Lecture: Research Proposal

What is Research? Research is a process through which we attempt to achieve systematically and
with the support of data the answer to a question, the resolution of a problem, or a greater
understanding of a phenomenon.
- (Behind the scene)
Research is the systematic process of collecting and analyzing information to increase
our understanding of the phenomenon under study.
-It is the function of the researcher to contribute to the understanding of the
phenomenon and to communicate that understanding to others.
Qualitative Study: An inquiry process of understanding a social or human problem, based on
building a complex, holistic picture, formed with words, reporting detailed views of informants, and
conducted in a natural setting.
Quantitative Study: An inquiry into a social or human problem, based on testing a theory composed
of variables, measured with numbers, and analyzed with statistical procedures, in order to determine
whether the predictive generalizations of the theory hold true.
Whether this topic is researchable?
Variables: A variable is an object, event, idea, feeling, time period, or any other type of category
you are trying to measure. Independent variables and -Dependent Variables -Mediating variable
-Independent Variables: An independent variable is exactly what it sounds like. It is a variable that
stands alone and isn't changed by the other variables you are trying to measure.
-Dependent variables: It is the response or the criterion variable presumed to be caused or
influenced by the independent treatment conditions.
- It is something that depends on other factors.
Significance of the Study: is the rationale for the study and is related to theory, knowledge or
practice. Rationales include that the study provides knowledge about an enduring common practice, or
tests a theory, or is generalizable, or extends our understanding of a broader phenomenon, or advances
methodology, or is related to a current issue, or evaluates a specific practice at a given site, or is an
exploratory study.
Case Study Design: data analysis focuses on one phenomenon regardless of the number of sites,
participants, or documents studied.
Literature Review: is a critique of the status of knowledge on a carefully defined topic. Organization
of a Literature Review (usually chapter 2 in a thesis or dissertation) is organized with an introduction
that states the purpose and scope of the review. This is followed by a critical review as subsections
that relate to the selection and significance of the research problem. Prior studies are classified,
compared, and contrasted as they relate to the problem statement.
Theory: A set of interrelated constructs(variables), definitions, and propositions that presents a
systematic view of phenomena by specifying relations among variables, with the purpose of
explaining natural phenomena.
Hypothesis: A hypothesis is an explanation for a phenomenon which can be tested in some way
which ideally either proves or disproves the hypothesis. working assumption

Null Hypothesis: The statistical hypothesis that one variable (e.g. whether or not a study participant
was allocated to receive an intervention) has no association with another variable or set of variables
(e.g. whether or not a study participant died), or that two or more population distributions do not
differ from one another. In simplest terms, the null hypothesis states that the results observed in a
study are no different from what might have occurred as a result of the play of chance.
Example: 1. in a clinical trial of a new drug, the null hypothesis might be that the new drug is no
better, on average, than the current drug. We would write H0: there is no difference between the two
drugs on average.
2. For example, here is a formulated null hypothesis related to the investigation of precipitation
patterns over adjacent rural and urban land-use types: H0 : There is no difference in precipitation
levels between urban and adjacent rural areas.

Steps of Research Proposal:

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Introduction
Background of the study
Research Problem
Literature Review
Significance of the study
Objectives of the study
Research question
Research hypothesis
Conceptual and Theoretical framework
Outline of the study

References:
1. Aminuzzaman M. Salahuddin, Introduction to Social Research
2. Coffey, Ankinson, Making Sense of Qualitative Data
3. Creswell John W., Research Design-Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches
4. Hammersley Martyn, The Dilemma of Qualitative Method
5. Hellevik Ottar, Introduction to Causal Analysis
6. Yin Robert K., Case Study Research