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PREPARING A RESEARCH PROPOSALA GUIDE FOR HIGHER DEGREE RESEARCH STUDENTSBefore any research project begins, detailed plans are essential. Designing and planning a wholeresearch project involves choosing a researchable, significant topic and preparing a well developedresearch proposal. Both of these activities need to be carried out under the guidance of yoursupervisor/s and the earlier this planning takes place in your candidature the better. During this timeyour supervisors will advise on methodological issues and reading material that will help you to refineyour research project. Ultimately, a good proposal serves as a valuable direction finder that helps theresearcher to get going on their project with more confidence.After admission to candidature, you as a higher degree research student are required to refine yourpreliminary research proposal and present for approval a more detailed proposal. This will occurwithin the first six months of candidature for full-time students and within twelve months for part-timestudents, either preceding or as part of your Confirmation of Candidature, a process which ensures thatonly research studies that meet the rigor required will be allowed to proceed. Choosing and developinga researchable topic and securing a tight fit between methodological framework and nature of theproblem to be researched involves a high level of conceptualisation. Discussions and negotiationsbetween you and you supervisor at this stage are therefore of vital importance.A research proposal should be viewed as more than the outcome of a formalised procedure. It tests inparticular your ability as a researcher to conceptualise clearly and to plan and organise carefully andthoroughly. It must be done well in order to do justice to the research idea, and to ‘sell’ the idea. Itneeds to be kept in mind however, that your plan need not be rigidly adhered to as opportunities torefine your topic arise, unforeseen circumstances come your way or if unexpected data or sources ofdata arise. The importance is to have a clear sense of direction right from the start.Developing your topicThe purpose, structure and format of a proposal will depend on the disciplinary area in which theproposed research is located. Proposals vary considerably in format and length but around 3,000words would be desirable for proposals in the social sciences and humanities and less so for many ofthe experimental sciences. While a proposal format is fairly standard for quantitative studies, forqualitative studies there is no one set format. However, some basic principles guiding preparation of agood research proposal are worth noting.First, the topic chosen must be of some significance in your field of interest. In other words, the topicmust be justifiably well worth researching. Next and importantly, two principles guiding the choice oftopic which are elaborated below are interest and feasibility. Examine carefully the following todetermine to what extent your chosen topic meets the criteria:1. It must be interesting to you. It takes great interest in a topic to sustain enthusiasm andenjoyment, and hundreds of hours of effort. There must also be some excitement about thetopic. It may or may not be relevant to your current work position but if it is, more interestmay ensue.2. It must be feasible in the time allocated. Do you, for instance, have the time and humanresources to pursue this topic? If you live, say, in a city, plans to carry out a study requiringextensive fieldwork in rural areas may not be practical (depending on how much time could bespent traveling and costs involved). Family considerations are also important to consider.3. It must fit within financial and other resource constraints. A clearly laid out budget in theproposal should indicate what costs will be involved. Other resources (e.g. technical, statisticaland analytical skills) required to complete the project, should be clearly indicated.4. It must be within your competence. Familiarity with an issue or phenomenon, and somebackground in appropriate research methods, should, at the very least, save time and give youa greater sense of direction and confidence. If you strongly wish to pursue a topic that requiresexpertise you do not possess, plan additional work time and, perhaps take relevant course unitsto acquire those skills.5. It must be sufficiently delimited. Setting realistic boundaries helps you organise yourliterature search and produce a specific problem statement that has a well argued theoreticalrationale. The topic area, for instance, might be organizational effectiveness but the problemmight be expressed in terms of the effectiveness of team-based management where a casestudy could be carried out of say, three different organizational settings that operate on team-based principles.6. It must be manageable in size. Consider carefully the word limit that is imposed on yourthesis. It is a good idea early on to develop an outline of potential chapters, keeping in mindthe word limits that are set.7. It must have the potential to make an original contribution to knowledge or practice inthe appropriate area. Questions need to be considered about the significance, value orpotential use of your research. You will need to ascertain what is expected of the researchfindings and what contribution they will make (e.g. generating new knowledge, contributing tothe literature or improving practice).8. It must be able to meet all ethical, legal and risk assessment requirements. Issues such assecuring permits from government or other agencies and UNE ethics committees, protectingthe privacy of individuals involved in your study, ensuring intellectual property and likelyaccess to information, need to be considered carefully. Any risk assessment proceduresrequired to be carried out must be clearly indicated.Creating a good research proposalMost novice researchers ask what an outline of a proposal might look like. If exemplars of goodproposals are available, it will pay you to study these before you set out developing yours.You would do well to keep the following principles in mind when developing your proposal:1. A good proposal explains clearly three elements – what research is intended, why it is beingresearched and how the researcher proposes to carry out the research.2. A good proposal is straightforward. The first words are of vital importance. They need to getto the point directly without ‘beating around the bush’. There should be a succinct statementof what the study proposes to do at the start (written in the future tense), something like, ‘Thisstudy will examine …’ or ‘This study aims to …’.3. A good proposal uses clear and precise language. While not meant to be a literarymasterpiece, all readers with a knowledge of the subject need to be able to understand exactlywhat is meant in the most concise language possible .4. A good proposal should be clearly organised. It should be written in simple, logical, prosewith clear headings and subheadings to mark out major sections.What follows is a general guide for putting together a more highly developed proposal in the socialsciences areas.Guidelines for creating a well developed research proposalThe following elements are important to include:Research topic• Title of the project• Nature of the problem or issue under examination (the focus of the study)• Proposed aims and objectives and research questions/hypothesesBackground and context of the study• How did the problem or issue arise?• Why is this an important area to study? The significance of the study needs to be stated andcomments on the practical and/or theoretical value of the research included.• Include any underlying assumptions.• Provide definitions of key terms or concepts used.• Point out the limitations imposed (the boundaries set).Methodology• A tight fit between aims of the study and research strategy chosen must be evident.• Include statements on:• research strategy (e.g., qualitative, quantitative) and justification for approach;• research methods (e.g. survey, case study, ethnography, experimental);• tools of data collection (e.g., questionnaire, interviews, focus groups, documentaryanalysis);• location and availability of data;• methods of data analysis and interpretation;• ethical implications (if relevant); and• any problems that may be encountered in the conduct of the research.Literature review (or a general introduction to the topic of 3-5 pages if in experimental sciences)• Familiarity with the relevant literature needs to be demonstrated.• A précis of relevant literature needs to include:– what is already known on the topic;– what gaps need to be filled;– how the study relates to, builds on or differs from previous work in the topic area; and– theoretical considerations (what theory/ies from the literature would help to develop ameaningful conceptual or analytical framework?)Proposed timeline/milestones A schedule indicating plans from commencement right through to submission needs to beprovided.Resources needed and available Resources needed should be listed, their availability checked and a budget proposed beforebeginning the project.Select bibliography or referencesWhen you have completed preparing your proposal, it would be a good idea to self-evaluate what youhave produced. A checklist for doing so appears in what follows.Evaluating your research proposalCircle your ratings according to the following criteriaChoice of problem (insignificant) 1 2 3 4 5 (significant)Statement of problem (unclear) 1 2 3 4 5 (clear)Questions/hypotheses developed (unclear) 1 2 3 4 5 (clear)Knowledge of previous work (poor) 1 2 3 4 5 (excellent)Critique of relevant literature (poor) 1 2 3 4 5 (excellent)Key concepts defined (poorly defined) 1 2 3 4 5 (clearly defined)Theoretical framework (nonexistent) 1 2 3 4 5 (developing)Mode of inquiry (inappropriate) 1 2 3 4 5 (appropriate)Importance in topic area (unimportant) 1 2 3 4 5 (important)Likely significance of findings (low) 1 2 3 4 5 (high)Research plan (vague) 1 2 3 4 5 (detailed)Scope and limitations (unrealistic) 1 2 3 4 5 (realistic)Proposal structure (poorly organised) 1 2 3 4 5 (well organised)Consideration of ethical issues (nonexistent) 1 2 3 4 5 (strong)Persuasiveness (low) 1 2 3 4 5 (high)Writing style (obtuse) 1 2 3 4 5 (precise)Interest engendered (low) 1 2 3 4 5 (high)Argument in support of- the significance of the problem (nonexistent) 1 2 3 4 5 (strong)- the choice of research strategy (nonexistent) 1 2 3 4 5 (strong)- the way the research problem isstated (in relation to the literaturereviewed) (nonexistent) 1 2 3 4 5 (strong)- limitations on the conclusions (nonexistent) 1 2 3 4 5 (strong)