In the process of writing the thesis proposal, a number of difficulties were encountered. However, most sections of the proposal paper were quite easy to articulate, research and present the necessary details. In order to develop the full proposal, it was necessary to draft an outline. This assisted the whole writing process because it made sure that all the required elements of the proposal were captured in the paper. Developing an outline was not a cumbersome task because it merely reflected the instructions to be covered in the thesis proposal paper. The outline comprised of the following elements: abstract, introduction (research question and purpose statement), literature review, theoretical framework/approach and the hypothesis to be tested as well as research design/methodology. From the given elements of the thesis proposal, research design/methodology and the theoretical framework/approach proved to be major challenges in completing the proposal.
Coming up with a suitable theoretical framework/approach requires thorough understanding of the topic being studied. A theoretical framework is the theory that pockets or hosts the work at hand. In other words, it is the skeleton of the whole concept or ideas to be discussed. Hence, an appropriate theoretical framework should be accompanied by relevant theories and concepts. Such a framework may also be compelled to confront different views of authors or schools of thought on the same subject. When developing the framework for the thesis proposal, I had to synthesize all the available arguments on the subject matter and eventually close with the opinion of one or a few authors on the subject. This can be a challenging task especially when the views are divergent (Chan 2009, 173).
When it comes to the methodology section, it is crucial to mention that the adopted method should be capable of analyzing a set of observations and different study parameters in order to obtain sound outcomes. A wrong choice of methodology may spell doom for an entire research study (Cameron 2011, 101). Since this was a proposal stage of the final project, the choice of methodology to be used was a demanding task. Worse still, some methodological procedures may require mathematical principles and ability to apply statistical packages during the analysis. Hence, it was time consuming and mind-boggling to develop an appropriate methodology for the thesis proposal.
Research design is also part and parcel of methodology. It was crucial to formulate the type of research study that would be conducted in the final project. Since different research designs can be used, it was cumbersome to determine the best and most relevant one. For example, would the research study be descriptive or exploratory? The manner in which the final research project is to be performed determines the nature or type of research design. It is explicit that when it comes to empirical research with fieldwork or laboratory procedures, everything can be easily set up. However, a quasi-experimental study like the one proposed in the thesis proposal requires both solid theoretical background and utilization of past empirical studies. Needless to say, a mixed design approach can be very tricky.
Finally, outlining the path for the research proposal in the research design/methodology section was also a challenge when compiling the thesis proposal (Braguglia and Jackson 2012, 348). For example, it was supposed to stress clearly the criteria of selection and location of sources of information. Second, the methods and techniques used in data collection were to be outlined. Besides, tests should be carried out prior to data collection technique. Contrary to common perception, data is not necessarily expressed in numbers and processed statistically. The type of data collected during a survey depends on the type of study conducted. The latter demanded thorough understanding of the entire subject matter.
References
Braguglia, Kay, and Kanata Jackson. 2012. “Teaching Research Methodology Using A Project-Based Three Course Sequence Critical Reflections On Practice.” American Journal of Business Education 5, no. 3: 347-348.
Cameron, Roslyn. 2011. “Mixed Methods Research: The Five Ps Framework.” Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods 9, no. 2: 96-108.
Chan, Joseph. 2009. “A Conceptual Framework for an Integrated Knowledge-Driven Enterprise Model.” Journal of International Technology and Information Management 18, no. 2: 161-185.