GUIDELINES FOR RESEARCH PROPOSALS
NOTE:
These are general guidelines only; faculties may have their own discipline-specific
guidelines or templates for research proposals, particularly in the health and applied
sciences and engineering.
Study these Guidelines carefully and incorporate the instructions in the proposal
before submission.
Pay special attention to the Evaluation Checklist. This will help you evaluate your
proposal using similar criteria to those used by the faculty research committee and
funding agencies.
Provide a table of contents, including sub-headings and page numbers.
A dissertation comprises a 50% research project (50% course work).
A thesis comprises a 100% research project.
The research proposal should not be too long; five – ten pages generally suffice.
Your first step is to register a research topic (HDC 1.1) through the faculty research
committee.
Your research proposal (HDC 1.2) must be ratified within six months of registering the
topic.
Purpose of the research proposal
To establish that the candidate has:
a viable and researchable problem
an acceptable plan of action for undertaking the research
done sufficient preparation to establish the rationale for the research
a feasible chance of completing the research
The order of the layout suggested below may be changed and certain sections may be
combined; additional points may also be added. The suggested headings serve as road
signs to indicate to the evaluator:
what the research problem is
how the candidate intends doing the research
what the outcomes could be
The examination criteria for a doctoral degree are that there should be clear evidence of
originality, creative thinking and problem solving. The requirement for a doctoral thesis is that
candidates must provide proof of original and creative thinking and problem-solving, and
make a real contribution to the solving of a particular problem in the industry to which their
research applies (NQF Level 10 – see page 26 of Higher Education Qualifications
Framework Draft for Discussion, July 2004.)
For a master’s thesis, candidates must prove that they understand a particular problem in the
industry in which they have done their research, are able to analyse and set it out logically,
are able to arrive at logical conclusions or a diagnosis, and are then able to make proposals
for the improvement/elimination of the problem. (NQF Level 9 – see page 25 of Higher
Education Qualifications Framework Draft for Discussion, July 2004.)
2
1. Title
The title should be concise, as long titles are cumbersome to accommodate in
information retrieval systems. Select appropriate key words or phrases, and avoid
rambling and meaningless statements such as: An investigation into the possibility of
conducting research in . . . Do not start a title with a present participle, such as
Investigating, or Analysing. The title should rather read: An analysis of …
2. Clarification of basic terms and concepts
The same words may have different connotations to people, especially if they work in
various disciplines. List and clarify or define the main words and concepts that you
will use in your research. It may also be useful to provide a list of abbreviations and
acronyms with their full names, e.g. SMME. Commonly used abbreviations/acronyms
(such as UK, USA) need not be included.
3. Statement of research problem
This is the heart of the proposal. Normally a sentence, or at most a paragraph, is all
that is required to describe exactly what the problem is. Many candidates have
difficulty in describing the problem: instead they list the objectives, outcomes, needs
or other irrelevant aspects.
If the research problem is not adequately or precisely described, it is likely to be
rejected. The National Research Foundation (NRF) reports that most research
proposals are “characterised by poorly formulated problems”. Furthermore,
“researchers often indulge in jargon, which seems to obscure rather than explain
what the research problem is”. Candidates should ensure that the problem and their
objectives remain the focus of their thinking and writing.
4. Background to the research problem
Since the statement of the problem should be very brief, it is necessary to explain
separately what the background to the problem is. Clarify the area of concern, or
what needs justify the research (this could be a sub-heading). Any information that
helps the evaluator to understand the problem may be included. Indicate why you
believe that it is, in fact, a researchable problem. This section could be combined with
the literature review, or form a sub-section of it.