1. B Y
C . E . O C H O N O G O R , P H . D ; F C A I
O C H O N E C @ U N I S A . A C . Z A
I N S T I T U T E F O R S C I E N C E A N D T E C H N O L O G Y E D U C A T I O N
( I S T E )
U N I V E R S I T Y O F S O U T H A F R I C A , P R E T O R I A
M A Y , 2 0 1 3
RESEARCH PROPOSAL WRITING:
A GUIDE
2. What is a Research Proposal? Contd.
Academic or scientific research carried out with a poor
proposal is bound to experience any or all of the
following problems:
Inability to locate any important knowledge gap;
Lack of appropriate research design;
Poor methodology and procedure
C.E. Ochonogor , Ph.D; FCAI
3. Poor and inappropriate research instrument(s);
Inappropriate ways of data collection;
Use of wrong method(s) of data analysis;
C.E. Ochonogor , Ph.D; FCAI
4. Wrong results and misleading interpretations and
inferences; and
Eventual failure to solve any problem.
C.E. Ochonogor , Ph.D; FCAI
5. PREPARING TO WRITE A RESEARCH
PROPOSAL
A good research proposal is NOT just done in a rush.
This implies that a student-researcher preparing to
produce a research proposal needs to take necessary
steps such as:
C.E. Ochonogor , Ph.D; FCAI
6. PREPARING TO WRITE A RESEARCH
PROPOSAL Contd.
• Be ready to always submit his/her work in chapters to
the supervisor/promoter for corrections and instructions.
• Ensure that the language used in the proposal is
characterized by present continuous tenses. This is to
explain what is to be done and not what has been done
particularly in chapter 3. However, the activities and results of
pilot studies are expectedly reported in
past- tense since they connote what must have been done in the
process of preparing the proposal.
C.E. Ochonogor , Ph.D; FCAI
7. WRITING THE PROPOSAL
A well written proposal is 50% completion of the
main task.
A good student-research proposal must contain the
first three chapters of a full research report, list of
tables, references and appendices resulting from the
proposal.
C.E. Ochonogor , Ph.D; FCAI
8. CONTENTS OF A RESEARCH PROPOSAL:
A layout of the content of a research proposal is as
follows:
Title Page.................................................... I
List of Tables................................................ Ii
List of Figures……………………………... iii
C.E. Ochonogor , Ph.D; FCAI
9. Chapter One
INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
Statement of the Problem
Purpose of the Study
Significance of the Study
Scope and Delimitation of the Study
C.E. Ochonogor , Ph.D; FCAI
10. Chapter One contd.
• Research Questions
• Research Hypotheses
• Operational Definition of Terms
• Structure of the Thesis/Dissertation
C.E. Ochonogor , Ph.D; FCAI
