Research proposal geography department

1. A research proposal is a document proposing a research project,
generally in the sciences or academia, and generally constitutes a
request for sponsorship of that research. Proposals are evaluated on
the cost and potential impact of the proposed research, and on the
soundness of the proposed plan for carrying it out. Research proposals
generally address several key points
 What research question(s) will be addressed, and how they will
be addressed
 How much time and expense will be required for the research
 What prior research has been done on the topic
 How the results of the research will be evaluated
 How the research will benefit the sponsoring organization and
other parties
What is research proposal ?

2. A research proposal is written before research is conducted in
order to gain approval or funding for the research. There are
two types of research proposal.
•Approval proposal. This type of proposal is written before
undertaking a final project, dissertation or thesis, and is
submitted to your supervisor for approval.<.li>
•Funding proposal. This type of proposal is submitted to an
external organisation in order to seek funding for your research.

3. Structure of research proposals
Many research proposals are submitted using an application form, meaning
that a formally structured document is not required. If there is no form, the
following is a possible structure for a research proposal. This structure is for
an approval proposal, as this is the one likely to be encountered for
university study.
The proposal should begin with a Title page. This will provide a preliminary
(or proposed) title for your research. Other details such as your name,
university name, and supervisor’s name may also appear here.
Following this, there should be a Summary of the research proposal.
This will give the key areas in the proposal, i.e. the aim, objectives,
research questions, method, and timeline.

4. There should be an Introduction to the proposal. This will give background
information and a description of the research area. It may also give the
motivation for the research and explain its importance. The overall aim of the
research will be given, in other words what your research will achieve. This
will be accompanied by more specific research objectives, which outline the
issues to be addressed in order to achieve the aim. These will be followed by
the research questions which enable the objectives to be achieved (usually
Why, How or What questions).

5. There should be a preliminary Literature review. This section provides a
critical summary of previous research in the area, identifying possible gaps and
how your research will fill them. This section may help to justify your research
and show why it is important.
Although at this stage your literature review may not be complete, your
supervisor will still need to see the general framework that your research exists
within, and examples of previous research in the area, in order to be confident
you are approaching the research in the correct way.

6. Next there will be a Methodology section. This section will give information on
how your research will be conducted. This includes the kind of data which will
be obtained (e.g. quantitative or qualitative), the source of data, the research
methodology and why this approach has been chosen. Ethical and safety issues
may also be identified. Required resources may also be listed, e.g. facilities,
laboratory equipment and technical help.

7. The proposal should include a Timeline. This section will show how you plan to
finish the research within the allotted time. It should include when important
aspects of the research will start and finish, for instance the literature review, stages
of experiments, and chapters of the final written work (likely to be a thesis or
dissertation). The timeline can be formatted as a table or a list; a GANTT chart,
listing tasks (vertical axis) and time (horizontal axis), is also frequently used.

8. There should be a Reference section. The reference section gives full details of any
sources cited in the research proposal.

9. Finally, there will be Appendices, which give additional information not
needed in the main body. This could include interview questions,
questionnaires, and pilot study data.