Now, the most common need to write a research proposal is when you are asked to write a Thesis for you masters and/or phd program. It is meant to set the tone for your main Research Thesis.  It is intended to convince others that you have a worthwhile research project and that you have the competence and a work-plan to complete it.

As I have had encounters of coaching/mentoring students for both the masters program and the OBU RAP, I am dividing the article in two parts – 1) to provide guidance to those of you planning to submit proposal for their Thesis and 2) to provide guidance to those attempting their OBU RAP mentoring with me @mytuitions.

Research Proposal for Maters Thesis

In some academia, the proposal might be titled ‘synopsis’, in others it is titled ‘proposal’. No matter what the title, the purpose of both is the same: ‘give an idea of what the thesis is going to be about‘.

As a general rule, the research proposal should contain all the key elements involved in the research process and include sufficient information for the readers to evaluate the proposed study.

Also, the proposal should have sufficient information to convince your readers that you have an important research idea, that you have a good grasp of the relevant literature and the major issues, and that your methodology is sound.

The best element that will help you gain sufficient information is ‘good literature review‘. Make sure you do plenty of reading about the subject matter and your research topic. Accumulate as much information as possible in order to write and design your proposal. This is often the background reading about the topic.

The last element will be collecting the information in one document. Write, write and write till you have all the information down on the document. And don’t forget to review the document and edit the unnecessary parts out. The final document will then be your ‘Research Proposal’.

Research Proposal for OBU RAP

For the purpose of OBU, the proposal will act as a communication channel between you and your mentor. Take it with you for the first or second meeting. Your research proposal should address the following questions:

• What you plan to accomplish,
• Why you want to do it and
• How you are going to do it.

Also, the  research proposal  title should be concise and descriptive. For example, the phrase, “An investigation of . . .” could be omitted. Often titles are stated in terms of a functional relationship, because such titles clearly indicate the independent and dependent variables. However, if possible, think of an informative but catchy title. An effective title not only pricks the reader’s interest, but also predisposes him/her favorably towards the proposal.

Add a description of what your research is about. To do this make sure you decide on a ‘Subject company’ for your project.Mention how you plan to use the company and its data for the project.

Its never easy to write a proposal without having any research experience as you often find it hard to visualize the process. But remember the more you write.. the more things will start becoming transparent.