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Bringing it together:writing and presenting your research proposal
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BRINGING IT TOGETHER: WRITING AND PRESENTING YOUR RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Having completed the various stages described above, and feeling confident that you have a research project in mind, a good way of presenting your research ambitions is to write a short proposal that describes what it is you wish to undertake, how and why. A research proposal is a written document which outlines your proposed research, including what it aims to do, how it will be undertaken and the anticipated outcome(s), along with the timescale and milestones proposed. Your proposal will also outline why the research is important and will justify the research design, includ- ing how it connects your research questions to the data collection methods. In combining description and argument, your research proposal should emphasize internal cohesiveness and consistency in your planning of the research. Throughout, the proposal will make connections to the wider literature on the subject/topic area under scrutiny.
In some dissertation modules, the proposal is the first of two summative assess- ment points. Even when a proposal is not a formal requirement, its usefulness outweighs the time it takes to write it. It offers you an opportunity to structure and formalize what it is you want to do. When done well, the proposal can act as a firm foundation upon which to prepare and implement the research activity, a stage-by- stage guide to carrying out your research.
A good proposal should answer a series of interrelated questions about the research that you are proposing, and these are detailed in the left-hand column of Box 2. 10. In writing your proposal, you should also consider a series of further ques- tions detailed in the right-hand column of Box 2. 10 that will allow you to continue to reflect on, interrogate and refine what you have proposed.
Francis (2000) details a number of key elements of a research proposal:
· Title page, title and your name: the front page provides the title of the study along with your name and course.
· Introduction and statement of purpose: the aim of this section is to outline the topic area, highlight the importance of the study, identify its relation to what is already known about the topic area, and provide a concise statement of purpose.
BOX 2. 10 THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL
A proposal must answer the following questions:
· What is the topic area under review and why is it important?
• What is your research question or what are your research questions?
· What does the research literature have to say about the topic and how does your proposed research ‘fit’ with that which has already been done?
· How do you intend to carry out the research?
• What data collection and analysis techniques do you propose using?
· What is your timetable and what resources do you need to carry it out?
· What political and ethical issues, if any, may arise during your proposed research?
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Ask yourself the following questions when writing the proposal:
· Why are you interested in this topic?
• Will your interest last over the length of the dissertation?
• Is it a topic question and, if so, why?
• Is/are the research question(s) focused and does it/ do they offer a feasible, manageable piece of work?
· Is there research literature on your chosen topic?
• Have you started to gather together the relevant material contained in books, journals, eBooks and eJournals, and are you able to say something about what it says about your chosen research area?
• Have you reflected on your research question(s) as a result of what you have read so far?
• Do you still need to access some literature via interlibrary loan and online?
• Do you have the time left to access it?
• Have you kept records of what you have read?
· Have you given due consideration to the design of the dissertation?
• Are the methods that you have chosen appropriate for the research question asked?
• Are you comfortable in designing and delivering the methods chosen or do you need to undertake some more reading and piloting of them?
• How will you analyse the data?
• How do you intend to handle the dissertation?
· Have you left yourself enough time to undertake the fieldwork and write up the results?
· Are there likely to be any political or ethical issues that you will need to address as part of your dissertation?
The discussion may also detail your research strategy and whether a tightly struc- tured or more evolving piece of research is proposed.
· Topic area, research aims and objectives: under this section, conceptual frame-
works are identified together with the specific aims of your proposed research and the means by which they are to be secured – the objectives.
· Background literature review: in drawing on the research literature to frame your
research, ensure that it does not just become a description of what others have done in the area, but rather use it to develop your research questions and demon- strate their importance. This may be by identifying a gap in existing knowledge, articulating the weakness of argument of a particular approach, or assessing the evidence against competing perspectives.
· Theoretical and practical significance: it is essential your proposal addresses the
question of how and why the proposed research aims to contribute and in what way.
· Research strategy and data collection methods: discussion of the rationale for the research design together with a description of the particular methods chosen is an essential part of any research proposal. It is important you show how the research methodology is appropriate and to ensure that the research design connects the questions to the data.
· Sampling, data processing and analysis: the proposed sampling frame must be
outlined with discussion of how it relates to the research strategies and methods. Additionally, you should describe, outline and justify the procedures for data pro- cessing and analysis, including the use of computer-assisted mechanisms.
· Political, ethical and practical issues: any limitations to the study which you fore-
see, or any issues that you belive need to be overcome, should be dealt with in this section. The proposal should show how all ethical issues have been given due consideration and reflection.
· Timetable: a detailed research timetable or timeline must be outlined.
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