Writing research proposal

Writing a Research Proposal
AHMED ATTAR,AHMED ATTAR, MBBS, FRCPC, ABPN, FAAN, CERTIFIED
EPI. & BIOSTAT
Consultant Neurologist, King Abdul Aziz Medical City Western
Region
Director - Quality Management, KAMC-WR
Chairman - Medication Safety Program, KAMC-WR

Objectives
• At end of this session, participants are able
to:
– State and define the concept of writing a research
proposal
– Develop a research proposal
Jun 10, 2013 2WRITING A RESEARCH PROPOSAL / Dr. Ahmed Attar

Do you like to Cook?
• Group exercise?
Jun 10, 2013 3
WRITING A RESEARCH PROPOSAL / Dr. Ahmed Attar

What are the basic elements for
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• Title: ‫الحجازي‬ ‫السليق‬
• Statement of the problem
• Literature review
• Formulation of objectives
• Research methodology
• Utilization & dissemination of results
• Work plan
• Resources / budget
• References

Outline
• What is a research proposal?
• Why a research proposal?
• What are the basic elements of a research
proposal?
• What are the common mistakes in proposal
writing?
Jun 10, 2013 5

What is a Research Proposal?
• A detailed plan of action for scientific inquiry
– what the researcher intends to do, how, why,
where, and when

Why a Research Proposal?
• An important documentation of your approach to
the research question/objectives
• Demonstrate scholarly abilities
• A reference document during execution and also
writing up the results of the study
• Needed document for research committees and
funding agencies approval

Jun 10, 2013
WRITING A RESEARCH PROPOSAL / Dr.
Ahmed Attar 8

What are the basic elements for
a research proposal?
• Title
• Statement of the problem
• Literature review
• Formulation of objectives
• Research methodology
• Utilization & dissemination of results
• Work plan
• Resources / budget
• References

Title
• Concise
• Descriptive

Title
Jun 10, 2013
WRITING A RESEARCH PROPOSAL / Dr.
Ahmed Attar 11

Jun 10, 2013 Lecture Title/Lecturer Name 12

Statement of the Problem
• “The problem statement describes the
context for the study and it also identifies the
general analysis approach”
(Wiersma, 1995, p.404)
• “A problem might be defined as the issue that
exists in the literature, theory, or practice that
leads to a need for the study”
(Creswell, 1994, p.50)

Logical Sequence of Presenting
Problem Statement
• Magnitude, frequency and distribution: Affected
geographical areas and population groups affected
by the problem. Ethnic and gender considerations.
• Probable causes of the problem: What is the current
knowledge of the problem and its causes? Is there
consensus? Is there controversy? Is there conclusive
evidence?

Logical Sequence of Presenting
Problem Statement
• Possible solutions: In what ways have solutions to
the problem been attempted? What has been
proposed? What are the results?
• Unanswered questions: What remains to be
answered? What areas have not been possible to
understand, determine, verify, or test?

Rationale and Hypothesis
– Good
• Clearly state the hypothesis or number of hypotheses
that will be addressed in the proposal.
• Give a rationale why this hypothesis is important to
investigate.
– Reject
• Avoid combining the two together. It could be
confusing to the reviewer.
• Too long of a hypothesis makes it hard to understand
the aim of the research.

Literature Review
• “The review of the literature provides the
background and context for the research
problem. It should establish the need for the
research and indicate that the writer is
knowledgeable about the area”
(Wiersma, 1995, p.406)

Literature Review
• It shares with the reader the results of other
studies that are closely related to the study
being reported
(Fraenkel &Wallen, 1990)
• It relates a study to the larger, ongoing
dialogue in the literature about a topic, filling
in gaps and extending prior studies
(Marshall & Rossman, 1989)

Literature Review
• It provides a framework for establishing the
importance of the study, as well as a
benchmark for comparing the results of a
study with other findings.
• It frames the problem earlier identified.

Questions and/or Hypothesis
• Questions:
– Normative or census type research
– Most often used in qualitative inquiry
• Hypothesis:
– Theoretical research and are typically used only in
quantitative inquiry

Questions and/or Hypothesis
• A research question poses a relationship
between two or more variables but phrases
the relationship as a question; and a
hypothesis represents a declarative statement
of the relations between two or more
variables.
(Kerlinger, 1979; Krathwohl, 1988)

Formulation of Research
Objectives
• The OBJECTIVES of a research project
summarizes what is to be achieved by the
study.
• Objectives should be closely related to the
statement of the problem.

Formulation of Research
Objectives
• General objective: states what researchers
expect to achieve by the study in general
terms.
• Specific objectives: smaller, logically
connected parts of general objective. They are
the specific aspects of the topic that you want
to study

Importance of Research
Objectives
• To Focus the study (narrowing it down to
essentials);
• To Avoid the collection of data which are not
strictly necessary for understanding and
solving the problem we have identified; and
• To Organize the study in clearly defined parts
or phases.

Details of Research Proposal
• Goals and/or Objectives of Research
• This is usually one paragraph telling the reviewer
everything they need to know about this research proposal.
• This provides the opportunity to gain the reviewers interest
and excitement about this proposal.
• It should contain the background on why this research is
important, hypothesis, and objectives.
• Should state the innovation of this proposal.
• Finally it should in a clear statement demonstrate why this
project is significant and what impact it will have.

Details of Research Proposal
• Reject
– No goal or objective statement at the start of the
proposal.
– Too technical and condensed will make it hard to
read and understand.
– Too short will not give the reviewer the needed
information to understand the proposal.
– Too long will make the reviewer skip to the
background and makes the reviewer search for
what is important.

Research Methodology
• “The methods or procedures section is really
the heart of the research proposal. The
activities should be described with as much
detail as possible, and the continuity between
them should be apparent”
(Wiersma, 1995, p.409)

Research Methodology
• Sampling
• Instrumentation
• Data collection
• Data analysis
• Ethical Issues

Sampling
• The key reason for being concerned with
sampling is that of validity – the extent to
which the interpretations of the results of the
study follow from the study itself and the
extent to which results may be generalized to
other situations with other people.
(Shavelson, 1988)

Instrumentation
• Outline the instruments you propose to use:
– surveys
– scales
– interview protocols
– observation grids

Data Collection
• Outline the general plan for collection the
data
– Survey administration, interview or observation
procedures
– Explicit statement covering field controls

Data Analysis
• Specify the procedures (e.g., ANOVA,
MANCOVA, Case study).
• Indicate briefly any analytic tools (e.g., SAS,
SPSS)
• Provide a well thought-out rationale

Ethical Issues
• Relevant to and the methods by which the
patient/subject’s interests will be
safeguarded.

Utilization & Dissemination of
Results
• This describes the type of knowledge
expected to be obtained upon completion of
the project and the intended application of
the results.
• It indicates the strategy for disseminating and
implementing the research.

Work Plan
• Include the major phases of the project:
– estimate when you will start each stage of the
work, and how long it will take.

Gantt Chart
Example of a Gantt Chart
Tasks to be performed Person assigned June Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
1. Finalized research
proposal
Research team 
2. Train research
assistants and pretest
instrument
Principal invest. and
research team

3. Data collection Research team  
4. Prepare for data entry Hire one statistician 
5. Data cleaning and
preliminary analysis
statistician
 
5. Data analysis and
report writing
local authorities
 
6. Finalize report Research team 
7. Discuss
recommendations/ plan
of action
Research team/MOH
and local authorities
 
7. Presentation and
dissemination
Research team/Policy
maker MOH


Budget and Resources
• Access to special systems or computers
• specialized computer algorithms
• Itemized Budget
• Budget Narrative

References
• List all references cited in the proposal. Make
sure these references are:
– Up-to-date
– Relevant
– Original source

What are the common mistakes
in proposal writing?
• Failure to:
– Provide the proper context to frame the research
question
– Delimit the boundary conditions
– Cite landmark studies
– Accurately present the theoretical and empirical
contributions by other researchers
– Stay focused on the research question

What are the common mistakes
in proposal writing?
• Failure to develop a coherent and persuasive
argument
• Too much detail on minor issues, but not
enough detail on major issues
• Too many citation lapses and incorrect
references
• Sloppy writing

Avoid the following crticisms
• Not an original data
• Rationale is weak
• Uncertain outcomes
• Writing is vague
• Proposal is unfocused
• Problem is not important
Jun 10, 2013 41

Research Proposal Submittal
Form

Outlines of Study Proposal for
Observational Studies

Thank You

Writing research proposal

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