CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER TWO : RESEARCH PROPOSAL AND LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1. Research Proposal • The research proposal is the detailed plan of study. • It is a document which sets out your ideas in an easily accessible way. • The intent of the written research proposal is to present a focused research problem and plan. • The objective in writing a proposal is to describe what you will do, why it should be done, how you will do it and what you expect will result. The purposes of the research proposal Organising your ideas • Writing can be the best way of clarifying our thoughts. • It will help you to organise your ideas into a coherent statement of your research intent. Convincing your audience • To show that something more modest in scope is attempted. • Helps us to show that it will be conducted within the time and other resources available. Cont… Contracting with your ‘client’ • To convince your clients about the way foreword • Is an essential component submitted for funding. Components of a Research Proposal • The recommended research proposal incorporate the following elements 1. Research title 2. Background of the study 3. Statement of the problem 4. Research question/ Hypotheses 5. Objective of the study 6. Scope of the study 7. Significance of the study 8. Limitations of the study (Optional) 9. Organization of the paper 10. Research methodology Research design and approaches Types and sources of data Sampling design --- Sample size and sampling techniques Data collection techniques Validity and reliability Method of data analysis 11. Timescale and budget of the study • Timescale • Budget/cost breakdown 12. References 1. Title • Title should closely mirror the content of your proposal. • The title must describe the contents accurately and concisely with the smallest possible words. • It should be specified as brief as possible, avoid compound titles, containing no abbreviations. • Put your name, the name of your department, College, University, the name of your advisor(s), Affiliation and date of delivery under the title. • The title page has no page number 2. Background of the study • It provides readers with the background information for the research proposal. • It should tell the reader why you feel the research is worth the effort. • The introduction should cite those who had the idea or ideas first. • It shows a clear link between the previous work that has been done in your field of research interest and your study Cont… • This introduction should be placed within the context of existing research or within your own experience and/or observation • You need to demonstrate that: • you know what you are talking about • you have knowledge of the literature on this topic. • the research is important. 3 . Statement of the Problem • The background section should lead smoothly into a statement of the problem • A problem is the issue that exists in the literature, theory, or practice that leads to a need for the study. • The researcher should think on what caused the need to do the research (problem identification). • It helps to convince our advisors and prospective readers that the issue or problem is worth research. Cont… • A problem statement is a logical argument with structure, sequence, substance and rationale. • It describes the context for the study and it also identifies the general analysis approach. • Effective problem statements answer the question “Why does the research need to be conducted?” • It should contain a rationale for your research. • Organized as: Scientific fact— opposing statements— gap statement— study purpose 4. Research Questions and/or Hypotheses • A research question is an interrogative statement that can be answered by data • It poses a relationship between two or more variables but phrases the relationship as a question • A hypothesis represents a declarative statement of the relations between two or more variables. • The hypothesis is subject to test, i.e., to confirmation or rejection on empirical grounds (data). 5. Objective of the Study • The objectives define the ends or aim which can be brought bought as a result of completing the research. • It is the path to achive your research work. • Summarize what is to be achieved by the study. • They should be closely related to the statement of the problem. • Objectives should be simple, specific, stated in advance, and stated using appropriate “action verbs”. • are classified into general objectives and specific objectives. • They both should be logically connected to each other 6. Limitation of the Study • Procedural and physical limitations • Its highly recommended to focus on procedural limitations • It indicates some uncontrollable factors that will affect the quality of your research. • The best way to identify these would be during the conceptualization and operationalization phase of your plan. • Outline the factors you cannot control, describe why, and state how they might affect your outcome. 7. Scope of the Study • It explains the nature, coverage, and time frame of the study. • It presents in brief the subject area of investigation, the place, and the time period. • In addition, it discusses the variables included in the study and the exclusion of other variables which are expected to be included. [though not in detail] 8. Significance of the Study • It describes the contributions of the study as new knowledge. • It cites the usefulness of the study to the specific groups. • Cites all the persons and groups that will be benefited on the study findings. • Include a short explanation regarding how those persons and groups benefited from the study. 9. Methodology of the Study • This section is really the heart of every research proposal. • Researchers must decide exactly how they are going to achieve the stated objectives. • Indicates the methodological steps they will take to answer every question and to test every hypothesis stated earlier • It will justify your choice of method in the light of those objectives. Cont… • Issues to be detailed in this section include: • Description of study area • Description of study design (experimental, survey, case study etc.),and approach • Description of study participants • Determination of sample size [if any] • Description of selection process (sampling method [IA]) • Methods of data collection (questionnaire, interview, FGD, observation, DR..etc) • Instrument validity and reliability [if any] • Presentation of the data analysis methods 10.(a) Timescale/ Work Plan • Work plan is a schedule, chart or graph that summarizes activities and time of implementation • Your proposal work plan should include: o The tasks to be performed; o When and where the tasks will be performed; o Who will perform the tasks and the time required for each activity • Note: Researchers find it useful to plan their research using Gantt Chart. • Developed by Henry Gantt in 1917 10.(b) Budget and Resources • In your research proposal budget items need to be explicitly stated • This may be for travel, subsistence, help with data analysis, or postage for questionnaires. • Cost for every budget item should be quantitatively shown • There might be a need for budget justification of certain costs whose requirement is not obvious 11. References • You must give references to all the information that you obtain from books, papers in journals, and other sources. • Different reference styles are used in different filed of studies. • The most dominant ones are the American Psychological Association (APA), IEEE and the Harvard style. • The IEEE referencing style is decided to be adopted in our department IEEE references format • Journal article • [Ref number] Author’s initials. Author’s Surname, “Title of article,” • • • • Title of journal abbreviated in Italics, vol. number, issue number, page numbers, Abbreviated Month Year. [4] F. Yan, Y. Gu, Y. Wang, C. M. Wang, X. Y. Hu, H. X. Peng, et al., "Study on the interaction mechanism between laser and rock during perforation," Optics and Laser Technology, vol. 54, pp. 303308, Dec 2013. Conference papers [Ref number] Author’s initials. Author’s Surname, “Title of paper,” in Name of Conference, Location, Year, pp. xxx. [6] S. Adachi, T. Horio, T. Suzuki. "Intense vacuum-ultraviolet singleorder harmonic pulse by a deep-ultraviolet driving laser," in Conf. Lasers and Electro-Optics, San Jose, CA, 2012, pp.2118-2120. IEEE text in citation and references • Book, Book chapter, electronic Book, Journal article, EJournal article, Conference papers, Reports, Patents, Standards, Theses/Dissertations, Datasheets, Online Documents, Websites. • Book • [Ref number] Author’s initials. Author’s Surname, Book Title, edition (if not first). Place of publication: Publisher, Year. • [1] I.A. Glover and P.M. Grant, Digital Communications, 3rd ed. Harlow: Prentice Hall, 2009. IEEE Text in citation • Here are some examples of IEEE style citation: • “... as shown by Brown [4], as previously stated.” • "The theory was first put forward in 1987 [1]." • “For example, see [7].” • "Several recent studies [3, 4, 15, 16] have suggested that..." The example above may also be formatted as: “Several recent studies [3], [4], [15], [16] have suggested that…” Literature Review What is a literature review? • A critical, analytical account of the existing research on a particular topic • Why do we write literature reviews? • Show knowledge of the topic • Keep current • Stepping stone to research/further analysis • Gain credibility Literature Review is : • A descriptive summary of existing literature • A presentation of your own argument • Organized by source or written as an annotated bibliography • An account of every existing piece of Purpose of Literature Review What is the aim? • To provide an organized overview of existing research on a specific topic • To take a critical and evaluative perspective toward published research • To summarize, synthesize and analyze the arguments of other authors • To uncover similarities and differences or consistencies and inconsistencies within existing research • To identify a gap within the body or research • To help you generate and justify your research question and hypotheses Be Original. Find a Gap. • Value of a research lies in its contribution to knowledge • Should strive to show clearly how the previous research is conflicting or lacking in some way • This lack is called a “gap” – your research contributes to “fill” the gap. • Gap should flow naturally and clearly from your understanding of the The Gap. The Rationale. • Ask yourself: • Why is the gap you’ve identified important? • How important is the gap you’ve identified? • Why is it worth to investigate this particular gap? • What is the benefit from studying that gap respectively • research area further? • You will need to make a persuasive argument for the importance of this issue as it provides the rational for your research Five Types of Gaps • Knowledge-based: Most common, occurs when we • • • • don’t know (enough) about a phenomenon Relationship-based: occurs when we know about certain issues or variables well, but are unsure about their relationship Theory-based: occurs when a theory or an aspect of a theory has not been investigated thoroughly, or not been tested in a particular way Methodological: occurs when a research design or methodology has not been applied to a particular phenomenon Analytical: occurs when a phenomenon has not been investigated using a particular analytical approach i.e., qualitative vs. quantitative The End !
