researching and writing your research proposal

8/8/2019 Researching and Writing Your Research Proposal

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Researching and writing your

research proposal

You and your research


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Doing a research project in the CEMBA/PA Programme

The CEMBA/PA programme consist of a course work and aproject

The project work requires the writing of a dissertation/thesis

A project means all the activities that go towards completing adissertation

A dissertation is a report of major piece of primary researchwhich gives an account of students investigation into amanagerial, organisational or business issue, provides ananalysis of the research and presents conclusions that aredrawn from it

A dissertation is normally between 15,000 and 20,000 wordslong

Another requirement in EMBA/PA is the writing of a researchproposal which is a document that defines what a project isabout, explains why it is important and describes how it is

important


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Why Do a Research Project?

To plan, research and write-up a project that improvesunderstanding of a significant managerial, business ororganisational matter and if appropriate, providesrecommendations or findings which action can bedetermined

To learn how to undertake a major project that requiresyou to:

Be focused on a complex and important issue

Undertake effective and competent primary research

Integrate theory and practise

Base your dissertation on sound analysis and arguments


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Writing your Research PROPOSAL

A student of CEMBA/PA has to present a proposal to his/hersupervisor before going ahead with his/her research project

A proposal is a document that defines what a project is about,explains why it is important and describes how it is important

A good proposal should consist of the first three chapters of thedissertation

Introduction (Chapter I)

Review of the literature (Chapter 2)

Research methodology (Chapter 3).

Write in the future tense since it is a proposal.

Turn a good proposal into the first three chapters of the dissertationby changing the tense from future tense to past tense


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Sections of a Research Proposal0. Topic/Title: (Your title should be of interest to your advisor as well)

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study: (Provide background information to the problem

under investigation)

1.2 Statement of the Problem: (Define problem in concise and precise form)

1.3 Purpose of the Study (Refers to what will be accomplished in the study)

1.4 Significance of the Problem: (Refers to rational/importance of the study)

1.5 Research Questions and/or Hypotheses: (Refers to the major questions to

which the researcher seeks to provide answers in the course of the research)

1.6 Scope (Delimitation) (It involves defining properly the boundaries of your

research)

1.7 Definition of Terms: (Providing operational definitions of concepts or terms

used)

2.0 Review of Literature: (embodies the review of all literature pertinent to the

research theme usually organised under relevant subheadings)


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Sections of a Research Proposal3. Research Methodology: The chapter comprises the following sub-sections:

3.1Design: (relates to the type of research design you will adopt in executing

the study)

3.2 Area ofStudy: (refers to the geographical location covered by the study-

usually stated in terms of Country, Region, Local Govt area)

3.3. Population: (S

pecifies all the members of a group to which the researchrelates)

3.4. Sample and Sampling Procedure: (that portion of the population from

which data is collected as well as how it is obtained)

3.5. Instrument for Data Collection (A description of the instruments used in

collecting data)

3.6. Method ofData Collection (Reporting the steps taken to collect pertinent

data)

3.7. Method ofData Analysis (Reporting the statistical techniques or tools

employed in analysing the data)


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Ideas to help you to write your research proposal

Read through someone else's research proposal.

Make sure your proposal has a comprehensive review of the literature included

The rationale behind the literature review consists of an argument with two lines of analysis:

1) this research is needed, and 2) the methodology I have chosen is most appropriate for the

question that is being asked.

Photocopy the relevant article or section.

Focus your research very specifically

Don't try to solve all of the problems in this one research project.

Prepare a good title on your proposal

have the most important words appear toward the beginning of your title

limit the use of ambiguous or confusing words

break your title up into a title and subtitle when you have too many words

include key words that will help researchers in the future find your work.

Organize your research proposal around a set of questions that will guide your research.

Choose your methodology wisely.

Don't be too quick in running away from using a quantitative methodology because you fear

the use of statistics

Decide on where you will conduct the research. If you are from another area of the country

or a different country there is often an expectation that you will return to your "home" to

conduct the research.


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Principles Guiding Choosing of a Topic/Title

Interest and Relevance

- Choose a topic/title that interest and excite you

- Choose a dissertation title relevant to your career path/disciplined-based and addressing issues in thediscipline

- (If your goal is an academic career, pick a topic that you can easily modify into journal articles or a book and that will lend

itself well to future research. If you are going into industry, choose a topic that will make you more marketable)

- Your title should be of interest to your advisor as well

Durability

- Pick a manageable topic to last the length of the program period

- A good supervisor will help you narrow down your topic so that you don't remain in graduate school for many long years

Topic adequacy

- Your topic should have enough substance

- Choose one which is important/beneficial to society

- Link theory to practise

- Include dependent and independent variables

Resources

- Is there enough literature written about your topic?

- Find a topic that fits into existing bodies of literature, but that builds upon theory and expands it

- Topics that have many resources available will make it easy for you to create a reliable research paper that will cover a broad

spectrum Micro-Politics

- Will you be caught up in management debates and politics that surround it

- Will a controversial topic might restrict your employment, tenure, or publishing opportunities

- The topic should not be too sensitive or touchy to make the collection of the data impossible

- Avoid overused or over-researched titles


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Some considerations when structuring and stating your title

Component title structure:

Example 1 one-component

Example 2 two-component (a Title: subtitle) or (a topic: focused area)

Objective/task/problem-solving oriented: identify a problem in your work place or

environment or area of interest.,

Example 1 Evaluating of social-cultural practices influencing productivity of small scale

farmers: Selected communities in the Nandom Irrigation Project, Northern Ghana

Example 2 Social-cultural practices influencing productivity of small scale farmers: Casestudying selected communities in the Nandom Irrigation project, Northern Ghana

Example 3 Creating quality in learning materials using distance education esoteric

influences in the KNUST, Ghana

Contain measurable parameters (dependent and independent variables)

Example 1 the influence of Adult Learner perceptions on learner participation in

functional literacy programs in Kumasi City, Ghana Example 2 An assessment of knowledge of the position, attitude toward residential

policies, and ability to handle conflicts as predictors for commitment to the position.

An independent variable is the presumed cause, whereas the dependent variable is the

presumed effect.

Reflect a Theory or concept in a field of interest or program of study

Example 1

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