how to write a research proposal components of research proposals

1. MSc
Integrated urbanism
& Sustainable Design
(IUSD)
Research Methodology
Dr. Ayat Ismail, PhD
Urban design & planning dept.
Ain Shams University
ayat.ismail@eng.asu.edu.eg
How to write a research proposals?
Components of proposal

2. MSc
Integrated urbanism
& Sustainable Design
(IUSD)
Topics
• Why writing a research proposal?
• What is research proposal?
• Characteristics of a good research proposal
• Components of a research proposal

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Why all this fuss about a detailed proposal for my study
before I even begin? Things are going to change once I
get into the study anyway!
• It informs your academic supervisor about your conceptualization of the
total research process so that they can examine its validity and
appropriateness
• Your research proposal will go through a number of committees for
approval (academic or for funding). Unless it is approved by all of them,
you will not be able to start your research. Therefore, your proposal should
be well thought of.
• Research proposal is intended to convince others that you have a
worthwhile research project and that you have the competence and the
work-plan to complete it.

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What is a research proposal?
A research proposal outlines your research process by presenting
the broad topic you would like to research (interest), what the
research would aspire to achieve (objectives), through answering a
number of research (questions) to solve a particular research
(problem), while highlighting how you would go about
researching it (methodology), how you would undertake it within
the time available (time plan) and what the results might be in
relation to knowledge and understanding in the subject (expected
findings)

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The Research Proposal identifies problems, states questions or
hypotheses, identifies variables and define terms. The subjects to
be included in the sample, the instrument to be used, the research
design chosen, the procedures to be followed, how the data will be
analyzed, all are spelled out in some detail.
It presents all research elements and their interlinkages
What is a research proposal?

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Characteristics of a good research proposal
• Connects with current literature, and shows how the problem is
significant and worthy of study
• Makes clear the purpose of intended research, its justification, and
provides a step by step plan for conducting the study
• Explains why the research is doable and timely, and the approach is
innovative and likely to yield results
• Acknowledges strengths and limitations (and ethical issues) of your
proposed approach
• Propose a realistic work plan
“Good research proposals both give an overview of the
project and a well informed discussion of the nuts and
bolts of the proposed research” (Burnett 2009)

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Components of research proposal
1. Title
2. Abstract
3. Introduction to the research topic including a brief literature review
4. Statement of the problem
5. Objectives of the study
6. Hypothesis or research questions
7. Methodology and Analytical framework of the study
8. Expected findings
9. Proposed chapters of the written report
10. Limitation and constrains of the study (including ethical issues if any)
11. Proposed time-frame (work plan) for the study
12. Bibliography
conceptual framework which constitutes
the basis of your study; objectives and
questions of your study

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Components of research proposal
1. Title
• Should reflect the objectives of the research.
• Should contain an actionable verb that reflects the methodology:
exploring, explaining, investigating, assessing, evaluating,
appropriating, proposing, solving, measuring, … etc.
Example:
“Investigating the relationship between academic achievement
and social environment: the case of primary schools in Cairo.”

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Components of research proposal
2. Abstract
• Abstract’s main purpose is to summarize the research, NOT to
introduce the research area
• Abstracts usually have a maximum word count
It includes three main elements:
• Background on the topic
• What I am going to study (the research problem and/or main
objective of the research)
• How I am going to study it (the methodology used / and the
expected conclusions if the word count allows you)

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Components of research proposal
3. Introduction to the research topic including a brief
literature review
In an introduction, the writer should
• Explain what the research topic is? Why have you chosen it?
Why is the topic important
• Place the study within the larger context of the scholarly
literature,
• Lay the foundation for the problem that leads to the study

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Components of research proposal
3. Introduction to the research topic including a brief
literature review
Example: Investigating the relationship between academic achievement
and social environment. The introduction would include the following:
• The role of education in our society.
• Major changes in the philosophy of education over time.
• The development of primary education in Egypt.
• Existing theories linking academic performance to social factors
• Role of parents and peers in academic achievement.
• etc.

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Components of research proposal
4. Statement of the problem
5. Objectives of the study
6. Hypothesis or research questions
conceptual framework which constitutes
the basis of your study; objectives and
questions of your study
Example: Investigating the relationship between academic achievement and
social environment. The Problem could be:
“After reviewing the theories linking the academic performance of students and
their social environment, it is clear now that the area under study suffers from
gaps in the existing body of knowledge. For example, the existing literature
overlooks the impact of parental involvement and their socioeconomic status
on the motivation and interest of students in the subject.”

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Components of research proposal
4. Statement of the problem
5. Objectives of the study
6. Hypothesis or research questions
conceptual framework which constitutes
the basis of your study; objectives and
questions of your study
Example: Investigating the relationship between academic achievement and
social environment. The Objectives could be:
• To find out the relationship, if any, between self-esteem and a student’s
academic achievement at school.
• To investigate the association between parental involvement in a student’s
studies and his/her academic achievement at school.
• To explore the relationship between academic achievement and the attitude
of a student towards teachers.

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Components of research proposal
4. Statement of the problem
5. Objectives of the study
6. Hypothesis or research questions
conceptual framework which constitutes
the basis of your study; objectives and
questions of your study
Example: Investigating the relationship between academic achievement and
social environment. The Hypotheses could be:
• H1 = A student’s self-esteem and academic achievement at school are
positively correlated.
• H2 = The greater the parental involvement in a student’s studies, the higher
the academic achievement.
• H3 = A student’s attitude towards teachers is positively correlated with
his/her academic achievement in that subject.

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Components of research proposal
7. Methodology and Analytical framework of the study
8. Expected findings
Example: Investigating the relationship between academic achievement and
social environment. The methodology could be:
• The students of 2 primary schools in Greater Cairo Region will be chosen as
case study (provide justification)
• The principals of the schools will be contacted to explain the purpose of the
study and the help needed from the school
• The students of the 4th grade are selected as the focus of the study (justify)
• In order to control the variance attributable to the gender of a student it is
proposed to select only male students.

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Components of research proposal
7. Methodology and Analytical framework of the study
8. Expected findings
Example: Investigating the relationship between academic achievement and
social environment. The methodology could be (cont.):
• A semi structured interviews will be conducted with teachers and students
• Mark sheets of the students will be gathered from teachers
• Students will be categorized according to their answers in the interviews into
subgroups, where each group shares the same social characteristics defined
from the literature review. Groups are cross-referenced with the mark sheets
• The study expects to find a relation between socioeconomic status of parents
and students’ academic performance

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Components of research proposal
9. Proposed chapters of the written report
Example: Investigating the relationship between academic achievement and
social environment. The chapters structure could be :
• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 2: Academic performance in Egyptian schools system
• Chapter 3: Social environment and the and the educational process
• Chapter 4: Data and Method: the study population
• Chapter 5: The analytical study I: the influence of parental involvement
• Chapter 6: The analytical study II: the influence of Peer group
• Chapter 7: Conclusions and recommendations

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Components of research proposal
10. Limitation and constrains of the study (including
ethical issues if any)
• Most common limitations are data availability and time
constrains
• Ethical issues are mostly in experiments that includes humans or
animals: How will you get your participants consent? How will
participants confidentiality and anonymity be maintained? Are
your participants fully aware of the consequences of the study?

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Components of research proposal
10. Limitation and constrains of the study (including
ethical issues if any)
Example: Investigating the relationship between academic achievement and
social environment. Limitations could be :
• the constraints of time and resources do not permit the researcher to select
more than two schools
• The researcher could be faced with a problem when seeking permission for
the students to participate in the study, due to their possible inability to grasp
the process and understand its significance
• The research acknowledges that many aspects could affect the academic
performance of students and the research will not be able to cover all of them

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Components of research proposal
11. Proposed time-frame (work plan) for the study
• Work plan indicates exactly what will be done, the sequence of
the various activities, and the products of deliverables that will
be prepared. Specify the tasks, deliverables, and schedule in
some detail
• List the various operational steps you need to undertake and
indicate against each the date by which you aim to complete
that task
• Remember to keep some time towards the end as a ‘cushion’ in
case the research process does not go as smoothly as planned

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Components of research proposal
11. Proposed time-frame (work plan) for the study
Example: Investigating the relationship between academic achievement and
social environment. The work plan could be :
To be completed by weeks/months
Tasks 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Proposal writing
Reading literature
Data collection
Performing the analysis
Drafting final report

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Components of research proposal
12. Bibliography
• References should be up-to-date and includes the most
important text books
• References should be written in the appropriate style following
the requirements of each university
• References list reflects your knowledge of the topic, therefore it
should be inclusive and covering most relevant topics.

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Exercise
Write a 200 words abstract for your research

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Thank You