WRITING A PROPOSAL:

MAKING OF AN IMPRESSIVE
BEGINNING

INTRODUCTION; BACKGROUND; PROBLEM STATEMENT;

RESEARCH QUESTIONS; RESEARCH OBJECTIVES; STATEMENT
OF PURPOSE
2 CONTENTS

• What is a research proposal?

• Writing a good introduction: The two models

• Establishing A Research Territory or Establish Common Ground
• Establishing A Niche or State Your Problem
• Occupying The Niche or State Your Response

• Differentiating problem & purpose statement

3 NEXT STEPS FOR RESEARCH STUDENTS AT QUSIT

• Craft a research proposal

• Present and defend the proposal to GSC
• Proposal goes to BOSAR
4 RESEARCH PROPOSAL

• Research Plan, a concise and coherent summary of proposed research.

• Contains central issues or questions that you intend to address.

• Outlines the general area of study

• Refers to current state of knowledge with recent debates on the topic.

5 PART OF RESEARCH PROPOSAL (QUSIT) COVERED

• Introduction
• Background of Study
• Problem Statement
• Research Questions
• Research Objectives
• Hypotheses (Quantitative)
• Significance of Research
6 THE INTRODUCTION CHAPTER

• First formal chapter of a thesis

• Usually, relatively, brief as compared to other chapters of the
thesis.

• Within the thesis:

• Introduction should be about 10 % and LR is 20 % (Barnes, 1995 cited in Blaxter
et al., 2010).
7 FUNCTIONS OF THE INTRODUCTION CHAPTER

• Concisely entices and interests the readers into elements of LR by

articulating:

• A brief historical/ contemporary context for the research;

• Concise reference to research already carried out

8 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE INTRODUCTION

• ‘Eye-catching’ opening sentence

• Don’t say everything in the introduction – save explanations for later

• Ensure a direct relationship between the introduction and the remainder

of the dissertation;
9 INTRODUCTION: ELEMENTS

Topic • Narrative hook

Research problem • Need for study

Scholarly literature • Directly related to study

• Inadequacies
Deficiencies
• Mention approach
Audiences or
• How each will benefit
stakeholders

Purpose statement • Overall intent

10 STARTING TO WRITE CORRECTLY!

• Writing introductions is slow, difficult, and troublesome

• Plato remarked, "The beginning is half of the whole."

11
12 HOW DO WE GENERALLY OPEN AN
INTRODUCTION?
• The purpose of this study is to ….

• This study describes and analyzes….

• My aim in this study is to….

• In this study, we report on . . .

13 EXEMPLAR

Opening:
This study of the writing of 22 first graders and 13 third graders is concerned
with how children learn the rules of punctuation (Cordeiro 1988, 62).

Title: "Children's Punctuation: An Analysis of Errors in Period Placement," in Research in the

Teaching of English
14 COMMENTS ON EXEMPLAR

• The very specific opening appeals to those researchers actively

involved in the topic

• It "turns off" many other who have no interest in this precise

research area
15 WRITING METHODICAL INTRODUCTIONS

• Researchers have analysed a variety of scientific works to come

up with various models of writing introductions.

• We take lead from two renowned models

16 TWO METHODS OF “INTRODUCTION”

• SWALES & FEAK (CARS model)

• Swales, J. M., & Feak, C. B. (2004). Academic writing for graduate students: Essential tasks and skills (Vol. 1). Ann Arbor,
MI: University of Michigan Press.

• BOOTH, COLOMB & WILLIAMS (3 step model)

• Booth,W. C., Colomb, G. G., & Williams, J. M. (2003).The craft of research. University of Chicago press
17 COMPARING THE TWO APPROACHES

Move/ Swales & Feak Booth, Colomb & Williams

Step
1 Establishing A Research Territory Establish Common Ground
(Covers one paragraph introduction and most part of up to 2 pages background)

2 Establishing A Niche State Your Problem

Final paragraph of 2 paged background

3 Occupying The Niche State Your Response

Problem statement
18 IMPORTANT POINTS TO REMEMBER

• In a research thesis and proposal the headings and sub headings are
normally clearly given.

• In a research paper most parts are subsumed within a single introduction

section (background, research questions are not given separate headings).

• In a book chapter various formats can be followed.

19 1- ESTABLISHING A RESEARCH TERRITORY/
COMMON GROUND

a) Showing that the general research area is:

• Important,
• Central,
• Interesting, or relevant in some way.
20 1- ESTABLISHING A RESEARCH TERRITORY/
COMMON GROUND

b) Current knowledge, practices, or phenomena in the field.

Reviewing a few key items of research

c) Establish a shared understanding between reader and writer

about the larger issue the writer will address
21
EXAMPLE (RESEARCH PAPER)

The Emergence of Entrepreneurship

Education: Development, Trends &
Challenges (Kuratko, 2005)
22
EXAMPLE (RESEARCH PAPER)
• Opening: The entrepreneurial revolution has taken hold across the globe and has
undeniably impacted the world of business forever. For example, witness the powerful
emergence of entrepreneurial activity in the U.S. during the last 10 years. New business
incorporations averaged 600,000 per year……Sixteen percent of all U.S. firms have been
in existence for less than 1 year. Sixty-seven percent of all new inventions are created by
smaller firms (Reynolds, Hay, & Camp, 1999).

• Six more paragraphs acting as introductory paragraph and background of the study
23 EXAMPLE: STEP-1 (INTRODUCTION &
BACKGROUND)
• Given these findings, it would seem safe to assume that new firms with employees may number to more than 600,000 in a given year, and
that another couple of million new business entities—in the form of self-employment—may also come into being each year.
Approximately one new firm with employees is established every year for every 300 adults in the U.S. As the typical new firm has at least
two owners–managers, one of every 150 adults participates in the founding of a new firm each year. Substantially, more—1 in 12—are
involved in trying to launch a new firm. The net result, then, is that the U.S. has a very robust level of firm creation. Among the 6 million
establishments (single-site and multisite firms) with employees, approximately 600,000 to 800,000 are added each year. That translates
into an annual birth rate of 14 to 16 per 100 existing establishments (Reynolds, Hay, & Camp, 1999). The U.S. has achieved its highest
economic performance during the last 10 years by fostering and promoting entrepreneurial activity (Minniti & Bygrave, 2004).

• In summary, entrepreneurial firms make two indispensable contributions to the market economies. First, they are an integral part of the
renewal process that pervades and defines market economies. Entrepreneurial firms play a crucial role in the innovations that lead to
technological change and productivity growth. In short, they are about change and competition because they change market structure.
The market economies are dynamic organic entities always in the process of “becoming,” rather than an established one that has already
arrived.They are about prospects for the future, not about the inheritance of the past (Kuratko & Hodgetts, 2004).
24 EXAMPLE: STEP-1 (INTRODUCTION &
BACKGROUND)
• Second, entrepreneurial firms are the essential mechanism by which millions enter the economic mainstream. Entrepreneurial
firms enable millions of people, including women, minorities, and immigrants, to access the pursuit of economic success. The
greatest source the U.S. strength, for example, has always been the American dream of economic growth, equal opportunities,
and upward mobility. In this evolutionary process, entrepreneurship plays the crucial and indispensable role of providing the
“social glue” that binds together both high-tech and “Main Street” activities (Small Business Administration [SBA], 1998).

• Entrepreneurship is a dynamic process of vision, change, and creation. It requires an application of energy and passion towards
the creation and implementation of new ideas and creative solutions. Essential ingredients include the willingness to take
calculated risks—in terms of time, equity, or career; the ability to formulate an effective venture team; the creative skill to
marshall needed resources; and fundamental skill of building solid business plan; and finally, the vision to recognize opportunity
where others see chaos, contradiction, and confusion. (Kuratko & Hodgetts, 2004, p. 30)
25 EXAMPLE: STEP-1 (INTRODUCTION &
BACKGROUND)
• In this light, entrepreneurship is more than the mere creation of business. Although that is certainly an important facet, it is not the
complete picture. The characteristics of seeking opportunities, taking risks beyond security, and having the tenacity to push an idea
through to reality combine into a special perspective that permeates entrepreneurs.
•
• An “entrepreneurial perspective” can be developed in individuals. This perspective can be exhibited inside or outside an organization, in
profit or not-for-profit enterprises, and in business or nonbusiness activities for the purpose of bringing forth creative ideas. Thus,
entrepreneurship is an integrated concept that permeates an individual’s business in an innovative manner. It is this perspective that has
revolutionized the way business is conducted at every level and in every country. The revolution has begun in an economic sense, and the
entrepreneurial perspective is the dominant force!
•
• The younger generation of the 21st century is becoming the most entrepreneurial generation since the Industrial Revolution. As many as
5.6 million Americans younger than age 34 are actively trying to start their own businesses today. One third of new entrepreneurs is
younger than age 30, more than 60% of 18- to 29-year-olds say they want to own their own businesses, and nearly 80% of would-be
entrepreneurs in the U.S. are between the ages 18 and 34! (Tulgan, 1999).
26 2- ESTABLISHING A NICHE/ STATE YOUR PROBLEM

• Indicating a gap in the previous research, raising a question about it, or

extending previous knowledge in some way.

• A condition of incomplete knowledge or understanding, and

• The consequences of that condition, a more significant gap in

understanding
27 2- ESTABLISHING A NICHE/ STATE YOUR PROBLEM

• Four ways of achieving move/step-2

1. Counter-claiming
2. Indicating a Gap
3. Question-raising
4. Continuing a Tradition
28 2- ESTABLISHING A NICHE/ STATE YOUR PROBLEM

1. Counter-claiming
• The author refutes or challenges earlier research by making a counter-
claim.

• "While Jones and Riley believe X method to be accurate, a close examination

demonstrates their method to be flawed."
29 2- ESTABLISHING A NICHE/ STATE YOUR PROBLEM

2. Indicating a Gap
• The author demonstrates that earlier research does not
sufficiently address all existing questions or problems

• "While existing studies have clearly established X, they have not

addressed Y."
30 2- ESTABLISHING A NICHE/ STATE YOUR PROBLEM

3. Question-raising
• The author asks questions about previous research, suggesting
that additional research needs to be done.

• "While Jones and Morgan have established X, these findings raise a

number of questions, including . .
31 2- ESTABLISHING A NICHE/ STATE YOUR PROBLEM

4. Continuing a Tradition
• The author presents the research as a useful extension of
existing research. For example:

• "Earlier studies seemed to suggest X. To verify this finding, more work

is urgently needed."
32 2- ESTABLISHING A NICHE/ STATE YOUR PROBLEM

• Often contain some negative element

• Can occur at the thematic sentence-initial position and be expressed through

quantification little, no, none of, few

• Realized through choice of verbs like fail, neglect, lack, been restricted to

• Marked by a contrastive connector like however

33
EXAMPLE (RESEARCH PAPER)

The Emergence of Entrepreneurship

Education: Development, Trends &
Challenges (Kuratko, 2005)
34 2- ESTABLISHING A NICHE/ STATE YOUR PROBLEM

• The number of colleges and universities that offer courses related to

entrepreneurship has grown from a handful in the 1970s to 1,600
(Katz, 2003). In the midst of this huge expansion of courses remains
the challenge of entrepreneurship’s complete academic legitimacy.
35 3- OCCUPYING THE NICHE/ STATE YOUR RESPONSE

• Outline purposes or stating the nature of the present research

• Gap is turned into the research space for the present study

• Offer is made to answer the question raised in Move 2.

36 3- OCCUPYING THE NICHE/ STATE YOUR RESPONSE

• Realized by a purpose statement ("The aim of the present study is to give .

. . ")

• Simple description ("In the present work, a . . . ").

• Signalled by a switch from the impersonal style used in Moves 1-2 to the
use of we
37 3- OCCUPYING THE NICHE/ STATE YOUR RESPONSE

• Once you disrupt your readers’ stable context with a problem, they expect you to
resolve it with your main point.

• Promise a Solution
38
EXAMPLE (RESEARCH PAPER)

The Emergence of Entrepreneurship

Education: Development, Trends &
Challenges (Kuratko, 2005)
39 3- OCCUPYING THE NICHE/ STATE YOUR RESPONSE

• In order to understand the challenges that lie ahead, we first focus

on the sources of our current understanding of entrepreneurship and
then we examine a historical view as well as the more current view
of entrepreneurship education.
40 DEVELOPING SKILLS FOR WRITING INTRODUCTIONS

• Read, analysed and highlight the three moves in your topic related scholarly material

• Reflect on and write the types of strategies authors have used to compose great introduction

• Make use of high quality foreign material (not Pakistani journals/books please!)

• Reflect on the differences between research paper, books and theses on how they compose
introductory portions
41 RESEARCH QUESTIONS/OBJECTIVES/SIGNIFICANCE
OF THE STUDY
• Research questions/hypotheses are formed on the basis of problem stated (4-6
numbered)

• Objectives of the study correspond to the research questions presented as milestones

towards answering (4-6 bullet pointed)

• Significance of the study emphasize, in one paragraph, the benefits and beneficiaries of the
research (i.e. if and when the questions are answered)
42
DIFFERENTIATING
PROBLEM & PURPOSE
STATEMENT
43

Problem
statement

Purpose
statement
44 PROBLEM STATEMENT

• Also called research problem.

• Reflects three major characteristics:

• Need for study

• Create rationale
45 PROBLEM STATEMENT

• Explains the need for the study (rationale)

• Answers the issue of “Why is this study needed?”

• Found in personal experience with an issue:

• E.g. Job-related problem

• Adviser's research agenda
• Scholarly literature
46 PROBLEM STATEMENT

• Can fill a void in existing literature

• Establish a new line of thinking, or assess an issue with an

understudied group
47 DEFINING PURPOSE STATEMENT

• Statement that provides the major objective or intent, or "road

map" to the study

• Most important statement in an entire qualitative study

48 ELEMENTS OF PURPOSE STATEMENT

1. Mention Study Type

2. Use words illustrating the focus of the research

3. Identify central phenomenon

4. Indicate site and participants of the study

49 PURPOSE STATEMENT: MENTIONING STUDY TYPE

1. Mention Study Type

• Identify specific qualitative approach by mentioning the type

• Name of the approach comes first in the passage

• Leads to data collection, analysis, and report writing

50 KEYWORDS USED IN A PURPOSE STATEMENT

2. Use words illustrating the focus of the research

• Words indicates
• Action of researcher; Focus and approach; Outcomes

• "Describe" (Case study, ethnography & phenomenology)

• "Develop or generate" (Grounded theory)
• "Discover" (All approaches)
51 CENTRAL PHENOMENON IN A PURPOSE
STATEMENT

3. Identify Central Phenomenon

• The concept being explored or examined

• Focus on only one at the beginning of a study
• Comparing groups or looking for linkages can be included later with study
52 WHO AND WHERE OF A PURPOSE STATEMENT

4. Indicate site and participants of the study

• Who are participants and what is the site for the study

• One individual (Narrative or case study),

• Several individuals (Grounded theory or phenomenology)
• A group (Ethnography)
• Site (program, event, activity, or place in a case study)
53 SPECIMEN (FILL IN THE BLANKS!) PURPOSE
STATEMENT
• The purpose of this__________(narrative, phenomenological, grounded theory,
ethnographic, case) study is to ______(understand? describe? develop? discover?)
the__________(central phenomenon of the study) for ______________ (the
participants) at __________ (the site)

• At this stage in the research, the _____________ (central phenomenon) will be

generally defined as _____________ (a general definition of the central concept)