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PREPARING THE

PROPOSAL
EWC 661
Parts of the proposal
Background information / Introduction,
Problem statement,
Objectives,
Methodology of the proposed study
1) Background info
It serves as a bridge that links the reader to
the topic of your study.
It provides info on the problem or situation
that gave rise to the investigation.
Major questions answered through
background info are:
Ѧ Why conduct the study ? and
Ѧ What is the basic purpose behind the study?
How long and in-depth should it be?
This largely depends upon
Ѧ how much information you think the reader will need
to know in order to fully understand the topic being
discussed
Ѧ Sufficient information for readers to appreciate why
the issues you are investigating are important.
It also depends on
Ѧ the degree to which you need to demonstrate to your
lecturer how much you understand the research
problem.
♥ Providing important background information can
effectively show that you have a clear grasp of key issues
and concepts relate to your study.
What do you need to read / refer to
Secondary data (data taken from somebody
else), e.g.
Ѧ newspaper reports,
Ѧ Internet articles,
Ѧ Journal articles
Ѧ books
Ѧ previous reports
Example of Background info
Let’s say the purpose of your report is as
follows:
Ѧ To investigate the reasons behind the rise in
computer gaming addiction among teenagers.
Example of Background info
The background info may look like the following:
A recent study on game technology (Tan,
2010) shows that nearly 75% of teenagers in
Singapore play computer games regularly
and the majority of them show signs of
addiction. The rise in computer gaming
addiction among teenagers is a growing
concern and this study would like to find out
the reasons behind this trend.
2) Statement of the problem
It is used in research work as a claim that
outlines the problem addressed by a study.
It briefly addresses the question:
Ѧ What is the problem that the research will
address?
Format for problem statement
It is usually written in three parts:
Part A (The ideal): Describes a desired goal or
ideal situation; explains how things should be.
Part B (The reality): Describes a condition that
prevents the goal, state, or value in Part A from
being achieved or realized at this time; explains
how the current situation falls short of the goal
or ideal.
Part C (The consequences): Identifies the way
you propose to improve the current situation
and move it closer to the goal or ideal.
Example of Problem Statement
Part A: According to the XY university mission statement, the university seeks
to provide students with a safe, healthy learning environment. Dormitories
are one important aspect of that learning environment, since 55% of XY
students live in campus dorms and most of these students spend a significant
amount of time working in their dorm rooms.
However,
Part B: Students living in dorms A B C, and D currently do not have air
conditioning units, and during the hot seasons, it is common for room
temperatures to exceed 80 degrees F. Many students report that they are
unable to do homework in their dorm rooms. Others report having problems
sleeping because of the humidity and temperature. The rooms are not only
unhealthy, but they inhibit student productivity and academic achievement.
Part C: In response to this problem, our study proposes to investigate several
options for making the dorms more hospitable. We plan to carry out an all-
inclusive participatory investigation into options for purchasing air
conditioners (university-funded; student-subsidized) and different types of air
conditioning systems. We will also consider less expensive ways to mitigate
some or all of the problems noted above (such as creating climate-controlled
dorm lounges and equipping them with better study areas and computing
space).
3) Methodology/ Procedure
Methods to be used in data collection,
Sources of data (primary),
Ѧ Survey using questionnaire
Ѧ Interview
Ѧ Observation
What to report?
the method/s chosen
Number and type of respondents,
Statistical application (frequency count,
percentage, mean, correlation, t-test, time
series, etc.) for data analysis
Methodology: Questionnaire
What to include
the number of sets to be distributed
some information about the respondents
the place of survey/organisation involved
information on when to distribute the
questionnaires
data analysis planned
Methodology: Interview
What to include
Who will be interviewed
What will be asked (general information)
Methodology: Observation
What will be observed,
Ѧ When,
Ѧ Where, and
Ѧ how many times
Methodology (proposal sample)
One hundred sets of questionnaires will be
distributed to customers visiting Kelemak
cafeteria located in Lendu, Alor Gajah over
three days starting from 21 March 2019. The
questionnaires will be distributed during peak
hours. The returned questionnaires will then
be tabulated and analysed using frequency
counts.
Source
https://www.slideshare.net/orangecanton/re
port-writing-introduction
https://www.slideshare.net/businesscollege_
plmar/how-to-write-a-statement-problem
https://www.editage.com/insights/the-
basics-of-writing-a-statement-of-the-pro
blem-for-your-research-proposal

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