The primary goal of writing any research proposal is to offer justification of the need to explore given research problems, and show the practicality over which the study in question would be carried out. Research papers differ depending on field of study. The procedures and elements applicable in designing and carrying out any given research depend on specific discipline’s standards. Do you know your field of study?
Steps and guidelines that one should follow when developing sample research proposal depend on the specific area to which the problem belongs. Any research proposal should highlight the study’s rationale. Readers should also seamlessly identify and be able to follow your proposed research methods. If you are not sure how to write a research proposal, contact our team to get professionally written papers in any field and level of study.
Importance of Making It Right
Creating a successful research proposal is an involving process. It requires great mastery of the subject being addressed. Considering the fact that the research proposal sets precedence to full research or thesis, a lot of focus is needed to ensure that the paper has strong points to warrant the actual investigation.
Most beginners write low-quality research proposals. A poorly written proposal renders entire research project proposal meaningless no matter what significance your paper would have. A well-written assignment shows the value in studying the given problem. It shows your study subject’s comprehension.
Are you stuck at your university’s proposal assignment? Here is a step-by-step guide on how to write a research paper proposal. The guide explains how to compose a proposal and proceed to developing the research ideas.
Understand what research proposal entails
Before you start creating a research proposal in any subject or field, it is important to have a clear understanding of its meaning. Research proposal is a paper file that expresses the intended aim of a researcher to take part in some investigation. It comes before actual research. It plays a significant role in the evaluation of your project’s feasibility.
Research proposal structure
The structure of research proposal matters most in the creation and organization of a good project. The reason is that the structure you adopt determines components that your paper should have. Diverse levels of research differ in format. An MBA proposal differs from a Master’s one in that they focus on varying depth and standards needed in addressing key theoretical concepts. Nevertheless, some aspects of a research proposal are common.
The following are important sections that your research proposal should have:
✔Introduction
Normally, most research proposal title ideas you will come across focus on getting funding for a significant research project, which is typical among scholars. On the other hand, a university student’s proposal focuses on convincing the supervisor that your study phenomenon is worth further investigation.
The introduction (abstract) section of your paper is the pitch. Here, you should examine reasons for your investigation of the specific research problem thoroughly. Hook your readers with a strong introduction. Use the introduction to provide your readers with an overview of what further research will entail, while highlighting your level of understanding and passion in the subject of study.
✔Study significance
The section on significance of the study and its background sets the pace of study’s literature review and organization of the paper. It helps in establishing the flow of your ideas, words. The primary aim of this section is to explain your study’s context followed by a description of importance of carrying out research.
The significance section should not be large, covering every element of your topic, but should present a concise piece of information with a careful selection of relevant aspects of your study.
✔Review of literature
Literature review closely connects the study’s significance and its background. It offers you the platform to scrutinize past studies that have been carried out on the problem you have chosen to address. Synthesizing past studies places your work into bigger context. It shows the originality of your work.
Take enough time to review work of other authors and try to relate it to your research problem. What questions have the authors used? Is their selection of research methods appropriate? How do their findings influence your option and understanding of the specific research problem you are opting to address?
There is nothing wrong in challenging conclusions from previous studies – all you need to do is use their findings and conclusion to establish a gap in research and propose better approaches to address the given problem.
You need an intense structure for the literature review; this section ought to be dense in terms of information. Your structure should give the reader an opportunity to grasp your key points regarding the research problem. Additionally, avoid relying on one or two sources. Compare, contrast, and critique information from a variety of sources to help you draw a meaningful conclusion about the study phenomenon you intend to address.
✔Research methods and design
Organize your research proposal’s methodology well. Logical organization of proposed methods includes a step by step process that the researcher will use to carry out actual research. Well-written methodology gives readers confidence that your proposed problem is worth researching. Can anybody follow your methodology to replicate research? Your approach should convince the reader that methods and designs are the best in addressing the given research problem.
Remember that your methods of research should aim at collection of information and interpretation of study results. As such, you should choose your methodology carefully. Appropriate methods and designs should have a strong connection to certain aims and objectives of proposed study.
✔Results (Preliminary implications and suppositions)
It is obvious you do not have results yet. In spite of this, your proposal should present some information regarding data you intend to collect, as well as methods that you propose to use in answering your formulated question. Give readers an overview of what to expect.
This will show the readers the ways that your study and its findings will help in refinement, revision, or extension of existing knowledge in the given study problem. A great proposal aims not only at winning authorization for you to continue with the actual study, but also at identifying what benefits the study will have in the long run.
Describe your preliminary suppositions and implications thoroughly. Such descriptions should align with your proposed study objectives. With respect to this view, focus on explaining the potential impact of your results on the study’s theoretical framework. However, avoid a case of idle speculation. As you give your preliminary implications, as well as any assumptions make sure that every information you put across has enough and reliable support from the literature.
✔Conclusion
Conclusion forms an important aspect of your research. It wraps up all issues, points, arguments that you have highlighted in introduction and discussed in the results section of your paper. This section reiterates why the proposed study is important. In general, the conclusion section of your essay should offer a comprehensive overview of entire paper.
Avoid having long summary of main ideas. Your focus should be to bring out the emphasis of proposed study and explain why it is necessary to carry out research in the identified direction. Conclusion should offer an explanation to readers about uniqueness of your research in giving a better perspective regarding the identified research problem.
✔Citations
Citations are necessary in any research work. A high-quality research proposal should have original and reliable information. Use authentic sources of information when developing your essay. The citations page contains all sources that you have used to develop the research proposal.
You can have them as either bibliography or references. The difference is that one (references) features only a list of any source cited in the paper, while bibliography comprises all sources, cited or not, but used in giving insights into certain aspects of study phenomenon.
Evidently, preparing to write a research proposal is involving and requires careful consideration of aspects to cover such as introduction, significance of study, methods, etc. Any proposal you write should aim at convincing your readers about the need to carry out the study – show confidence, enthusiasm. It is advisable to avoid exaggerating your paper’s merits.
As you can see, composing a research proposal is involving, responsible process. To succeed and see your proposal accepted, you have to make much effort and compose each section flawlessly. The key to successful proposal is to demonstrate to readers that the study is truly valuable and significant, that you understand the subject and can make an analysis productively, that you know how to do that.
If the proposal is well-written and contains all mentioned elements, you have good chances to see it approved and continue research work in the area of your interest. Don’t underestimate the importance of proposal’s preparation; it is a vital stage of any serious research project and has to pass flawlessly so that the committee gives you a go-ahead in further study.
