Why is alignment across all elements of a concept paper important?
It is important to understand the definition of research, first. Research is the systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of information (data) as a way of creating new knowledge about a particular phenomenon. A concept paper is a project idea, which is usually brief and highlights the main components of the main research project before embarking on developing a proposal. All the elements of a research concept paper are in alignment because they are interlinked to the main idea. By way of example, a flow diagram comprises several components that are aligned to a certain main idea.
According to the Department of Economic and Social Affairs and the Economic Commission for Africa (2008), the components of a concept paper include the title, background information, objective(s), expected accomplishments, indicators of achievement, main activities, and relationship to the relevant conceptual framework. It is important to align all these components for the sake of showing organization and progression to the ultimate step. The research process always begins with a research question that yields to a title.
Background information provides an overview of all the previous developments into the research topic up to the current time and briefly highlights the major reason for conducting the research. The problem statement stems from the background of the study, and it aims at emphasizing the need for the current study by indicating salient gaps. Subsequently, the objective(s) is the gist of the research project, and it focuses on the variables under study. Other authors and scholars advocate an overall goal that can be divided into manageable and specific objectives and/or research questions or hypotheses (Leedy & Ormrod, 2014, p. 2-3).
How does a concept paper set the stage for the research proposal?
Proposal writing is a daunting task that should be carefully planned and organized. A proposal is well thought out and discussed the idea in relation to prior research projects. A proposal begins from a mere idea that is presented in the form of a concept paper. As indicated in the above paragraph, the concept paper contains the most important components of a research project, and it helps in building up ideas in reference to the research project.
The concept paper is a roadmap where the researcher outlines his or her thoughts without going into the gritty details. The researcher uses the concept paper to think through and refine his or her proposal. A researcher mainly presents the concept paper to a panel of reviewers or funders, which can further help in developing the research project or choose to fund the idea, respectively. As long as there is a succinct gap for research, one concept paper can be used to develop several proposals tailored to various objectives based on the nature of the relationship between variables the project seeks to establish and the usage of findings (How to write a concept paper, 2011).
What are the difference between a concept paper, a research proposal, and a research report?
A research report is the presentation or write-up of the entire research process-defined at the onset of this paper. The difference between a concept paper, a research proposal, and a research report are subtle because one leads to the development of the other. The main difference is in the content of information. Whereas the concept paper is a mere idea of the research project in terms of the problem statement, purpose, and activities to engage in to help achieve desired objectives, the objective is a detailed discussion and analysis of each component of the research proposal in relation to previous research projects. The research report, on the other hand, contains raw data, analysis of this data, and discussion of this data. In addition, the time spent in preparing each document gradually increases as complexity increases (Virginia Union University, 2014). The concept paper is the least complex, while the research paper is the most complex.
References
Department of Economic and Social Affairs and the Economic Commission for Africa. (2008). Guidelines for the preparation of concept papers for the 7th tranche of the development account. Web.
How to write a concept paper. (2011). Hanover Grants. Web.
Leedy, P., & Ormrod, J. (2014). Practical Research: Planning and Design (10th ed.). Edinburgh: Pearson Education.
Virginia Union University. (2014). Proposal Development. Web.