Handing in your research proposal so your professor and the committee can approve it is the first step to completing your research paper. But now it seems you have been procrastinating or you are too overwhelmed by other school projects that you put the due date out of your mind. Now, the time is up, and the due date of the research proposal is tomorrow, meaning you now only have hours to complete it and hand it in. What do you do?
Take a deep breath and don’t panic because all hope is not lost. Writing a research proposal in a matter of hours is doable if you know what sections to include and how many minutes or hours to spend on each section. All you need is a step-by-step plan of action to succeed. So let us help you by showing you how to write your research proposal in a matter of hours
1. Research (1 hour)
This the first and most vital step before you start writing your research proposal. You need to research the topic you have been given and find credible sources so that you have enough information to include in the upcoming sections. A good hour of research should help you find all you need. Use Google Scholar to speed up the process. After you are done, organize all the research and begin writing the research proposal.
2. Title (1 Hour)
Every great paper needs a title. Your title must be able to tell the reader what the research paper is about. It must be interesting and contain the appropriate keywords. You have to do some research in order to come up with a great title. Use the first 15 minutes to research your title, and then use the other 45 to tweak it until it fits the criteria and is interesting enough and engaging so the readers would want to continue reading the paper.
For instance, if you plan to research how getting a Master’s Degree in Education leads to better salaries for teachers, a good title would be, “Should Teachers Get a Master’s Degree? An Analysis of How Getting an Advanced Degree Impacts the Salary of Teachers and Their Lifetime Earnings Potential”
3. Abstract (45 minutes)
An abstract should not be long but just a short description of the problem or question you are going to address in your research proposal. The description needs to be 3-4 sentences long, but contain enough information to give the reader a quick overview of the entire research you want to carry out. This means that something between 100-250 words should suffice. It should take you about 45 minutes to come up with a great abstract.
4. Introduction (1 Hour)
The introduction should tell your reader why this particular research is unique and should be carried out. The introduction should also draw the attention of the reader to the question/problem at the center of your research proposal by explaining things like how the question/problem came to be and how you plan to fill the research gap. These things should take you 15 minutes to think about and 45 minutes to write down.
5. Problem/Objective Statement (1 Hour)
When writing this section of the research proposal, you should be able to tell the reader why you need to conduct the research and all the issues that will be raised in the research proposal. You must make sure that the problem/objective of your paper is specific, unique, relevant to the present times, practical and able to fill the gap in research. This section should take you an hour to think about and write down 2-3 paragraphs that are 2-3 sentences long.
6. The significance of the Study (1 Hours)
This is a single sentence that will shed more light on why the area of the research you are proposing is of particular importance. The same sentence will also tell your audience what type of analysis or research you are proposing.
7. Methodology (2 Hours 40 minutes)
Now that the objectives of the study have been clearly defined, it is the time to mention the methods that will be used. You need to include the following subsections when talking about the methodology:
- Research Design (40 minutes) – Make sure that the design fits the criteria of the question/problem.
- Instrumentation (40 minutes) – Tell the readers what instruments you used to collect the data. This can be anything, from interviews, surveys, questionnaires to focus groups.
- Respondent and Sample Design (40 minutes) – The respondents are the subjects/people you used the instruments on in order to gather the data used in the research study. You should also mention the sample size of the respondents and how you derived it.
- Plan of Analysis (40 minutes) – This part should explain to the reader how the data you have obtained from using the instruments will be used in the research study.
8. References (1 Hour)
On a separate page, include all the works you have referenced in the research proposal. You need to acknowledge all the contributors to your research, otherwise, it will be considered as plagiarism to use their work and not give them credit.
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