Sometimes I used to ponder what pulls me in research. Either this is my surrounding arena, my mental vision to percept objects and facts differently or simple inquisitiveness which dragged me to investigative strategies.
‘Research’ is a word which more or less every student encounters very often. Research can be visualised and perceived as painstaking methodical efforts to scrutinise, investigate as well as reshuffle the realities, theories and applications. In order to transform our research imagination and ideas, a proposed scheme is a vital part to come out with. A tailor-made synopsis caters many purposes. It not only serves as a tool for the researcher to cling to devised methodology but also gives an impetus to the study estimating the outcomes.
Before penning down a thorough research proposal, one should clearly conceive the research question, its relevance, and the methodology with its clarity and appropriateness. Moreover homework on the feasibility of the project as well as concentrated efforts on relevant scientific literature should also be taken into account.
A typical framework of research proposal constitutes the ‘title’, which must be laconic but catchy enough to draw favorable attention of the reader towards the content of the proposal. The area of ‘introduction’ highlights the background of the research field with a critical eye on published and unpublished scientific evidences. Identified loopholes in scientific evidences provide insight for further research in the area depending upon the researcher’s creative ability and analytical acumen. Precisely the research question should be presented in a broader perspective with much emphasis on its significance.
A research proposition should be incorporated in the later part of the introduction with solid reasons for performing the study. The ‘objective’ of the study should be precisely outlined as an extension of research proposition or hypothesis.
The ‘methodology’ should clearly depict the way to tackle the research problem. It must be sound and valid enough to address the research problem in a logical way. Depending upon the requirement, methodology must be an amalgam of both qualitative and quantitative research. By adopting this methodology a prospective researcher is going to fine-tune the pre-conceived notions as well as extrapolate the thought process, analysing and estimating things from a different perspective. The section of ‘results’ should be reflective of the type of data to be collected as well as statistical packages for testing the hypothesis.
Last but not the least in ‘discussion’, a sense of eagerness must be generated without highlighting the excellence and worth of the proposal. Constraints and limitations of the proposed research work should be clearly mentioned.
As Galileo Gililei stated, “All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.”
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