developing and presenting research proposal

1. Presented by,
Sandhya S
1 yr MSc Nursing

2.  In research process , preparation of a research proposal
is an important step.
 Research proposals are documents describing what
researchers propose to study , prepared before a project
has commenced.
 Proposals serve to communicate the research problem,
its significance and planned procedures for solving the
problem to an interested party.
 Research proposals are written by both students and
seasoned researchers.

4.  Research proposals usually help researchers to clarify their
own thinking. By communicating ideas to
writing,ambiguities about how to proceed can be identified
and dealt with at an early stage.
 Proposals are intended to synthesize researchers critical
thinking and even can serve to ensure that the research
questions and proposed methods are sufficiently refined to
warrant initiation of the study.
 Research proposals are reviewed by others who can offer
suggestions for conceptual and methodologic improvements
and thus represent a mechanism for improving the study’s
contribution to knowledge.

5.  Proposals represents the means for opening
communication between researchers and parties
interested in the conduct of research.
 Proposals often serve as the basis for negotiating with
other parties as well.
 Proposals are often incorporated into submissions to
human subjects committees or institutional review
boards.

6.  Proposals are usually evaluated on a number of criteria,
including the importance of the research question,the
contribution the study is likely to make to an evidence base,
the adequacy of the research methods ,the availability of
appropriate personnel and facilities and if money is being
requested,the reasonableness of the budget.
 Proposal authors are usually given instructions indicating
how the proposal should be structured.
 The content and organization are broadly similar to that for
a research report, but proposals are written in the future
tense and obviously do not include results and conclusions.

7.  Front matter.
 Abstract.
 The problem and its significance.
 Background of the problem.
 Objectives.
 Method.
 The work plan.
 Personnel.
 Facilities.
 Budget.

8.  Proposals typically begin with what is referred to as
front matter,which orients readers to the study and in
case of proposals for funding,contains administrative
information.
 The front matter typically includes ,at a minimum a
cover page that indicates the title of the proposed study
and the author’s name and institution.
 The proposed title should be given careful thought.It is
the first thing that reviewers will see,and should
therefore be crafted to create a good impression.

9.  The title should be concise and informative ,but should
also be compelling and interesting.
 Proposal titles should indicate the phenomena to be
studied and the population of interest.

10.  Proposals almost always begin with a brief synopsis of
the proposed project.It helps to establish a frame of
reference for reviewers.
 The abstract should be brief and should state succintly
the study objectives and methods to be used.
 Like title,the abstract should be written with care to
create a positive impression.
 It should persuade reviewers that the study has merit
and would be undertaken with rigor.
 Although an abstract appears at the beginning of a
proposal ,it is often written last.

11.  The problem that the intended research will address is
identified early in the proposal.
 The problem statement should clearly indicate the scope
and importance of the problem; conveying any potential
application to clinical practice.
 The proposal needs to describe clearly how the proposed
research will contribute to knowledge and to the
enhancement of evidenced based practice.
 The proposal should indicate the expected generalizability
of the research, its contribution to theory, its potential for
improving nursing practice and possible applications or
consequences of the knowledge to be gained.

12.  The background material should strengthen arguments
about the study’s significance ,orient readers to what is
already known about the problem, and indicate how the
proposed study will argument that knowledge ;it should
also serve as a demonstration of the researcher’s
command of current knowledge in a field.
 This section should however be tightly written to
provide a strong foundation for the new study, and
should not merely be a long catalogue of earlier work.

13.  Specific, achievable objectives provide the reader with
clear criteria against which the proposed research
methods can be assessed.
 Objectives stated as research hypotheses or specific
models to be tested are often preferred.
 Whenever the theoretical background of the study,
existing knowledge, or the researcher’s experience
permits an explicit prediction of outcomes, these
predictions should be included in the proposal.

14.  The explanation of the research methods should be
thorough enough that readers will have no question
about how research objectives will be addressed. A
thorough method section includes:-
*The research design, including a
discussion of comparison group strategies, methods of
controlling extraneous variables, number of data
collection points etc;in a qualitative study, the research
tradition should be described.
*Data collection methods and
operational definitions of key variables.

15. *The experimental intervention including a
description of both the treatment and the control group
condition.
*Strategies for coding,storing,reducing and
analyzing data ,including any software to be used.
*Methods of safeguarding human subjects,
including methods of maintaining confidentiality,
securing informed consent and minimizing risks.

16.  Researchers often describe their proposed plan for
managing the flow of work on the project.
 Researchers indicate in the work plan the sequence of
tasks to be performed ,the anticipated length of time
required for their completion and the personnel
required for their accomplishment.
 Work plans indicate how realistic and thorough
researchers have been in designing their studies.

17.  In proposals to funding agencies, the qualifications of
key project personnel are described, and curricula vitae
are usually appended.
 The research competencies of the project director and
other team members are typically given major
consideration in evaluating such proposals.
 Funders will scrutinize factors such as the researchers
training and education,experience,publications and
track record of doing research.

18.  Proposals should document what special facilities or
equipment will be required by the project and whether they
will be available.
 Access to physiologic instrumentation ,laboratories, clinical
records ,data processing equipment, special documents and
study participants should be described to reassure sponsors
or advisors that the project can proceed as planned.
 The willingness of the institution with which the researcher
is affiliated to allocate space,equipment,services or data
should also be indicated.

19.  Budgets are statements of how much money will be
required to accomplish the various tasks.
 A well –conceived work plan greatly facilitates the
preparation of the budget.

20. DISSERTATION COMMITTEE
 Choosing the right advisor is almost as important as
choosing the right topic to research.
 The ideal advisor is one who is a mentor ,an expert with a
strong reputation in the chosen field, a good teacher, a
patient and supportive coach and critic and an advocate.
 The ideal advisor is also a person who has sufficient time
and interest to devote to your research and someone who is
likely to stick with your project until its completion.

21.  When meeting with the advisor and committee
members,takes notes about their suggestions and write
them out in more detail after the meeting while they are
still fresh in your mind.
 The notes should be reviewed while developing the
proposal.

22.  Most dissertation and thesis proposals follow a format.
Specific requirements regarding length and format may
vary in different settings.
 Dissertation proposals are typically 20 to 40 pages in
length.
 The review of literature ,theoretical framework, hypothesis
formulation and the bibliography may be sufficiently
refined at the proposal stage that they can be incorporated
in to the final product.
 The table of contents serves as an outline for the final
product and demonstrates to the committee that the student
knows how to organize material.

23.  Selection of an important problem.
 Review of a successful proposal.
 Input from key people.
 Adherence to instructions.
 Justification of decisions.
 Attending to evaluation criteria.
 The research team.
 Proposal critique.

24. Proposals can serve a number of
purposes, one of which is to establish a two way contract
between researchers and those from whom support is
sought. Students preparing a proposal for a dissertation or
thesis need to work closely with a well-chosen committee
and advisor.