Proposal Writing Guideline

Your proposal should include the following essential parts among others:

1. Title

 It should suggest the theme of the study

 It should not be burdened with pompous words, unscientific terms, argumentative, emotional
or biased words.
 It should not be too long or short
 It should not be too board or narrow

2. Background of the Study:

This introduction section begins with the background information regarding the problem under
investigations. The background should provide readers with a brief summary of literature and research
related to the problem being investigated. In general, the background begins with a broader perspective of
the problem and becomes narrower as it proceeds. The background narrows the focus of the study and
provides a brief rationale for why the particular study is worth pursuing. Generally, the introduction
section of the proposal consists of about two to three pages, but may vary considerably depending on the
nature of the study. This section is normally expanded in chapter 2 (Review of Related Literature) later
on.

What you write about and how you write can reveal a great deal about your knowledge and interest in
your subject. This is true of your proposal, but perhaps most so in this section. Use the background
section as an occasion to show the depths of your knowledge of the topic by demonstrating your fluency
in accepted understandings and literature as well as your fresh insights and approaches. You may also use
this review to implicitly reveal what has drawn you to the topic in the first place. Doing this will help
convince the reader that your interest in the topic is justified and that you are likely to sustain that interest
over the time required to complete the project.

3. Statement of the Problem:

Having provided a broad introduction to the area under study, now focus on the issues relating to its
central theme, identifying some of the gaps in the existing body of knowledge. The main unanswered
questions need also be identified. Some of the main research questions that you would like to answer
through your study should also be raised. Knowledge gained from other studies and the literature about
the issues you are proposing to investigate should be an integral part of this section. In other words, once
the investigator is able to collect different studies conducted in his field of investigation from various
sources and examine each one of them critically for the points mentioned above, he will be in a position
to state his problem in unambiguous and more precise terms.

 The problem statement describes the context for the study and it also identifies the general
analysis approach.
 A problem may be defined as the issue that exists in the, literature, theory, or practice that
leads to a need for the study.
 It is important in a proposal that the problem stand out-that the reader can easily recognize it.
Sometimes, obscure and poorly formulated problems are masked in an extended discussion.

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In such cases, reviewers and/or committee members will have difficulty recognizing the
problem.
 Effective problem statements answer the question “why does this research need to be
conducted?” If a researcher is unable to answer this question clearly and concisely, and
without resorting to hyper speaking (i.e, focusing on problems of macro or global proportions
that certainly will not be informed or alleviated by the study), then the statement of the
problem will come off as ambiguous and diffuse.

Examples of problem statements are as follows:

 This study will compare, contrast, investigate, describe, determine, examine, develop, clarify,
or evaluate the issue being studied.
 The purpose of this study will be to determine the variables that explain the difference
between males and females and identify those variables that differ significantly between the
two genders.
 This study is designed to investigate graduate students’ perceptions regarding the difficulty of
coursework at AMU and determine which courses are more difficult than others.

Usually, the problem of investigation is stated in two ways:

a) In the form of statement or

b) In question form

In some cases, the problem is stated with the help of more than one statement or a question.

Specifically, this section should:

 Identify the issues that are the basis of your study;

 Specify the various aspects of/ perspectives on these issues;
 Identify the main gaps in the existing body of knowledge;
 Raise some of the research questions that you want to answer through your study;
 Identify what knowledge is available concerning your questions, specifying the difference of
opinion in the literature regarding these questions if differences exist; and
 Develop a rationale for your study with particular reference to how your study will fill the
identified gaps.
 Present it from General to Specific

4. Objectives of the Study: General and Specific objectives ought to be listed

Objectives are the goals you set to attain in your study. Since these objectives inform a reader of what you
want to achieve through the study, it is extremely important to word them clearly and specifically. The
investigator will spell out the objectives of the present study in the form of statements and while doing so,
he takes care that the objectives mentioned are well within the scope of the investigation envisaged by
him.

The objectives of the study are listed under two headings:

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 Main objective; and
 Sub-objectives/Specific objectives

The main objective is an overall statement of the thrust of your study. It is also a statement of the main
associations and relationships that you seek to discover or establish. The sub-objectives are the specific
aspects of the topic that you want to investigate within the main framework of your study.

Sub objectives should be numerically listed or using bullets. They should be worded clearly and
unambiguously. Make sure that it contains only one aspect of the study. The objectives should start with
such action words as “to determine”, “to find out”, “to ascertain”, “to measure”, “to explore”, etc. The
wording of your objectives determines the type of research design (e.g., descriptive, correlational or
experimental) you need to adopt to achieve them. The following figure displays the characteristics of the
wording of objectives in relation to the type of research study:

5. Research Hypothesis, if any, which indicates the relationships between/among variables

Hypotheses are tentative conclusions derived from observation, experience, reading and the like. The
problem statement is further explicated in this section of the proposal. Hypotheses and research questions
emerge from the problem statement and operationalise it in terms of specific variables and relationships to
be examined and reported. Hypotheses and research questions also suggest methodology for the study and
serve as the basis for drawing conclusions in the last chapter.

6. Significance of the Study

This section addresses “the so what” of the study and report. It describes or explains the potential value of
the study and findings to the social sciences or the filed of specialization. This section, therefore, should
identify the audiences for the study and how the results will be beneficial to them. Remember, research is
conducted to add to the existing knowledge base and/or solve a problem. How your particular research
will do these should be articulated in this section.

7. Scope/Delimitation

Delimitation addresses how the study will be narrowed in scope, that is, how it is bounded. This is the
place to explain the things that you are not doing and why you have chosen not to do them-the literature
you will not review (and why not), the population you are not studying (and why not), the methodological
procedures you will not use (and why you will not use them). Limit your delimitations to the things that a
reader might reasonably expect you to do but that you, for clearly explained reasons, have decided not to
do.

8. Limitations of the Study…..preferably included in the final report.

Limitations are factors, usually beyond the researcher’s control, that may affect the results of the study or
how the results are interpreted. Stating limitations of the study may be very useful for readers because
they provide a method to acknowledge possible errors or difficulties in interpreting results of the study.
Limitations that are readily apparent at the start of the research project may develop or may become
apparent as the study progresses. In any case, limitations should not be considered alibis/excuses; they are
simply factors or conditions that help the reader get a true sense of what the study results mean and how

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widely they can be generalized. While all studies have some inherent limitations, you should address only
those that may have a significant effect on your particular study.

Examples of frequently encountered limitations might include the following:

 Due to the small/unique sample available for the study, results may not be generalisable
beyond the specific population from which the sample was drawn.
 Due to the failure of sample respondents to answer with candor/frankness, results might not
accurately reflect opinions of all members of the included population.
 Due to the length of the study, a significant number of respondents available in the
preliminary testing may be unavailable or unwilling to participate in the final stage of testing.

Although stating limitation of the study assists the reader in understanding some of the inherent
problems encountered by the researcher, it is also important for the researcher to design and conduct
the study in a manner that precludes having such numerous or severe limitations that any results of
the study are essentially useless.

9. Methodology

 Data Collection Methods: questionnaires, interviews, observations,

 Data sources: primary, secondary, both
 Sample Design:

 Probabilistic : simple random sampling(lottery system), systematic random sampling,

stratified sampling, cluster sampling
 Non probabilistic : Judgmental sampling, convenience sampling, quota sampling

 Data Presentation, Analysis and Interpretation tools

10. Time schedule

 You should prepare a realistic time schedule for completing the study.
 Divide the tasks to subparts and assign starting and completion time.
 You can use Gant chart.

11. Budget schedule

 Break down of the activities to be performed and materials needed with their estimated cost.

S.N Activities to be performed Estimate expense (in Birr)

1 Different expenses (travel, data collectors…) xxxx
2 Typing of the paper xxx
3 Printing xxx
4 Photocopying xxx
5 Purchase of equipment (specify) xxx
6 Tools (soft wares if any) xxx
7 Books and journals xxx
8 Total xxxxx

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9 Contingency (15% of the total expenditure) xxx
10 Total estimated budget xxxxx
12. Reference