Proposal Writing

Some simplification of how a proposal can be developed.

Many students state something like this :
I want to do my project on ABC_XYZ

What this is an idea for a topic. ABC_XYZ is just the name of the topic.

Almost all students have trouble going further from this point because they do not realize that they need to do something not replicate something done by someone else. 

An example is I want to do my project on Oracle.

This does not clarify which problem is being solved.

What you need to do is one or more of the following :
1. Solve a problem.
2. Improve something
3. Make something.

The conditions for the above are
1. It has to benefit many people in the world. The greater the benefit the better the project.
2. It has not alredy been done before.
3. Explain in complete detail what YOU are going to do to accomplish the objective defined by YOU.

What they do is start sending details about the topic. If they search well they also send benefits and drawbacks of the topic selected.

What needs to be done is identify a problem to be solved.

Once a problem is identified then you can move on to defining the following :
1. How you are going to solve the problem.
2. Why solving the problem is beneficial for many other people.
3. Proof that the problem has not already been solved.

Also what you need to understand is that making a proposal is not easy because you need to provide the details requested above.

You are not going to find the details written on a website somewhere for you to copy and paste in your proposal.

You shall have to follow this procedure.

While not (written 10 original pages) do
  begin
    brainstorm ;
    read ;
    understand ;
    think ;
    write ;
  end ;

While you are doing this do not forget to log what you are doing into your timing report for grading purposes.

Once you are done, email the results.

If you do not finish in a day, send what you have done everyday you work on it.

The average time to work on projects is 10-15 hours per week. If a student spends this time on a proposal then they should be able to complete a reasonable proposal in 3 weeks after going 30 - 45 hours of efforts.

From week 4 to week 15 the students can spend 12 weeks on the actual doing of the project. That shall provide 120 - 180 hours of work on the project and a total of 150 - 225 hours of total working hours spent on the project.

If this work is done seriously, proven via timing reports and delivered outputs are worthwhile, then a student can aim for an A grade.

All proposals must include certain basic information, and in that sense they are alike. These basics include:

Why are you doing this project?

What will you be doing?

How will you be doing it?

Who will be doing it?

Where will it be done?

How long will it take?

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 approval of the evaluator.

A high quality proposal, on the other hand, not only promises success for the project, but also impresses your evaluator 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.

Before you even begin to put pen to proposal paper, consider that comprehensive preparation is critical to the ultimate success of your submission.

Such preparation involves extensive thinking, reading, networking, and research.

This preparation also involves making sure you: know your research field, select a topic worthy of study, understand the proposal guidelines, and know how your project “fits” the objectives and priorities.

Nothing takes the place of doing your “research homework” in increasing your chances to submit a winning proposal.




So, before you put pen in hand to write your proposal, be sure that you: 

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.)

Define your project
 
·                       Sketch a research “mission statement.”
·                       Define the scope of work.
·                       Determine the broad project goals, then identify the specific objectives that define how you will focus the work to accomplish those goals.
·                       Decide which target population you will study, and decide how this group(s) will benefit from your research project.
·                       Draft expected project outcomes in measurable terms.
·                       Draft a realistic timeline that includes the planning phase, the period of searching for information, proposal writing, and the intended project start date, and completion date.

Formulate/clarify your ideas.
Do you have a clear, concise and testable hypothesis?

Can you design specific experiments that will test your hypothesis?
 
Identify the right research resources
 
Research information sources through Internet sites, and electronic and print, databases.

Network with colleagues; if you are a graduate student, consult your mentor and other students.

Think Interdisciplinary. View your project in a broader context that incorporates other academic disciplines and commercial ventures.

Find and study previous proposals of colleagues that have been successful.

Determine and understand the review and evaluation criteria.
WITH PEN in HAND
 
In general terms, a persuasive proposal contains the following elements:

A creative topic that brings something new to the research community.

Scientific and technical merit that is worthy of funding.

A comprehensive and well-documented experimental/research plan and time budget.

Information presented in a clear concise style and easy-to-read format, in accordance with the application guidelines.

Basis for checking of proposals.
a. What is the merit of the research?
b. What is the potential impact of the research, and who will benefit from it and how?
c. How innovative is the research?
    Does the research confirm existing hypotheses or “bring something new to the table?”
d. Is the research hypothesis tested and supported?
e. Are the aims logical?
f. Are the methods appropriate, adequate, and feasible for the research?
g.What are the qualifications of the investigator? 
    What is their competence, credentials, experience?
h. What facilities and resources do the researchers have available to perform the  research?

Research Plan
 
A. Hypothesis & Aims 
 
Develop a strong hypothesis and state the rationale for it. Justify how the hypothesis relates to your research field and test it.

Present alternative hypotheses and discuss the merits of the one(s) you chose.

State clear, defined, focused aims; in other words, state what you want to accomplish.

Relate your aims to the hypothesis you are going to test. If you have more than one
hypothesis, each one will have specific aims.

B. Scientific Background & Significance

State clearly and prominently how your research is innovative and contributes to the field and/or society-at-large.

Show that you understand the field by citing relevant literature.

Describe the next phase(s) of research.

C. Preliminary Studies

Preliminary Studies establishes reviewers’ credibility in your ability to understand the field and implement the research.

Once again, these studies should support the hypothesis.




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:

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?


D. Design and Methods

Provide detail and rationale for your methods.

Demonstrate that your methods are appropriate re: your aims.

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. 

Justify the approach you selected, and indicate any potential difficulties, and how you intend to overcome them.

Include expected results and how they will support or contradict the central hypothesis.

Provide statistical analysis where possible, and describe the means you will evaluate and disseminate your results.

All projects are usually done individually, but if you are going to make a group then describe your research activities, define who will do exactly what activity, and state the rationale for the division of labor.

Also budget at least 100 hours of serious work per participant for the duration of the project.

10-15 Hours per week for the first 10 weeks. 5 more weeks are available to finish the project.

Also mention who is responsible for the management of the group.

You also have to justify why the scope of the project needs to be done by more than one person.

Time Budgeting

Budgets are time projections that reflect how the research will be implemented and managed.

Well-planned budgets reflect carefully thought out projects.

Budget the exact amount of time you need to do the work; don’t over or under-estimate time required.

I need to know the following with respect to time budgeting.

Can the researcher conduct the project within the proposed time budget ?

Are the times realistic? Is the timing justified?

Does the time match the proposed goals and methods?

Formatting

Make sure your proposal is letter perfect and in full compliance with the application guidelines re: content and format; edit and re-write accordingly.

Use the active, not the passive voice wherever possible; Write clear, concise sentences;

Use tables, charts, and side-headings to divide/organize/format your text.

Adhere to all the specifications found in the proposal guidelines. If you must deviate from the specs, clearly explain the rationale for your approach.

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.