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Volume 5 Issue 1 July 2007
Learning from a Doctoral Research Project: Structure and Content of a Research Proposal
Javed Iqbal
Impact College, School of Business and Management, Manchester, UK
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The paper has been organised into four parts: the context, the content, the process and the product. The context discusses the professional background of the researcher; academic history, employment, project or dissertation completed at Master level, personal choice and cultural perspective. The content include the traditional components of a proposal: research problem (or research questions), objectives, importance of the study, philosophical assumptions, and scope. It addresses such questions as: Why the study is important and what are the boundaries of the project? And what is the ‘world view’ of the researcher? The purpose of the process is: How research problem will be resolved and how the stated objectives will be achieved? (Methodological issues). What theoretical structure will be applied to conduct the research? (Theoretical perspectives). The product envisions the subjective or objective outcomes of the endeavour. What will be the contribution of the research project?
The context helps to identify a viable, researchable and manageable topic. For instance, many MBA students prefer to do ‘coursework projects’ or mini research projects in the organisations where the work or worked. The content shapes the main body though turning professional background into a problem or research question (RQ). A well-formulated RQ determines research method, philosophical assumptions, and focus (or scope) of the project. The research objectives also stem from the RQ. Thus establishes a relationship between various elements of the proposal. The process further narrows down the research process by specifying the data collection method. And, virtually determines the data analysis strategy. For instance, interview based data would require qualitative data analysis techniques whereas survey results need quantitative techniques for analysis. The conceptual framework develops relationship between a theory or theories and the application construct that will be used by the researcher. The product conceptualise the parameters of success at the proposal stage.
Keywords:
Research proposal, social sciences, postgraduate study, case study
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