In many academic fields, students are required to write a research paper as a way of helping them develop practical research skills. An academic research project starts with writing a research proposal. A research proposal in itself is NOT the research, as its name suggests, it’s just a proposal, an illustration of the candidate’s ideas or suggestions as to how he/she intends to carry out the research exercise. Therefore, several components must be clearly and precisely explained to make a viable research proposal. The most important ones include:
- Introduction/Background
Here the candidate is expected to provide a brief background of the topic under study to make the reader understand what your intended research is all about. Some institutions require students to write a generic background, and others require it to be categorized into historical, theoretical, conceptual, and contextual perspectives. A candidate needs to check with the research department in his/her institution to determine the required format for the introduction/background.
- Problem Statement
Every student intending to conduct research must bear in mind that there is no virgin territory/topic in research. Everything has been researched about somewhere. That is why one must conduct a review of existing literature to assess whether the available information is good enough to answer the questions posed in his/her topic. The problem statement is where a candidate makes the case as to why despite the existing knowledge, he/she feels the need to conduct further research on the same or similar topic. The problem statement must bring out four key scenarios; the ideal situation, the current situation, why the ideal situation has not been achieved, and what should be done to change the current situation to the ideal situation. In trying to do this, the candidate is expected to relate his/her problem with the existing literature and explain why his/her topic and area of coverage (which is sometimes referred to as the case study), presents unique questions that are not adequately answered by the existing knowledge.
- Study Objectives
A candidate must set objectives that are precise, achievable, and measurable. Simply put, when setting study objectives, a candidate is required to present a breakdown of the key components (preferably between two and five) of the independent variable, measured against the dependent variable. When attempting this section, a candidate again needs to refer to his/her institution’s research format. Some institutions require a candidate to state a ‘General/Main Objective” and then “Specific Objectives”, and others require one to just state the objectives generically.
- Scope of the Study
Here the candidate must set the exact parameters for his/her research. You cannot research everything, everywhere, and every time/all the time. That is why you must clearly explain what you intend to research about, the specific components you intend to cover in your research. This is called the content scope, and it answers the “what” component of the research. Next, you must determine the area of coverage of your research and the physical area where you will conduct your research. This is referred to as the geographical scope, and it answers the “where” component of your research. Next, you must also determine the period that your research will cover, you must also precisely state the time you intend to conduct your research because the research exercise cannot be an indefinite process. This is called the time scope and it answers the “when” component of your research process. Additionally, some institutions may require you to also present the theoretical scope, which outlines the theory/theories underpinning your study.
- Significance of the Study
In the significance, you are expected to explain the value that the findings of your study will add to the field of academia. You will have to identify the various categories of people that will find your study findings useful (that is the “who” aspect), and in what ways your findings will be useful to them (that is the “how” aspect). The significance of the study is meant to explain how your study findings will be utilized and by whom.
- Justification
As mentioned earlier, whatever you want to research, chances are that someone else somewhere has already researched the same thing or something similar. In your justification, you are expected to make the case for your study, to answer the question as to why you should be given a green light to conduct your study. To write a good justification, you will take into consideration the geographical, demographic, and socio-economic factors of your study area visa-vie the other areas where the same or similar studies have been conducted. Since those factors are almost always varied in every area, that will provide you with an argument for why it’s necessary to conduct a study in your selected area.
- Literature Review
In reviewing the literature, you are expected to look into the existing literature that is related to your study. The purpose here is to further strengthen the justification for your study, by exposing the gaps in the existing knowledge. Your goal in the literature review is to (fairly) critique the works of the previous researchers, and show the critical information they might have left out, which will form the basis for the knowledge gaps that your study will attempt to fill. In reviewing the literature, three key aspects must be emphasized:
7.1 Theoretical review
This is mostly for post-grad research candidates. You are expected to explain in detail the theories you mentioned in your theoretical scope. You identify two or three relevant theories and explain them thoroughly, including the authors who postulated those theories, the key assumptions upon which those theories are anchored, the various criticisms of those theories, as well as their applicability to your study. After explaining the various theories, you will be expected to identify one, which you feel is most suited and that is what you will use to underpin your study. A theoretical review helps you to measure the hypotheses you have set in your study against the assumptions set in the theory you have selected.
7.2 Related literature
In related literature, you will review the existing literature in line with your study objectives. Every specific objective you set in your chapter one will form a subtitle when reviewing the related literature. The goal here is to ensure that you generate an adequate and convincing review of the related literature in every key area of your study.
7.3 Empirical review
Here, you will be expected to look for specific studies carried out that are similar or related to your study. An empirical review presents the studies conducted, where they were conducted, and by whom, as well as their findings. After presenting all this, you will then be expected to provide a critique of those studies against your study. Key areas to look into when developing your critique may include the geographical areas where those studies were carried out, the methodologies employed in carrying out those studies, the targeted demographics, and the specificities of the topics under which those studies were carried out. The goal is to arrive at a point where you can fairly show the inadequacies within the findings of those existing studies, and in so doing, you expose the existing ‘knowledge gaps’ that your study will fill.
- Methodology
This is a breakdown of how you intend to conduct your research exercise. The methodology is mainly focused on how you will collect the relevant data and how you will treat it to come up with an accurate and unimpeachable research report that will pass the test of your supervisors and add value to the scholarly community. In methodology, you will be expected to explain the method you intend to deploy in data collection (the research design), your targeted population of study, how you will attain a usable sample from that population, the instruments and tools you intend to use to acquire the data you need, how you will conduct yourself in the field to ensure that you collect the relevant data, as well as how you will handle the data you collect, analyze and interpret it in a way that will be meaningful to anyone who reads your report. In your methodology, you will also be expected to show how you intend to uphold the ethical threshold to ensure that your study and the findings therein are credible. You will also be expected to show the limitations you anticipate and how you intend to address them in case you encounter them. The goal here is to show that in case you face any challenges during your research exercise, you are thoroughly prepared to deal with them in a way that will help you preserve the credibility of your study.