Research Proposal Guide

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION AND CULTURE
DEPARTMENT OF CURRICULUM STUDIES
RELIGIOUS STUDIES PROJECT PROPOSAL GUIDE
SUPERVISOR/PROMOTER : DR J. MARASHE
E-MAIL: jmarashe@gzu.ac.zw
CELL : +263 71 855 8543
BUSINESS HOURS : 08:00 - 17:00
________________________________________________________________
Introduction to this guide
A research proposal is a brief description of what you intend to do. The proposal
enables you to demonstrate your academic independency, maturity and suitability to
undertake research on your own under the guidance of your supervisor .
1. Project title
 Should not be more than 20 words
 Must be clear, concise and researchable
1.1 Introduction to the Study

 Firstly, introduce the proposal. Indicate or state what the proposal is about in
a few lines where you highlight the main issues you are going to address in
the proposal. After the brief introduction, then develop your proposal under
different headings clearly and to the point.
 Must provide the focus of the whole study
 Should show past and current developments in the area of research showing
gaps in knowledge
 Should clearly state the central argument of research
1.2 Statement of the Problem

 Should show, in a few words, that the research topic is researchable, and
must be concise
 Concepts underpinning the study must be very clear
 Should end by restating or summarising your research topic.
1.3 Objectives of the Study

 Indicate what you should be able to do after the study. Introduce the
objectives by the statement: By the end of the study the researcher should be
able to: …
 Must not put more than one objective in one statement
 Objectives should be relevant, and achievable
 All objectives should be numbered
1.4 Justification for the Study

 Reasons for carrying out study must be stated clearly/ demonstrate the need
for the study
 You must show the significance of your study
 Who will benefit from the study, and how?
1.5 Delimitations
 Set out the periphery of your study area
 Include the physical and conceptual boundary
 Should also indicate the time boundary
1.6 Limitations
 Outline the likely constraints you are likely to face – for instance time,
financial, clearance constraints
 Also indicate how you envisage to deal with the constraints
1.7 Literature Review
 Study the literature relevant for the research topic – journal articles, books,
magazines, online sources etc., and address major issues and concepts of
the research
 Analyse the findings
 Identify knowledge gap to justify the need to carry out research
 Cite sources to avoid plagiarism. Indicate the pages in ALL your references
for instance, Marashe (2014:7) states that …
1.8 Research Methodology

 Discuss the research design for your study, research instruments, population
and sampling procedures, data presentation and analysis procedures and
justify your choices
 Highlight the weaknesses of the above, and explain how you would ensure
that the research remains credible, valid and reliable
 It may not be enough to indicate that you are going to use a qualitative
research design; you need to be more specific about the research design that
falls under the qualitative paradigm.
1.9 Conclusion
 Summarise your proposal in one paragraph highlighting the major points from
numbers 1-10. A list of the sub-headings of the sections in the proposal or
project does not constitute a conclusion.
1.10 References
 Include a reference list of all books, magazines, journal articles you may have
consulted.
 Consistently use the APA referencing style
1.11 Research Timeline

Provide a time-line or plan of your research, taking cognisance of the fact that you
are supposed to submit the final draft of the project on or before the 30 th of October
2019. If the date of submission falls on a weekend, then you must submit your
project on the last working day before that weekend. Tabulate the timeline so that it
is clear in showing what you will be doing in a particular month or part thereof.
1.12 Layout information
Students should type their proposals using the following guidelines:
1. Font: Arial, Size 14 for all headings e.g. RESEARCH PROPOSAL , size
13 for all sub-headings e.g. 1.1 Introduction, and 12 for the rest of the
headings and write-up. All headings should be bold,
2. Paragraphs should be justified,
3. Spacing: 1½ ,
4. Consistently, and accurately use the APA Referencing Style.

Research Proposal Guide

Uploaded by

Research Proposal Guide

Uploaded by

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION AND CULTURE

DEPARTMENT OF CURRICULUM STUDIES

RELIGIOUS STUDIES PROJECT PROPOSAL GUIDE

CELL : +263 71 855 8543

BUSINESS HOURS : 08:00 - 17:00

Introduction to this guide

1.1 Introduction to the Study

1.2 Statement of the Problem

1.3 Objectives of the Study

1.4 Justification for the Study

1.8 Research Methodology

1.11 Research Timeline

Students should type their proposals using the following guidelines:

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