proposal writing

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You have to write your proposal yourself, but you can seek help

RESEARCH PROPOSAL

any medical or epidemiological researches should have a proper proposal in written form before it is actually carried out
is like a blue print of a building plan before the construction starts
both based on scientific facts & on the art of clear communication
should be started by the time one has decided on the topic for the study

A proposal is a protocol or plan of actions for the potential research work, it will be submitted to the scientific and ethics committees for review and approval.

The purpose of the proposal is to help student to focus and define his/her research plans.

RESEARCH PURPOSES:

to discover answers to questions through the application of scientific procedures
to find out the truth & search for new discoveries

Proposal writing starts with the title, the title is the label of the study , it should be clear ,expressive and suitable for indexing. It state the subject of the work rather than the outcome.

Contains as few words as possible; it is a label, not a sentence

Describes the subject as specifically as possible

As easy as possible to understand

Avoids abbreviations or chemical formulae

Does not capitalize conjunctions (a, an, the), prepositions (in, to.. etc), and coordinating conjunctions (and, or …etc)

It should contain:

Measurement

Subject

Population

Location (place)

Time

Institute

Title

By: Name

Supervisor: Name + affiliation

Title page

Introduction:
Objectives:
Methodology:

- Study design:

- Study area:

- Study population:

- Sampling:

- Data collection:

- Data analysis

- Ethical concern:

Budget:
Schedule
References
Annex
Questionnaire

the problem proposed to be studied is introduced in this section
helps the reader to familiarize with the topic
should be short about one or two pages
the problem should be stated in such a way that it’s importance & relevance is realized by any one who reads it

1-INTRODUCTION

Back ground:

Problem statement:

Justification:

reflects extensive review of literature done by the investigator
refers to what is already known about the topic is written
it is important to make it coherent, relevant and easily readable knowledge
helps the investigator to gain good knowledge in that field of inquiry
It also helps the investigator to have insight on different methodologies that could be applied

2-BACKGROUND

Background

Previous relevant studies

Synopsis of field

What else needs to be discovered?

Precise goal of research

Rationale(justification)

should be stated very clearly
statement should be SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, reliable and time bounded
too many objectives should be avoided
even just one clearly stated relevant objective for a study would be good enough
if there is more than one objective the objectives can be presented in the appropriate order of importance

2-OBJECTIVES

General:

………………….

Specific:

……………….

is a way to systematically solve the research problem
it may be understood as a science of studying how research is done scientifically

4-RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Study design
Study area
Study population / Sampling specifications
Sample size needed
Instrumentation
Data collection (Specific procedures )
Data analysis

METHODOLOGY SHOULD COVER THE FOLLOWING TOPICS

Study population: (Inclusion exclusion criteria)

- Sampling: ( Type , size, frame, technique)

- Data collection:

(Variables, Tools + training, pre-test))

- Data analysis

- Ethical concern:

is a specific plan or protocol for conducting the study, which allows the investigator to translate the hypothesis into an operational one
should be clearly stated
should be appropriate for achieving the objective of the study

A-STUDY DESIGN

it is important to describe which would be the study population
how study subjects would be selected, randomization process and other details should be given

B-STUDY POPULATION / SAMPLE SPECSIFICATIONS

it is important to mention in the protocol what would be the minimum sample required and how it is arrived
determination of sample size is a bargain between precision & the price (resources & expenses involved)

C-SAMPLE SIZE

N = z2pq

d²

Where:

n = the desired sample size ((when N “total population “is greater than 10,000).

z = the standard normal deviate = 1.96 for a 95% confidence level.

p = the proportion in the target population estimated to have a particular

Characteristic, in may study this equal the abortion rate in Sudan 12.3%

q = 1.0 – p (the proportion of non occurrence of an event).

d = the degree of accuracy, desirable error or level of precision.

proposal should include the details of all process to be adopted in the study
how exposures, outcome variables and other variables are going to be measured should be described in detail
a brief description of how the data will be processed and use of statistical package if any should be given
what statistical tests of significance would be used?

DESCRIPTION OF PROCESS

the proposal should include the sequence of tasks to be performed, the anticipated length of time required for its completion and the personnel required
it can be presented in tabular or graphic form  Gantt Chart
flow charts and other diagrams are often useful for highlighting the sequencing & interrelationship of different activities in the study

5-TIME FRAME & WORK SCHEDULE

Tasks

W 10

W11

W12

Finalization of the survey proposal

Training

Pre test

Data collection:

Data handling and storing

Data analysis

Report writing

Report delivery

the proposal should also include the important facilities required / available for the study namely computers, laboratories, special equipment etc.

6-FACILITIES

proposal should include who are the primary investigators & co- investigators, their qualifications, research experience etc.
the proposal may also include the major roles to be taken up by different investigators

7-PERSONNEL

translates project activities into monetary terms
is a statement of how much money will be required to accomplish the various tasks

8-BUDGET

Who will sponsor your study?

How much money you need?

How will you Spend the money?

Staff’s salary
Travel
Purchase of equipment
Printing
Consultancy charges
Institutional overheads

you need to demonstrate an awareness of the need for planning and the timescale of the research

Determine how much time each stage will take

If it will take an extremely long time, is it feasible?

9-TIMESCALE
RESEARCH PLANNING

10-BIBLIOGRAPHY

You should include a short list of references to key articles and texts included in the application.

11-ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

privacy, autonomy, beneficenc

Inclusion of human subjects

Privacy and confidentiality

Informed consent

Risk/benefit ratio

Ethics Review Committee approval

PLAGIARISM

Comes from the Latin word meaning “to kidnap”

Examples of plagiarism:

Copying someone else’s words without proper citation

Stealing someone else’s ideas

Stealing someone else’s intellectual property

Quoting the exact words of another writer.

Closely summarizing a passage from another writer.

Using an idea or material which is directly based on the work of another writer.

Vancouver Citation Style .

- Harvard Citation Style .

Recommended by the International Association of Medical Journals Editors and is use in medical and scientific paper and research

Full stop .

Comma ,

Semicolon ;

Colon :

Round brackets ( )

Square brackets[ ]

P page

PT part

ed edition

Supp supplement

et. al. and others

Elements of Citation:

Author(s). Title of article. Title of Journal. Year of publication Month date; Volume Number (Issue number): page(s) numbers.

Smithline HA, Mader TJ, Ali FM, Cocchi MN. Determining pretest probability of DVT. NEJM. 2003 Apr 4; 21(2):161-2.

Author or Editor. Title of the book. ed.[if not 1st]. Place of publication: Publisher's name; Year of publication.
Personal author :Carlson BM. Human embryology and developmental biology.3rd ed. Louis: Mosby; 2004.

Elnour S. title of article. Available from www.sjph.net.sd accessed on July 26 2010.

You have to write your proposal yourself, but you can seek help