Theological Research Seminary: Presentation 6

1. By Kevin G. Smith
The Research Proposal
Theological Research Seminar

2. THE PROPOSAL
What are the fundamentals of a quality research proposal?

3. • A research proposal “is a document that outlines how you
propose to undertake your research studies” (Mouton
2001:44).
• The research proposal outlines what you will research and
how you will research it. The ‘what’ part is called the
problem; the ‘how’ part we call the plan.
• Once approved, the research proposal serves as a kind of
contract between the student and the supervisor.
What is a research proposal?

4. • ‘The greatest value of the research proposal is that it keeps
the research project on course’ (114).
– It prevents time-consuming rabbit-trails.
– It dramatically reduces the amount of reading you will do.
– It protects you against gathering unnecessary data.
• ‘In short, prepare a good proposal and your research will flow;
prepare a poor one, and it will flop’ (115).
Why is the proposal important?

5. • Carelessness: students fail to edit their proposal with
care, so it contains many sloppy errors.
• Ignorance: inexperienced researchers fail to
understand the nature of a research proposal.
• Over-eagerness: in their haste to get on with the
real work, students slap together a poorly conceived
proposal.
Why so many bad proposals?

6. Problem
•The ‘what’
•Topic
•Aims
Plan
•The ‘how’
•Type
•Approach
What does a proposal contain?

7. • Main problem
• Key questions
• Hypotheses
Statement
• Delimitations of the study
• Definitions and presuppositions
• Preliminary literature review
Elucidation
• The theological value
• The practical valueValue
The ‘problem’ section

8. • Type of study
• Structure
• Timeframe
Design
• Data
• Tools
• Steps
Methodology
• Annotated reading listBibliography
The ‘plan’ section

9. Take care with the preparation of your research
proposal. Based on the proposal, your professor will
make a decision as to whether you are capable of
conducting serious research. Your proposal needs to
make a positive impression. Sloppiness in the
presentation of your proposal sends the wrong
message. No professor looks forward to working with a
lazy, careless student.
Preparing the proposal

10. • Do not make any errors on the title page.
• Check the grammar and spelling carefully.
• Ensure your proposal conforms to institutional
requirements.
• Keep your language modest and precise.
Preparing the presentation

11. THE PROBLEM
How does one develop a research idea into a research
problem?

12. 5. Fleshing out
of the problem
1. Provisional
research idea
2. Preliminary
literature
review
3. Precise
statement of
the problem
4. Identifica-
tion of the key
questions

13. 1. Research idea
• The research idea must be something of interest to you; the
interest must be intrinsic, not just extrinsic.
• The research idea may emerge from a real-life problem. This is
common in practical theology.
• The research idea may come out of the current state of
research in a particular field.
• The research idea is not a research problem. It may have the
seed of a suitable research problem.

14. • A preliminary literature review scans academic writings
related to your topic to see what has been done and what
questions remain unanswered (or unasked).
• A preliminary literature review will alert you to current trends
in your field of interest.
• A preliminary literature review will help you to delimit your
study to ensure that it is doable.
• A preliminary literature review may alert you to the fact that
your research idea is not doable.
2. Literature review

15. 2. Literature review
Summaries
Abstracts
Reviews
Listings
Bibliographies
Online stores
Articles
Journals
Chapters
Whole
Seminal books
Theses

16. You must read until you
• know all the key contributors and their contributions;
• understand the major schools of thought on your
topic, and what separates them (e.g. beliefs, methods);
• understand the research methods employed in your field;
• have a good sense of what has been done, and where
there are gaps in the current state of research; and
• reach saturation point: when you are no longer finding
anything new, it is a good indication that you have read
enough.

17. 2. Literature Review
Insufficient or inadequate reading is one of the most
common causes of substandard research proposals.
Students often rush to compile a proposal within an
adequate reading programme. Some universities
require an extended reading programme before a
candidate may even commence work on the research
proposal. Moral of the story: read, read, and read some
more.

18. • State the main research problem in a single sentence!
• The form may be as a statement, question, or objective.
• The statement must be simple and precise.
• The statement should have a subject and a complement.
• The problem should not permit a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer.
• The question should not be a pretext for a crusade.
3. Main problem

19. 3. Main problem
Single sentence
If you cannot state the main
problem in one sentence, it is
not yet sufficiently clear in
your own mind!
You must be able to state it in
one sentence that contains all
the key elements, and points
to the links between them.
Problem or pretext
You are looking for a research
problem. While you should be
interested in your topic, you
also need to be objective.
If you feel too strongly about
the topic or you already
“know” the answers, you
cannot research it!

20. Key
question
3
Key
question
2
Key
question
1
Main
problem
4. Key questions
Since the main problem is too large to treat as a whole, it is
broken down into 2-6 key questions in such a way that the
sum of the key questions equals the main problem. That is, if
you answer all the key questions, you will have solved the
main problem.

21. How should churches in Swaziland minister to
polygamous families which join the church?
1.
What cultural
practices related to
polygamy pose
pastoral challenges
to the churches?
2.
How do the
churches currently
handle these
pastoral
challenges?
3.
What biblical
principles should
pastors bear in
mind as they
minister to
polygamous
families?
4.
What practical
steps do churches
need to take to
enhance their
ministry to
polygamous
families?

22. Main problem
• Question 1
• Question 2
• Question 3
Thesis title
• Chapter 2
• Chapter 3
• Chapter 4
4. Key questions
There is a direct correlation between the main problem and the thesis
title, and between the key questions and the chapters in the thesis body.
Typically, the each key question governs a major chapter.

23. • Uncommon technical
terms
• Terms with diverse
meanings
• Nuanced terms in your
study
• Terms from other
disciplines (e.g., medical)
5. Flesh out proposal
Definitions

24. 5. Flesh out proposal
Delimitations Presuppositions
• What you will not study, that
is, what you will exclude.
• Make the study doable by
reducing its scope.
• They may be
canonical, geographical, historical
, cultural, ecclesiastical, or
conceptual.
• The ‘givens’ which under-gird
your thinking and approach
• Conclusions of previous research
on which you are building
• Biblical, theological, or
ecclesiastical biases which may
influence your objectivity

25. • Theoretical value: Describe how the proposed research
promises to contribute to the current state of theological
knowledge, and why its findings should be valuable.
• Practical value: Briefly describe the present realities and how
the proposed research may help to address them.
– Who should benefit?
– Why should they benefit?
– How should they benefit?
Fleshing out the proposal

26. THE RESEARCH PLAN
The Research Plan

27. The plan needs to be thorough, describing every step the
researcher intends to take in solving the problem. Many
research proposals fail dismally here. They set out the plan
in such vague, general terms that one really has no idea
exactly how the candidate intends to solve the problem.
The research plan should be presented in such detail and
with such clarity a different researcher, simply by studying
the proposal, could duplicate the study.
Weak area in proposals

28. Research Design
• The research design is the general approach you will
use to solve your research problem.
• What kind of research must I undertake to solve the
problem, to achieve the objective?
• The type and existence of the data you need to solve
the problem determine the design.
• Is there an existing research model that would serve
my purposes well?

29. • Type
– What type of data will I need to solve my problem?
– Therefore, what type of study should I conduct?
• Logic
– How will the logic of the study unfold?
– Which model seems most appropriate for the study?
– How do I need to customize it for my study?
Research Design

30. • Timeframes
– You need to assign due dates for each section.
– The due dates become a contract with your supervisor.
• Guidelines for timeframes
– Full-time: MTh = 1-1½ years; PhD = 2-3 years
– Part time: MTh = 2-3 years; PhD = 4-5 years
Research Design

31. Research Methodology
Methodologies
Research methodologies are
proven ways of solving
certain problems. They are
like tools in a toolbox. An
expert researcher has
mastered the art of knowing
when and how to employ
each tool to solve problems.
Methodology
Your methodology is a
description of the steps you
will take to solve your
particular problem. Drawing
from your toolkit of
methodologies, you will
select and use appropriate
tools for each step.

32. Methodologies • Dialogical
• Comparative
• Complementary
• Epistemological
• Polemical
• Analytical
• Synthetic
Methodologies
used primarily in
conceptual
argumentation

33. Methodologies • Textual criticism
• Historical criticism
• Lexical analysis
• Syntactical analysis
• Discourage analysis
• Source criticism
• Form criticism
• Redaction criticism
Methodologies
used primarily in
biblical exegesis

34. Methodologies • Questionnaire
• Survey
• Interview
• Case Study
• Focus Group
• Participant Observation
Methodologies
used primarily in
field research

35. Research Methodology
Your Methodology
Take each step in the
process and describe
exactly how you plan
to do it.
The Main Components
• Methods: What
methods will I use for
this component?
• Materials: What
materials will I use for
this component?

36. • We ask for an annotated bibliography at the end of the
research proposal.
• You should not simply list books; you should know what is in
them and why they are relevant.
• Only include scholarly sources which are directly relevant to
your research topic.
• How many? BTh: 10-15, MTh: 20-25, PhD: 30-40. It may vary
slightly according to topic.
Bibliography

37. The common mistakes with the bibliography
• out-dated works
• popular works
• irrelevant works
• general works
Bibliography

38. Bibliography
A word of advice—start compiling your thesis
bibliography from day one! Each time you consult a
book or an article, add it to your bibliography. Writing
the bibliography is frustrating at the best of times, but
if you leave it to the end of the process, it can be
almost impossible. We recommend that you open a file
on your computer called ‘Bibliography’ and update it
every time you find a new source.