The research proposal

Published on April 30, 2023   6 min

Other Talks in the Series: Key Concepts - Academic Research Methodologies in Business

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Hello, my name is Dr. Christina Quinlan. I work at the Graduate Business School at the Technological University of Dublin. I'm going to talk to you today about the research proposal.
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The research proposal is a formal proposal for a research project that the person presenting the proposal plans to carry out. A research proposal follows a conventional layout. The idea for the research presented in the proposal, the research proposed will be unique but the proposal itself will follow a conventional format.
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Typically, the research proposal begins with the research statement or question. This is that one sentence that contains all of the key concepts in the research project that outlines the research to be undertaken, the research being proposed. The next sentence is the aim of the research, and this is followed by the objectives. Typically in a research project, no fewer than two objectives and no more than six. The objectives are the steps that the researchers going to take in order to accomplish the aim of the research. Next, we have the sample literature review. A sample literature review is a literature review, its just short. It's a short literature review. Then we have the research methodology. Following the research methodology, we have the context for the research. The context for the research is the background to the study. Then we have the rationale for the research. The rationale for the research is the reason why the researcher is undertaking this research project. The rationale for the research details the contribution to knowledge that the researcher is going to make with the research project. Then we have the bibliography, and then finally, we have the appendices. The appendices usually include ethics forms. The research methodology, which is arguably the most important element of the research proposal, contains the following. A statement of the research methodology and a justification of the research methodology. This is followed by an outline of the population, sample and sampling methods as appropriate. This is followed by an outline of the data gathering method or methods to be used in the proposed research. This is followed by the proposed means of data analysis. Then we have the issues of validity, reliability, and triangulation. The researcher defines each of these researchers concepts using definitions drawn from research methodology textbooks. Then the researcher explains how they're going to deal with each of these concepts in the proposed research. Finally, we have research ethics. The researcher defines research ethics using a good definition from a research methodology textbook and then the researcher highlights the key ethical issues in the proposed research. Finally, the researcher explains how they're going to deal with each of these ethical issues.