Research Proposal preparation.pdf

How to prepare a research proposal

1. Recognizing the
process of research
proposal preparation
JEMMARIEG. SUETOS, M.S.
SUBJECT-IN-CHARGE
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2. Research proposal, scope and format
requirements
General Format
1.Title
2.Introduction
3.Objective
4.Methodology
5.References
6.Budget
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3. DA-BAR Proposal Format
II. Technical Description
1.Rationale
2.Objectives
3.Conceptual Framework
4.Review of Related Literature
5.Methodology
6.References
7.Work plan Schedule
8.Budgetary Summary
9.Logical Framework
10.Project Summary
I. Basic Information
1.Title
2.Proponent (s) and Contact Information
3.Implementing Agency
4.Project Duration
5.Project Site (s)
6.Total Budget Requirement
7.R & D Agenda to be Addressed
8.Expected Technology/Information
9.Description of Technology
10.Potential Impact of the Technology
11.Target Beneficiaries/Users
12.Type of Research
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4. DOST Proposal Format
16. Implementing schedule
17. Rationale
18. Work plan schedule
19. Budgetary requirements
1.Title
2.Cooperating Agency
3.Research and Development station
4.Classification
5.Mode of implementation
6.Priority Agenda
7.Sector commodity
8.Discipline
9.Significance
10.Brief Rationale
11.Objectives
12.Methodology
13.Major Activities
14.Expected output
15.Target Beneficiaries
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5. Thesis Proposal’s Format
Preliminary pages
Title Page
Approval Sheet
Table of Contents
List of Tables
List of Figures
List of documentation, etc(if applicable)
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6. ThesisProposal’s Format
Chapter I –The problems and its Background
Introduction
Statement of the problem
Objectives of the study
Significance of the study
Time and place of the study
Scope and limitations (or Delimitation) of the study
Definition of terms
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7. ThesisProposal’s Format
Chapter II –Review of related Literature
Chapter III –Methodology
Chapter IV –Observations and Discussion of Results
◦(Headings here will defend on the variables/parameters used in the study and how you will organize the presentation of your findings)
Chapter V –Summary, conclusion and Recommendations
Bibliograhy/Literature Cited
Appendices
Important:
Always discuss your thesis/dissertation proposal (analysis and write up) with your adviser.
He/she will always be able to help you develop and improve it.
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8. Differences between qualitative and
quantitative research
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9. Problem identification
❑Aresearchproblemisastatementaboutanareaofconcern,aconditiontobeimproved,
adifficultytobeeliminated,oratroublingquestionthatexistsinscholarlyliterature,in
theory,orinpracticethatpointstotheneedformeaningfulunderstandinganddeliberate
investigation.
❑Aresearchproblemdoesnotstatehowtodosomething,offeravagueorbroad
proposition,orpresentavaluequestion.
❑Thefirstandmostimportantstepofaresearchisformulationofresearchproblems.Itis
likethefoundationofabuildingtobeconstructed.
ProblemIdentificationconsistsof:
➢Clearlyidentifyingtherootcauseofaproblem
➢Developingadetailedproblemstatementthatincludestheproblem’seffectona
population’shealth
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10. Problem identification
WHOSHOULDYOUINVOLVEINPROBLEMIDENTIFICATION?
Talking to stakeholders about the problem will help you with:
❑Identifying the true, underlying problem
❑Framing the problem accurately
Thepurposeofaproblemstatementisto:
❑Introducethereadertotheimportanceofthetopicbeingstudied.Thereaderisorientedtothe
significanceofthestudyandtheresearchquestionsorhypothesestofollow.
❑Placestheproblemintoaparticularcontextthatdefinestheparametersofwhatistobeinvestigated
❑Providestheframeworkforreportingtheresultsandindicateswhatisprobablynecessarytoconductthe
studyandexplainhowthefindingswillpresentthisinformation.
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11. Problem identification
TIPSFORDEFININGTHEPROBLEM:
1.Startstrong.Decision-makersusuallydon’tallotmuchtimetolookoveraproposal,somakesurethat
thepainpointissuccinctlydescribedandinamannerthatresonateswiththem.
2.Usefacts,notopinion.Althoughyouwantyouraudiencetounderstandtheseverityofaproblem,
youdon’twanttoexaggerate.Instead,usedatafromyourresearchtobackupyourassertions.
TIPSFORPRESENTINGYOURSOLUTION:
1.Anticipatequestionsandobjections.Bepreparedtodefendyoursolutionfromallangles.Bereadyto
explainwhyyourmoreexpensivesolutionisbetterthanalessexpensiveone,forexample.
2.Presentthesolution’slargerimpact.Stakeholdersgenerallygetmoreexcitedaboutprojectswith
wide-rangingeffectsthanthosewithlimitedimpact.
3.Again,factsoveropinion.Provideasmanyresearch-backedexamplesasyoucan.
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12. Problem identification
TIPSFORDEFININGDELIVERABLES:
1.Includeadeliverydate.Definewhatyourprojectwilldeliverandwhatuserscanexpectfromit,suchasa
cloud-basedphonesystemthat’saccessible24/7fromanywhereifit’sacustomerserviceprojectyou’re
proposing.Also,indicatewhenyouplantocompleteeachdeliverable.
2.YoursolutionmustbeSMART.Yoursuccesscriteriawillsignalwhethertheprojecthasbeensuccessful.
RemembertokeepyoursolutionSMART(specific,measurable,achievable,realistic,andtime-bound.)
TIPSFORPLANNING:
1.Introduceprojectstrategies.Willyoubeusingthetraditionalwaterfallapproach?Why?Willyoubeusing
third-partycontractors,in-housestaff,orconsultants?Whatwilltheirobjectivesandresponsibilitiesbe?This
isyouropportunitytodiscussthe"why"behindthedecisionsyou'remakingtogettheprojectcompleted.
2.Explainhowproblemswillbeaddressed.Thisexplainsyourprojectmanagementplan'sriskmitigation
strategies.
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13. Problem identification
Tips for defining a schedule and budget:
Provide as much detail as possible.Break your budget down into categories, such assupplies,
tools, salary, etc. Include all overhead and indirect costs. A detailed financial breakdown will
signal to stakeholders that you’ve done your research and don’t intend to waste their money.
Note that certain projects may require financial statements and funding sources.
Be concrete. Don’t guess.Provide project start and end times, and if certain sections of the
project can be done simultaneously.
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14. Problem identification
HOW DO YOU KNOW YOU HAVE SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION?
You collected information about the problem by combining existing research and information from
your stakeholders, and you collected new data from the community if necessary
You involved all relevant stakeholders when defining the problem
The data you collected identifies the root cause of the problem and provides a complete picture of it
Your problem statement includes:
◦Who is affected
◦How big the problem is
◦What contributes to the problem
◦When and where the problem is most likely to occur
You framed the problem in a way that helps illuminate possible policy solutions
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15. Problem identification
EXAMPLE:IDENTIFYINGTHEUNDERLYINGPUBLICHEALTHPROBLEM
Thepublichealthexamplebelowisforillustrationanddemonstratestheconceptofidentifying
theunderlyingpublichealthproblem.Itcanbeusedforavarietyofhealthtopics.
Inacity,womeninNeighborhoodAweregettingadequateprenatalcare,butwomenin
NeighborhoodBwerenot.However,theneighborhoodshadthesameriskfactorsfornotgetting
adequateprenatalcare.
Tolearnmoreaboutthisissue,researchersaskedstakeholderstoprovidedataonwhy
NeighborhoodBhadsuchlowratesofprenatalcare.Localclinicianssaidtherewasanincrease
inthenumberofmissedappointmentsinthatneighborhoodoverthepastfewyears.
Afterinterviewinghealthcareprovidersandcommunitymembers,theteamlearnedthatbus
servicesintheneighborhoodhadbeendrasticallycutinthelasttwoyears.
In this situation, stakeholder interviews helped the researchers understand the true, underlying cause of the lack of prenatal care in
the city. They originally thought it was a health care problem, but in reality, it was a transportation problem.
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16. Problem identification
HOWDOYOUIDENTIFYTHEPROBLEM?
1.Identifytherootcauseoftheproblembycollectinginformationand
then talking with stakeholders.
Combiningexistingresearchandinformationfromyourstakeholderscan
offersomeinsightintotheproblemanditscauses.Considerdatasources
thatcouldhelpyoumoreclearlydefinetheproblem.Startbydoing
anenvironmentalscan,aliteraturereview,andifnecessary,surveysin
thecommunity.
Bespecific!-Forexample,searchfor“lackofaccesstofreshfruitsandvegetables”
insteadof“obesity.”Doingthiscanhelpyoubetterunderstandwhatiscontributingto
theissueandidentifypossiblepolicysolutions.
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17. Problem identification
2.Developyourproblemstatement.
Describehowtheproblemoccurs,howseriousitis,anditsoutcomesand
impacts.Doingthiscanalsohelpyouidentifyanygapsinthedatayouhave
gathered.Theproblemstatementyoudevelopmightinclude:
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18. Problem identification
EXAMPLE:DEVELOPINGPROBLEMSTATEMENTS
Thepublichealthexamplebelowisforillustrationanddemonstratestheconceptofdevelopingaproblem
statementandcanbeusedforavarietyofhealthtopics.
Althoughfewerteensaredrinkinganddriving,thisriskybehaviorisstillamajorpublichealthproblemin
thiscommunity.DrinkinganddrivingamongU.S.teensdecreasedby50%from1991-2012.However,high
schoolteensoftenstilldriveafterdrinking—about2.4milliontimespermonth.In2010,1in5teendrivers
involvedinfatalcrasheshadsomealcoholintheirsystems.Ofthosedrivers,mostofthem—about4in5—
hadbloodalcoholconcentrationshigherthanthelegallimitforadults.National,state,andlocaldatashow
thatriskfactorsforteendrinkinganddrivingincludelowersocioeconomicstatus(whichisassociatedwith
nothavingaccesstoacar),lowerdrivereducationlevels,andlessaccesstoalcohol.
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19. Writing the Problem Statement
❑Afterdeterminingtheresearchproblemanddecidingtheresearchapproachto
use,itistimetobeginwritingaboutthe“problem”inastatementofthe
problemsectionthatintroducesyourresearchstudy.
❑Bryman(2007)definedaproblemas“astatementaboutanareaofconcern,a
conditiontobeimprovedupon,adifficultytobeeliminated,oratroubling
questionthatexistsintheoryorinpracticethatpointstotheneedfor
meaningfulunderstandinganddeliberateinvestigation.”
❑Aproblemstatementconciselyoverviewstheissuesorproblemsexistinginthe
concernedareaselectedfortheresearch.
❑Itexplainstheissuespredominantinaparticularareawhichdrivesthe
researchertodoin-depthstudyandanalysisinordertounderstandtheissues
and/orsolvetheproblem.
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20. Writing the Problem Statement
❑Writteninoneormoreconciseparagraph(butnotexceedsonepage),a
problemstatementusuallyincludesfiveaspects:
(1)theactualresearchproblem,
(2)justificationoftheimportanceoftheproblemasfoundincurrentstudiesand
practice,
(3)deficiency(gap)inpresentliteratureabouttheproblem,
(4)method(timeframe,participants,locationandtrend),and;
(5)theorganization,and/ortheindividualsthatwillbenefitfromabetter
understandingorsolutiontotheproblem.Byincludingtheseaspectsthe
problemstatementclearlyidentifies
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21. Research questions and hypothesis
❑Researchquestionsare
questionsderivedfromthe
purposethataresearcheris
tryingtoanswerinastudy.
❑Aresearchquestionshouldbe
asspecificaspossible.
❑Ifthepurposeisquitecomplex,
theresearchercanmaketwoor
moreresearchquestionsto
coverit.
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22. Review
of
related
literature
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23. Review
of
related
literature
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24. Analysis and interpretation of data
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25. Methodology
❑Themethodologyiswhereyoucanclearlyoutlinehowyou
willusetherequestedfundstoaccomplishyourproject’s
objectives.
❑Itisthecomponentintheproposalnarrativewhereyou
bridgethegapbetweentheobjectivesandtheeventual
outcome.
❑Itisalsowhereyoudemonstrateyourproject’sfeasibilityby
detailingyourexperiencesandresourcesthatwillbedrawn
upontocarryouttheproject.
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26. Methodology
❑Themethodologyshouldbejustifiableorhavesomeformofexpert
approvaltosupporttheviabilityoftheproject.
❑Thiscouldbedocumentedthroughstudiesrelatedtofeasibility,market
analyses,sitecontrol,surveys,datacollection,andotherformsof
justification.
❑Themethodologyshouldalsodemonstratetheresourcesthatyouhave
availabletoachieveyourprojectobjectives,suchasadescriptionof
personnelneededandhowtheywillbeselected.
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27. Methodology
❑Youcanusethissectionofthenarrativetodetailanyfinancialand/orin-
kindresourcesandtheclienteletobeserved.
❑Clearlydocumentinganyandallresourcesavailabletoaprojectwillvalidate
yourabilitytocarryoutandaccomplishaproject.
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