This document provides guidance on developing various components of a research proposal or thesis, including developing research questions, stating hypotheses, integrating relevant theories, operationalizing variables, and addressing scope and limitations. Key elements that are discussed include writing research questions that do not invite yes/no answers and can be investigated, relating hypotheses to the existing literature, operationalizing theoretical concepts, and identifying how the study will benefit institutional and individual beneficiaries.

2. 1. Why is this problem important?
2. How do the hypothesis and research
design relate to the problem?
3. What are the theoretical implications of
the study, and how does the study relate
to previous work in the area?
4. What theoretical propositions are tested,
and how were they derived?

3.  Discuss the literature, BUT do not include
an exhaustive historical review. (APA,
2001)
 Present your own experiences and
describe how you became interested in
the study. (Boden, et al. 2006)

4. 1. What are my motivations for doing
research at all?
2. Where do my research ideas come from?
3. Cab I begin to see where agendas and
personal intellectual projects will develop?
4. Is my topic sufficient focused, given all the
constraints under which I must work?
5. Above all, is this a topic that I can really get
passionate and enthusiastic about?

5.  States the purpose of the study including
the study variables.
 Included are the research questions.
› Varies in 3-6 questions.
1. 1st question refers to the demographic profile
of respondents
2. Research questions pertains to the first
variable that will be measured in the study.
3. Last research question focuses on hypothesis.

6.  Having a question focuses on the analysis
and forces to have an argument that runs
through the work.
 Developing research questions delimit that
the researcher is going to do and become
very focused in the study.
 It is also kinder to readers, users and/or
beneficiaries of your research to start with
specific questions.
 Having clearly set out questions avoids
threats.

7. 1. Has societal, organizational, or personal
theoretical and/or practical value.
2. Doable within a timeframe.
3. Has available data or information.
4. Factors or variables to be studied are
observable and measurable.
5. Knowledge, interests, and skill of the
thesis student and faculty member.

8.  Does not invite true/false testing
 Does not have the answer contained or
implied within them.
 Does not invite „yes‟ or „no‟ answers.
 Facilitates a close focused investigation.
 Are answerable through investigation.
 Should be brief.

9.  Should be able to be coherently grouped
within a project.
 Has a demonstrable relationship with the
existing literature in the area.
 Lead to projects that are achievable within
the time and other constraints under which
you must work.
 Amenable to constant revisiting and
adjustment where necessary as the
research progresses.
 The result of a rigorous process of
developing and refining one‟s ideas.
 Framed in such a way that it has a question
mark at the end.

10.  Formal statement, usually grounded in
observation. (Karl Popper, 1934).
› Falsification – the process of disproving
hypotheses.
“All hypotheses must be falsifiable; that is,
capable of being tested.”

11.  Null Hypothesis – (H0)
› “no significant difference” or of “no
significant relationship between two or more
variables or groups that are to be measured
and tested through inferential statistics.”
 Alternative Hypothesis - (H1)
› “There is a significant difference” or “There is
a significant relationship”

12.  Explanatory research.
 Qualitative of ethnographic research.
 Qualitative or descriptive studies such as
case studies.
 Researches which are purely descriptive.
 e.g. census data population.

13.  People do not usually formulate
hypothesis that they expect to be easily
falsifiable.
 We can only explore which we can see.
 Will always be simple.

14.  Presents the related theory in the study.
 Could be single theory or multi-theory.
 Used in each discipline to prove its
usability in the study.

15.  Name of the theory
 History (if applicable) and year the
theory was recognized, created of
established
 Theorist
 Theory statement

16.  Serves as the guide of “map” of the
researcher in his study.
 Presents the conceptual variables based
on the original model of the theory.
 Basically a mental structure that is useful
in conceptualizing a research problem.

17.  Presents the “real life” variables that
would be measured in the study.
 Applicable in most doctoral thesis and
doctoral dissertations.

18.  Theoretical Level – uses words at the
highest and most abstract level.
 Conceptual Level – uses low level or less
abstract words
 Operational Level – uses the lowest or
most concrete words possible.

19.  Presents the institutional and individual
beneficiaries to further strengthen the
relevance of the study in the country,
society or community.

20.  Beneficiaries are embedded in the
statement of how the study would
benefit them.
 Beneficiaries are stated before the
statement on how the study would
benefit them; they are italicized for
emphasis.

21.  Scope – boundaries/ coverage in terms
of duration of the study, respondents,
and other considerations of the
researchers.
 Limitations – present the hindrances or
aspect of the investigation which may
affect the result adversely where a
researcher has no control.

22.  Section which defines the different major
variables down to the measurable level.
 Concepts are transformed into
constructs.
“The words were operationally defined based on
how it was used in the study.”
“The following words were a combination of
those operationally defined and those
referred from the dictionary.”