Preparing Research Proposal and Research Report

Research Proposal:
Before the research is undertaken, there should be an agreement between the person who authorizes the study and the researcher as to the problem to be investigated, the methodology to be used, the duration of the study, and its cost. This is done to avoid any misunderstanding later from both parties. This is usually accomplished through the research proposal, which the researcher submits and gets approved by the sponsor, who issues a letter of authorization to proceed with the study.

Contents of the research proposal:

1. 2. 3. 4. The broad goals of the study (purpose of the study). The specific problem to be investigated. Details of the procedures to be followed. The research design offering details on: a. The sampling design b. Data collection methods c. Data analysis 5. Time frame of the study, including information on when the written report will be handed over to the sponsors. 6. The budget, detailing the costs with reference to specific items of expenditure.

Research Reports:
A written report enables the manager to weigh the facts and arguments presented therein, and implement the acceptable recommendations, with a view to closing the gap between the existing state of affairs and the desired state. To achieve its goal, the written report has to focus on the issues. The written report and its purpose Reports could aim at different purposes and hence the form of the written report would vary according to the situation. It is necessary to identify the purpose of the research report so it could be tailored accordingly. E.g. If the purpose is to simply to offer details on some specific areas of interest requested by a manager, then the report can be very narrowly focused and will provide information to the manager in a brief way. And if the purpose is to sell an idea, then the report has to be more detailed and convincing as to how the proposed idea is a n improvement and should be adopted. Contents of a Research Report The title page Table of contents The research proposal and the authorization letter

Executive summary or Synopsis The introductory section The body of the report The final part of the report Acknowledgements References Appendix

A Sample of table of contents Research proposal Letter of authorization Introduction Problem studied Background information Research goals Preliminary Details Unstructured and structured interviews Literature survey Theoretical framework Hypotheses formulated Research Design o Type and nature of the study o Sampling design o Data collection methods o Data analytic techniques used Results of the data analysis Conclusions Recommendations Limitation of the study Acknowledgements References Tables Graphs Appendices

Oral presentation
Deciding on the content Visual Aids The presenter Handling question