Structure of the Research Proposal
1.0 Introduction
This is the section where you can capture readers’ attention, and you want your reader to read and understand your work, so be as clear as possible.
Briefly explain what the research project will be about, why are you doing it and why is it interesting to know about this topic? Be as clear and concise as possible.
1.1 Aim
The aim is a statement explaining the purpose of your research and what you hope to achieve at the end of it. It should be very clear and concise.
Examples
A Clear Aim:
Analyse knowledge management and knowledge transfer practices in the British Higher Education partnerships that are operating internationally.
The author has stated the purpose of the research which in this case is “Analyse” and will focus the research on knowledge management and knowledge transfer practices among the British Further and Higher Education partnerships.
Not a Very Clear Aim:
Analyse knowledge management and knowledge transfer practices in partnerships.
This aim does not clarify what kind of partnerships the research will investigate. Will these partnerships come from the education sector, retail industry of banking industry?
Will the research use British, German, American or Canadian partnerships? Is not a very realistic statement by simply saying that research will investigate partnerships as there are so many partnerships in different industries across the world? Therefore keep in mind that you need to be as clear and specific as possible when stating your aim.
Why do you want to do this research? Ask yourself “why” until you are clear on why you want to do this research and able to state that in one sentence. And that will be your Aim.
It is advisable to have one aim only. You can have research projects with two or more aims but it will be very difficult to keep it narrow and specific and be able to produce clear outcomes.
1.2 Objectives
Research objectives are steps in stone that will help you achieve your aim.
Do not list less than 2 and no more than 4 objectives.
Examples of Objectives:
- To identify aspects of …
- To evaluate current practices within …
- To propose ways in which….
- To support schools in…..
Another example of Objectives
- To define the key components that are needed to …
- To establish the impact of cross-cultural differences…
- To reconsider the validity of current models…
- To identify the key themes of…
1.3 Research Questions/ Hypothesis
What is a research question?
A research question is the question around which you centre your research. It should be:
- clear: it provides enough specifics that one’s audience can easily understand its purpose without needing additional explanation.
- focused: it is narrow enough that it can be answered thoroughly in the space the writing task allows.
- concise: it is expressed in the fewest possible words.
- complex: it is not answerable with a simple “yes” or “no,” but rather requires synthesis and analysis of ideas and sources prior to composition of an answer.
- arguable: its potential answers are open to debate rather than accepted facts.
Example: Unclear: How should social networking sites address the harm they cause?Clear: What action should social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook take to protect users’ personal information and privacy?
2.0 Literature Review
In this section your should present existing research emphasising issues, challenges and trends from your own area of research and demonstrate a good understanding of the theoretical background. For example, if your research focuses on recruitment practices in retail business then would make sense to make yourself familiar on issues related to recruitment and selection, how it works and the impact it has on the business performance. Providing a good literature review will help you to identify themes relevant to your research and be able to use them in order to further develop your own research.
3.0 Methodology
In this section you need to explain the role of methodology from a theoretical point of view. Then explain differences between qualitative and quantitative methods and primary and secondary research. Then explain the nature of your own research. Will it be qualitative or quantitative? What will be your primary and secondary sources of data? How will you collect these data? From where are you going to collect the data you need, who is your sample? What are the limitations of the research approaches and methods (qualitative and quantitative).
4.0 Summary
Although this is a research proposal only and does not require a conclusion as the research is not finished yet, it is suggested you provide a summary of your proposal where you acknowledge what you need to do in the next stage which is the completion of the research project.
5.0 References
List all the sources you accessed to collect information from in order to develop and finalise your research proposal following a Harvard Referencing Style.