University of the Visayas

GRADUATE SCHOOL
Colon St., Cebu City, Philippines

GUIDELINES & PROTOCOL FOR THE PROPOSAL DEFENSE FORUM

SUBMISSION OF FINAL PROPOSAL DRAFT

1. Before submission, students should check if all of the parts of the proposal draft have already been printed
(with proper paging already), following the prescribed arrangement as stipulated in the Research Proposal
Guidelines
2. Deadline for submission of Final Proposal Draft (3 copies): three (3) days before the date of presentation
[not later than 5PM] at the Velez College Research Office.
 should be placed in a plastic slide folder
 should be presentable (all pages with colored print should be provided in color to all the panelists; for
pages in black and white and grayscale print, clear photocopy is acceptable)
 late submission: deduction of ten (10) points per day to the written output grade.
3. NO ORAL DEFENSE for groups who fail to submit their final research paper draft.
4. Order of presentation will be randomly determined.
IMPORTANT GUIDELINES FOR THE PRESENTORS:
5. The presentors are the groups that are tasked to defend their research proposal.
6. Each presentor (or group) will be designated a 3-member panel of oral examiners consisting of a chairman,
the research professor and a panel member.
7. The panel of oral examiners will be tasked to scrutinize the group’s proposal. A unanimous decision by all
panel members is needed for the group to have their proposal approved. In the event that a unanimous
decision is not obtained even after thorough deliberation, a special proposal hearing will be scheduled to re-
evaluate the group’s proposal.
8. ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE PRESENTORS:
 Shall be present on the day of the defense (in case of absence, the person concerned will not receive
an oral defense grade but only the written output grade)
 Shall wear business casual attire on the day of the defense.
 Shall prepare audio-visual materials for their presentation.
- Visual aids should be provided for the following: (1) title of the study, (2) bulleted list of theories
used in the study with brief definitions & explanations, (3) bulleted & summarized list of their
research methodology including research design, locale, respondents/informants, sampling
method and research instrument/s briefly mentioning its validity, reliability and administrability, (4)
schematic diagram of the research flow of their study (which is simply their research
procedures/data-gathering procedures section placed in a diagram), (5) for experiments, a brief
description of their intervention protocol, and if asked by the panelists, (6) a full copy of their
research instrument – i.e., questionnaire, paper & pencil test.
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- Creativity is given due credit. Acceptable audio visual materials include flip charts, colorful
illustrations, PowerPoint slides, multimedia presentations and the like.
- Presentors should NOT just copy their written output into their audio-visual materials; instead, they
should summarize or paraphrase it with the fewest words possible. Pictures may be placed for
emphasis.
- Audio-visual materials should also be LARGE enough for the audience to see (at least font size
30, sans serif font, if using PowerPoint slides).
 Shall prepare snacks or packed meals and honoraria for their panelists. Honoraria in the amount of
600 Php are given to each panelist after the proposal defense per study.
 Should have with them the complete copy of their final proposal draft (one for each member of the
group) with exact paging as with the one submitted to the panelists [this is where the corrections of the
panelists are noted by the proponents]
9. As an advice, presentors are encouraged to appear amiable and interested in discussing about their
proposal. Each word uttered should speak of their passion and vigor to accomplish the study.
Confrontational tones of voice and an arrogant demeanor should be avoided. Questions should be tactfully
answered. If the presentor fails to comprehend a question, he/she should politely ask for the question to be
repeated or rephrased. An aura of professionalism should be exhibited during the oral defense which will
leave a good impression to the panelists. The decorum displayed during the oral defense can definitely
make or break the success of the proposal.
10. During the oral defense, each presentor is only allotted a maximum of ten (10) minutes to present the
summary of their research proposal. The presentation should be organized in the manner listed below with
parts equally assigned to each group member [other parts may be included as may be deemed important by
the group]:
 Presentation of the title and main problem of the study
 Explanation of WHY they want to undertake their study (which should be supported by evidence such
as relevant demographic statistics)
 Theories used in the study (and how each theory relates to their study and for experimental studies,
how each theory helps support their hypothesized intervention)
 Research Design (and why their chosen design is considered to be the most powerful design to
answer the main problem of their study)
 Research Respondents/Subjects (includes justification of sampling methods used)
 Research Instrument/s (includes validity, reliability and administrability)
 Data-Gathering Procedures/Research Procedures
11. After presentation, thirty (30) minutes of interrogation by the panel of oral examiners shall then follow.
12. During the panel interrogation, questions would be raised to the group to clarify some aspects of their
proposal. The group may be asked to defend specific arguments or analyses in the paper. The panel may
likewise try to draw students out on related issues that did not appear in either the paper or the presentation.
In general, the better the paper, the more smoothly this phase of the interrogation will go.
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13. The panel of oral examiners will culminate their interrogation by giving their major suggestions and
recommendations to improve the group’s proposal. Minor revisions to the output (i.e. grammar, spelling,
formatting) will just be written on the output to save time.
14. FINAL OUTPUT: presentors shall make necessary revisions to their proposal output, furnish compliance
checklists to each panelist and have them signed one (1) week from their oral defense date.
IMPORTANT GUIDELINES FOR THE HOST TEAM:
15. The class shall assign a host team and shall be the overall organizer of the proposal defense forum.
16. ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE HOST TEAM:
 Shall provide name tags (surname) to each member of the host team as well as to each presentor.
 Shall be in-charge of the program & physical setup of the proposal defense forum
 Shall arrive minutes before the start of the research class to make the necessary preparations
 Shall provide each panelist with the programme of the proposal defense forum
 Tasks to be equally divided are as follows:
- physical set-up of the classroom before the start of the defense (may include putting up
backdrops & visual aids of the presentors, room decorations & seating arrangement, tables &
chairs of the panelists & presentors, name labels for the tables of the panelists, sound system,
wireless microphones, etc.)
- one masters of ceremonies to guide the flow of the program
- one timer (shall have sign boards and a buzzer/bell to ensure that the group presentation, and
other parts of the defense do not exceed the allotted time; parts of the defense to be timed per
presentor include 10 minutes for the presentation of proposal summary, and 30 mins for the
interrogation of the panel of oral examiners)
- in-charge for taking photos/documentation
- sergeant at-arms (to control audience noise) & after-care of the classroom at the end of the
defense

Prepared by:

DR. JOHNNY J. YAO JR.

Professor