research proposal outline

research proposal outline

Research Proposal Outline

1. Introduction

It goes without saying that the introduction is the most important part of any academic project. It tells the person reading the proposal where your research will go and, if admissible, it will say why. Unfortunately, this is the most common pitfall for students. They often tell the reader what they are researching, but they do not give an explanation as to why their work is important. This is the fundamental aspect that needs to be addressed in the methodology. Again, the writer should write in an ‘inverted triangle’ method, from the general to the specific. This will allow easier understanding for the reader. Imagine the research question as a garden and the methodology as a path leading to it. The reader needs to know where the path is going and why it’s the best path to take. They will need to understand the terrain and difficulties they will face on the journey. This is the aim for the writer when completing this section.

2. Research Objectives

To determine the factors that have led existing surface transport users and non-users to choose their present mode of surface transport and derive a predictive model for the choice of surface transport mode to enable policymakers to forecast the changes in travelers’ preferences should policy variables (in the form of transport supply) be imposed. By using stated preference data, investigate the values that people attach to the attributes of a given mode and compare these with revealed preference data to assess the extent to which individuals are making choices in congruence with their underlying preferences. This will enable a better understanding of the forces of change in travel behavior. To study the commonalities and differences between the travel choice behavior of individuals in Britain and North America and to assess the transferability of utility theory and changes in transport supply between differing societies. This will be conducted using separate data sets and comparisons via joint research with Canadian academics. To assess changes over time in travel behavior elasticities and to link these changes with societal values, rationalities, and attitudes toward transport and the influence of transport policy. This will be based on historical revealed preference data, secondary sources, and previous related attitudinal research.

3. Methodology

The main objective of this study will be to investigate the relationship between daily product merchandised and total revenue gained by the retail store. A multiple regression analysis will be conducted to test whether there is predictability between the independent variables and the dependent variable. One of the key assumptions of multiple regression analysis is that there should be no multicollinearity between the independent variables. Multicollinearity occurs when the independent variables are too highly correlated with each other. How the predictability changes when Altoids Price is thrown into the equation can also be analyzed if time permits. Anova Test will tell us whether more than one independent variable is a significant predictor of the dependent variable. F tests using alpha level of 0.05 will be used to test individual hypotheses in the overall regression equation and the specific predictive ability of each of the independent variables. The Sacks test for causality will be conducted through path analysis and an instrumental variable. Availability bias will be measured through the manipulations in Experiments 1 and 2 by interacting between independent variables and having control groups exposed to different.

4. Expected Results

I am sure this section weighs more for our sponsors and sales managers than any other being presented. They are the ones ponying up the funds for this project to happen, and by affecting the sales process we can effect change there in a direct manner. The expected results of this project are to produce a web-based application that will aid semiconductor purchasing departments in their buying of outsourced assembly and test. As the industry continues to shift to outsourced manufacturing to save on internal costs, purchasing departments are beginning to become involved in the selection process of back-end suppliers. With no previous experience or knowledge of what goes on in semiconductor assembly and test, these individuals are at a loss when trying to make decisions for the company. The application created will serve as a tool to educate these individuals on backend processes while providing a recommendation system for supplier selection.

5. Conclusion

Conclusions This chapter has highlighted the variables boundary spanning research has potential to make an important contribution. The findings from the literature review in chapter two suggest that, in the context of multiagency community-based initiatives and the network forms of organization that are becoming more prevalent in the public, private, and voluntary sectors (Kopan and Smith, 1996; Child and Westley, 2002), there is a need to study options and early phases of decision making and joint working by services and organizations. This potentially extends the timeframe for operational research intervention and the involvement of decision makers and operational staff in the study. This is a distinctive feature of OR and systems methodologies and is at variance with the more common applied social science method of data collection and analysis focusing on studying existing conditions and retrospectively evaluating policy and program implementation. The research emphasis on learning processes and choices about future possible actions indicates that OR can also be relevant to providers and policymakers considering courses of action to address public sector problems which may fall within the broad definition of ‘wicked problems’ (Rittel and Webber, 1973). OR studies of decision processes and policy implementation often involve participation of stakeholders in problem structuring and modeling activities, a topic which has also been the focus of a significant amount of research in implementation science and has been cited as an area requiring collaboration between OR and other social sciences (Young, 2005; Rosenhead and Mingers, 2001). The compatible research goals of implementation scientists and OR analysts suggest that OR methods may be useful in building bridges between research traditions and communities of researchers addressing similar problems with different research paradigms and methodologies.