Business

Research Methods

:
The Research Proposal
Research Proposal

 A writtenstatement of the research

design that includes a statement
explaining the purpose of the study.
 Detailed outline of procedures
associated with a particular methodology
Research Proposal
The purpose of proposal is: -
 To present the problem to be researched and
its importance.
 To discuss the research efforts of others who
have worked on related problem.
 To suggest the data necessary for solving the
problem and how that data will be gathered,
treated and interpreted.
 A contract proposal must represent its plan
services & credentials to win the proposal.
 A proposal is also called work plan, prospectus,
outline, and statement of intent or draft plan.
Research Proposal

A Proposal tells:
 What will be done ?
 Why it will be done ?
 How it will be done?
 Where it will be done?
 To whom it will be done?
 What is the benefit of doing it?
Research Proposal
SPONSOR USES
 Every research has a sponsor in one form or another.
A student researcher is responsible to class Instructor.
Doctoral candidate is responsible to committee. In
corporate setting researcher is responsible to
department or management of organization..
University, Govt or corporate – sponsored research
use grant committee to evaluate work.

 Proposal is first step in evaluation process; it allows

the sponsors to assess the sincerity of your purpose,
design, background material and fitness of
undertaking the prefect & compares with computers.
Research Proposal

 Proposal also provides a basis for

sponsor to evaluate the result of a
project by comparing it with find product.

 External
contract starts from RFP
(Request For Proposal )
Research Proposal
 Researcher Benefits.
 Prompts the researcher to assess previous approaches
to the problem and revise the plan accordingly.
 Opportunity to spot flaws in the previous work i.e errors
in logic, assumption or even problems.
 Accepted proposal serves as guide to researcher
throughout the project
 Forces time & budget estimates.

Proposal Complexity
 Depending on the type of project, the sponsoring individual or institution, and the cost of
project; different levels of complexity are required for proposals to be judged.
 PROPOSAL COMPLEXITY
Complexity

Type Least Most

Student Term paper Master’s thesis Doctoral

thesis

Internal Exploratory Small Scale Large Scale Study

study Study

External Exploratory Small Scale Large Scale

contract research contract research Govt. Sponsored
research
Types of Research Proposals
 InternalProposal: Done for company by
research department.
 Brief in nature
 To solve problem, make decision, improvement.
 Executive survey essential
 Schedules & budgets.
 External Proposal :
 Important section of external proposal includes
objectives, design, qualification, schedule,
budget executive survey, letter of transmittal.
Structure of Research Proposal

1. Executive Summary:- Brief statement of

problem, research objectives / research
question & benefits of your approach.
2. Problem Statement:- State the problem,
background consequences importance of
problem. Restriction areas of problems,
which will not be discussed.
3. Research Objectives:- Purpose of
investigation, what is being planned by
research approach. It can be stated as the
research questions. List the objectives either
in order of importance or general terms first.
Structure of Research Proposal

4. Literature Review:- Examines the present or

past research studies, company data, industry
reports, do a brief review not comprehensive.
5. Importance / Benefits of Study
6. Research Design
• Qualitative research
• Quantitative methods
 Questionnaires
 interviews
Structure of Research Proposal

7. Qualification Of Researchers: - Begin

with principal investigator, experience of
previous research done. Relevant business
& technical societies to which researcher
belongs can be mentioned.
8. Budget:- Provide it as required by the
sponsor not more than two pages. Don’t
forget to include cost of proposal writing into
your fee. Also cost of publication & deleting
of final report.
Structure of Research Proposal

9. Schedule:- Time table of major phases of

project.

10. Facilities & special resources:-

Some projects require special facilities or
resources that should be described in detail
e.g focus groups, CATI list all these.
Structure of Research Proposal
11. Project Management:- Show the sponsor
that research team is organized & can do it
efficiently. Include the following:-
 Team’s Org.
 Management procedure & control for
Research Project.
 Examples of mgt & tech reports
 Research team relationship with sponsor
 Financial & legal responsibility
 Management competence
Structure of Research Proposal

12. Bibliography :- Projects that require

literature review, provide bibliography as
required.

13. Appendices
 Glossary

 Measurement instrument
 Other
Assignment

Prepare research proposal on your topic

and submit it before the mid term exams.