Presented at a workshop about the preparation of the thesis proposal for graduate studies in Public Administration program and local development program. The workshop was held in the Department of Public Administration, College of Business, The University of Jordan, Amman. This presentation provides guidelines about the preparation of the thesis proposal.

1. Writing an effective
research proposal
Dr. Wa’ed Alshoubaki
Department of Public Administration.
The University of Jordan, Amman
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2. Agenda
1
2
3
4
What is
a research
proposal
It’s
Importance
The
proposal
content
Research
ethics
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3. Document that an
academic, researcher
or scholar
prepares to
convince other
that he/ she
has a
worthwhile
research
project
Thesis proposal: is
a document that
describes
the thesis topic,
defines the issues
that the thesis will
address, and
explains why the
topic warrants
further research.
Research Proposal Definition
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4. The importance of a research proposal
It describes in detail the research you will do.
It describes the problem (the unknown knowledge)
you aim to address.
It describes “ your plan for creating new knowledge”.
It describes the activities you will do
to earn a graduate degree.
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5. Introduction Statement of
the problem 1
Purpose of the study
Review of the
literature
Methods
2
3
4
Data collection instruments
5
Data analysis procedures
Anticipated
ethical issues
Appendixes
6
7
8
Format for
a quantitative
proposal
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6. 54
31
2 consistent
Concise
Mentioning
unique
features
Indicate what
was studied not
the results or
conclusions
The use of
subtitle to
amplify the
purposes or
methods of
study.
The Title
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7. Introduction
place the study within
the larger context
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8. Research problem
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9. A
C
D
Review of literature
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10. 1
Steps in conducting literature review2
3
4
5
6
7
Locate about 50
reports of research
duplicate those that are
central to your topic
Design a
literature map
Draft summaries
Assemble the
literature review
Structuring it thematically or
Organizing it by important concepts
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11. Identify the
theory, model,
or conceptual
framework
Indicates why
you want to
do the study
and what you
intend to
accomplish.
Identify the
independent and
dependent
variables
Order the
variables
Mention the
specific type of
strategy of
inquiry
Make reference
to the
participants
The purpose Statement
Include words to signal
the major intent of the study
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12. Suggested structure
Based on these points, a quantitative purpose statement script can
include these ideas:
The purpose of this ______ (Quantitative, Quasi experimental design)
study is to test the ___ of ______ that ______ (describes outcomes) or
(compares? relates?) the ______ (independent variable) to ______
(dependent variable), controlling for ______ (control variables) for
______ (participants) at ______ (the research site). The independent
variable(s) ______ will be defined as ______ (provide a definition). It
also aims to )_______________.
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13. Example
• The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between
personal characteristics and the job motivation of certified educators
who taught in selected state adult correctional institutions in the
United States. Personal characteristics were divided into background
information about the respondent (i.e., institutional information,
education level, prior training, etc.) and information about the
respondents’ thoughts of changing jobs.
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14. Research Questions
Interrogative
statements that raise
questions about the
relationships among
variables that the
investigator seeks to
answer.
Quantitative Hypothesis
The predictions
the researcher
makes about the
expected
relationships
among variables
Research Questions
and Hypothesis
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15. Example
• Does _________ explain the relationship between _________
(independent variable) and _________ (dependent variable),
controlling for the effects of _________ (control variable)?
• There is no significant difference between _________ (the control
and experimental groups on the independent variable) on _________
(dependent variable).
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16. Examine also prior studies
that address the topic or a
closely related topic
1
Ask the rainbow question
that bridges the
independent and
dependent variables
Look in the
discipline-based
literature for a
theory
2
3
Theoretical
Perspective
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17. what we mean when we use
particular terms.Specify
An agreed upon meaning for a
concept for the purposes of
research
produce
The indicators we'll use to measure the
concept and the different aspects of the
concept
Describe
Conceptualization
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18. Operationalization
• Operationalization is the development of specific research procedures
that will result in empirical observations representing the concepts.
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19. Script out the theory section.
Follow these lead sentences:
• “The theory that this study will use is___(name the theory). It was
developed by___ (identify the origin, source, or developer of the
theory), and it was used to study_____(identify the topics where one
finds the theory being applied). This theory indicates that___ (identify
the propositions or hypotheses in the theory). As applied to my study,
this theory holds that I would expect my independent variable(s) ___
(state independent variables) to influence or explain the dependent
variable(s) ___ (state dependent variables) because___ (provide a
rationale based on the logic of the theory).”
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20. Obtaining a permission of use.
Could be assembled from components of
several instruments
If it is a modified instrument, indicate
whether the developer has provided
appropriate permission to use it
Name the survey instrument used to
collect data
Provide detailed information
about the actual survey
instrument
Instrumentation
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21. Abstract
• An abstract is a brief summary of the contents of a study, and it
allows readers to quickly survey the essential elements of a project.
• It is placed at the beginning of studies.
• It is useful to have both for proposals for studies and for the final
thesis or dissertation.
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22. 04
03
01
02
The the major components of an
Start with the issue or
problem
Indicate the purpose of the study
State what data will be collected to
address this purpose
Indicate themes or statistical results that will
likely arise in your study
Finish the abstract by mentioning the
practical implications of the study
Start with the
issue or problem
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23. Example
• “This article highlights Lebanon’s administrative challenges and
reform efforts, since the end of its Civil War (1975–1990). In recent
years, Lebanon and international donors have worked to improve
transparency, promote modern management techniques, and
encourage the use of information technology throughout the public
sector. Despite these efforts, Lebanon’s public institutions remain
constrained by the centralization of power, corruption, outdated
bureaucratic structures, and deficiencies in administrative knowledge.
The success of future reform efforts will depend on whether the
Lebanese bureaucracy can overcome the challenges created by
regional political tensions, its Syrian refugee crisis, and an increasingly
indifferent Lebanese public”. (Hassee, 2017, p.2)
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24. Title
Abstract
Introduction
Problem statement
Literature Review
The significance of the
Study, the purpose of the
study and research
questions
Methods
Time Line
References
The proposal content (Wentz, 2014)
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25. 25

26. Citation and reference list
• APA format.
• https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_cit
ation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_gu
ide/apa_sample_paper.html
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27. Thank you so much of your
attention!
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28. References
• Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design: qualitative, quantitative,
and mixed methods approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.
• Haase, Thomas W. (2017). A Challenging State of Affairs: Public Administration in
the Republic of Lebanon, International Journal of Public Administration, DOI:
10.1080/01900692.2017.1387148
• Pyrczak, F., & Bruce, R. R. (2017). Writing Empirical Research Reports: a Basic
Guide for Students of the Social and Behavioral Sciences. London: Routledge.
• Wentz, E. A. (2014). How to design, write, and present a successful dissertation
proposal. Los Angeles: SAGE.
• Wong, Paul T. P. "How to Write a Research Proposal". International Network on
Personal Meaning. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
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