Writing a Research Proposal
Q. What’s a
proposal? Why do we need to write a proposal?
The proposal is a "concept paper," or a "conceptual shell" of what you propose. The proposal is the groundwork for your project report and clearly highlights the problem u r going to solve with an awareness of what has been done so far and a reasonably clear idea of what and how u r going to do it. Its more of a contract of what u r going to do and what u r not going to do. So the more details u give the better it is so that u will be in a safe position. It is an important part of any project because it saves you from the burden of additional work required for the project. You do not have to do anything more than what is specified in the proposal and the same time your project will be completed when the specifications or goal outlined in the proposal is achieved.
Please highlight what’s going to take time in the project and what’s so difficult and special in your project. A timeline would make it easier for me to assign the time limit for your assignments. Plus your internal project guide will understand what’s going on too. I don’t want them to feel left out of the project. As usual all suggestions are welcome and you r free to email me as much as u want if you have any doubts.
Clearly state the problem and the proposed solutions. What makes your approach special and uncommon? Remember, it is the approach to the problem and the way you develop an innovative solution that is important. In other words, you have to tell people what you plan to do, why you want to do it, and how you are going to do it. You need to convince your reader that you have an exciting research idea, and that you have a good grasp of the relevant literature, the major issues involved, and the appropriate methodologies. A good proposal need not be long. It should be concise and descriptive generally about 2 to 4 pages (single-spaced, with 12 size Times New Roman).
Write the proposal in words you know. Keep your language clear and simple. Clearly define any specialized vocabulary. The proposal must include a list of tasks that must be done to complete the project and a name of the group member doing that task. Only one person must do each task (one name per task - this influences the grading). Besides the Title, the proposal should have the following sections.
Introduction: The introduction should cover the following elements:
1.
The background of the problem. It should set the stage or
provide the context of the research problem. It should provide both the
historical background and the contemporary scene, encompassing all the key
players and their major publications. In other words, it should paint the
research question in broad brushes and cite representative studies.
2. A clear statement of the purpose and rationale of your research, indicating why the study is worth doing. Therefore, it will begin with a general statement of the problem area and conclude with a specific research question.
Literature Review: The
next step in writing your proposal is to prove that that particular piece of
research has not been done yet. This section is usually called Literature
Review. Inside it, you have to enumerate and critically analyze an impressive
list of boring bibliography. The conclusion you should reach is that your idea
of research has not been undertaken yet. Even more, you use this opportunity to
prove solid theoretical knowledge in the field, and build the theoretical bases
of your project.
The purpose of the literature review is to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the problem area, as well as justify your study. You need to convince your reader that your proposed research will make a significant and substantial contribution to the field (i.e., resolve an important theoretical issue or fill a gap in the literature). You should read at least three (3) published papers that directly relate to your topic and comment on their content in your report. I am looking for insight here with a critical analysis of the paper, not a rewrite of the abstract/conclusions.
Methodology: In short,
what actions are you going to take in order to answer the question? When will
you know whether the hypothesis has been proven wrong, or has survived enough
tests to be considered, for now, valid?
1.
Describes the design of the proposed study.
2.
Describes the procedure and the time frame of data
collection. A time line to show when different components of your
project are to take place is very important. Allow sufficient time for your
exams, campus interviews, study leave, debugging and unexpected problems. Every
year one of the team member falls sick or hard disk crashes. So make sure you
have a buffer in your timeline to account for such situations. If
you are an outstation student make sure you allocate time for travel. Use tools
like Microsoft Visio for the timeline if possible.
3.
Describes how you will analyze the data.
4.
Describes the equipment to be used.
5.
Draw the flowchart if you have one.
Trust me this is for your own good and safeguards you especially when u r
working on an open problem whose solution we are not sure if its works. So don’t
put figures like we will achieve 90% accuracy because if u don’t the college
will say project is incomplete...so rather mention we will try to improve the
performance than the existing algorithms. Don’t put hard figures. Remember
proposals are to be sent to me individually by each partner and we will then
later merge it. After I approve it u will sign and submit it to college as your
project proposal.
References: At the end
of your document you should include a list of the references you have used in
your document. Give all the details about the papers cited such as the name of
the conference, year, page no and the authors. Follow IEEE convention of naming
the references.
Common Mistakes in Proposal
Writing: