Guideline for Research Proposal

HTM605 Hospitality Research Methods

A proposal should be constructed according to the following unified structure:
Chapter 1- The Study
Introduces the main research problems and outlines the study including
the research questions, the significance and limitations of the study.
Chapter !- Re"ie# of Related $iterature
Discusses the research problems/hypotheses and their relationship to the existing body related
literature.
Chapter %- Methodolo&y
Details the research methodology, example, the population, the sample, the data collection and
data analysis processes.
Chapter 1- The Study
1'0 (ntroduction
The Introduction must outline the purpose of the research as concisely as possible. tate
the question or questions that are to be answered. !ou can start with "In this experiment" or "In
this study" and then explain from there. #e as specific as possible to demonstrate a clear
understanding. The purpose of these statements is to explain was done and how it will be
interpreted.
$nce the question that the experiment attempts to answer has been stated, the bac%ground
information needs to be gi&en to show why the question was as%ed
1'1 )ac*&round of the study
tate the goal: 'hy wor% was underta%en.
( )i&e bac%ground so reader can understand what you are addressing
( Ac%nowledge pre&ious wor% that is rele&ant. *eference so reader can go into the literature and
be able to understand the rest of the thesis. Don+t o&erdo it , only cite wor%s that are rele&ant for
the paper.
( Describe the scope of the wor%: 'hat will and will not be included.
( Then gi&e a &erbal road map, li%e a prose table of contents, to describe how the thesis is put
together.
( It should be &ery clear where the bac%ground ends and your new wor% begins , this is
important.
1'! Pro+le, State,ent
A problem statement is a clear description of the issue-s., it includes a &ision, issue
statement, and method used to sol&e the problem.
The / 0'0s can be used to spar% the discussion about the problem.
A problem statement expresses the words that will be used to %eep the effort focused and
it should represent a sol&able problem.
-These elements should be brief so that the reader does not get lost.
1'% Research -+.ecti"es
*esearch ob1ecti&es set the purpose and focus of your research with the fundamental
questions that will be addressed. Defining your research ob1ecti&es means defining what do I
need to investigate and how am I going to do it? $b1ecti&es are the single most important aspect
of research design and implementation. They include indi&idual, tangible steps that will be ta%en
in your research.
'hen writing down ob1ecti&es you should clearly define exactly what you want to
achie&e with your each step or ob1ecti&e. This means writing down exactly what questions will
be answered or what information gathered. 2or each ob1ecti&e you should also rationali3e why
you need to answer those specific questions or gather that specific information 4 ensuring each
relates directly to your initial problem or question.
1'/ Research 0uestions
A research question is a clear, focused, concise, complex and arguable question around
which you center your research. !ou should as% a question about an issue that you are genuinely
curious about. #egin the research questions with the words what or how to con&ey an open and
emerging design. The word why often implies that the researcher is trying to explain why
something occurs, and this suggests to me a cause and4effect type of thin%ing that I associate
with quantitati&e research instead of the more open and emerging stance of qualitati&e research.
5 2ocus on a single phenomenon or concept. As a study de&elops o&er time, factors will
emerge that may influence this single phenomenon, but begin a study with a single
focus to explore in great detail.
5 6se exploratory &erbs that con&ey the language of emerging design
6se these more exploratory &erbs that are nondirectional rather than directional words
that suggest quantitati&e research, such as 7affect,8 7influence,8 7impact,8
7determine,8 7cause,8 and 7relate.8
1'5 Theoretical 1ra,e#or*
1'6 Hypotheses
tandard 6se of 9anguage in :ypotheses
;. There is no relationship between utili3ation of ancillary support ser&ices and academic
persistence for non4traditional4aged women college students.
<. There is no relationship between family support systems and academic persistence for non4
traditional4aged college women.
=. There is no relationship between ancillary support ser&ices and family support systems for
non4traditional4aged college women.
1'2 Si&nificance of the study
4 It describes the contributions of the study as new %nowledge, ma%e findings more conclusi&e.
4 It cites the usefulness of the study to the specific groups.
4 >ite all the persons and groups that benefited on your study/research.
4 Include a short explanation regarding how those persons and groups benefited from the study.
-:ow the research study will help them?.
4 $f course, the researchers should include themsel&es.
1'3 $i,itations of the study
The limitations of the study are those characteristics of design or methodology that impacted or
influenced the application or interpretation of the results of your study. They are the constraints
on generali3ability and utility of findings that are the result of the ways in which you chose to
design the study and/or the method used to establish internal and external &alidity.
1'4 5efinition of Ter,s
It is important to include definition of terms in your thesis or dissertation in order to understand
the %ey terms being used in the study. These terms should be clearly defined according how they
are used in the study in order to ma%e easy understanding of the problem and a&oid ambiguous
meaning to terms which can be otherwise interpreted in different ways.
1'10 Su,,ary
ummari3e >hapter ;
Chapter !- Re"ie# of Related $iterature
These guidelines are adapted primarily from )al&an -<@@A.. )al&an outlines a &ery clear, step4
by4step approach that is &ery useful to use as you write your re&iew. I ha&e integrated some other
tips within this guide, particularly in suggesting different technology tools that you might want to
consider in helping you organi3e your re&iew. In the sections from tep A4B what I ha&e included
is the outline of those steps exactly as described by )al&an. I also pro&ide lin%s at the end of this
guide to resources that you should use in order to search the literature and as you write your
re&iew.
In addition to using the step4by4step guide that I ha&e pro&ided below, I also recommend that
you -a. locate examples of literature re&iews in your field of study and s%im o&er these to get a
feel for what a literature re&iew is and how these are written -I ha&e also pro&ided lin%s to a
couple of examples at the end of these guidelines -b. read o&er other guides to writing literature
re&iews so that you see different perspecti&es and approaches: ome examples are:
;. *e&iew of 9iterature : 6ni&ersity of 'isconsin 4 Cadison The 'riting >enter.
<. :ow to ..'rite a 9iterature *e&iew: 6ni&ersity of >alifornia, anta >ru3 6ni&ersity
9ibrary..
=. Information 2luency 4 9iterature *e&iew: 'ashington D 9ee 6ni&ersity
E. :ow to Do A 9iterature *e&iew? Forth >arolina ADT tate 6ni&ersity 2.D. #luford
9ibrary.
/. 'riting up research: using the literature . 9anguage >enter, Asian Institute of Technology
-Thailand..
A. elected 9in%s to *esources on 'riting a 9iterature *e&iew
Chapter %- Methodolo&y
teps to 'rite )ood *esearch Cethodology
(ntroduction
An introduction of the research sub1ect, the main problem it attempts to sol&e, ob1ecti&es of
researching the particular sub1ect should be mentioned in the introduction. A clear introduction is
essential to hold the reader0s attention, and gi&e the reader a brief pre&iew of what is to come.
Main )ody
The main body contains the content relating to the introduction. *e&iew, opinions, and
references all relating to the main research sub1ect, either defining, explaining, 1ustifying or
defying the theory. This part will also consist your findings, and reasons for their &alidation. The
sub1ect matter explanation can be described through content, images, graphs, etc. The basic
re&iew in an elaborated form, forms the main body of the research.
Research Method
The authenticity and cogency of the research depends upon the &alidity of research data, the
reliability of measures ta%en to amass the data, as well as the time ta%en to conduct the analysis.
:ence, it is imperati&e to pro&ide the reader with details of data collection and generation,
analysis method of the problems, with their solutions or effects of the researched data.
Co,parati"e 5iscussion
Gresent interpretation of the results, and pro&ide comparati&e analysis with results of pre&ious
research, methods used to obtain the data. This will allow the reader to ha&e a di&ersified &iew of
the sub1ect, and a better understanding of &alidating your research.
Conclusion
The conclusion should answer the most basic question about the research sub1ect and the
question it posed, whether the problem has been sol&ed. 'hether the stated ob1ecti&es ha&e been
met, and if the applied methodology was successful in the correct analysis of the research. A note
on the shortcomings of the research, or the methodology in research will help the future
researchers to analy3e and perfect future researches.
*ead more at #u33le: http://www.bu33le.com/articles/how4to4write4a4good4research4
methodology.html
References
>reswell, Hohn '. -<@@B. *esearch design: Iualitati&e, quantitati&e, and mixed methods
approaches. =
rd
ed. age Gublications.
2eather, Denis -<@;<. How to write a research methodology for an undergraduate
dissertation.Documentation. 6ni&ersity of :uddersfield, :uddersfield. -6npublished.
)al&an, H. -<@@A.. 'riting literature re&iews: a guide for students of the beha&ioral sciences -=rd
ed... )lendale, >A: Gyrc3a% Gublishing.
ingh, G., 2oo%, >. !., D idhu, ). J. -Kds... -<@@A.. A Comprehensive Guide to Writing A
research Proposal. #atu >a&es, elangor: Lenton Gublishing -C. dn. #hd.