Page 156 - DLIS401_METHODOLOGY_OF_RESEARCH_AND_STATISTICAL_TECHNIQUES

Unit 11: Nominal and Operational Methods

3. Instruments - What kind of measuring instruments or questionnaires do you use? Why Notes
do you choose them? Are they valid and reliable?
4. Procedure - How do you plan to carry out your study? What activities are involved?
How long does it take?

Results

Obviously you do not have results at the proposal stage. However, you need to have some
idea about what kind of data you will be collecting, and what statistical procedures will be
used in order to answer your research question or test you hypothesis.

Discussion
It is important to convince your reader of the potential impact of your proposed research. You
need to communicate a sense of enthusiasm and confidence without exaggerating the merits
of your proposal. That is why you also need to mention the limitations and weaknesses of the
proposed research, which may be justified by time and financial constraints as well as by the
early developmental stage of your research area.

Common Mistakes in Proposal Writing
1. Failure to provide the proper context to frame the research question.
2. Failure to delimit the boundary conditions for your research.

3. Failure to cite landmark studies.
4. Failure to accurately present the theoretical and empirical contributions by other researchers.
5. Failure to stay focused on the research question.
6. Failure to develop a coherent and persuasive argument for the proposed research.

7. Too much detail on minor issues, but not enough detail on major issues.
8. Too much rambling — going “all over the map” without a clear sense of direction. (The
best proposals move forward with ease and grace like a seamless river.)
9. Too many citation lapses and incorrect references.

10. Too long or too short.
11. Failing to follow the APA style.
12. Slopping writing.

Task Point out the common mistakes in Proposal Writing.

11.4 Summary

• The quality of your research proposal depends not only on the quality of your proposed
project, but also on the quality of your proposal writing. A good research project may
run the risk of rejection simply because the proposal is poorly written. Therefore, it pays
if your writing is coherent, clear and compelling.
• If the research problem is framed in the context of a general, rambling literature review,
then the research question may appear trivial and uninteresting. However, if the same

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