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© Elspeth McFadzean 2007

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Developing a

Proposal: A Nine Step

Process

Dr Elspeth McFadzean


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Developing a Proposal: A Nine Step Process

Introduction

Like any journey, writing a dissertation requires a map so that the author knows which route

to take. It is better to map out this route using an atlas before commencing the journey than

to travel half way to the destination and find that you are lost. If you ever reach this point

when undertaking a research project, the consequences could be disastrous. At best, it could

mean a lot of extra work and at worst; it could mean that you wouldn’t complete the thesis.

Thus, it is much better to map your journey out first before starting your trip.

In the film industry, before the cameras are even turned on, the script is written and the film

is developed into a storyboard. This storyboard is similar to a comic strip; it not only tells the

story but it shows what the scenery looks like, who the characters are, where they are

standing in the scene, what they are doing and who they are talking to. In other words, the

storyboard acts as a map; follow the instructions that the storyboard provides – put the

cameras at the correct angles, direct the actors to the appropriate spots and ensure that they

follow the script – and there will soon be the makings of a film.

A research storyboard can be developed into an effective proposal if it is carried out properly.

This chapter presents a series of steps to help you develop both your storyboard and your

proposal.


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Step 1: Develop a Thesis Aim

The first piece of information that you need before going on a journey is the name of your

destination. Likewise, a piece of research must have an end point. In fact, a piece of research

is very similar to solving a problem. VanGundy (1988, p. 4) suggests that no problem can be

solved unless the following preconditions exist:

• The existence of a gap between the present situation and the desired situation

• The awareness that this gap exists

• The motivation to reduce the gap

• The ability to measure the size of the gap to ensure that it is decreasing

• The skills and resources required to close the gap.

This is exactly the same for a research project. In order to fulfil the first precondition, the

researcher must identify his or her desired situation. In other words, he or she must develop

an aim. In general, the aim of a research project should be SMART (Phillips, 1992):

• specific;

• measurable;

• activity and achievement based;

• realistic; and


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• should be given with a specific time frame.

Thus, when you develop your aim, you must ensure that it is not too broad. For instance, the

following aim is far too broad:

The aim of this research is to discover the meaning of life, the universe and

everything.

This is not a SMART aim and it may be presented in jest here but it is a common problem

amongst novice researchers that they tend to develop aims that are too extensive. The

following potential research aims are also too broad:

• To compare the organisational cultures of two merging firms – how would you define

and measure culture? You could narrow this down by choosing one specific aspect of

culture to measure. For example, you could examine the norms, beliefs and

behaviours of two small sales groups – one from each company.

• To develop a marketing strategy for selling automobiles online – this might be

possible but you would need to examine other effective marketing strategies in order

to ascertain the strengths of each so that these could be put into your own marketing

strategy. In addition, you would need to examine the online car market and find out

what variables you need to consider before developing your strategy. You may also

want to explore the varying competitive elements within this market together with

customer demands. As you can see, this project is now beginning to grow and it

could take quite some time to gather all the necessary information.

A research aim must also be valuable. In the first example above, the aim of the research is

to compare the cultures of two merging companies. The question is why? What is the value

of undertaking such research? How is this research going to be useful in the practical world?

What are the implications of this research for the relevant stakeholders? In fact, with a little

editing, the research aim could be amended to provide a valuable objective:


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To examine the norms, beliefs and behaviours of two merging sales groups in

order to develop some guidelines for improving the integration process.

The latter half of this sentence provides the thesis with a valuable output or product (see

Figure 1). In other words, the thesis will be completed once the guidelines for improving the

cultural integration of two merging groups have been developed. The implication of such

guidelines for practicing managers could be very beneficial.

Figure 1: The Aims and Outputs of a Research Project

The above aim, therefore, has two parts to it; a diverging component and a converging

component. The diverging aspects include collecting appropriate information on norms,

beliefs and behaviours of groups as well as information on how groups merge. The

researcher will collect this information in two ways: from the literature (developed as parts of

a literature review) and through interviews, questionnaires or other primary data collection

methods.


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The converging aspect of the aim uses this information to develop the end product of the

thesis; in this case, the integration guidelines. Thus, the data on group norms, beliefs and

behaviour as well as the methods and procedures on how groups join together can be

developed into a series of guidelines for best practice. A diverging and converging aim,

therefore, provides the researcher with a very simple route map (see Figure 2)

Figure 2: Developing your Research Aim and Value


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Step 2: Construct a Draft Product

Now that you have developed your aim, you need to design your draft product. Your

research product provides your dissertation with a valuable output. It is the culmination of

your analysis and should be something that you – or other business managers – can use in the

work place. What will your product look like? What variables will it include? Would it be,

for example:

Figure 3: Possible Research Products


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Choose and develop your draft product. It doesn’t matter whether you know what variables

should be included. The intricacies of the model will be developed from your primary data.

At this stage, you just need to develop some idea of what your product will be and what

possible variables it will include.

Figure 4: Producing your Draft Product


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Step 3: Develop your Draft Research Model

The entire research process actually consists of a series of diverging and converging

processes (see Figure 5).

Figure 5: The Research Process


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We’ve examined the dissertation’s overall aim. However, in order to fulfil this aim, you will

need to travel over a series of diverging-converging stepping stones. One such stepping stone

occurs at the end of the literature review. Here, you will need to develop a research model

and research questions. The model is constructed from the literature and as such, it will be

the foundation of your research project.

Figure 6 is an example of a research model showing the variables that can influence morale in

nursing. Again, this model does not have to be the finished article, at this stage, but you

should have some idea of what it will look like.

Figure 6: An Example of a Research Model

Source: Adapted from McFadzean and McFadzean (2005)


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Step 4: Outline your Research Questions

From the above information – your dissertation’s aims and research module – you should

now be able to develop your research questions. In this example, the research questions are

very similar to the dissertation’s aim:

• What are the variables that influence nursing morale in the Health Service?

• How can nursing morale be improved within the Health Service?

However, although these research questions are relatively focused, the area where the

research is to be undertaken is quite broad. Consequently, the researcher would need to

define his or her sample size. If a large sample size is chosen, then these research questions

are acceptable. However, if the researcher only wants to use a small sample size, then he or

she will need to specify this. For example:

The research questions for this study are:

• What are the variables that influence nursing morale in the Coronary Care Unit of a

London teaching hospital?

• How can nursing morale be improved within the Coronary Care Unit of a London

teaching hospital?

These research questions narrow the area of study down and provide a specific area of

evaluation (see Figure 7).


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Figure 7: Develop your Research Questions


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Step 5: Choose your Methodology and Research Design

There are a number of different philosophical paradigms that have been discussed in the

academic literature but the two most basic ones are Positivism and Interpretivism (Burrell

and Morgan, 1979; McFadzean, Ezingeard and Birchall, 2006; Trauth and Jessup, 2000).

These underpin the research and encourage the development of a more robust methodology,

research design and analysis strategy. A philosophical paradigm shows how you – the

researcher – perceive the world. It is this perception – as well as your research questions –

that dictate how you are going to gather your data. A Positivist paradigm tends to be

objective, like a scientific experiment, whereas an Interpretivist paradigm is socially

constructed. At the fundamental level, Positivism advocates an impartial and independent

quantitative strategy whilst Interpretivism promotes subjective, qualitative methods (see

Table 1).


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Table 1: Comparing Positivism with Interpretivism

Positivist Paradigm Interpretivist Paradigm Basic Beliefs:

The world is objective and external; made up from hard, tangible and immutable structures.

The world is subjective; it is assume that the social world is constructed from names, concepts and labels that are used to structure reality. This reality is best understood from the point of view of the individual who is involved in the behaviour or activities that are being examined.

The subject is independent from what is being observed

The subject is part of what is being observed

Science is value-free Science is driven by human interests People and their actions are defined

by the environment around them. People are completely autonomous and free-willed.

Research Strategy:

To understand the social world the researcher investigates the causal relationships between its constituent components

To understand the social world the researcher must obtain firsthand knowledge from the subjects that they are investigating. He/she must therefore get inside their subjects’ lives and acquire detailed knowledge and insight into the situation that is being examined

The researcher focuses on facts, causality and fundamental laws

The researcher focuses on meaning; he she tries to understand what is happening

A reductionist view is taken; breaks down the phenomena to their basic elements

A holistic view is taken; looks at the phenomena in totality

Formulates hypotheses and tests them

Develops ideas through induction of data

Preferred Methods:

Research tends to be based on systematic protocol and structured techniques; concepts are operationalised so that they can be measured

Research is undertaken using the appropriate multiple methods in order to provide triangulation and multiple perspectives

Large samples are used Small samples are investigated in depth or over a period of time

Quantitative methods such as questionnaires and experimentation are often used

Qualitative methods such as interviews, case studies, documentary evidence, observations and open questionnaires are often used

Results are presented using the appropriate statistical techniques

Results tend to be expressive and vivid and are presented using quotations, narratives or other descriptive text

Source: Adapted from Easterby-Smith, Thorpe and Lowe (1991); Burrell and Morgan (1979), Hirschhein and

Klein (1989) and Dhillon and Backhouse (2001)


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A research proposal should include the strategy that the investigator intends to use in order to

collect his/her data. In essence, this information should comprise:

Basic research paradigm Quantitative or Qualitative Potential research methods • Closed questionnaires

(usually consisting of closed questions and/or scales)

• Controlled experiments • Structured interviews

or

• Open questionnaires (usually consisting of open questions)

• Semi- or unstructured interviews

• Observations • Documentary evidence

such as memos, meeting minutes, policy documents etc

Research design • How the data collection method or instrument is to be developed

• How the instrument/method is to be used (paper-base questionnaires vs. electronic questionnaires; length of experiment etc)

• No of subjects to be utilised

• No and types of companies to be utilised

• Etc

or

• How the data collection method or instrument is to be developed

• How the instrument is to be used (e.g. length and location of interviews; transcribing interview tapes etc)

• No of subjects to be utilised

• No and types of companies to be utilised

• Etc

Data analysis and presentation

• Tests for normality • Nature of statistical tests

(e.g. ANOVA, regression analysis etc)

• Use of graphs/tables to present results

or

• Coding interviews • Categorising data • Using narratives/case

studies • Contextual information

In the past, academics have argued that philosophical paradigms – and, therefore, their related

research methods – should not be mixed. Recently, however, this stance has been relaxed

and now some academics suggest that they can be mixed (Mingers and Gill, 1997). This

strategy, though, is risky and could be problematical during data analysis and interpretation.

For instance, how could a researcher resolve the potential problem of finding that his/her


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qualitative analysis suggests one answer whilst his/her quantitative analysis suggests another?

This would complicate matters and may take extra work to sort out. This may be okay for a

professional researcher, who has experience of using a variety of research methods, but it is

not recommended for students undertaking an MBA dissertation where time and simplicity

are more important.

At the end of Step 5, you should be able to present your own research information; an

example of which is shown in Figure 8. This is the beginning of your storyboard and you

will continue to expand it as you complete Steps 6 to 9.

Figure 8: The Research Storyboard


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Step 6: Tell the Story

At this stage, you should have the basic structure of your thesis. Now you want to ensure that

it has been developed logically. You can achieve this by recounting your thesis structure to

someone else or relate the “story” in your head. Does it make sense? Is it logical? Have you

missed anything out? Is your aim well-focused? Can you measure your research questions

effectively?

Alternatively, present your story in tabular format (see Table 2). This will provide you with a

holistic view of your study. It will describe your aim and research questions, it will present

your research methodology and it will describe the information that you hope to gather and

how you are going to develop this into your final dissertation product.

Table 2: An Example of a Research Story

Aim of the research: To ascertain how fast food companies penetrate international markets and to develop effective marketing guidelines for such a strategy

Thesis output: A set of marketing guidelines that focuses on the successful penetration of international markets in the fast food industry.

Research questions: • How do fast food companies penetrate international markets?

• What are their marketing strengths? • What are their marketing weaknesses?

Methodology: Qualitative research Data Collection: • Documentary evidence

• Semi-structured interviews Sample: • Companies: Burger King and Subway

• Subjects: Franchisees and franchisors • No of interviewees: 15

Analysis of data: Strauss and Corbin’s coding methodology – open, axial and selective coding


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Expected results: Results should provide information on marketing strategies and processes including both strengths and weaknesses

Development of thesis output:

Construct marketing guidelines by: • Developing the strengths, and • Reducing the weaknesses

stipulated in the results Expected implications for management:

• Training • Planning and development • Market research • Franchisee/franchiser relationships

Step 7: Develop your Table of Contents

After developing your research story, you can start to construct a table of contents. Again,

this provides you with an overview of your research project. This is a step-by-step process,

which you will continue to amend and refine throughout the research process. Usually, a

dissertation uses the following structure:

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 2: Literature Review

Chapter 3: Methodology and Research Design

Chapter 4: Results

Chapter 5: Discussion

Chapter 6: Conclusions

Using this basic structure, you can start to expand the contents page by adding your

dissertation’s aim and final product. For example, if we use the research story in Table 2,

then the contents page can be expanded to:


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Chapter 1: Introduction Thesis Aim: To ascertain how fast food companies penetrate

international markets and to develop effective

marketing guidelines for such a strategy

Thesis Product: A set of marketing guidelines that focuses on the

successful penetration of international markets in

the fast food industry.

Chapter 2: Literature

Review

Chapter 3: Methodology

and Research

Design

Chapter 4: Results



Step 8: Expand your Table of Contents

You can continue to expand your table of contents by adding:

1. The aim and product of each chapter

2. The number of words for each chapter

3. The sub-sections for each chapter

4. The draft models to be used for each chapter

5. The literature to be used for each chapter

These can be illustrated as follows:


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1. The Aim and Product of Each Chapter

Chapter 1: Introduction Thesis Aim: To ascertain how fast food companies penetrate






Chapter 2: Literature

Review

Chapter Aim: To evaluate the international marketing literature

Chapter Products: To develop a framework of marketing guidelines

for international markets (research model)

To present the general research questions:

• How do fast food companies penetrate

international markets?

• What are their marketing strengths?

• What are their marketing weaknesses?

Chapter 3: Methodology

and Research

Design

Chapter Aim: To present your methodology, research design and

analysis strategy

Chapter Product: Methodology: Qualitative research

Research Design:

• Documentary evidence

• Semi-structured interviews

• Companies: Burger King and Subway

• Subjects: Franchisees and franchisors

• No of interviewees: 15

• Validity and reliability

Analysis Strategy: Strauss and Corbin’s coding

methodology – open, axial and selective coding

Chapter 4: Results Chapter Aim: To present the results of the data analysis

Chapter Product: Model showing results

Chapter 5: Discussion Chapter Aim: To discuss the results and develop effective

marketing guidelines for fast food companies to

penetrate international markets


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Chapter Product: A set of marketing guidelines that focuses on the



Chapter 6: Conclusions Chapter Aim: To present a summary of the findings and

concluding remarks

Chapter Product: Summary of findings

Weaknesses of the research

Future research

2. The Number of Words for Each Chapter

Chapter 1:

Introduction

1500 words Thesis Aim: To ascertain how fast food companies penetrate






Chapter 2:

Literature

Review

3000 words Chapter Aim: To evaluate the international marketing literature

Chapter Products: To develop a framework of marketing guidelines

for international markets (research model)


• How do fast food companies penetrate

international markets?



Chapter 3:

Methodology

and Research

Design

3000 words Chapter Aim: To present your methodology, research design

and analysis strategy

Chapter Product: Methodology: Qualitative research

Research Design:




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Analysis Strategy: Strauss and Corbin’s coding

methodology – open, axial and selective coding

Chapter 4:

Results

5000 words Chapter Aim: To present the results of the data analysis

Chapter Product: Model showing results

Chapter 5:

Discussion

3000 words Chapter Aim: To discuss the results and develop effective

marketing guidelines for fast food companies to

penetrate international markets

Chapter Product: A set of marketing guidelines that focuses on the



Chapter 6:

Conclusions

1500 words Chapter Aim: To present a summary of the findings and

concluding remarks

Chapter Product: Summary of findings


Future research

Total 17000 words

3. The Sub-Sections for Each Chapter

Chapter 1: Introduction (1500 words) Thesis Aim: To ascertain how fast food companies penetrate international markets and to develop

effective marketing guidelines for such a strategy

Thesis

Product:

A set of marketing guidelines that focuses on the successful penetration of

international markets in the fast food industry

Section 1.1 Introduction

Section 1.2 Research Overview • Background information

• General research questions


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• Overview of research methodology and

data analyses

Section 1.3 Importance of this Research

Section 1.4 Synopsis

Chapter 2: Literature Review (3000 words) Chapter

Aim:

To evaluate the international marketing literature

Chapter

Products:

To develop a framework of marketing guidelines for international markets (research

model)


• How do fast food companies penetrate international markets?




Section 2.2 International Marketing in the

Fast Food Industry

• Background information on the fast food

industry

• Definition of Marketing

• Fast Food Marketing

Section 2.3 Evaluation of Marketing Models • Marketing Model 1

• Marketing Model 2


Section 2.4 Development of Marketing

Guidelines

• Development of research model

• Presentation of general research

questions

Section 2.5 Summary

Chapter 3: Methodology and Research Design (3000 words) Chapter

Aim:

To present your methodology, research design and analysis strategy

Chapter

Product:

Methodology: Qualitative research

Research Design:




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Analysis Strategy: Strauss and Corbin’s coding methodology – open, axial and

selective coding


Section 3.2 Methodology Benefits of qualitative research

Section 3.3 Research Design • Interview questions


• Sample/Companies

• Interview strategy


Section 3.4 Analysis Coding strategy

• Open coding

• Axial coding

• Selective coding

Section 3.5 Summary

Chapter 4: Results (5000 words) Chapter

Aim:

To present the results of the data analysis

Chapter

Product:

Model showing results


Section 4.2 Category 1





Section 4.7 Results Model

Section 4.8 Summary


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Chapter 5: Discussion (3000 words) Chapter

Aim:

To discuss the results and develop effective marketing guidelines for fast food

companies to penetrate international markets

Chapter

Product:

A set of marketing guidelines that focuses on the successful penetration of

international markets in the fast food industry.


Section 5.2 Marketing Strengths

Section 5.3 Marketing Weaknesses

Section 5.4 Guidelines for Penetrating

International markets

Section 5.5 Summary

Chapter 6: Conclusions (1500 words) Chapter

Aim:

To present a summary of the findings and concluding remarks

Chapter

Product:

Summary of findings


Future research


Section 6.2 The Results in Relation to the

General Research Questions

Section 6.3 Summary of Conclusions

Section 6.4 Weaknesses of the Research

Section 6.5 Future Research

Section 6.6 Summary and Concluding

Remarks

4. The Draft Models to be used for Each Chapter

Chapter 1: Introduction (1500 words) Thesis

Aim:

To ascertain how fast food companies penetrate international markets and to develop


Thesis A set of marketing guidelines that focuses on the successful penetration of international


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Product: markets in the fast food industry


Section 1.2 Research Overview • Background information


• Overview of research methodology and data

analyses

Section 1.3 Importance of this Research



Aim:


Chapter

Products:


model)






Section 2.2 International Marketing in

the Fast Food Industry


industry



Section 2.3 Evaluation of Marketing

Models


Source: Triangle and Square (2002, p. 234)


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Source: Round and Circle (2006, p. 5)


Source: Square and Rectangle (1999, p45)


Guidelines

• Development of

research model

• Presentation of general

research questions

• How do fast food companies penetrate international

markets?



Section 2.5 Summary


Aim:


Chapter

Product:


Research Design:



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selective coding


Section 3.2 Methodology Benefits of qualitative research

Section 3.3 Research Design • Interview questions



• Interview strategy


Section 3.4 Analysis Coding strategy

• Open coding

• Axial coding


Section 3.5 Summary


Aim:


Chapter

Product:









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Section 4.8 Summary


Aim:



Chapter

Product:

A set of marketing guidelines that focuses on the successful penetration of international

markets in the fast food industry.


Section 5.2 Marketing Strengths

Section 5.3 Marketing Weaknesses



Section 5.5 Summary


Aim:


Chapter Summary of findings


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Product: Weaknesses of the research

Future research


Section 6.2 The Results in Relation to

the General Research

Questions


Section 6.4 Weaknesses of the Research

Section 6.5 Future Research


Remarks

5. The Literature to be used for Each Chapter

Chapter 1: Introduction (1500 words) Thesis

Aim:

To ascertain how fast food companies penetrate international markets and to develop


Thesis

Product:


markets in the fast food industry


Section 1.2 Research Overview • Background information (Black and Blue, 2002;

White, 2000; Green, 2001; Grey, 1999)


• Overview of research methodology and data

analyses (Strauss and Corbin, 1998; Creswell,

2003; Klein and Myers, 1999)

Section 1.3 Importance of this Research Black (1999; 2002); Smith and Jones (2006)



Aim:



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Chapter

Products:


model)






Section 2.2 International Marketing in

the Fast Food Industry


industry



Section 2.3 Evaluation of Marketing

Models


Source: Triangle and Square (2002, p. 234)

Black (2006); Jones (1998); Davis (2000); Peterson

(2005; 2006)


Source: Round and Circle (2006, p. 5)

Smith (1996; 2002); Vaughn (2007); Cook (2005)



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Source: Square and Rectangle (1999, p45)

Black (2006); Davis (2000); Smith (1996); Cook (2005)


Guidelines

• Development of

research model


(2005; 2006); Smith (1996; 2002); Vaughn (2007);

Cook (2005)

• Presentation of general

research questions

• How do fast food companies penetrate international

markets?



Section 2.5 Summary


Aim:


Chapter

Product:


Research Design:








selective coding


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Section 3.2 Methodology Benefits of qualitative research (Charmaz, 2000; Denzin

and Lincoln, 2000; Orlikowski, 1993; Strauss and

Corbin, 1998)

Section 3.3 Research Design • Interview questions (Gummerson, 1991; Lee,

1997)

• Documentary evidence (Denzin and Lincoln,

2000; Creswell, 2003)


• Interview strategy (Denzin and Lincoln, 2000;

Creswell, 2003)

• Validity and reliability (Carmines, 1979; Strauss

and Corbin, 1998; Creswell, 2003; Klein and

Myers, 1999)

Section 3.4 Analysis Coding strategy (Strauss and Corbin, 1998; Sarker et al

2001; Locke, 2001; Parry, 1998)

• Open coding

• Axial coding


Section 3.5 Summary


Aim:


Chapter

Product:









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Section 4.8 Summary


Aim:



Chapter

Product:


markets in the fast food industry.


Section 5.2 Marketing Strengths Black (2006); Jones (1998); Davis (2000); Peterson

(2005; 2006)

Section 5.3 Marketing Weaknesses Smith (1996; 2002); Vaughn (2007); Cook (2005);


(2005; 2006)




(2005; 2006)

Section 5.5 Summary


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Aim:


Chapter

Product:

Summary of findings


Future research


Section 6.2 The Results in Relation to

the General Research

Questions


Section 6.4 Weaknesses of the Research Carmines (1979); Strauss and Corbin (1998); Creswell

(2003); Klein and Myers (1999)

Section 6.5 Future Research Smith (1996; 2002); Vaughn (2007); Cook (2005)


Remarks


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Step 9: Write your Proposal

The information from your expanded table of contents can now be used to write your

proposal. According to Remenyi et al (1998, p. 109), the research proposal should include

the following:

What: • Outline of research problem

• Background information on the

topic

• Purpose of study and specific

research questions

• Conceptual framework and

literature review

How: • Description of research strategy,

design and analysis which will

yield specific evidence required to

answer the research questions

• Methods justified and linked back

to the research questions and

research context

Where: • Where the research will be

conducted

When: • A timeline to illustrate the major

phases of the research process

The proposal will need to describe the research approach in sufficient detail in order to ensure

that (a) it is understandable, (b) it is measurable and (c) it is feasible. In reality, the research

proposal may need to be refined a number of times before it is acceptable (Howard and

Sharp, 1994).

There are a number of different possible layouts for a research proposal (White, 2000).

However, in general, you should cover the following areas (Howard and Sharp, 1994):


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• Aims of the Dissertation – introduce the general problem area (i.e. provide

background information) and present the specific aim of the research. In addition,

you should stipulate why the research is valuable and specify your thesis product or

output.

• A description of past work – present a nominal exploration of prior work from the

literature. This should include the key theories on the topic as well as the studies that

will be specifically helpful to your specified aim.

• Methodology – outline your methodology, research design and analysis strategy.

This section might include your choice of quantitative or qualitative research, one or

more data collection techniques, your desired research design such as the proposed

size of your sample and a description of the roles and responsibilities of your likely

subjects.

• Results – a description of your anticipated results and how you are going to use these

results to develop your thesis product or output. This section could also include

expected management implications and conclusions.

• Reasons for undertaking the research – this section would stipulate the rationale

behind the project including why it is useful for you and/or your organisation.

• Feasibility – this should include information on the practicalities of undertaking the

research; whether it is realistic to gather and analyse the data and to develop the thesis

product in the specified time limit and/or in the stipulated organisations.

• Schedule – the proposal should present a timetable for the major mileposts of the

project.

• References – finally, you should present a full list of references which will be useful

for your research. These will include the literature that you discussed in your

description of past work as well as your methodology section. These references


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should preferably be from robust sources such as refereed journals and books. Web

sites are not refereed and are, therefore, generally not suitable for academic research.

Summary

The following illustrates a storyboard for developing and writing your research proposal. It

depicts in pictorial format the information that has been discussed in this paper.


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Nine Steps for Developing a Proposal: The Storyboard

Step 1: Develop a Thesis

Aim

Step 2: Construct a Draft

Product


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Step 3: Develop your

Draft Research Model

Step 4: Outline your

Research Questions


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Step 5: Choose your

Methodology and

Research Design

Step 6: Tell the Story


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Step 7: Develop your

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction


Chapter 3: Methodology and Research Design Chapter 4: Results



Step 8: Expand your

Table of Contents

Chapter 1:

Section 1.1: Section 1.2:

Introduction

Introduction Research Overview


Chapter 3: Methodology and Research

Design

Chapter 4: Results



Step 9: Write your

Proposal


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References

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