WHAT IS A RESEARCH PROPOSAL
MA3C0207 丁筱雯
WHAT IS A RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Qualitative research is uniquely suited to
discovery and exploration.
 A research proposal consists of two sections:

WHAT the researcher wants to learn more about (the
study’s conceptual framework)
HOW the researcher will learn about this issue or
question (its design and methods).
IMAGINE THE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK AS A
TUNNEL
The large end describes the general
phenomenon—the topic—and articulates the
theoretical perspective.
 The smaller end describes the specific project
proposed.

SECTIONS OF PROPOSAL FOR QUALITATIVE
RESEARCH

Introduction
 Overview
of the conceptual framework and design
and methods
SECTIONS OF PROPOSAL FOR QUALITATIVE
RESEARCH

Conceptual Framework (the what)
 Topic
and statement of the problem
 Purpose and significance
 Background for the study
 Overview questions and sub questions
 Limitations
 Place boundaries around the study
 Define important concepts and terms
 Show gaps
 Establish the importance of the study
SECTIONS OF PROPOSAL FOR QUALITATIVE
RESEARCH

Design and methods (the how)
 Overall
approach and rationale
 Site or population selection and sampling strategies
 Data gathering procedures
 Data-analysis procedures
 Trustworthiness and methodological limitations
 Ethical considerations

Making decisions is integral to learn how to do
qualitative research.
SECTIONS OF PROPOSAL FOR QUALITATIVE
RESEARCH

Appendixes
 Informed
consent forms
 Draft interview guide
 Draft observation protocol
 Preliminary analysis framework
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Establish the what of the study
 What
do you want to learn about?
 What is already known about this topic?
 What questions remain unanswered?
 What assumptions are you making when you ask
the question?
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
Conceptualizing your study is perhaps the most
important step in your research.
 The conceptual framework explains the way you
are thinking about your topic.
 The conceptual framework presents your theory
of the world you will be studying.
 The conceptual framework is grounded in your
own experience, existing research and existing
theoretical base.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
Your own experience in practice informs your
conceptualization.
 What other people have discovered about the
topic is foundational.
 Conceptual framework has a theoretical base.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
Aids in describing and explaining the
phenomenon diagnosing the situation
 Sharpens the focus; provides categories for
analysis
 Provides insight into the basic character of the
phenomenon
 Serves as a source of hypothesis generation
 Links the inquirer’s questions to large
theoretical constructs and policy discussions

USE OF THE LITERATURE
Precious research and theoretical writings
ground your study in an ongoing conversation
about the topic.
 Share the results of previous studies that are
related to yours.
 Show gaps which your study can contribute.

INTRODUCTION
Describe the focus of the proposed research
and briefly forecasts and methods.
 Establish the credibility of the project.
 Should evoke the reader’s interest.
 This is where you establish your voice, or
authorial point of view.

THE TOPIC
Topics are what interest us.
 Booth, Colomb, & Williams (1995)
I want to learn about _______.

 What
are the component parts of the topic?
 How do these parts relate to one another?
 Hoe does the topic relate to a larger domain?
THE TOPIC

Interrogate the topic be viewing it as dynamic
and changing:
 What
is the history here?
 What were its beginnings, and where is it now?

Further refine the topic by asking about its
categories and characteristics:
 How
does it vary? along what dimensions?
 How are the cases of it different from and similar to
one another?
STATEMENT OF THE RESEARCH PROBLEM OR
ISSUE

This set serves five purposes:
 Establishes
the theoretical framework that guides
your study
 Demonstrates that you are knowledgeable about
the topic
 Reveals gaps in that literature that your study can
begin to address
 Leads toward the general research question that
your study will pursue
 Articulates a sound rationale or need to conduct
the study
PURPOSE

Purposes for research:
 Describing
 Comparing
and contrasting
 Forecasting
 To understand
 To develop
 To discover
PURPOSE

Creswell (1994)
 The
purpose of this study is to ___ (describe?
compare and contrast? forecast?) the ___ (central
concept being studied) for ___ (person? group? )
using a ___ (method of inquiry).
 The result will be in a ___ (descriptive portrait?
discussion of themes and patterns?)
 At this stage in the research, the ___ (central
concept being studied) will defined generally as ___
(provide a general definition of the central concept).
SIGNIFICANCE
Situate your study as addressing a particular,
important problem.
 How you define the research topic and problem
shape the study’s significance.
 Be sure that statements about the project’s
significance match the agency’s needs and
priorities.

SIGNIFICANCE

The significance responds to the following:
 Who
has an interest in this domain of inquiry?
 How will this new research add to theory, policy,
and practice in this area?
 How might it be of benefit to the participants and
therefore of significance to them?