Developing Effective Research Proposals

by Keith F. Punch

A well-constructed research plan is vital to the successful execution of any research project. This book shows how to design and prepare research proposal and present it effectively to a university review committee, funding body, or commercial client. The book is organized around three central What are research proposals; who reads them and why?; what general guidelines and strategies can help students develop a proposal; and what might a finished proposal look like? The book will be invaluable across all areas of social science, both basic and applied, and for students undertaking quantitative, qualitative and mixed-method studies. Developing Effective Research Proposals can be used as a workbook to Keith Punch′s bestselling text An Introduction to Social Research (Sage, 1998) or as an independent guide.  

Genres: Writing, Research, Education, Academic, Research Methods

Paperback

First published March 15, 2000

Reviews

[Stef Rozitis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was pretty clear, went through what needs to happen for a research proposal to be well written and was broad minded enough to be useful to most writers, regardless of which research methods qualitative or quantitative they were using.

While I take Punch's point about being dispassionate and not coming to research with an axe to grind, I only partially agree (it is a valid thing for me to watch out for in my writing). I think you do need to be personally involved enough to care about your thesis even if you do also need to have the self-discipline to step back from your perspective and observe. I also think that all researchers have bias, it is just that some are comfortable enough within the status quo not to show it so much.

Anyway that was a minor thing. I found this book very useful. I wish I had my own copy because I am reluctant to let it go back to the library (but I need to). I think as I begin to write my own proposal I will refer to it again and again and check that what I am doing is working. I also like all the strategies about writing things to help you think...I think I will need to do that too (and have already done some). If you think you might write a thesis soon or in the future this book is well worth reading (it is quite a slim book too and logically set out for easy reading).

[Stef Rozitis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reread this because my upervisor thought I should. It's more useful now that I have had a go, it helps me understand what I have not been getting right but also to see that as an OK part of the process. I feel optimistic that between this and my supervisor I will get there this time (no thanks to my former workplace which decided to dump me)

[Ebonique Boyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to read and very useful.

[Bethany Webb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really helpful for my Doctorate!

[Will · Rating 5 out of 5]

Punch up your research proposal with DERP.

It is mercifully slim and very well laid out.

[unperspicacious · Rating 5 out of 5]

This second edition is a gem. I have read in the following order, Chs. 1, 7, 2, 3, and 4, leaving the remaining Chapters 5, 6 and 8 to a later date.

Things I found particularly useful so far:
- The discussion on whether one should approach research projects primarily from the point of view of the problems they address or through leading questions, and the false dichotomy that can arise (Ch. 2, pp. 15-16)
- The simplified model of the research process, without the hypothesis (pp. 17) and with one present (Ch. 3, 27-28)
- Structuring the proposal into three basic layers: the whats (the research subject matter), the hows (methodology) and the whys (relevance to theory, practice and policy) (pp. 17)
- the hierarchy of concepts - research area => research topic => general research questions => specific research questions => data collection questions (Ch. 3).

Detailed content headers are provided at the beginning of each chapter in numbered sub-headings. This makes it very useful for drilling straight down to a particular issue if ongoing work on a proposal is running into problems.

Perhaps this is all blindingly obvious to others more intelligent and experienced, but Punch's typologies and frameworks are a lifesaver for me, especially for someone trying to structure and distill insights from a decade's worth of accumulated literature into what will probably end up as five page single-sided proposal on some grey-beard's desk...

I also found Delamont et al's (2004) 'Supervising the Doctorate' through this book, which has a cracker of a chapter on tips for putting together literature reviews.

Now to actually try and put all this stuff into practice...

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beneficial for second year undergraduate? Not in my opinion as diverse as alternative texts in research methods

[Martecia Ann]

it was a required textbook for graduate school, so it's not like I really wanted to read it.