1. Research proposal
The first step for being a researcher
Dr. Tarek Amin
Professor of Public Health
Cairo University
amin55@myway.com

2. Research proposal…W
hy?
Purpose of a proposal:
T
he purpose of the proposal is to help you
(as student) to focus and define your
research plans.
 An indication to your faculty of your
direction and discipline as a researcher.
T
hey also help you to prepare your
application to the E
thics Committee.

3. W
hy
Research proposals must address the following
questions:
What you plan to accomplish?
Why you want to do it? and
How you are going to do it?

4. T proposal is expected to:
he
1- Show that you are engaging in genuine
enquiry;
2- L your proposed work with the work of
ink
others,
3- P
roving you are acquainted with major schools
of thought relevant to the topic;
3- E
stablish a particular theoretical orientation;
4- E
stablish your methodological approach, and
5- Show you have thought about the ethical
issues

5. Research proposal “contents”
FINER
T T
itle/ opic
Simple
Specific
In advance
L
iterature
review
Introduction
and
literature
review
Research
Question
Objectives
H
ypothesis
statement
Variables definition
Outcome
Predictor
T
heoretical and
conceptual frame
Sampling theory
and designs
Study
Design &
Setting
Research
Instruments
M
ethods of data
P
rocessing:
computers
and statistics
Sampling
Design
and size
Data
processing
Research design:
functions
E
thical
issues
P
rinciples of
Scientific writing
P
roposed
Chapters
of report
P
roblems and
limitations
Validity and
reliability of the
research tools
T
ime frame
B
udget

6. I- T
itle and topic
Concise and descriptive.
 Stated in terms of a functional relationship
indicating the independent and dependent
variables.
 If possible, think of an informative but catchy title
that wins the reader's interest.


7. II- Introduction
The introduction typically begins with
A. a general statement of the problem area, with
B. a focus on a specific research problem, to be
followed by
C. the rationale or justification for the proposed
study.

8. The introduction generally covers the following
elements:
State the research problem.
 Provide context and set stage for research
question (show its necessity and
importance).
 Present the rationale of study and clearly
indicate why it is worth doing.
 Describe major issues and sub-problems to
be addressed by your research.


9. Identify the key independent and
dependent variables.
 State your hypothesis, if any.


10. Structure of The introduction section
A good introduction has the following elements:
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
a general description and the background of the problem to be
researched;
relevant factors influencing the research problem;
the state of knowledge relevant to the research problem as given in
the literature;
the relevance of your own research;
a problem definition or research question and, if applicable, the
expected outcome or hypotheses.
The order in which to include these elements is not fixed, particularly the
order of elements b through d. If you use new concepts that are not
generally known, you must explain them.

11. III- Research question:
Characteristics of a good research question “F R Criteria”.
INE
Feasible
interesting
novel
ethical
relevant
Adequate number of subjects.
Adequate technical expertise
Affordable in time and money
M
anageable in scope
T the investigator
o
Confirms or refuses previous findings
E
xtends previous findings
P
rovides new findings
T scientific knowledge
o
T clinical and health policy
o
T future research directions
o

12. I Saudi A
n
rabia, re liable studie s that tackle the pre vale nce and patte rn o f
re fractive e rro rs amo ng primary scho o l childre n are scarce , with varied results
due to inconsistency in the cutoff used for errors definition form 23% in the high
altitude Abha city (Abolfotouh et al.,1993) to 10.7% among pre-school children in
Jeddah city at sea level (Wedad et al., 2002). Moreover, the Saudi
school health services provided by Ministry of Education do not include adequate
vision screening facilities (Wedad et al., 2002). In accordance with WHO’ s global
initiative “ Vision 2020” The right to sight
(http://www.vision2020.org/main.cfm?type=WHATVISION2020), a professional
based (optometry) screening program for all school-aged children is recommended
to provide an early detection and initiate early treatment.
The objective of the this study was determine the prevalence and pattern of
refractive errors among primary school children in the age group of 6-14 years of
both sexes in Al Hassa, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia.

13. To address the existing gap in the literature on smoking among adolescents we have
tested the following hypotheses: First, o lde r male ado le sce nts are mo re like ly to
smo ke to bacco than yo ung e r and fe male ado le sce nts. Se co nd, smo king amo ng clo se
re lative s (e nviro nme ntal to bacco e xpo sure ) and frie nds (pe e r pre ssure ) wo uld
incre ase the like liho o d (risk) o f be ing curre nt smo ke r. Finally, ce rtain
mo tive s (so cializing , imitatio n, o uting , rathe r than re lie ve o f stre ss and ple asure ) and
the pre se nce o f de pre ssive and/o r anxie ty diso rde rs may re pre se nt po te ntial
pre dicto rs fo r the curre nt smo king status amo ng ado le sce nts. To the best of the
authors’ knowledge, there are no previous studies in Saudi Arabia that address the
psychosocial predictors of smoking status among this age group. In this study, we
attempted to provide baseline information on the psychosocial determinants
and prevalence of smoking among adolescents in secondary schools in Al Hassa,
KSA, for proper design of practical and effective intervention strategy.

14. IV-Literature Review:
 Sometimes the literature review
into the introduction section.
is incorporated

15. L
iterature review (functions)







Ensures that you are not "reinventing the wheel".
Gives credits to those who have laid the groundwork.
Demonstrates your knowledge of the research problem.
Demonstrates your understanding of the theoretical and
research issues related.
Shows your ability to critically evaluate relevant
literature information.
Indicates your ability to integrate and synthesize the
existing literature.
Convincing that proposed research will make a
significant and substantial contribution to the literature.

16. In Saudi Arabia there has been a considerable change in the pattern of
breastfeeding in recent decades due to population transition as a result of
advancements in socioeconomic status.7 Breastfeeding in Saudi Arabia has
been customary;8 its duration used to exceed the age of 24 months, and solid
food would be introduced as late as 12–18 months and complementary to
breastfeeding.9 Studies from Saudi Arabia have recorded a progressive
decline in breastfeeding practice and duration, especially among young
mothers in urban areas,10–12 with early introduction of bottle feeding12,13 and
earlier introduction of solid foods.14
The initiation and duration of breastfeeding depend on several determinants, namely,
socio-demographic, psychosocial, biomedical, and healthcare-related factors,
community attributes, and public policy;15 however, the importance of these factors
varies across countries and over time. Few studies14–16 have addressed factors related
to initiation and exclusivity of breastfeeding in Saudi Arabia with inherent faults
either in samples studied of purely urban mothers14 or using different cutoffs for
exclusive breastfeeding.16

17. Your research competence will be questioned if
any of the below applies to your proposal.
 Lacking organization and structure
 Lacking focus,
unity and coherence
 Being repetitive and verbose
 Failing to cite influential papers
 Failing to keep up with recent developments
 Failing to critically evaluate cited papers
 Citing irrelevant or trivial references

18. Organize your literature review
 Subheadings to bring order
and coherence.
 Keep in mind that you are telling a story.

19. V-Methods:





Tells how you plan to tackle the research problem.
Describe the activities necessary for the completion of your
project.
Contains sufficient information for the reader to determine
whether the methodology is sound.
Should contain sufficient details for another qualified
researcher to implement the study.
Demonstrates that “ your approach is the most appropriate and
most valid” .

20. Instructions for writing the Method section
 Methodological
elements are described precisely
and accurately.
 Unlike the Introduction, the Method section is
divided into subsections. Each methodological
element is described in a separate subsection with
its own heading.

21. Ele me nts o f the M tho d Se ctio n
e
1- Research design (s): this element describes
the design - the 'format' - of the study.
Contains information about the measurements, the
test subjects and - if applicable - the period
covered by the data.

22. E
lements of methods section
2- P
rocedure: Describes how the research will be
conducted and includes the steps taken to
implement the research design, such as the
recruitment of test subjects.

23. E
lements of M
ethods section
3-Research population: Accurate description of
the research population (the sample).
Such a sample may involve highly diverse
entities: material (e.g. contact lenses), cells,
animals, patients, healthy persons, physicians, and
so on.

24. E
lements of methods section
4- M
aterials: Describes the material collected (the
variables included).
Only describe the data that was used to answer
your research questions.
Use headings and subheadings to structure the
information, so that the reader quickly gets the
picture.

25. T
ypes of sampling
Non-random/probability
Random/probability
Simple
Stratified
Cluster
Quota
Mixed sampling
Systematic
sampling
Judgmental
Proportionate
Single
Accidental
Disproportionate
Double stage
Multi-stage
Snowball

26. Number of contacts
Reference period
One
T
wo
E
xperimental
T
hree or more
P
rospective
Nonexperimental
L
ongitudinal
Studies
Cross-sectional
Studies
B
efore and
after studies
Retrospective
P
rospective
Semiexperimental
Study designs
Retrospective
Nature of
investigation
Classification
base
T
ypes of study design (I)

27. Research designs (II)
”?Did the investigator assign exposure “intervention
Yes
No
Observational study
E
xperimental study
?Comparison group
?Random allocation
Yes
Randomized
Controlled
T
rial RCT
No
-Non
Randomized
Controlled
trial
Cohort
studY
E
xposure → outcome
Yes
Analytical study
No
Descriptive study
Case report
Case series
?Direction
E
cological
E
xposure and outcome
at the same time
Case-CoNtrol
studY
E
xposure ← outcome
Cross-seCtioNal
studY

28. M
ethods of data collection
P
rimary
Sources
Secondary
Sources
Observation
Documents
Participant
oGovt
publications
oEarlier research
oCensus
oPersonal records
oClient histories
oService records
Interviewing
Structured
Non-participant
Animals/Lab.
Questionnaire
Mailed
Unstructured
Collective

29. B
asic structure of case-control design
PoPulatioN
Diseased
Unexposed to factor
(b)
Diseased
(cases)
Sample
The Odds “ chance of exposure
Is calculated between both groups
E
xposed to factor
(a)
Disease-free
E
xposed to factor
(c)
Disease-free
(controls)
Unexposed to factor
(d)
P time
ast
T
race
P
resent time
Starting point

30. Calculate the difference in Odds for
the included exposures for comparison.
Calculate the difference in Odds for
the included exposures for comparison.

31. Incidence of
cancer lung
Cohort
Incidence of
cancer lung

32. T control group design
he
“the control experim
ental design”
Independent variable
E
xperimental group
Study
population
Intervention arm
Study
population
Study
population
No intervention
Control group
Study
population
B
aseline
Data
M
easuring
dependent
variables
“outcome”
T chief objective of the control group is to quantify the impact of extraneous factors
he
“possible confounders”, which help to ascertain the impact of the intervention only.

33. T placebo design
he
E
xperimental
Group
P
lacebo
Group
Control
Group
T
reatment/
placebo/
confounders
T
reatment
P
lacebo/
confounders
Placebo
E
xperimental
Group
Placebo
Group
T
reatment+
P
lacebo
(-)
T
reatment+
Confounders
P
lacebo
Confounders
Control
Control
Group
T
reatment
Outcome
Confounders
(-)

34. Phases and indications of basic study designs
T
ype of
study
T
iming
F
orm
Crosssectional
Cross-sectional
Observational
Repeated
crosssectional
Cross-sectional
Observational
Action in past
time
Action in
present time
Action in future
time
T
ypical uses
P
revalence
estimates
Reference range
Current health status
Collect
All
information
Collect
Collect
Collect
All
All
All
informationinformation information
Changes
over time
Cohort
L
ongitudinal
(prospective)
follow
Observational
Define cohort
and assess
risk factors
Observe
outcome
P
rognosis
and natural
history
E
tiology
Case-control
L
ongitudinal
(retrospective)
Observational
Assess
Risk
factors
trace
Define cases
and controls
(outcome)
E
tiology particularly
for rare diseases
C.T
follow
L
ongitudinal
(prospective)
E
xperimental
Apply
intervention
Clinical
Observe
outcome
trials to
assess therapy
T
rials to assess
preventive measures
L
ab. experiments

35. Summary: For quantitative studies, the method section
typically consists:




Design: What kind of design do you choose?
Subjects or participants:
Who will take part in your study ?
What kind of sampling procedure do you use?
Instruments:
What kind of measuring instruments do you use?
Why do you choose them?
Are they valid and reliable?
Procedure:
How do you plan to carry out your study?
What activities are involved?
How long will it take?

36. VI- Statistical analysis





Data analysis was carried out using SPSS 16.0 (SPSS Inc, Chicago, IL, U.S.A).
For categorical data, frequency, proportions and percentage were used for
reporting, Chi square, Z test and Chi square for trend were used for
comparison.
Major osteoporotic and hip fractures probabilities were reported using the mean
percentage and the range. For continuous data mean, standard deviation, and
median were used to express the results, t-test and Mann Whitney test were
used for comparison.
Multivariate logistic regression model was generated to determine the possible
predictors for receiving osteoporosis screening (BMD) (dependent variable) by
inclusion of significant potential independent variables revealed form
univariate analysis. Logistic regression analysis was carried out for the subset
of population including only women and men aged ≥ 60 (individuals for whom
screening is recommended).
P value of ≤ 0.05 was considered significant.
11/27/13
Dr. Tarek Tawfik
36

37. VII- Results:
 Obviously
you do not have results at the proposal
stage.
 However, you need to have some idea about what
kind of data will be collected, and what statistical
procedures will be used to answer your research
question or test you hypothesis.

38. VIII- Discussion:
1.
2.
3.
The potential impact of your proposed research.
Enthusiasm and confidence without
exaggerating the merits of your proposal.
Mention the possible limitations and weaknesses
of the proposed research, and try to justify them.

39. IX- References
11/27/13
Dr. Tarek Tawfik
39

40. Common Mistakes in Proposal Writing
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
Failure to provide the proper context to frame research question.
Failure to cite landmark studies.
Failure to accurately present the theoretical and empirical
contributions by other researchers.
Failure to stay focused on the research question.
Failure to develop a coherent and persuasive argument for the
proposed research.
Too much detail on minor issues, but not enough detail on major
issues.
Too much rambling
Too many citation lapses and incorrect references.
Too long or too short.
Failing to follow the APA style (sometimes).
Slopping writing.

41. Elements of protocol
Research questions
Significance (background)
Design
time frame
epidemiologic approach
Subjects
selection criteria
sampling design
Variables
predictor variables
confounding
outcome variables
Statistical issues
hypotheses
sample size
analytic approach
Purpose
What questions will the study address?
Why are these questions important?
How is the study structured?
Who are the subjects and how will they be
selected?
What measurements will be made?
How large is the study and how will it be
analyzed?

42. Thank you