Writing a Research Concept Paper as a Proposal

1. Introduction

A research concept paper acts like a proposal and enables a student to define and communicate a research/project topic to broader audience. A well-constructed concept paper should capture the interest of the reader and provide a clear indication of what the students intends to do, how they intend to do it and the justification for doing so.  For the purposes of this assessment, you will be writing a research concept paper which acts as a proposal using the template provided.

Your paper should set out the central issues or questions that you intend to address, as well as it outline the general area of study within which your research falls, referring to the current state of knowledge and any recent debates on the topic. It should also demonstrate the originality of your proposed research and the potential contribution.

You should aim to address the following through your paper:

• There is a need for your proposed study; it is significant and important.
• You are contributing something original to the field.
• The topic is feasible in terms of availability of resources, equipment, supervisors, data, etc.
• The research can be completed in the expected time period.
• The topic matches your programme of study, interests and capabilities.

1.1. Aims and Objectives of the Research

It is appropriate to include a sentence saying “The main aim of this research is to … ” under this section. Clearly identify the goal of the study in one precise sentence. Your aim is basically what you intend to do to address the problem you have identified.

Once you have developed your project aim you can develop objectives. As mentioned above, your project has one overall aim. In order to achieve it, a number of objectives should be formulated. Each objective is a small, achievable and assessable unit, i.e. a sub-goal of the project. Objectives should be formulated in such a way that fulfilling the objectives leads to the overall aim being satisfied.

An effective methodology section should:

• Introduce the overall methodological approach for each problem, question, or objective. Is your study qualitative or quantitative? Are you going to take a special approach, such as action research, or use case studies?
• Describe the specific methods of data collection you are going to use—e.g. experiments, surveys, interviews, questionnaires, observation, archival or traditional library research.
• Explain how you intend to analyse and interpret your results. Will you use statistical analysis? Will you use specific theoretical perspectives to help you analyse a text or explain observed behaviours?
• If necessary, provide background and rationale for methodologies that are unfamiliar for your readers.
• Address potential limitations. Are there any practical limitations that could affect your data collection? How will you attempt to control for potential confounding variables and errors?