Research Proposal paper for Technical Writing

Definition
The goal of a research proposal is to present and justify the need to study a research problem and to present the practical ways in which the proposed study should be conducted. The design elements and procedures for conducting the research are governed by standards within the predominant discipline in which the problem resides so guidelines for research proposals are more exacting and less formal than a general project proposal. Research proposals contain extensive literature reviews. They must provide persuasive evidence that a need exists for the proposed study. In addition to providing a rationale a proposal describes detailed methodology for conducting the research consistent with requirements of the professional or academic field and a statement on anticipated outcomes and/or benefits derived from the study’s completion.
Krathwohl David R.How to Prepare a Dissertation Proposal: Suggestions for Students in Education and the Social and Behavioral Sciences. Syracuse NY: Syracuse University Press 2005.
How to Approach Writing a Research Proposal
Your professor may assign the task of writing a research proposal for the following reasons:
A proposal should contain all the key elements involved in designing a completed research study with sufficient information that allows readers to assess the validity and usefulness of your proposed study. The only elements missing from a research proposal are the findings of the study and your analysis of those results. Finally an effective proposal is judged on the quality of your writing and therefore it is important that your writing is coherent clear and compelling.
Regardless of the research problem you are investigating and the methodology you choose all research proposals must address the following questions:
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Procter Margaret.The Academic Proposal. The Lab Report. University College Writing Centre. University of Toronto; Sanford Keith.Information for Students: Writing a Research Proposal. Baylor University; Wong Paul T. P.How to Write a Research Proposal. International Network on Personal Meaning. Trinity Western University;Writing Academic Proposals: Conferences Articles and Books. The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University;Writing a Research Proposal. University Library. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Structure and Writing Style
Beginning the Proposal Process
As with writing a regular academic paper research proposals are generally organized the same way throughout most social science disciplines. Proposals vary between ten and twenty-five pages in length. However before you begin read the assignment carefully and if anything seems unclear ask your professor whether there are any specific requirements for organizing and writing the proposal.
A good place to begin is to ask yourself a series of questions:
In general a compelling research proposal should document your knowledge of the topic and demonstrate your enthusiasm for conducting the study. Approach it with the intention of leaving your readers feeling like–Wow that’s an exciting idea and I cant wait to see how it turns out!
In general your proposal should include the following sections:
I. Introduction
In the real world of higher education a research proposal is most often written by scholars seeking grant funding for a research project or it’s the first step in getting approval to write a doctoral dissertation. Even if this is just a course assignment treat your introduction as the initial pitch of an idea or a thorough examination of the significance of a research problem. After reading the introduction your readers should not only have an understanding of what you want to do but they should also be able to gain a sense of your passion for the topic and be excited about the study’s possible outcomes. Note that most proposals do not include an abstract [summary] before the introduction.
Think about your introduction as a narrative written in one to three paragraphs that succinctly answers the following four questions:
II. Background and Significance
This section can be melded into your introduction or you can create a separate section to help with the organization and narrative flow of your proposal. This is where you explain the context of your proposal and describe in detail why it’s important. Approach writing this section with the thought that you cant assume your readers will know as much about the research problem as you do. Note that this section is not an essay going over everything you have learned about the topic; instead you must choose what is relevant to help explain the goals for your study.
To that end while there are no hard and fast rules you should attempt to address some or all of the following key points:
III. Literature Review
Connected to the background and significance of your study is a section of your proposal devoted to a more deliberate review and synthesis of prior studies related to the research problem under investigation. The purpose here is to place your project within the larger whole of what is currently being explored while demonstrating to your readers that your work is original and innovative. Think aboutwhat questions other researchers have asked what methods they have used and what is your understanding of their findings and where stated their recommendations. Do not be afraid to challenge the conclusions of prior research. Assess what you believe is missing and state how previous research has failed to adequately examine the issue that your study addresses. For more information on writing literature reviewsGO HERE.
Since a literature review is information dense it is crucial that this section is intelligently structured to enable a reader to grasp the key arguments underpinning your study in relation to that of other researchers. A good strategy is to break the literature into conceptual categories [themes] rather than systematically describing groups of materials one at a time. Note thatconceptual categories generally reveal themselves after you have read most of the pertinent literature on your topic so adding new categories is an on-going process of discovery as you read more studies. How do you know you’ve covered the keyconceptual categoriesunderlying the research literature? Generally you can have confidence thatall of the significant conceptual categorieshave been identified if you start to see repetition in the conclusions or recommendations that are being made.
To help frame your proposal’s literature review here are the five Cs of writing a literature review:
IV. Research Design and Methods
This sectionmustbe well-written and logically organized because you are not actually doing the research yet your reader has to have confidence that it is worth pursuing. The reader will never have a study outcome from which to evaluate whether your methodological choices were the correct ones. Thus the objective here is to convince the reader that your overall research design and methods of analysis will correctly address the problem and that the methods will provide the means to effectively interpret the potential results. Your design and methods should be unmistakably tied to the specific aims of your study.
Describe the overall research design by building upon and drawing examples from your review of the literature. Consider not only methods that other researchers have used but methods of data gathering that have not been used but perhaps could be. Be specific about the methodological approaches you plan to undertake to obtain information the techniques you would use to analyze the data and the tests of external validity to which you commit yourself [i.e. the trustworthiness by which you can generalize from your study to other people places events and/or periods of time].
When describing the methods you will use be sure to cover the following:
V. Preliminary Suppositions and Implications
Just because you don’t have to actually conduct the study and analyze the results it doesn’t mean you can skip talking about the analytical process and potential implications. The purpose of this section is to argue how and in what ways you believe your research will refine revise or extend existing knowledge in the subject area under investigation. Depending on the aims and objectives of your study describe how the anticipated results will impact future scholarly research theory practice forms of interventions or policymaking. Note that such discussions may have either substantive [a potential new policy] theoretical [a potential new understanding] or methodological [a potential new way of analyzing] significance.When thinking about the potential implications of your study ask the following questions:
NOTE: This section should not delve into idle speculation opinionor be formulated on the basis of unclear evidence. The purpose is to reflect upon gaps or understudied areas of the current literature and describe how your proposed research contributes to a new understanding of the research problem should the study be implemented as designed.
VI. Conclusion
The conclusion reiterates the importance or significance of your proposal and provides a brief summary of the entire study. This section should be only one or two paragraphs long emphasizing why the research problem is worth investigating why your research study is unique and how it should advance existing knowledge.
Someone reading this section should come away with an understanding of:
VII.Citations
As with any scholarly research paper you must cite the sources you used in composing your proposal. In a standard research proposal this section can take two forms so consult with your professor about which one is preferred.
In either case this section should testify to the fact that you did enough preparatory work to make sure the project will complement and not duplicate the efforts of other researchers. Start a new page and use the heading References or Bibliography centered at the top of the page. Cited works should always use a standard format that follows the writing style advised by the discipline of your course [i.e. education=APA; history=Chicago etc] or that is preferred by your professor. This section normally does not count towards the total page length of your research proposal.
For Unit VI your assignment is to start writing a research proposal. This process should begin exactly like it sounds with research. Your research should help to support your argument not replace it. In other words be prepared to use research within your paragraphs to support the ideas that you present to your reader. For instance if you propose buying a new vehicle for your business then do your research to show why this vehicle is the best choice. Use facts to show how it will make your employees more productive how it will make the job easier and how it will help the company grow that bottom line.
This unit requires you to locate four sources and write the heading purpose summary and reference page for the proposal. Remember to use APA format to cite your content within your work using parenthetical documentation and at the end with reference citations. If you would like more assistance with writing reference citations
Unit VI Assignment: The company you work for (Logistic and shipping) has decided to make a major purchase. This purchase can be software technology equipment training or anything else needed for the companys day-to-day operations. Your supervisor has assigned you the task of creating a research proposal for the company to help guide them in this purchase. Before you begin writing the proposal do your research gathering information from at least four different sources. Two of these sources should be located in the CSU Online Library: 2 are uploaded
The remaining two sources can come from the CSU Online Library or they can be websites such as the website for the company that sells what you are purchasing. In this unit your goal is to begin the proposal. In the next unit you will complete the proposal. For this assignment submit the first two pages of the proposal which include the heading information and sections for the purpose and summary. You can use the example proposal: This assignment should be at least two pages in length plus a reference page. Be sure to follow all APA guidelines for citing outside sources.