the country at large
 1.6 Scope of the Study
 Scope shows the boundary of your research
 It should cite the focus of the study: geographical area or
target group/ population.

45
 1.7 Limitations of the study
- Not a must for a proposal(optional).
- Has to be there in the final thesis/project report.
-Limitations refer to methodological issues that you think
have impact on the quality of your data or soundness of your
analysis.
This is a part of the study where you will include
some constraints/ challenges or difficulties you will
in counter that influence the results of your study.
•Potential limitations of the study may also be shown
in the research proposal
1.8 Chapter structure/ organization of the research
proposal
– The number of chapters in the research proposal
– The contents of each chapter

1.9 Operational definition /definition of the term

 2. LITERATURE REVIEW
A literature review means locating and assessing studies about a topic.
This chapter should include:
2.1 Introduction
– Talk about what the chapter/literature contains.
– define the topic, together with your reason for selecting the
topic.
2.2 Theoretical literature
– Review the theoretical literature relevant to the problem
being investigated showing clearly the linkage of literature
review to the research questions/objectives.
- 2.3 Empirical Literature
– Review the empirical literature relevant to the problem being investigated showing
clearly the linkage of literature review to the research questions/objectives.
– Indicate what has been done by other researchers including the methodologies used
and identify gaps.
– Empirical literature should be reviewed chronologically i.e from the earliest to the latest.
– Appropriate citation
2.4 Research gaps
2.5 Conceptual framework
Cont’d
Priority for selecting literature material
1.journal articles in respected, journals,
especially those that report research studies.
 Start with the most recent issues of the journals
and look for studies about your topic and then
work back in time.
2.books related to the topic.
3.recent conference papers.
4.Dissertations and
5.others, the web also provides helpful materials
for a literature review.
 3. Research methodology
This section is like the heart of the research proposal.
• Research methodology is a way to systematically solve the
research problem.
• Methodology should give full details to show how the research
activity is going to be carried out.
• Involve
– Research design
– Target Population
– Sampling Techniques and Sample Size
– Data sources and Data collection Instruments
– Data Analysis Methods
• The data analysis involves three major steps, done in roughly this
order:
 Cleaning and organizing the data for analysis (Data Preparation)
 Describing the data (Descriptive Statistics)
 Testing Hypotheses (Inferential Statistics)
Cont’d
Work plan /timeline
• Work plan is a schedule that shows the different components
of a research proposal and how they will be implemented
within a specific time-span.
• It may include:
– The tasks to be performed;
– When and where the tasks will be performed;
– Who will perform the tasks and the time each person will
spend on them;
Cont’d
Budget
• Budget items need to be shown
• Cost for every budget item should be shown
• Typically, a proposal budget reflects the following
costs.
• Personnel: Salaries and wages of all participants of
the study
• Consumable supplies: office supplies
(stationeries)
• Equipments: properties which are expensive
• Travel: cost of projected-related travel
Cont’d
. Communications: postage, telephone, telegram,
fax, e-mail charges associated with a project
• Overhead costs for institutions
References
• You must give references to all the information
that you obtain from books, articles in
journals, and other sources.
• Different styles including :-APA, Harvard and
Oxford
Cont’d
List of references
• For a journal paper give:
• the names of the authors,
– the year of publication,
– the title of the paper,
– the title of the journal,
– the volume number of the journal,
– the first and last page numbers of the paper
Cont’d
• For a book give:
• the author,
• the year of publication,
• the title, and the edition number if there is one,
• the name of the publisher,
• the page numbers for your reference.
Cont’d
• For an internet reference give:
• the author of the web page,
• the title of the item on the web page,
• the date the item was posted on the web page
• the date the item was accessed from the web
page
• the complete and exact URL(uniform recourse
locater)
Cont’d
• Don’t number the list
• Make sure you include all the sources cited
in the text in the list of references
• Rules of referencing & citation
• APA
• Harvard
Cont’d
Appendix(Annex)
• It is not mandatory to have this section.
• If the researcher thinks that having this section
will increase the quality of the research proposal
he is free to do so.
• Staffs to be included in appendix
Detail questionnaires and interview schedules
Detailed statistical procedures
Geopraphical maps