Steps in the development of health
systems research proposal
YOHANNES Y. (MPHE)
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Learning Objectives
At the end of this session the student will be able
to:
• Define research proposal
• Describe components of research proposal
• Identify reasons for proposal
• Develop background
• Develop statement of the problem
• Review literatures
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What is a
Research Proposal?
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1. It is a plan
2. A stock of ideas and
3. It offers proposal for writing your
research paper
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Cont………
• A written statement of the research design that
includes a statement explaining the purpose of
the study and a detailed, systematic outline of
a particular research pedagogic.
5
Cont….
Why
Research Proposal?
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Reasons
• It gives an opportunity to think through your project
carefully, and clarify and define what you want to research
• Provides you with an outline and to guide you through the
research process
• Lets your supervisor and department or faculty know what
you would like to research and how you plan to go about
it
• Helps the department to choose an appropriate supervisor
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Cont……..
• Gives you an opportunity to receive feedback
from your supervisor and others in the
academic community as well as possible funder
• Undergraduate honors thesis and graduate
students submit proposal to their thesis and
dissertation committees for approval
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Components of a proposal
• Title
• Summary
• Introduction
• Objective
• Methodology
• Ethical considerations
• Work plan
• Dissemination and Utilization of Results
• Budget
• References
• annex
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Title
• Should be in line with your general objective
• It should be short and precise to describe the
objective of the paper
• It should use attractive key words for its audience
• Should tell readers what your study is about and
where it will be done
Include specific target populations
Include specific geographic location
Study design
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Title cont..
• Should be informative but concise
• Should reflect closely the sense of the study
• should almost never contain abbreviations
• Eg.
Incidence and management outcome of acute
appendicitis at Hawassa University Comprehensive
Specialized Hospital, Hawassa, Southern Ethiopia
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Summary
Should reflect:
• Background/Problem Statement
• Research objectives
• Method and materials: design, setting/area, time
bound, sampling/participants, data collection, plan of
analysis
• Work plan and total Budget
Keep to about 250-300 words
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Introduction
The introduction is the part of the paper
that provides readers with the background
information for the research reported in the
paper.
In an introduction, the writer should
create reader interest in the topic,
lay the broad foundation for the problem
that leads to the study
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Introduction cont,……..
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.
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1.Background information
• Brief description about the study area
• This sets out why you chose your topic
• what prompted your interest in the topic
• The links with previous research
• Ways your Research is different or unique
• States the research objectives, questions or hypothesis.
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2. Statement of the problem
• Empirical research in the health sciences can
be qualitative or quantitative in nature.
• Therefore, it is important to under stand and
know statement of the problem to conduct a
research
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What is Statement of the Problem ?
• What is a problem? a gap between the real
and the desired or a contradiction between
principle and practice.
• The problem statement, sometimes referred to
as the needs assessment.
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• A problem statement is nothing but a concise ,
and precise well documented, /detailed
/description of the nature ,scope, causes,
severity and the effect or impact of a problem
to be addressed and the need for the
proposed project /research.
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• Thus a problem statement is the specific
description of a problem which is essential to
understand it properly.
• A problem statement is the initial step before
venturing into any kind of research.
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• It is necessary to formulate a good and effective
problem statement to ensure that the research is
successful.
• A good problem statement would always be
specific and focus on one particular issue
instead of being vague and running the risk of
being confused.
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• Confusion would cause problems in research
and may topple the cause of research itself.
• Therefore a good problem statement would be
restrictive and would express one major idea.
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Sources of Research Problem
• The sources of a research problem could be
– Observations
– Experts
– Literature reviews
– Professional conferences
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Information should be included in
problem statement:
1. A brief description of socio-economic and cultural
characteristics and an overview of health status and
the health-care system in the country/district in as
far as these are relevant to the problem.
• Include a few illustrative statistics, if available, to
help describe the context in which the problem
occurs.
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Information…
2.Aconcise description of the nature of the problem
(the discrepancy between what is and what
should be) and of the size, distribution and
severity of the problem (who is affected, where,
since when, and what are the consequences for
those affected and for the services).
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Information…
3.An analysis of the major factors that may influence
the problem and a discussion of why certain factors
need more investigation if the problem is to be fully
understood.
4.A brief description of any solutions to the problem
that have been tried in the past, how well they have
worked, and why further research is needed
(justification for your study).
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Information…
5.A description of the type of information
expected to result from the project and how
this information will be used to help solve
the problem.
6.If necessary, a short list of definitions of
crucial concepts used in the statement of the
problem can be added.
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Literature Review
• State of our knowledge
The purpose of the literature review is to situate your research in the
context of what is already known about a topic, it needs to show how
your work will benefit the whole. It should provide the theoretical basis
for your work, show what has been done in the area by others, and set the
stage for your work.
• Outstanding questions
This is where you present the holes in the knowledge that need to be plugged
and by so doing, situate your work.
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Why is it important to review already available information when preparing a
research proposal?
• It prevents you from duplicating works that have been
done before
• It helps you to find out what others have learned and
reported on the problem you want to study
This assists you in refining your statement of the
problem
It helps to become more familiar with the various
types of methodology that might be used in your study
It should provide you with convincing arguments for
why your particular research is needed.
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What are the possible sources of
information?
• Individuals, groups and organizations
• Published information(books, articles, indexes,
and abstract journals)
• Unpublished information(other research
proposals in related fields, reports, records and
computer data bases)
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Where can we find these different sources?
• Different sources of information can be consulted
and reviewed at various levels of the administrative
system with in your country and internationally.
• Example:
1. Community and district level
Clinic and hospital based data from routine
statistics registers
Opinions, beliefs of key figured
Local surveys, annual reports, etc
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Cont…..
2. National level
• Articles from national journals, books
• Documentation reports from MOH, CSO, NGO
3. International level
• Information from:
Bilateral and multilateral organizations(USAD,
UNICEF, WHO, etc)
Computerized searches for international
literature
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Consider the following points during
Literature review
• Search widely
• Reference all literature that you refer to in your review
• Evaluate the relevance of the literature to
your study
• Include information directly relevant to your
study
• There should be logical sequence in writing literature review
• Be concise
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Significance of Study
• 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.
• Does it contribute to improve the understanding of health
service delivery, problem solving or the refinement of the
existing theory?
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Thank you 36
