Contents of a Research Proposal
• Introduction
• Problem Statement
• Research questions and
hypothesis
• Research aim and Objectives
• Significance of the Study
• Literature Review
• Methodology
• Expected Results and Findings
• Limitations
• Work Plan (Time Frame)
• References
• ONE MORE TEMPLATE FOR WRITING A STATEMENT
PROBLEM
• Four required parts
• 1. Start with a general problem identifying the need for
the study. E.g. The problem of this study is ______
• 2. State the specific problem proposed for research.
(use citation & usually a number to make it clear to the
reader, e.g. 30% of the farms have been affected by the
Napier grass disease
• 3. Introductory words describing Methodological
approach (i.e. Research Design) are given and are
appropriate to the specific proposal problem, e.g. this
qualitative study will explore... or this quantitative
study will examine ...
• 4. General population group of proposed study is
identified.
• A possible reason for a franchisee exiting a franchise relationship is
lack of trust and commitment between franchise partners (Hall and
Dixon, 1988). Wang and Altinay (2008) noted that there are some
psychological problems affecting franchise relationships. For
example, franchisors may try to have excessive control over
franchisees and sometimes they ignore franchisees‟ opinions.
Moreover, Frazer and Winzar (2005) note that conflicts in the
franchising relationship regarding the services offered by the
franchisor may be responsible for franchisees exiting the system.
However, franchisees may face financial and resource constraints as
reported by Mukherjee (2003) and that may affect their ability to
offer the standards required by the franchisor. Therefore, a
franchisee's perception of franchisor value, and vice versa, changes
over time and has an impact on the hospitality industry as there is a
lifecycle in the hotel franchise relationship which is variable over
the contract period (Grünhagen and Dorsch, 2003). However, Tikoo
(2005) and Monroy and Alzola (2005) indicate that there is a lack of
research that examines the relationship between franchise
partners. This qualitative study will address this research gap in
order to investigate how to effectively manage the hotel franchise
relationship.
Research Questions
• Writing a Research Question
• Specify your specific concern or issue.
• Decide what you want to know about the specific
concern or issue.
• Turn what you want to know and the specific
concern into a question.
• Ensure that the question is answerable.
• Check to make sure the question is not too broad
or too narrow.
Examples
• Thesis aim: What are the benefits and drawbacks of online
social networking for children?
• Research Questions:
• What is online social networking and why is this an
important sociological question?
• What role does peer socialization play in a child’s
development
• In the past, what were the ways in which children socialized
with their peers?
• What are the positive effects of online social networking?
• What are negative effects of online social networking?
• What are the benefits and drawbacks of online social
networking?
Aim & Objectives
• Here the researcher talks about the purpose of the
research
• The aim is WHAT of the research, and the Objective is
HOW…..
• Aim: general
• Objectives: specific, logical, measurable andflow from
problem statement, should be achievable and can be
stated in 1-4 lines.
example aim: To evaluate the formal and informal
processes of promotion within Banks.
example objective: To develop a quantitative analysis
using a questionnaire directed to bank customers
Research Methodology
Research methods used:
• Is it qualitative or quantitative?
• How will data be collected and analysed?
• Why have you chosen particular methods?
• What are the advantages and limitations of
the research methods used?
This research adopts a qualitative approach using a case study research strategy to
accomplish the overall aim, objectives and questions of the study as it is characterized
by its ability to get detailed information about the phenomenon being investigated,
namely hotel franchise relationships. A multiple case study of hotel franchisorfranchisees relationships is designed which enhances the validity of this research and
offers the opportunity to study hotel franchising issues. The case study allows the
problem to be investigated from different perspectives focusing on relationships and
processes and using multiple sources of evidence, including: semi-structured
interviews, and document analysis. Thus, any findings will be accurate and persuasive
(Yin, 2003). The plan was to conduct a multiple case study in six different hotel chains
in the UK in order to explore hotel franchise relationships. The research moved on to
achieve the second and third objectives which involved semi-structured interviews
with hotel franchisors and their franchisees. The interviews were conducted between
January 2008 and October 2009. Throughout the time spent conducting the
interviews, the researcher transcribed and analyzed the qualitative data. After
conducting the interviews, the researcher managed to obtain some documents that
related to the hotel franchise relationships. The researcher then moved on to achieve
the fourth objective, which is to present a model of success factors in the relationship
between franchisors and franchisees in order to ensure the success of hotel
franchising relationships.
Time Frame
The time frame shows the stages the research needs to be completed
and it is shown in the below table.
DETAILS PLAN
Submission Research Proposal
Chapter1: Introduction
Chapter2: Literature Review
Chapter3: Research Methodology
Chapter4: Data Collection and Data
Analysis
Chapter5: Findings and
Recommendation
Submission Final Report
Total Months-6
Mar. April
201 .
7
2017
1
1
May
Jun.
.
201
201
7
7
1
1
Aug.
Jul.
201
2017
7
1
1
Expected Results and Findings
• Practical implications
• Theoretical implications