Develop a research proposal evaluating the impact of leadership and culture on the sustainable development of the 21st century organizations.

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How to write a good postgraduate research proposal

General Rules

Contents:

 Be clear, objective and realistic in your

objectives

 Ask yourself why this research is important

 State and justify your objectives clearly

 Make sure you answer the questions: how will the research benefit the wider society

or contribute to the research community?

Styles:

 Provide a ‘catchy’ title

 Structure your text

 Present the information in short paragraphs rather than a solid block of text

 Write short sentences

 If allowed, provide images/charts/diagrams which may help break up the text

Structure for a Research Proposal

1. Title

2. Abstract (summary of the proposed researched 100-200 words)

3. Introduction (background information/brief summary of existing literature)

4. Hypothesis and main objectives

5. Methodology, research design, participants, procedure, material, analysis

6. Summary and conclusion

7. References

8. Appendices

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Writing the Proposal

Important Components

Title:

Well-presented and clearly written proposals are more likely to stick in people’s mind. Avoid

long and convoluted titles. You will get an opportunity to give more detail in your

introduction

Plagiarism:

Make sure that you acknowledge the authors of ALL publications you use to write your

proposal. Failure to do so will be considered as plagiarism. Do not copy word to word what

an author has said. It is best to analyse and re-write all borrowed information in your own

words. If you absolutely have to quote an author, and then make sure that you use quotations

marks.

Abstract:

An abstract is a brief summary written in the same style as the rest of our proposal. It will

provide your reader with the main points and conclusions of your proposal.

Introduction and Literature Review:

A well-written introduction is the most efficient way to ‘hook’ your reader and set the context

of your proposed research. Get the reader’s attention early on and do no waste space with

obvious and general statements. The introduction is your opportunity to demonstrate that

your research has not been done before and that the proposed project will really add

something new to the existing body of literature. Your proposal does not have to

extraordinary, but it has to be based on sound hypotheses and reasoning.

You will have to provide background information in the form of a literature review which

helps you set the context for your research, to help the reader understand the questions and

objectives. You will also be expected to show that you have a good knowledge of the body of

literature, the wider context in which your research belongs and that you have awareness of

methodologies, theories and conflicting evidence in your chosen

field.

Choose key research papers or public documents and explain clearly how your research will

either fill a gap, complete or follow on from previous research even if it is a relatively new

field.

Methodology:

The methodology identifies the data collection and analytical techniques that you intend to

use. You should propose a quantitative study.

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For quantitative studies, the method section typically consists of the following sections:

 Study design -Is it a questionnaire study or a laboratory experiment? What kind of

design do you choose (descriptive, cross-sectional, case-control)?

 Selection of research location

 Subjects or participants – Who will take part in your study? What kind of sampling

method / procedure do you use? You will need to decide on the inclusion and

exclusion criteria

 Sample size – you need to calculate your sample size based on the type of study you

are conducting. There are several formulas for sample size calculation.

 Study instruments – What kind of measuring instruments or questionnaires do you

use? Why do you choose them? Are they valid and reliable?

 Data collection – How do you plan to carry out your study? What activities are

involved? How long does it take?

 Data analysis and interpretation – this includes plans for processing and coding data,

computer software to be used (eg Statistical Package for Social Sciences / SPSS, EPI-

INFO, etc), choice of statistical methods, significance levels etc.

 Ethical considerations – It is necessary to identify any ethical components especially

if you are using invasive procedures for human subjects. For instance:

o Consent forms (which state overall purpose and any risks or benefits of

participating).

o Potential risks that could be involved in any questioning (emotional distress,

dignity).

o Confidentiality of participants (anonymity).

o Feedback of results to participants.

Important Note:

o Make sure the research design or approach is appropriate for the stated

objectives

o Do not assume the reviewers are familiar with techniques to be used in your

study

o Provide a brief description of the study location, study design and flow of

activities

Summary and Conclusions:

Present an indication on how you envisage your research will contribute to debates and

discussions in your particular subject area. Will it make an original contribution? How might

it fill gaps in existing work or extend understanding of particular topics? Which are the

expected results? Summarize the research proposal’s main points.

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For more information, please see the links below:

http://www.studygs.net/proposal.htm

http://www.psych.uncc.edu/pagoolka/writingAPA

http://www.studygs.net/proposal.htm

http://www.psych.uncc.edu/pagoolka/writingAPA

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Assignment 2 Guidelines

Assignment Two: 50% of module marks

Research Proposal Assignment 2

Title: Develop a research proposal evaluating the impact of leadership and culture on the

sustainable development of the 21
st
century organizations.

Word Limit: 3000 words (absolute max 3500)

Assessment Point No: 2 (2 out of 2) 50% of final module mark

Online Submission: End of week 7 (Sunday)

Time: By 11:59 p.m. (23:59 hours) UTC time at the latest.

Important Note: If you miss the deadline, UNICAF rules on late submission/non-submission will

come into effect.

Learning outcomes assessed:

1. Illustrate the ability to evaluate the existing literature, identify potential gaps and propose a

research which examines the relationship between leadership and culture on the sustain how

you understand your research area

2. Demonstrate knowledge, critical evaluation and practical understanding of leadership.

3. Present critical and evidence-based arguments in written form.

Guidelines:

1. Add in depth evidence of advanced research and theories beyond the core readings which

have been provided in the module.

2. The essay should be reported by using the APA referencing format. Full and detailed

“References” section should be included at the end of the essay.

3. The essay should be within the indicated and appropriate word limit. Assignments that overly

exceed the absolute maximum will not be marked.

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4. Your assignment should be word processed; Arial font size 11 or 12 and double- spaced and

numbered pages.

5. Headings (e.g., Introduction/Discussion/Conclusion) should not be included in your final

essay.

Note: Essential information must be included in the body of the essay and will be counted in the

word count. Extra illustrative information may be included in the appendices.

Your essay will be assessed using the Writing Rubric located at the top of the course shell.

Students will decide on the appropriate structure and content but we would expect to see the

following elements:

 Introduction: Typically, research proposals are developed by scholars who aim to be funded

for a research project (or as the initial step for getting approval to develop a dissertation).

Despite this being a course assignment, in your introduction you should have a clear

statement of your idea and an examination of the significance of a research problem:

o What is the central research problem?

o What is the topic of study related to that problem?

o What methods should be used to analyse the research problem?

o Why this is an important research, what is its significance?

 Literature review: introduce the area of research, review key publications, identify any gaps

in the knowledge or questions which have to be answered. Note that this section is not an

essay going over everything you have learned about the topic; instead, you must choose what

is relevant to help explain the goals for your study. In addition, you must include your

hypothesis, your aims and objectives, how is the research beneficial and to whom. All the

elements that are included in the assignment must be adequately analysed and supported with

material that is properly cited, paraphrased and referenced from a wide variety of external

sources.

 Methodology (Research Design and Methods): The methodology identifies the data

collection and analytical techniques that you intend to use. You should propose a quantitative

study. Propose the research methodology (e.g. techniques, sample size, target populations,

equipment and data analysis) and explain why it is most appropriate to effectively answer the

research question. This section must be organized in a logical manner because you are not

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actually doing the research, yet, your reader has to have confidence that it is worth pursuing.

The reader will not receive an actual a study outcome from which to evaluate whether your

methodological choices were the correct ones. Thus, the objective here is to convince the

reader that your overall research design and methods of analysis will correctly address the

problem.

o Specify the research operations you will undertake and the way you will interpret the

results of these operations in relation to the research problem.

o Anticipate and acknowledge any potential barriers and pitfalls in carrying out your

research design and explain how you plan to address them. No method is perfect so

you need to describe where you believe challenges may exist in obtaining data or

accessing information. It’s always better to acknowledge this than to have it brought

up by your reader.

 Results: Just because you don’t have to actually conduct the study and analyse the results, it

doesn’t mean you can skip talking about the analytical process and potential implications.

The purpose of this section is to argue how and in what ways you believe your research will

refine, revise, or extend existing knowledge in the subject area under investigation.

Depending on the aims and objectives of your study, describe how the anticipated results will

impact future scholarly research, theory, practice, or forms of interventions.

 Conclusion: bring together your main points; address the main question and adequately

summarize the expected findings of your research. This section should be only one or two

paragraphs long, emphasizing why the research problem is worth investigating, why your

research study is unique, and how it should advance existing knowledge.

Marking criteria:

Element Weight %

Presentation (General Presentation and APA reference system) 10

Research proposal (abstract, background information, hypothesis and

objectives, methodology, research design, procedure, analysis conclusions,

critical analysis) 50

Structure and organization 30

Language clarity and accuracy 10

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The following points should be noted for this part of the assessment:

 This is an individual assessment, not a group task.

 Literature should be sourced from a range of journal articles and textbooks.

 The submission should use cases and examples from a variety of organisations to illustrate

the application of the leadership theory in organizations. This information should be

referenced to reports, websites and other relevant documents to allow tutors to access it.

 The word count is 3000 words +/- 10%. This does not include the reference list and any

appendices the assignment may include.

 Accurate referencing of sources is crucial in this coursework. The referencing system used

in this module is the APA Reference system. Please make sure you are familiar with this.

Marks will be deducted for inaccurate referencing.

 The assessment must be submitted electronically via ‘Turnitin’.

 Please familiarise yourself with the regulations on late submission. Last minute accidents

involving the loss of data sticks, corrupted files, faulty laptops and so on can be guarded

against by backing your work up thoroughly and regularly.

 Do not put your name on the assignment cover sheet – use your student number for

identification only.

 Please note that tutors will not be able to pre-assess draft assignments. We will comment on

short sections if students are concerned about their writing style, and we are happy to advice

on outline structures. Please do not ask tutors to comment on whole draft assignments.

 Feedback will be available within twenty working days.