The document provides information about conducting research and writing research proposals. It discusses key components of a research proposal including an introduction, literature review, problem statement, objectives, hypotheses, methodology, expected outputs, budget, and work plan. It emphasizes reviewing previous literature to identify research gaps and avoid duplicating past work. The document also covers selecting a research topic, developing objectives and research questions, choosing appropriate sampling and data collection methods, and analyzing and reporting results. Overall, it serves as a guide for systematically planning and designing a quality research study.

1. Forest Business Management
NRM 357
Credit hour (2+0)
B.Sc Forestry (Fifth Semester)
Prabin Pandit
Lecturer
Purbanchal University
College of Environment and Forestry (PUCEF)
foresterpandit@gmail.com
Unit-11: Writing and Completing Reports and Proposals

2. What is research?
The systematic investigation into and study of
materials and sources in order to establish facts and
reach new conclusions.

3. What is proposal ?
• A plan or suggestion, especially a formal or written one, put forward for
consideration by others.
• A research proposal “is a document that outlines how you propose to
undertake your research studies” (Mouton 2001:p.44).
• A research proposal is a document written by a researcher that provides a
detailed description of the proposed program,
• it is like an outline of the entire research process that gives a reader a
summary of the information discussed in a project.

4. Advantages of research proposal
Fund tosupportyourresearch
Allow you toreviewand criticallyevaluateyour
current research program
Convince yourself and others thatyourresearch is
worth supporting
Keep you focused on your research program
Develop novel ideas during writing proposal

5. Component of research proposal
Title
 Preciseand accurate
 Unambiguous
 Avoid extremely long titles

6. Introduction
Orient the readers towardsthe topic.
Explain the importanceand relevanceof the topic
Justifies thechoiceof the topic.
Research question/hypothesis .
Component of research proposal

7. Statementof the problem
“The problem statementdescribes thecontext for the
studyand italso identifies thegeneral analysis
approach”(Wiersma, 1995, p.404)
Should indicate why the researcher needs to bedone
and whatwill be its relevance.
Conveys information abouta research problem.
Component of research proposal

8. Literaturereview
It shares with the reader the results of other studies
that are closely related to the study being reported(
Fraenkel &Wallen, 1990)
Itprevents theduplicationof work that has been done
before.
Theoretical framework
A summary.
Component of research proposal

9. Build thecase tosupport the hypothesiswith literature
and data
Use schematic figuresordiagrams to help reviewers
understand your model and idea
Stateyour hypothesisclearly in theabstractand
specific aims; alternative hypothesis in case
Component of research proposal
Hypotheses

10. Objectiveof study
Thegeneral objectiveof a studystateswhat researcher
expect toachieve by thestudy in general terms.
What toachieve.?
Component of research proposal

11. Work Plan
Include the majorphasesof the project:
estimatewhen you will starteach stageof thework,
and how long itwill take.
Sequencing, flowand timelineof the study.
Component of research proposal

13. Methodology
Subjective
Interviews
Questionnaires
Discussions
Surveys
Objective
Experimental
Useof measuring devices
Useof recording devices.
Component of research proposal

14. RESEARCH DESIGN
Descriptivecasestudy
Mixed Method
Quantitative Method Design
Qualitative Method Design
Component of research proposal

15. POPULATION AND SAMPLING
Indicateyoursampling techniques , e.g.:
Quantitative
Cluster Random Sampling
Size of sample
Population
Experimental and control groups
Prevention of bias, etc.
Component of research proposal

16. References
Listall referencescited in the proposal.
Make sure thesereferencesare:–
Up-to-date
Relevant
Original source
Component of research proposal

17. The common error in proposal
writing
Too much detail on minor issues, but notenough
detail on major issues
Too manycitation lapsesand incorrect references
Sloppywriting
Failure tostateall of the basicassumptions thatare
relevant to the study.
Concerns irrelevantassumptions.
Selecting unproven assumptionswhich cannot be
defended byany logic, empirical evidence.

18. Evaluation of research proposal
1.Problem identification:
Is the problem/lineof enquiry clearlydefined?
Is the basic research problemwell formulated, or is it
poorlyand vaguelystructured?
Is it brieflyand conciselystated?

19. 2.Background to the research problem
Has there been an adequate description of the
background to the problem either under a separate
heading oras partof the literature?
3.Literaturereview
Is there clear evidence of a thorough review of the
literature?
Is there a theoretical engagement with the relevant
literature?
Evaluation of research proposal

20. 4.Conceptual framework
 Has a suitable hypothesis (or hypotheses) been formulated,
or has a suitable research question (or research questions)
been stated?
5.Objectives
 Have theobjectives been stated clearly?
6.Researchdesign
 Is the project and research design well structured and
outlined, or is it poorly articulated?
 Has the research methodology been articulated clearly?
Evaluation of research proposal

21. 7.Significance
 Why is it important to undertake this research? Whom
will it benefit or towhom will it be important?
 Has theexpected outcome (oroutcomes) of the research
been clearly identified?
8.Feasibility
 Is the problem researchable and is it feasible? Do the
preliminary data and available resources support its
feasibility?
 Does the candidate’s academic profile or potential support
his/herability to accomplish the project?
Evaluation of research proposal

22. 9.Othergeneral comments
Is the proposal well structured or poorlycompiled? If
the latter, what should be done to make it a well-
structured proposal?
10. Language
Has the research proposal been proofread and edited?
Evaluation of research proposal

23. Turney,B., George, Robb(1971).Research in education:
An introduction.
Wiersma, William,(1975).Research methods in
education.
Koul,Lokesh,(1997).Methodologyof educational
research
Best,JoneW.(2006).Research in education.
Marshall,Catherine,GretchB.Bossman.(1989).Designin
g Qualitativeresearch.
References

24. Definition of Research
• Comprises of two words, namely 're' and 'search'. Re means again and
search means to find out.
• What are we searching???
 searching for knowledge.
• Why are we searching for knowledge???
 To fill the gap between what is and what ought to be

25. How to conduct Research????
Step 1: Identify the Problem
Sources of problems:
 Personal experience
 Secondary sources
Examples: (broad problems)
• Shrinkage of chure forest.
• Human wildlife conflict in eastern
Nepal

26. How to conduct Research????
Step 2: clarify the problems
Examples:
Shrinkage of chure forest.
• Illegal forest resources extraction
from Chure forest.
• Unplanned infra structure
development.
• Encroachment
• Forest fire
• …………. (primary/secondary
sources)

27. How to conduct Research????
Step 3: Selection of research topic
Examples:
Shrinkage of chure forest.
• Illegal forest resources extraction
from Chure forest.
• Factors of illegal forest resources extraction
• Major forest products extracted illegally
• Spatial patterns of forest resource extraction
• Influencing Factors of Illegal Forest Resources Extraction in the Churia Forest
• Drivers of Illegal Forest Resources Extraction in the Churia Forest
• Determinants of Illegal Forest resources Extraction in the Chure Forest
Topic may be:

28. Proposal Writing
Influencing Factors of Illegal Forest Resources Extraction in the
Churia Forest
We get funding
If funders criteria meet

29. Proposal Writing
Topic selection: Influencing Factors of Illegal Forest Resources Extraction in the Churia Forest
Executive summary:
Background/Introduction:
Literature review:
(review of secondary
sources)
• what your project is about
• why the project is worth Doing.
• What is the central research problem?
• How is the topic of your research proposal related to
the problem?
• What kinds of research have been done relevant to a particular topic
• Find out the research gaps
• Demonstrates how the research fits within a field of study
• Justifies the research
Original: Demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the rural community that determine their
dependency on forest resources (plagiarism)
Paraphrase : Socio-economic and demographic features of the village community determines the dependency on
forest resources Hussain et al. (2019)

30. Proposal Writing
Literature review:
(review of secondary
sources)
• What kinds of research have been done relevant to a particular topic
• Find out the research gaps
• Demonstrates how the research fits within a field of study
• Justifies the research
Original: Demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the rural community that determine their
dependency on forest resources (plagiarism)
Paraphrase : Socio-economic and demographic features of the village community determines the dependency on
forest resources Hussain et al. (2019)
Original: Similarly, there is a positive association between age of household head and forest dependency,
although with decreasing impact after attaining a climax of physical power (Soe et al., 2019).
Paraphrase : Age of the household head is positively correlated with forest dependency Soe et al. (2019).

31. Problem statement and justification
• Statement of the current issues/situation
• Generally include negative points of the current situation
• Explain why this research matters?
• biophysical fragility,
• Higher deforestation rate
• Higher anthropogenic pressure
• Less no of CF
• Biophysical-socio economic factors of forest dependent peoples is still unidentified. (We can use
secondary sources…………..)
Example: Influencing Factors of Illegal Forest Resources Extraction in the Chure Forest
Therefore, this study will underlines the essential demographic and socio-economic characteristics of rural
livelihood on forest resource-dependent in the study area that explain the factors of forest dependency.

32. References:
• Hussain, J., Zhou, K., Akbar, M., Raza, G., Ali, S., Hussain, A., ... & Ghulam, A. (2019). Dependence of rural
livelihoods on forest resources in Naltar Valley, a dry temperate mountainous region, Pakistan. Global Ecology and
Conservation, 20, e00765.
• Soe, K. T., & Yeo-Chang, Y. O. U. N. (2019). Perceptions of forest-dependent communities toward
participation in forest conservation: A case study in Bago Yoma, South-Central Myanmar. Forest Policy
and Economics, 100, 129-141.

33. Research Objectives and Research Questions:
• Just research objectives
• Just research questions What are the factors of illegal extraction of forest resources?
To analyze the factors associated with illegal use of forest resources
• To analyze the socioeconomic factors of local people on
illegal forest resource extraction
• To analyze the demographic factors of local people on
illegal forest resource extraction
• To analyze the farm characteristics of local people on
illegal forest resource extraction
What are the factors of
illegal extraction of forest
resources?
• How socioeconomic factors of local people affect illegal
forest resource extraction ?
• How demographic factors of local people affect illegal
forest resource extraction?
• What was the extent of resources use patterns ?
To analyze the demographic and
socio economic factors associated
with illegal use of forest resources
Questions
Questions
Objectives
Objectives

34. Research Hypothesis:
• Quantitative statement about population
Example: more than 60% people are involve in forest resources
extraction
Village
(1000)
population
Sample (10%)
100
Analyze the result Accept/Reject the hypothesis

35. Research Hypothesis:
• Quantitative statement about population
Level of Illegal timber extraction will significantly differ across a
range
A
population
Sample
Collect the timber extraction data
Accept/Reject the hypothesis
B C D
Analyze the data

36. Research Hypothesis:
• Tentative prediction or explanation of the relationship between two or more variables
• Assumptions / prediction of expected outcomes
• Mostly hypothesis testing is used in quantitative research.

37. Sampling:
Sampling Design
How many trees are there ?
Suppose area of this forest is 100 ha = 100*10000 m2
500 m2
Total trees in the 5 sample plots = (2+3+1+2+2)= 10
Total area of the sample plots = 5*500 = 2500 m2
Average tree per plot = 10/5 = 2
500m2 = 2 tree
1 m2 =2/500 tree
100ha (1000000) = 2/500∗1000000=2000 trees
Total population of the forest = 2000 tree

38. Sample: representative portion of the whole population.
Sampling : the process of selecting a part of population
Sample size : the number of people in the selected sample
Sampling frame : complete list of individual or people included in the sample
Sampling technique : it refers to the technique or procedure used to select members of the
sample.
Introduction

39.  The ratio of sample to the whole population is called sampling intensity
 It is expressed in percentage
Sampling Intensity
Sampling intensity (SI) =
𝑆𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒
𝑃𝑜𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
∗ 100
500 m2

40. • Less time
• Reduced cost
• Better supervision
• Administrative convenience
• Suitable for destructive sampling
Advantages of Sampling

41. Types of sampling/sampling method/sampling techniques

42. Data Collection:
• Data can be collected from two sources that are internal and external sources.

43. Types of Data
• There are the following types of known forms of data

44. Data Analysis
• Plan of Analysis / Statistical Tools
• Plan of statistical analysis (descriptive parts, different test statistics)
• Parametric or non parametric, univariate or multivariate statistics to be employed
• Specific testing or analysis tools to be used
• Software employed (excels, SPSS, SAS…….)

45. Expected Outputs
• What you expect to get out of the research.
• It will be a good place to summarize the significance of the work.
Budget
SN Particulars Unit # of Unit Rate
Total
(RS)
Justification
1
Food and
Accommodation
Day*person 30*1
Rs 1000/ person/
day
30,000
Hotel charge,
Breakfast, Lunch and
Dinner

46. Work plan
Activities
Month (2022)
March Apr May June July Aug Sept
Literature Review
Field Visit
Data Analysis
Draft Report Preparation
Final Report Preparation,
Submission and Dissemination

47. Abstract
Background: A simple opening sentence
 Increasing human population and limited access to off-farm opportunities in chure range put continuous
pressure on chure forest through illegal forest resource extraction
Aims: One or two sentences giving the purpose of the work.
 Therefore, this study will investigates impact of biophysical characteristics of farm, socio-economic and
demographic characteristics of rural livelihood on illegal extraction of forest resources on chure frorest of
Nepal.
Method/data analysis : One or two sentences explaining what was (or will) be done.
 To better estimate the forest resource used by household, we will interview 400 randomly selected households
using a semi-structured questionnaire.
 The binary logistic regression model will be used to evaluate the potential determinants of illegal forest
resource extraction

48. Abstract
Results/conclusion: One or two sentences indicating the main findings (or what you hope to accomplish with
the project).
 Findings of the research are expected to be guidelines for management of forest resources in geographically
heterogeneous community with different needs and interests for forest
• Usually do not cite
• Don't use symbol, special characteristics etc
• Avoid duplicating words used in your title.
• Capitalized first letter

49. Overall
Title
Objectives
Methods
Results

50. Thank You