Chapter 5 Research Design and Proposal Writing.ppt

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CHAPTER 5:
RESEARCH DESIGN AND
PROPOSAL WRITING
DR. NUR FADZLUNNISAA’ BINTI WAKIMIN

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LEARNING OUTCOMES
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
• Comprehend what a research design is
• Differentiate between the three different types of research
design
• Explain what cross-sectional and longitudinal studies are
• Understand the unit of analysis in a research
• Know what a research proposal is
• Prepare a research proposal

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THE RESEARCH DESIGN
• The plan of study followed to fulfil the research objectives
or test the hypotheses
• Its function is to ensure that evidence generated from the
data would be able to answer the research question
• Primary data can be generated from 3 basic research
designs: exploratory, descriptive and causal research

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EXPLORATORY RESEARCH
• Undertaken when a researcher intends to explore
something new or clarify ambiguous problems in a
particular situation
• Certain problem of interest exists and it has not been
clearly defined
• Useful in generating a more clearly defined (or redefined)
problem and suggesting a well-supported hypothesis

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DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH
• “Describes” something which could be a phenomenon, a
current situation or the characteristic of a group of
organisations, people, etc.
• Answers the question of who, what, where, when and
how of a particular issue or situation

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CROSS-SECTIONAL OR LONGITUDINAL
Descriptive studies can be classified as either cross-
sectional or longitudinal.

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CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY
• The data is collected just once (at a particular time) to
enable the researcher to answer the research questions
• Can be collected over a period of a few days, weeks or
months
• Most frequently used in exploratory and descriptive
research

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LONGITUDINAL STUDY
• A type of study in which the data is collected at two or
more points in time
• To investigate changes in people’s behaviour or the effect
of introducing some changes in an organisation
• To measure the before and after effect (cause and effect
relationships) of certain phenomena (resembles causal
study)
• Needs longer time and more effort to complete, hence
could be more costly

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CAUSAL RESEARCH
• Research approach where the researcher investigates the
cause and effect relationship (a.k.a. explanatory study)
• Can experiment on manipulating the hypothesised
independent variable on the dependent variable

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UNIT OF ANALYSIS
• Refers to the subject that is being studied in the research
• May take the form of individuals, groups of people,
objects, certain department within an organisation or the
entire organisation itself as well as culture and countries
• Most of the time, the unit of analysis is determined by the
research questions

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GUIDELINES FOR PREPARING
RESEARCH PROPOSAL
• A short document written by a researcher to provide an
explanation of the proposed research study
• A research proposal as part of the application process or
as part of the requirement
• Requires it to be evaluated

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RESEARCH PROPOSAL OUTLINE
Components of a Research Proposal
• Title of the study
• Table of content
• Abstract or executive
summary
• Introduction
• Literature review
• Theoretical framework
and hypotheses
 Research methodology
 Contribution of research
 Time frame
 Budget
 Conclusion
 List of references
 A useful reminder

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BRIEF EXPLANATION OF EACH OF
THE COMPONENTS
Title of the study
• It should be brief and concise and able to make readers
have a quick understanding of what the study is all about
Table of content
• A nicely laid out table of content will really complement
the research proposal in which it will make the document
more useful and user friendly to the reader

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BRIEF EXPLANATION OF EACH OF
THE COMPONENTS (CONT.)
Abstract or executive summary
• An important component of the research proposal as it
summarises the entire research proposal, especially the
most integral parts like the purpose of the study, the
research question, the rationale for the study, the
hypothesis and the research design.

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BRIEF EXPLANATION OF EACH OF
THE COMPONENTS (CONT.)
Introduction
• Introduces the reader to the proposed study
• It usually comprises the background of the study, the
problem statement, purpose of the research/research
objectives and research questions, scope of the study and
justification/importance/benefit/ significance of the
study.

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BRIEF EXPLANATION OF EACH OF THE
COMPONENTS (CONT.)
Literature review
• This section should be called brief literature review or
preliminary literature review as it is a “work-in-progress”
and not a completed research report.
Theoretical framework and hypothesis
• Theoretical framework diagrammatically depicts the
relationship between all the variables that were found to
be integral to the study from an exhaustive literature
review.
• Aids in the formation of the research hypothesis

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BRIEF EXPLANATION OF EACH OF THE
COMPONENTS (CONT.)
Research methodology
• Plans in conducting the study
Significance of research
• How the study can contribute to research
Time frame
• The use of a Gantt chart or the likes in showing the length
of time required/expected to carry out the research

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BRIEF EXPLANATION OF EACH OF THE
COMPONENTS (CONT.)
Budget
• Breakdown of the costs that are expected to be incurred
in conducting the research from the beginning to the end.
Note: Not a necessary component in research (self-finance) for academic
qualification.
Conclusion
• End our research proposal with some final conclusions of
the topic under study.

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BRIEF EXPLANATION OF EACH OF THE
COMPONENTS (CONT.)
List of references
• A listing of all the citations that were used in the
preparation of the research proposal
• To comply with the in-house requirements/ rules as to
which referencing convention is used