Elements of a Good Proposal

A research proposal is important because it assesses the researcher's expertise in the area in which he/she is conducting research, his/her knowledge of the existing literature, and how the research project will enhance the current pool of knowledge. Potential supervisors, admissions officers, and/or research funders usually base their decisions on research proposal, and emphasise on the quality and originality of ideas, the researcher's skills in critical thinking, and the feasibility of his/her research project.

With reference to the aims and importance of a research proposal, I will now proceed to discuss "what makes a good proposal"? I will do so in three steps, as shown below:

(1) According to Kerry's good proposal template©, a good proposal addresses the following questions:

1. What is my key academic paper?
2. What is the problem (mistake/gap) in that paper?
3. What is the "model" of the process you are looking at?
4. What is my "best guess" / theory for how I would expect the gap to work?
5. Why is the gap important for cause and effect issues?
6. What evidence do I need to "fill the gap"?
7. What is a reasonable way to gather the evidence I need?

(2) Translating these questions into specific elements of a good proposal, we get:

• Question 1 refers to the underlying motivation of the research project. 
• Question 2 refers to the research gap present in existing literature.
• Question 3 refers to the cause and effect linkages within the field of research.
• Question 4 refers to the theory proposed by the researcher (theoretical process). 
• Question 5 refers to the link between the research gap and the cause-and-effect linkages. 
• Question 6 refers to evidence that addresses the research gap/problem.
• Question 7 refers to the method used to collect data (methodology) to support the theory proposed earlier.

(3) The last step is to assign proper headings to the elements identified in step (2):

• Introduction
  - Research Issue
  - Literature Review
  - Research Question(s)
• Purpose of Study
• Research Design & Methodology
  - Sample
  - Data Collection
  - Data Analysis
  - Pilot Study
  - Ethical Consideration(s) 

 A PhD or Honours thesis proposal might even include the following items:

• Proposed Outcome(s)
• Limitation(s)
• Dissemination
• Timeline
• Resources
• References
• Appendices

This list is not exhaustive, but it attempts to capture the key elements that researchers usually include in their research proposals. A proper research grant proposal might even include additional sections such as "budget", "project plan", or "staff and institutional qualifications", but for the purpose of this course and my Honours thesis, I will not have to worry about funding.

Instead of giving us strict headings for the proposal, I like how Kerry prompts us with questions that help us to understand the essential components of a research proposal. In particular, the questions "What is my "best guess" / theory for how I would expect the gap to work?" and "Why is the gap important for cause and effect issues?" have constantly reminded me that the theory and the research gap are extremely important for high quality and interesting research. I will now proceed to write a complete proposal for the qualitative research project of this course.