Writing a Research Proposal and Academic Tips for Literature Review
By: Shantiram Dahal
1. Abstract
Research is a systematic process of investigation into a problem. It is conducted at various levels. Such as graduate level, masters level, M. Phil level, Ph. D. level and Post Doctorial level. Research is an original work. It expands the knowledge and understanding phenomena and attempt to answer 'why' and 'how'. Every academic research begins with the research proposal. A research proposal is a detailed plan, strategy and blueprint to conduct a research systematically. It is an overall plan, scheme, structure and strategy designed to obtain answers to the research questions or problems that constitute your research project. There are certain essential elements in a research proposal without which the research proposal is incomplete. Literature review is one of the major elements of a research proposal. It is a description of the literature relevant to the topic of your research or area of research. This is often written as part of a postgraduate thesis proposal, or at the commencement of a thesis. It describes, compares, contrasts and evaluates the major theories, arguments, themes, methodologies, approaches and controversies in the scholarly literature on a subject. It also connects, compares and contrasts these arguments, themes and methodologies etc., with the concerns of a proposed piece of research.
A theoretical literature review is a critical assessment of the theories relevant to the topic of your research. On the other hand thematic literatures are those contemporary literatures which are relevant with your research topic. Likewise conceptual framework of the literature is that which enables research to relate their literatures with the theory and the current literatures.
2. Background
Human being is the unique product of the nature. In comparison with the other animals, they have most developed nervous and mental system which is very helpful to produce sounds and symbols (letters and numbers) that make possible the communication and recording of their questions, observations, experiences and ideas. To satisfy the curiosity and solving problems of daily life they involve in investigation. In modern times the complexities of human beings are increasing. To reduce such complexities, they have to conduct different research activities.
Research is the essential part of graduate and post graduate program. Without conducting any academic research the objectives of the course will not be fulfilled. But conducting research is not as easy as we thought. It is a systematic investigation to acquire new knowledge, information's, facts, appropriate solution to a problem, deduce theory and generalization. It helps scholars to expand the area of knowledge and further study. There are various micro steps should be followed by the teachers for effective academic research. Before conducting research, the researcher have to submit the research proposal for approvable. When the research proposal is approved by the department then the research should be conducted consultation with the research guide.
3. Research proposal
The preparation of research proposal is an important step in the research process. It provides a detail plan strategy to conduct an academic research. A research proposal is an overall plan, scheme, structure and strategy designed to obtain answers to the research questions or problems that constitute your research project. It is intended to convince others that you have a worthwhile research project and that you have the competence and work plan to complete it. A proposal should state your reasons for undertaking the study. "Broadly a research proposal's main function is to detail the operational plan for obtaining answers to your research questions. In doing so it ensures and reassures the reader of the validity of the methodology for obtaining answer to your research questions accurately and objectively." Ranjit Kumar, 2006:188. In the word of Best and Khan, 2003:35 "The proposal is comparable to the blueprint that an architect prepares before the bids are let and building commences." Generally, a research proposal should contain all the key elements involved in the research process and included sufficient information for the readers to evaluate the proposed study.
The quality of your research proposal depends not only on the quality of your proposed project, but also on the quality of your proposal writing. A good research project may run the risk of rejection simply because the proposal is poorly written. Therefore, it pays if your writing is coherent, clear and compelling.
The research proposal most tells you, your research supervisor and reviewers the following information's about your study:
· What are proposing to do;
· How you plan to proceed;
· Why you selected the proposed strategy.
In this paper I'm trying to give short account on the literature review.
4. Literature Review
A literature review may be presented as a paper on its own, or it can be contained as an integral part of an article, research proposal, research report or dissertation.
It describes, compares, contrasts and evaluates the major theories, arguments, themes, methodologies, approaches and controversies in the scholarly literature on a subject. It also connects compares and contrasts these arguments, themes and methodologies etc., with the concerns of a proposed piece of research (that is, the aims of the essay, research project or thesis, the research questions, and the central hypothesis). The literature review is:
• not an annotated bibliography
• not a summary of each of your sources listed one by one
• not just a descriptive summary of the historical background to your topic
In a literature review, your central focus is examining and evaluating what has been said before on a topic, and establishing the relevance of this information to your own research. You may also identify what has not been said in the literature on a subject (this is called ‘a gap in the literature’, and filling such gaps with new knowledge is a particular interest of postgraduate scholarship). You may also need to discuss the methodologies that have been used in the literature and how these relate to your chosen method.
3.1 Need of Literature Review in Research
A literature review gives an overview of the field of inquiry: what has already been said on the topic, who the key writers are, what the prevailing theories and hypotheses are, what questions are being asked, and what methodologies and methods are appropriate and useful.
A critical literature review shows how prevailing ideas fit into your own thesis, and how your thesis agrees or differs from them.
3.2 How many references to look for?
This depends on what the literature review is for, and what stage you are at in your studies. Your supervisor or tutor should specify a minimum number of references.
Generally speaking, a reasonable number of references in a literature review would be:
- Undergraduate review: 5-20 titles depending on level.
- Master's thesis: 40+ titles
- Doctoral thesis: 50+ titles.
Since a literature review is information dense, it is crucial that the work is intelligently structured to enable a reader to grasp the key arguments with ease.
a. Cite (source): keep the primary focus on the literature.
b. Compare the various arguments, theories, methodologies, approaches and findings expressed in the literature: what do the authors agree on? Who employs similar approaches?
c. Contrast the various arguments, themes, methodologies, approaches and controversies expressed in the literature: what are the major areas of disagreement, controversy, debate?
d. Critique the literature: which arguments are more persuasive, and why? Which approaches, findings, methodologies seem most reliable, valid, or appropriate, and why? Pay attention to the verbs you use to describe what it is an author says/does: e.g. asserts, demonstrates, etc.
e. Connect the literature to your own area of research and investigation: how does your own work draw on/depart from/synthesise what has been said in the literature?
3.4 How to write a literature review
a. The literature search
Find out what has been written on your subject. Use as many bibliographical sources as you can to find relevant titles. The following are likely sources:
- Bibliographies and references in key textbooks and recent journal articles. Your supervisor or tutor should tell you which are the key texts and relevant journals.
- Abstracting journals, such as APAIS, Psychological Abstracts, Library and Information Science Abstracts, etc.
- Electronic databases, eg Electronic Reference Library (ERL), First Search, or Expanded Academic.
Many abstracting journals and electronic databases are available through the University Library'sResearch Gateway.
A useful reference book for information searches:
Lane, Nancy D 1996. Techniques for Student Research: A Practical Guide. Second edition. Melbourne: Longman (UC library call number Z 711.2 L36).
b. Writing the review
Having gathered the relevant details about the literature, you now need to write the review. The kind of review you write, and the amount of detail, will depend on the level of your studies.
An annotated bibliography deals with each text in turn, describing and evaluating the text, using one paragraph for each text.
In contrast, a literature review synthesises many texts in one paragraph. Each paragraph (or section if it is a long thesis) of the literature review should classify and evaluate the themes of the texts that are relevant to your thesis; each paragraph or section of your review should deal with a different aspect of the literature.
Like all academic writing, a literature review must have an introduction, body, and conclusion.
The introduction should include:
- the nature of the topic under discussion (the topic of your thesis)
- the parameters of the topic (what does it include and exclude)?
- the basis for your selection of the literature
The conclusion should include:
- A summary of major agreements and disagreements in the literature
- A summary of general conclusions that are being drawn.
- A summary of where your thesis sits in the literature (Remember! Your thesis could become one of the future texts on the subject—how will later research students describe your thesis in their literature reviews?)
The body paragraphs could include relevant paragraphs on:
- historical background, including classic texts;
- current mainstream versus alternative theoretical or ideological viewpoints, including differing theoretical assumptions, differing political outlooks, and other conflicts;
- possible approaches to the subject (empirical, philosophical, historical, postmodernist, etc);
- definitions in use;
- current research studies;
- current discoveries about the topic;
- principal questions that are being asked;
- general conclusions that are being drawn;
- methodologies and methods in use;
References:
Andersson, B., & Beveridge, A. 2007. A guide to assessments and skills in SCCA (2nd ed.). [Booklet]. Perth, WA: Edith Cowan University.
Best J.W. and Khan, J.V. 1999. Research in Education (7th ed.).New Delhi: Practice hall of India
Hart, C. (1988). Doing a literature review: Releasing the social science research imagination. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Koul, L. 2000. Methodology of Education Research (3rd ed.). New Delhi: Vikash Publishing House.
Kumar R.2006. Research methodology: A step by step guide for beginners.(2nd ed.). New Delhi: Dorling Kindersley India.
Lamb, S. E. (1998). How to write it: A complete guide to everything you’ll ever write. CA: Ten Speed Press.
