Most students and beginning researchers do not fully understand what a research proposal means, nor do they understand its importance. To put it bluntly, one’s research is only as a good as one’s proposal. An ill-conceived proposal dooms the project even if it somehow gets through the Thesis Supervisory Committee. A high quality proposal, on the other hand, not only promises success for the project, but also impresses your Thesis Committee about your potential as a researcher.
A 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. Generally, a research proposal should contain
all the key elements involved in the research process and include
sufficient information for the readers to evaluate the proposed study.
Regardless of your research area and the methodology you choose, all research proposals must address the following questions: What you plan to accomplish, why you want to do it and how you are going to do it.
The proposal should have sufficient information to convince your
readers that you have an important research idea, that you have a good
grasp of the relevant literature and the major issues, and that your
methodology is sound.
The quality of your research proposal
depends not only on the quality of your proposed project, but also on
the quality of your proposal writing. A good research project may run
the risk of rejection simply because the proposal is poorly written.
Therefore, it pays if your writing is coherent, clear and compelling.
This paper focuses on proposal writing rather than on the development of research ideas.
Title:
It should be concise and descriptive.
For example, the phrase, “An investigation of . . .” could be omitted.
Often titles are stated in terms of a functional relationship, because
such titles clearly indicate the independent and dependent variables.
However, if possible, think of an informative but catchy title. An
effective title not only pricks the reader’s interest, but also
predisposes him/her favourably towards the proposal.
Abstract:
It is a brief summary of approximately 300 words. It should include the research question, the rationale for the study, the hypothesis (if any), the method and the main findings. Descriptions of the method may include the design, procedures, the sample and any instruments that will be used.
Introduction:
The main purpose of the introduction is to provide the necessary
background or context for your research problem. How to frame the
research problem is perhaps the biggest problem in proposal writing.
If the research problem is framed in the context of a general, rambling literature review, then the research question may appear trivial and uninteresting. However, if the same question is placed in the context of a very focused and current research area, its significance will become evident.
Unfortunately, there are no hard and fast rules on how to frame your
research question just as there is no prescription on how to write an
interesting and informative opening paragraph. A lot depends on your
creativity, your ability to think clearly and the depth of your understanding of problem areas.
However, try to place your research question in the context of either a current “hot” area, or an older area that remains viable. Secondly, you need to provide a brief but appropriate historical backdrop. Thirdly, provide the contemporary context in which your proposed research question occupies the central stage. Finally, identify “key players” and refer to the most relevant and representative publications. In short, try to paint your research question in broad brushes and at the same time bring out its significance.
The introduction typically begins with a general statement of the
problem area, with a focus on a specific research problem, to be
followed by the rational or justification for the proposed study. The
introduction generally covers the following elements:
1. State the research problem, which is often referred to as the purpose of the study.
2. Provide the context and set the stage for your research question in such a way as to show its necessity and importance.
3. Present the rationale of your proposed study and clearly indicate why it is worth doing.
4. Briefly describe the major issues and sub-problems to be addressed by your research.
5. Identify the key independent and dependent variables of your experiment. Alternatively, specify the phenomenon you want to study.
6. State your hypothesis or theory,
if any. For exploratory or phenomenological research, you may not have
any hypotheses. (Please do not confuse the hypothesis with the
statistical null hypothesis.)
7. Set the delimitation or boundaries of your proposed research in order to provide a clear focus.
8. Provide definitions of key concepts. (This is optional.)
Literature Review:
Sometimes the literature review is incorporated into the introduction
section. However, most professors prefer a separate section, which
allows a more thorough review of the literature.
The literature review serves several important functions:
1. Ensures that you are not “reinventing the wheel”.
2. Gives credits to those who have laid the groundwork for your research.
3. Demonstrates your knowledge of the research problem.
4. Demonstrates your understanding of the theoretical and research issues related to your research question.
5. Shows your ability to critically evaluate relevant literature information.
6. Indicates your ability to integrate and synthesize the existing literature.
7. Provides new theoretical insights or develops a new model as the conceptual framework for your research.
8. Convinces your reader that your proposed research will make a
significant and substantial contribution to the literature (i.e.,
resolving an important theoretical issue or filling a major gap in the
literature).
Most students’ literature reviews suffer from the following problems:
* Lacking organization and structure
* Lacking focus, unity and coherence
* Being repetitive and verbose
* Failing to cite influential papers
* Failing to keep up with recent developments
* Failing to critically evaluate cited papers
* Citing irrelevant or trivial references
* Depending too much on secondary sources
Your scholarship and research competence will be questioned if any of the above applies to your proposal.
There are different ways to organize your literature review. Make use of subheadings to bring order and coherence to your review.
For example, having established the importance of your research area
and its current state of development, you may devote several subsections
on related issues as: theoretical models, measuring instruments,
cross-cultural and gender differences, etc.
It is also helpful to keep in mind that you are telling a story to an audience. Try to tell it in a stimulating and engaging manner.
Do not bore them, because it may lead to rejection of your worthy
proposal. (Remember: Professors and scientists are human beings too.)
Methods:
The Method section is very important because it tells your Research
Committee how you plan to tackle your research problem. It will provide
your work plan and describe the activities necessary for the completion
of your project.
The guiding principle for writing the
Method section is that it should contain sufficient information for the
reader to determine whether methodology is sound. Some even argue that a
good proposal should contain sufficient details for another qualified researcher to implement the study.
You need to demonstrate your knowledge of alternative methods and make the case that your approach is the most appropriate and most valid way to address your research question.
Please note that your research question may be best answered by
qualitative research. However, since most mainstream psychologists are
still biased against qualitative research, especially the
phenomenological variety, you may need to justify your qualitative
method.
Furthermore, since there are no well-established
and widely accepted canons in qualitative analysis, your method section
needs to be more elaborate than what is required for traditional
quantitative research. More importantly, the data collection process in
qualitative research has a far greater impact on the results as compared
to quantitative research. That is another reason for greater care in
describing how you will collect and analyze your data. (How to write the
Method section for qualitative research is a topic for another paper.)
For quantitative studies, the method section typically consists of the following sections:
1. Design -Is it a questionnaire study or a laboratory experiment? What kind of design do you choose?
2. Subjects or participants - Who will take part in your study ? What kind of sampling procedure do you use?
3. Instruments - What kind of measuring instruments or questionnaires
do you use? Why do you choose them? Are they valid and reliable?
4. Procedure - How do you plan to carry out your study? What activities are involved? How long does it take?
Results:
Obviously you do not have results at the proposal stage. However, you need to have some idea about what kind of data you will be collecting, and what statistical procedures will be used in order to answer your research question or test you hypothesis.
Discussion:
It is important to convince your reader of the potential impact
of your proposed research. You need to communicate a sense of
enthusiasm and confidence without exaggerating the merits of your
proposal. That is why you also need to mention the limitations and weaknesses
of the proposed research, which may be justified by time and financial
constraints as well as by the early developmental stage of your research
area.
Common Mistakes in Proposal Writing
1. Failure to provide the proper context to frame the research question.
2. Failure to delimit the boundary conditions for your research.
3. Failure to cite landmark studies.
4. Failure to accurately present the theoretical and empirical contributions by other researchers.
5. Failure to stay focused on the research question.
6. Failure to develop a coherent and persuasive argument for the proposed research.
7. Too much detail on minor issues, but not enough detail on major issues.
8. Too much rambling — going “all over the map” without a clear sense
of direction. (The best proposals move forward with ease and grace like a
seamless river.)
9. Too many citation lapses and incorrect references.
10. Too long or too short.
11. Failing to follow the APA style.
12. Slopping writing.
下面是来自其他一些学术从业者关于如何写proposal的意见：
* Writing Research Proposals, Drew University On-line resources for writers.
* Guide to Writing a Research Proposal, University of Technology,
Sydney. (A research proposal is required for admission to the program.)
* Beginners Guide to the Research Proposal, University of Calgary Centre for Advancement of Health.
* The Art of Writing Proposals: Some Candid Suggestions for Applicants
to Social Science Research Council Competitions, Adam Przeworski and
Frank Salomon.
* The Elements of a Proposal, Frank Pajares, Emory University.
以及，关于如何写学位论文proposal的指导（Dissertation Proposal Writing and some strategies for completing the dissertation）
* Dissertation Proposal Workshop, Institute of International Studies, UC-Berkeley.
* Writing and Presenting your Thesis or Dissertation , LearningAssociates.net.
* Dissertation/Project Hints: Proposal Writing, Hazel Hall, School of Computing, Napier University, Edinburgh, UK.
* Writing Theses and Dissertations, Claremont Graduate University Writing Center.