Abstract
Qualitative research in the health sciences has had to overcome many prejudices and a number of misunderstandings, but today qualitative research is as acceptable as quantitative research designs and is widely funded and published. Writing the proposal of a qualitative study, however, can be a challenging feat, due to the emergent nature of the qualitative research design and the description of the methodology as a process. Even today, many sub-standard proposals at post-graduate evaluation committees and application proposals to be considered for funding are still seen. This problem has led the researcher to develop a framework to guide the qualitative researcher in writing the proposal of a qualitative study based on the following research questions: (i) What is the process of writing a qualitative research proposal? and (ii) What does the structure and layout of a qualitative proposal look like? The purpose of this article is to discuss the process of writing the qualitative research proposal, as well as describe the structure and layout of a qualitative research proposal. The process of writing a qualitative research proposal is discussed with regards to the most important questions that need to be answered in your research proposal with consideration of the guidelines of being practical, being persuasive, making broader links, aiming for crystal clarity and planning before you write. While the structure of the qualitative research proposal is discussed with regards to the key sections of the proposal, namely the cover page, abstract, introduction, review of the literature, research problem and research questions, research purpose and objectives, research paradigm, research design, research method, ethical considerations, dissemination plan, budget and appendices.
Highlights
Begin with something interesting that im mediately catches attention
Morse (2003:833) points out that qualitative methodology is used when little is known about a topic, the research context is poorly understood, the boundaries of a domain are illdefined, the phenomenon under investigation is not quantifiable, the nature o f the problem is not clear, or the researcher suspects that the phenomenon needs to be re-examined
It is important that the writer plans the process, as the proposal should demonstrate that it is based on an intelligent understanding of the existing literature, but it must show that the writer has thought about the time needed to conduct each stage of the research (Silverm an, 2000:116)
Summary
Morse (2003:833) points out that qualitative methodology is used when little is known about a topic, the research context is poorly understood, the boundaries of a domain are illdefined, the phenomenon under investigation is not quantifiable, the nature o f the problem is not clear, or the researcher suspects that the phenomenon needs to be re-examined. It is imperative that the researcher must convince the proposal evaluation committee or funding agency reviewers in order to be allowed to proceed with the study. In response to this situation, Morse and Field (1996:35) remark that “clearly, developing a rigid plan for a qualitative project, including detailed plans for data collection and analysis, becomes impossible when writing qualitative proposals”. Silverman (2000:113 -117) suggests that the researcher (whether qualitative or quantitative) answers these questions properly This can be achieved by focusing on the following guidelines: be practical, be persuasive, make broader links, aim for crystal clarity and plan before you write. Indicate how your research will improve practice or influence policy
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