My Guide in Writing a Research Proposal

1. First, before any final writing can be begin, set your goal and objectives.
You should coordinate with your adviser with this. Check if your ideas are in
line with his. Also, you should have a rough methodology in mind, and check
for the possible needed materials and equipment, and where could you avail
said things. For the needed chemicals, if it is not readily available in the lab
(either the research lab, or ANY USC lab), order as early as possible, because
those chemicals will be delivered very very slowly. The late arrival of
chemicals is one of the reasons people dont graduate on time (in my batch).
As mentioned, dont limit yourself with the research lab, maybe the chemistry
lab has the needed chemical, or maybe the bio or the pharma labjust check
in case, because the ordered chemicals are being delivered through snails
(haha).
I cannot stress enough how important setting the right goal/s and objectives
is. Basically, this is the one youre selling to the panel. Many of my
batchmates had to rewrite their entire research proposal because their
proposed goals were either too complicated or unclear.
Through your research on the topic, you could identify knowledge gaps.
However, not all gaps should be pursued. Some would be unattainable due to
constraints (material, equipment, costs, etc.) and some are not opt for an
undergraduate thesis (too complicated). So, the knowledge gap that is
undergraduate level and is attainable, would become your goal. The
objectives then should help answer the goal. Around 3 objectives are enough.
The goal is this big topic, and then the objectives are the small experiments
that answer the goal. I think a check on how suitable your goal and objectives
are, is to compare them to example theses posted on the research lab. If you
think the scope and amount of work done is similar to those, then the goal
and objectives could be viable.
As an example, let me use Jayhiels thesis.
They found a knowledge gap that a certain process of extraction of pectin
was not yet applied to mango peel powder. So, their goal is to study the
simultaneous extraction and de-esterification (the process) of pectin from
mango peel powder. Their objectives (they have 4 objectives) are mainly

classified into two: (1) the extraction, and de-esterification process itself, and
(2) the quality of the product (pectin).
How would they describe the process? They came up with two measures
(which are their objectives): (a) rate (or effect of time) of de-esterification, (b)
product recovery (basically yield, which in turn describe the extraction
process).
For the quality of pectin, they also have two: (c) Gal-A content, (d) molecular
weight.
I gave this example because the interrelation of the objectives and goal are
clear in their thesis.
Adviser communication is important. A set of fresh eyes, who may be an
expert on the said topic could give a new perspective. If, by any case, the
adviser is of no use (OOPS), you could bounce off your ideas to any expert in
the field. In our case, we actually contacted an expert in air pollution, who is
an alumni of USC, and she actually replied to our e-mails. Some of these
experts gladly help out to those seeking knowledge on their field.
If youre happy with your goal and objectives, then proceed to writing the
proposal. Basically, there are two major parts of the proposal: theoretical
background (TB) and methodology. My tip is just have one writer, or
designate one person to do copywriting/editing to make sure there is a
uniform writing style and there is fluidity of ideas. Since there would be only
two of you, I suggest one could write TB (preferably the better writer) and the
other could write the methodology. Then, final editing of the proposal by the
one who wrote the TB, to make sure the methodology matches the TB. The
panel appreciates a uniform and fluid proposal, it makes their job less
tasking.
I think by now, you have read several articles regarding your topic. If you
havent found the magical site that is sci-hub, then youre missing out. The
current url is sci-hub.bz. In case you havent used this site, all you have to do
is put the DOI of the article you need. I think the site can go as far as articles
from 1970. One tip on researching articles is to search an article that
summarizes a certain topic. Then, from there, search for its references. I
know it is tempting just to read the summarized version and then cite the
thousands of references it has, but please try to read those reference articles
too (dont be lazy XD). Also, dont forget about the Philippine journals, or
even USC research, though they may be harder to access. If youre continuing

the research of the previous batch, then it helps to have a copy of their paper
(but please dont plagiarize).
It may be also tempting to just copy-paste paragraphs right? Just dont. First,
plagiarism is bad (if caught, XD) and there is TurnItIn, the score there will be
integrated to the final grade of the proposal. Second, it makes the proposal
feel like a mosaic, not uniform in thought.
2. In writing the TB, one tip is to organize the read articles by topic, or put
tags to them, associate certain keywords to each article. It is seldom that one
article will have all the needed ideas, but you may have noticed some articles
have the same topic. So group them that way. Taking Jayhiels thesis, a
sample classification on the articles they read would be: pectins, sources of
pectin, process of extraction, etc. And from these classification, you could
build your theoretical background. Or it could work the other way around,
have an outline for the theoretical background or list the main topics to
discuss, and then search articles related to those topics. I prefer the first one
because it gives you a more in-depth background on the topic.
From the categorized main topics, use those to tell a story. Lead the reader to
the idea that you wanted, establishing a context and a perspective. A usual
arrangement of topics is to have the big vague topic (for example: Pectin) in
the first paragraph, and then use the subsequent paragraphs deal with the
specifics (for example: sources of pectin). Give some teaser on the
significance and methodology of the study. From Jayhiels thesis for example,
why pectin is important and how is pectin prepared traditionally. Lastly
highlight the knowledge gap which then leads to the statement of goals
and objectives. For example, there is this simultaneous process but it is not
yet tested on mango peel powder, so the goal of this study is to(something
like that XD). Note that the main purpose of the theoretical background is
give related information so that the reader may understand the study.
One major mistake in writing the TB is to cite unrelated references, just for
the sake of citing references (kay sayang daw ang gibasa). That is a big no.
Understand that though you may not cite it in the paper, some additional
knowledge of the topic could be handy, especially if the panel asks you to
expound on some points of the paper. Use only those articles that help the
thought at hand. Also, if you find yourself citing the same research over and
over again, ask yourself how your research is different from that research.

Another problem in TB writing is it tends to be very long. If it cant be

avoided, then a long TB is fine. But should it be? It all goes back to the outline
you have. A tip from Sir Cabatingan is that whenever you write a paragraph,
ask yourself, does this relate to the outline I have? In the grand scheme of
things, does this sentence serve a purpose? I think some writers have this
difficulty especially if theyre used to creative writing. One thing that I could
not forget from my highschool technical writing class it the Bikini principle.
Yep, it sounds green. The analogy of my teacher is that technical/academic
writing is similar to a bikini small/short yet able to cover the needed areas.
In the context of the TB, this is principle has an additional point, it should also
tease about the other parts of the paper. TB should be comprehensive yet
concise as possible. Based from the rubrics given by Sir Cabs: Identifies,
summarizes, and synthesizes relevant research in constructing an
understanding of current state of the field of study. In that note, use the
rubrics as a guide whether the TB at hand meets the standards.
Around major mistake in the TB is add unrelated graphics. For example:
Figure 1 shows a typical Philippine mango. That picture is useless, since (I
think) everyone knows what a mango looks like and the picture does not
relate to any idea (on pectin or on extraction). A useful graphic would be:
Figure 1 is a diagram on how simultaneous extraction and de-estrification of
pectin. Dont forget to cite the source.
In the topic of graphics, diagrams are very useful tools to present as much
information for a small space. You could make your own diagram or use
anothers work. Tables are also useful in presenting organized information.
The results of previous studies could be presented in a table.
3. The writing of methodology varies from one research to another, so I could
only limited tips on this. Also, the nature of my thesis gave me little
experience on planning experiments (since all we had to do is gather PM10
samples, analyze, etc).
In the methodology, it starts with the research design, which should have a
diagram showing the overall flow of the experiment. Use the objectives to
search for specific methodology. Note that the methodology should be
standard, or have been applied to other studies. You could consult Maam
Napisa on this. Shes the expert on methods of analysis. She could give you
suggestions on how to spend less, etc. The specifics of the methods are in the

Annexes, like the standard procedures, preparation of reagents, etc. Also, in

there you could add pictures/schematics of the equipment etc.
Also, use diagrams in visualizing the flow of the experiment. For example, a
certain test requires a sequence of steps, so a diagram is helpful so that
every step is done, and not forgotten.
One thing people neglect is the workplan. The workplan is a useful tool in
planning the thesis. There, you could assign a person to do a specific
experiment, etc. Check if the allotted time is reasonable, and person in
charge can deliver the said task.