PART 2

1. PART 2 FOCUSING YOUR RESEARCH EFFORT

2. Research is never a solo flight, an individual excursion It is not a “do-it-in-a-corner” activity It involves many people and requires access to and use of resources far beyond one’s own For that reason, it must be carefully planned, laid out, inspected, and, in nearly every instance, approved by others The graduate student conducting research for a thesis or dissertation must get the approval of an academic committee A researcher seeking grant funding must get approval from the university or the organisation for which he or she works, and the project must be deemed worthy of funding by the grant-awarding agency, for example, MOSTI, IGS, etc. Writing the Research Proposal

3. A proposal is as essential to successful research as an architect’s plans are to the construction of a building Planning is the essence of their art - same orientation An architect plans the structural concepts of buildings, whereas a researcher plans the structural concepts of the solutions to problems Proposal ~ architect’s drawing No one would start building a structure by rushing out to dig a hole for the foundation without knowing in detail how the building will look when it is finished Researcher and Architect: Planners in Common

4. Before one turns a shovelful of earth, many questions must be addressed, many decisions made What kind of building is desired? Is it a personal residence? If so, how many storey? Split-level? Piping? Electrical wire? Phone line? Computer cable? Before start digging, further planning is necessary such as seek permission, get a building permit, follow building restrictions and codes, etc. A permit provides a means of ensuring that new buildings meet these codes The point is this: Permission is essential to the plan This principle holds true both in planning a building and in proposing research Researcher and Architect: Planners in Common

5. Show the viability and the plan in the research proposal The problem and its subproblems are clearly stated Hypotheses or questions are articulated All necessary terms are defined Delimitations are carefully spelled out The reason for conducting the study - why it’s important - is explained Every anticipated detail of acquiring, organising, analysing, and interpreting the data is specified Proposed Research Project

6. The researcher sets forth the resources at hand for carrying out the research: his or her qualifications (and those of any assistants), the availability of the data, the means by which the data will be secured, any needed equipment and facilities, and any other aspects of the total research process that merit explanation Nothing is overlooked All questions that may arise in the minds of those who review the proposal are anticipated and answered Any unresolved matter is a weakness in the proposal and may seriously affect its approval Sometimes young researchers think the proposal is merely a necessary formality and thus do not give it the serious consideration it deserves No matter whether you are seeking funding for a project from a grant foundation or seeking approval for a thesis or dissertation from a university faculty committee, a clear, well-written proposal is essential Nothing is a substitute for an explicit setting forth of both problem and procedure The Proposal

7. Research demands that those who undertake it be able to think clearly, without confusion The mind that produces confusion can never be disciplined to regard facts objectively and construe (interpret) them logically The perceived qualifications as a researcher, more often than not, rest squarely upon the quality of the proposal submitted Characteristics of a Proposal

8. A proposal should not be cluttered with extraneous and irrelevant material It opens with a straightforward statement of the problem to be researched It needs no explanatory props – no introduction, prologue (introduction to a play, poem,etc.), or statement telling why the researcher became interested in the problem or feels a burning desire to research it Such information may be interesting, but none of it is necessary or appropriate A Proposal is a Straightforward Document

9. Those who will review your proposal are not interested in such autobiographical excursions These, indeed, suggest that you cannot separate essentials from irrelevancies and so will neither enhance your stature as a researcher nor recommend you as one who can think in a clear and focused manner Whatever does not contribute directly to the delineation of the problem and its solution must be eliminated Anything else is a distraction Journalists are taught – or if not taught, soon learn – that the first words they write are the most important ones You capture or lose your reader with the first sentence A Proposal is a Straightforward Document

10. Keep in mind the meaning of proposal The word suggests looking forward, to what the researcher plans to do in the future – not history If a writer intends to make an analytical comparison of the past and present social and economic conditions of minority groups, he or she might begin, “This study will analyse the social and economic status of certain minority groups today in comparison with their similar status five decades ago for the purpose of …” This is a no-nonsense beginning, and it indicates that the writer knows what a proposal should be Employ future tense, for example, “The study will analyse …” A Proposal is a Straightforward Document

11. The purpose of a proposal is simply to communicate clearly, not a work of art in an architect’s drawing or a creative, “literary” production in a proposal Just as an architect’s drawings present a plan for construction with an economy of line and precision of measurement, a proposal describes a future research project with an economy of words and precision of expression The language must be clear, sharp, and precise The proposal provides a chance to show with what ultimate clarity and detail the researcher can state a problem, delineate the treatment of the data, and establish the logical validity of a conclusion Writing a superb proposal calls for skills of expression just as demanding as those needed for forging an unforgettable sentence A Proposal is Not a Literary Production

12. Proposals are written in conventional process style, and thoughts are expressed in simple paragraph form The organisation of the thoughts is outlined by the proper use of headings and subheadings Organisation and outline are essential They hint at an orderly and disciplined mind – one of the highest tributes to a researcher’s qualifications No indented outline – it is not conventional - hint a brevity (shortness)  hint a superficiality (on the surface only, not thorough or deep)  suggest undesirable quality of researchers A Proposal is Clearly Organised

13. In professional writing, headings and subheadings are the single most commonly used strategy to express the writer’s overall organisational scheme You should communicate the outline of your thoughts to your own readers in the same fashion A Proposal is Clearly Organised

14. You must use different formats to indicate the different levels of headings you use The most important headings are in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS and centred on the page. These are headings of the largest units of writing; for instance, they may be the titles of the various chapters in a proposal or research report The next important headings are in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS and left justified on the page The next headings are in Capital and Lowercase Letters Paragraph Seldom encountered least important headings, numbered Formatting Headings and Subheadings

15. THE REVIEW OF THE RELATED LITERATURE 4.1UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF REVIEW 4.1.1 The Purpose of the Review 4.1.2 How to Begin 4.1.2.1Go to the indexes and abstracts 4.1.2.2Database access 4.1.2.3Go to the library 4.1.3 How to Write the Section 4.1.3.1Get the proper 4.1.3.2Have a plan Example of Structural Outline

16. 4.2 POINTS OF DEPARTURE 4.2.1 Abstract 4.2.2 Indexes 4.3 FOR FURTHER READING Example of Structural Outline

17. Proposals follow a simple, logical train of thought Although there are conceivably many ways to arrange the various topics within a proposal, most proposals use similar formats, especially in quantitative studies Refer to handout One rule governs the writing of proposals and final documents: The arrangement of the material should be presented in such a manner that it forms for the reader a clear, progressive presentation It keeps items together that belong together – for example, the problem and its resultant subproblems, the subproblems and their corresponding hypotheses Refer to handout on ways to write a convincing proposal Content and Organisation of a Research Proposal

18. Frustrating experience if proposal rejected by graduate committee Success begins long before activity begins – the planning How data will be interpreted – will determine success or failure Example: “ … to analyse the attitudes of professional employees towards certain aspects of management policy and to evaluate the relationship between these attitudes and the responsibility of management to articulate such policy for its employees.” Refer to handout Success Begins with Initial Proposal

19. 1. Be systematic in describing the treatment of the data - logical sequence to solve each subproblem 2. State clearly the data you need to resolve the subproblem 3. State precisely where the data are located 4. State fully and unequivocally (having a completely clear meaning) how you intend to interpret the data – any other person can do the research without your presence and every contingency (event that may or may not occur) should be anticipated Guidelines – Interpretation of Data

20. 5. Every step in the interpretation of the data should be fully spelled out - Don’t cut corners, don’t assume others know what they mean - It is a time–consuming process a. Ask yourself continually just what it is that you are doing – Make clear distinction between ARRAYING (large impressive series of things) and INTERPRETING the data b. Insist that your statistics have a defensible rationale – Why mean, sd, %, what do they mean? c. At what specific point does the manipulation of the data cease and your own thinking begin? Guidelines – Interpretation of Data

21. 6. Be sure that the data support conclusions - unfounded enthusiasm (great interest or admiration) - extravagant (unreasonable, unnecessary) claim or enthusiastic conclusion - much research contains unfounded conclusions unsupported by the data - based on shaky statistical procedures or exploitation of facts Guidelines – Interpretation of Data

22. Refer to handout Fundamental shortcoming in individual who wrote the proposal - in ability to think analytically and clearly - insufficient knowledge of the existing research - lack of competence to carry out study - inability to see the global concept of the research - in terms of ramification (result or consequence (of sth.) that makes it more complicated) and requirement Greatest Weaknesses in Funding Proposal

23. Demonstration of outstanding qualification – scholarship (knowledge of an academic subject) - think clearly and logically - express thought concisely and cogently (convincing) - discriminate between what is significant and what is consequential (following as a result) - handle abstract thought - analyse data objectively and accurately - interpret result confidently and conservatively (cautious moderate) Greatest Weaknesses in Funding Proposal

24. Judith Margolin “Most of the applicants simply had not done their homework properly. All too often their proposals were not worthy, inadequately prepared, or thoughtlessly submitted to inappropriate funders”. Shortcomings of Many Proposals