Topic Writing and

Presenting
8 Proposals
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
1. Define what a research proposal is;
2. List the questions that should be addressed by a research proposal;
3. Outline the steps for writing a good research proposal; and
4. Explain other types of research proposals.

INTRODUCTION
For any student writing a research paper, coming up with a good proposal is the
most important step. The quality of the proposal can be the deciding factor in
getting a proposal accepted or rejected. Unfortunately, not many students realise
what writing a research proposal entails; nor do they fully understand its
importance and significance. A badly-written proposal can doom a project even
if it somehow gets through the thesis supervisory committee. On the other hand,
a well-written proposal not only promises success for the project but also speaks
volumes about your potential as a researcher. This topic aims to provide you
with some basic skills in trying to write good research proposals. It explains what
a research proposal is, the questions it should address and the steps for writing a
good research proposal. You will also be introduced to general guidelines for
writing other types of proposals.

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8.1 WHAT IS A RESEARCH PROPOSAL?

A research proposal is intended to convince others that you have a research
project worth doing and that you have the skills and competency to successfully
complete it. Generally, it should contain information about all the key elements
involved in the research. Regardless of the topic and the methodology, all
research proposals should address the following questions (please refer to
Figure 8.1):

Figure 8.1: Questions to be addressed by research proposals

(a) What are You Studying?

Your research proposal should identify the subject or topic of research. You
need to inform the supervisory committee of your intent what is it that
you wish to study.

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(b) Who is It For?

You need to identify the stakeholders involved in the research project
who is funding the project, possible sponsors, etc.

(c) What Do You Wish to Do?

Outline clearly what you intend to do once approval is given.

(d) What Do You Hope to Accomplish?

This relates to the significance of your research project. What are your goals
in carrying out this research? How will the research findings contribute to
the field of knowledge in general, or benefit stakeholders and the nation?

(e) Why Do You Want to Do It?

Explain your reasons for doing the study, including possible benefits
accruing from doing it.

(f) How are You Going to Do It?

Describe the procedures and methods you would use to gather data and
data analysis, including the tests to be carried out.

In a nutshell, you need to convince your reader and the supervisory committee
that you have an important research idea, a good grasp of the relevant literature
and major issues, and a sound methodology.

8.2 ELEMENTS OF A RESEARCH PROPOSAL

You need to have a clear plan about your research proposal from the outset of
your project. Be very clear about the main elements you wish to put into your
proposal even though it is possible, indeed probable, that there may be changes
required at some later date. Figure 8.2 summarises the main elements that should
be found in a good research proposal.

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Figure 8.2: Elements of a research proposal

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Basically, your research proposal should have:

(a) A cover page, with the subject heading, your name as the writer, the degree
you are working for, and the name of the institution conferring it.

(b) A problem statement, i.e. the idea or research area that you propose to
investigate.

(c) Limitations of study. You need to define the limits of your research project
in terms of scope, sampling, questions asked and methods employed.

(d) A literature review of important works already carried out in the field so as
to give your readers a state-of-the-art perspective.

(e) A detailed research plan, with an outline of appropriate research methods.

(f) A time line for the various stages of the research.

(g) A statement on the type and availability of resources you intend to use for
your research.

If there are major changes to the research proposal later, they need to be
submitted to the appropriate parties (in this case, your tutor, lecturer or dean)
for approval. You must always remember that time spent on organising or
re-organising a proposal is never time wasted as it enhances the project and helps
avoid problems with examiners.

ACTIVITY 8.1

Have you ever written a research proposal? If you have, share your
experience with your friends at the next tutorial session.

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8.3 WRITING A RESEARCH PROPOSAL

Bear in mind that your research proposal should fit in with the needs, goals and
objectives of the organisation/institution/clients commissioning the research. To
do this, you need to consider the following as presented in the next paragraphs:

8.3.1 Stakeholders and their Concerns

Writing and implementing a proposal is hard work. Often, a research is the
fulfilment of ones dreams and desires, and the researcher requires a great deal of
passion and dedication to see a proposal through to completion.

However, although passion is well and good, it is not enough. In the proposal
writing endeavour, the backing and support of the supervisor or institution one
works at is almost always necessary.

Think of the process from the researchers point of view. As a researcher, you
are going to invest your resources into achieving some goals in an area of study
that interests you. You are going to enter into a contract with your tutor or
supervisor. You would want assurances that the supervisor or whoever you are
dealing with would be able to help you fulfil that contract.

In short, a research project involves several parties besides you (the proposal
writer) the people who will supervise the project (your tutor or supervisor), the
people in the institution you are working for, and the people in the organisation
where the research is being carried out. All these people will affect the success of
your research project, so you need to consider their concerns.

8.3.2 Critical Factors in Proposal Evaluation

When writing a research proposal, it is important to have a clear-cut evaluation
process that can help you to clarify goals, define objectives and refine procedures
during the initial proposal development stage.

Evaluation serves a number of useful purposes:

(a) It clarifies the objectives of the research project;

(b) It enhances understanding of the steps and processes required by the

project;

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(c) It provides people with information that will help them make decisions
about the project; and

(d) It helps to measure if, and how, goals and objectives can be met.

Overall, the evaluation assists everyone in understanding whether the project is

feasible and if not, then why and what may hinder its success.

As you assess your project proposal, ask yourself the following questions:

(a) What do you hope to learn from an evaluation of your project proposal?

(b) What does success mean in terms of the objectives developed for this
project?

(c) What are its goals and objectives?

(d) Who is going to gather data for the evaluation and analyse the information?
Are you going to hire someone from within or outside?

(e) How are you going to change the project activities if needed?

(f) Who is the evaluation for and who will make use of the findings from the
evaluation?

8.3.3 Putting a Proposal Together

This is the most important stage in the proposal writing process. The first
problem is to get the title right. Let us look at some probable titles:

(a) Weak title: Three Plays by A. Samad Said

Better title: A Comparison of Female Characters in Three Plays by
A. Samad Said

(b) Weak title: Improving English Education in Primary Schools

Better title: Innovative Instructional Materials to Improve English
Education in Primary Schools

(c) Weak title: New Perspectives in Learning

Better title: New Perspectives in Learning: A Programme to Facilitate
the Retention and Graduation of Distance Learners at Open
University Malaysia

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SELF-CHECK 8.1

Based on the examples above, why do you think some titles are
considered weak and some better?

Below are some tips to refine your research proposal:

(a) Keep filtering and redefining your title and content so that it becomes a
doable project.

(b) Talk about your ideas to your friends or supervisor. Talking helps to clarify
ideas.

(c) Write brief notes about your idea in one or two pages, especially on your
area of interest.

(d) Read through your proposal and put it aside for a while, then come back to
it and reread it; reflect on whether you have done a good job.

(e) Keep reading spend time in the library, read through various texts and
attend to your areas of interest. Take notes (remember to reference the
texts).

(f) Mull over the write-up because you might find things you wish to change.

(g) Sort out the various sub-topics so that they are in order.

(h) Carry out referencing so that you acknowledge other peoples work.

ACTIVITY 8.2
What are some of the challenges you might encounter when writing
proposals? List a few, and discuss with your friends at the next tutorial
session.

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8.4 OTHER TYPES OF PROPOSALS

Bear in mind that there are other types of proposals besides research proposals.
This section touches briefly on some of them.

8.4.1 Formal and Informal Proposals

A formal proposal is usually submitted by or through an organisation such as a
school, college, university, non-profit organisation or museum to an organisation
such as a foundation, funding agency or corporation. For example, a non-profit
organisation may write and submit a research proposal for a project to a funding
agency which will then evaluate it and decide if the project should be funded.

Very often, a proposal begins with a person acting upon a genuine desire to fulfil
a need and do something for the benefit of others. Motivated by deep personal
convictions, people experiencing this strong desire recognise that in order to
solve a pressing problem, they may need to conduct research. They then go all
out to devote time and energy to satisfy this burning desire.

However, additional resources are often needed to achieve the desired goals.
This can be in the form of funding, support from people including peers, and
clearance for approval.

A formal proposal is written in a business-like manner. It is straightforward,

direct and precise. It informs readers about the purpose, aims and benefits
accruing from the study. A formal proposal also means that you need to know
exactly what you are going to do so that when you present it to the board or
funding agency, you can tell them everything they may need to know about it
from the significance of the project to research methodology and instrument.

On the other hand, an informal proposal, although written neatly and in a

structured manner like a formal proposal, is usually done on a smaller scale and
normally carries less weight than a formal proposal.

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In terms of preparation, both types of proposals require almost the same amount
of time, but the informal proposal is not aimed at seeking funding or for an
academic degree. It is done to come up with some findings from a small project
that can be completed sooner than a bigger project of a formal proposal.

SELF-CHECK 8.2
What are the differences between informal and formal proposals?

8.4.2 Business Proposals

Business in the nineties means fierce competition, aggressive marketing

and strategic alliances. The extent to which a business succeeds or fails often
depends on that business ability to be awarded contracts or to attract other
businesses into joint ventures or strategic alliances.
June Campbell, 2002

In any business, proposal writing is a lengthy process and costs time and money.
It takes researchers a long time to create business proposal templates but once
this is done, you should be able to present a business proposal that is well laid
out, looks professional and is compelling. With the right proposal, you stand a
better chance of winning a contract.

According to June Campbell (2002), business proposals are developed for one of
two possible reasons:

(a) A business company has called for tenders or has invited you to submit a
Request for Proposal (RFP). In this case, your goal is to be shortlisted,
meaning that you will be one of three or four bidders called for interviews.
Your proposal must stand out among possibly dozens of submissions.

(b) You have an idea, concept or project that you want to propose to someone
with the goal of gaining support, funding or an alliance. In this case, there
is no competitive bidding process. However, your proposal must make a
favourable impression and must explain all aspects of your proposed
concept clearly and quickly. A document that is vaguely written, difficult to
understand or that presents more questions than answers is likely to be
discarded promptly.

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Campbell further states that there are certain guidelines to producing a good,
workable business proposal. Keep these guidelines in mind and you will be off to
a good start. The guidelines are illustrated in Figure 8.3:

Figure 8.3: Guidelines for a good business proposal

8.4.3 Proposals for Feasibility Study

A feasibility study, which is another form of business proposal aims to give
readers an overview of the primary issues related to a business idea. The purpose
is to identify any make or break issues that may prevent your business
from being successful. In other words, a feasibility study determines whether a
business idea makes sense or not.

A feasibility study can also be considered a brief, formal analysis of a prospective

business idea. The goal is to give the entrepreneur a clear evaluation of the
potential for sales and profit from a particular idea. Feasibility studies, thus,
focus on market size and shares, competing products or services, the pricing
structure and the likely sales and profits of the prospective business.

As putting together a business plan is a significant investment of time and

money, you need to make sure that there are no major blocks to your business
idea before you make that investment. This is where market research proposals
and feasibility studies come in. Such proposals usually focus on the following
aspects:
Market issues;
Organisational/technical issues; and
Financial issues.

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(a) Market Issues

Market analysis needs to be conducted because it is critical to the success of
the business. If you cannot substantiate, through research, that there is
adequate demand for your product or service, then your project is not
feasible. And if the project is not feasible, you should, perhaps, cease
pursuing the matter altogether.

Your market analysis should answer these questions:

(i) What precisely constitutes the market?

(ii) Is the market growing, shrinking, or staying the same?

(iii) Is the market you have identified big enough to make it worth your
time investing in this business?

Once these market issues have been addressed, you can look at the
organisational and technological aspects.

The purpose of market analysis is to thoroughly acquaint yourself

with all aspects of your market so that you can formulate a plan to
capture a share of it.
Harold, J. McLaughlin, 2002

(b) Organisational/Technical Issues

Feasibility studies need to explore the organisational and technology needs
of the proposed business. This includes looking into organisational structure
and human resource as well as the equipment needed and costs involved.

Keep in mind that technology does not necessarily mean complex machinery;
if your business simply needs a personal computer, printer and fax machine,
then those are your technological needs.

(c) Financial Issues

Once your analyses of marketing, organisational and technical issues have
been completed, you can research key financial issues such as start-up costs
(costs incurred at the start of a new business), operating costs (rent, utilities
and wages), revenue projections, financing and profitability analysis.

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To sum up, your feasibility study proposal should:

(i) Map out a projects strengths and potential;
(ii) Analyse and predict the impact of expansion;
(iii) Highlight the pros and cons of your idea; and
(iv) Project profits and growth.

Figure 8.4 shows a sample table of content for a feasibility study proposal:

Figure 8.4: Sample of feasibility study

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A research proposal aims to convince others that you have a worthwhile

research project and that you have the competency and skills to successfully
complete it.

Every proposal addresses certain key questions in research what, for whom,
how, why, etc.

A research proposal comprises key elements including an introduction,

problem statement, research methodology, analysis, conclusion and
bibliography

Some research studies require you to find sponsors to fund the project.

Proposals can be formal or informal. Informal proposals usually do not aim

to get funding or an academic degree.

Business or marketing research proposals need to be clearly written in order

to help you win that contract.

A feasibility study is another form of business proposal. It can be considered

a brief formal analysis of a prospective business idea to determine whether it
makes sense.

Business proposal Informal proposal

Feasibility study Research proposal
Formal proposal

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Geever, J. C. (2004). The foundation centres guide to proposal writing (4th ed.).
New York: The Foundation Centre.

Krathwohl, D. (1988). How to prepare a research proposal: Guidelines for

funding and dissertations in the social and behavioural sciences (3rd ed.).
Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press.

Larson, V. (1986). How to write a winning proposal. San Diego, CA: Classic
House.

Meador, R. (1991). Guidelines for preparing proposals (2nd ed.). Chelsea, Mich:
Lewis Publishers.

Stewart, R. D., & Stewart, A. L. (1992). Proposal preparation (2nd ed.). NY: Wiley.

Weirsma, W. (2002). Research methods in education: An introduction. Boston:

Allyn and Bacon.

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