PART    TWO           STARTING   OUT
Exercise 8.1
Imagine thai you havo the resources lo sludy four cases of the phenomenon in which you ar<i interested. Following my discussion ol Slako (1994; see Table 8.1 J, draw up a lypology lo indicate the universe of cases potentially available. This typology should include botwocn six and twelve possible cases.
Now explain why you propose to select your four cases in terms of the logic of purposive sampling.
Exercise 8.2
Using conversation analysis, Harvey Sacks lias argued: 'tap into whomsoever, wherosoevor and wo got much tho same things' (1984: 22).
Consider how far your own theoretical model might allow you to use Sacks's argument to justify working with a very small dataset.
112
í
9
Writing a Research Proposal
According to Janice Morse (1994), qualitative research is difficult to sell to funding agencies. This is because:
•    Qualitative research is unstructured.
•    The results of qualitative research are unpredictable.
•    The outcome is uncertain (1994: 227).
How, then, can one convince fundcrs to support a piece of qualitative research? Or a potential university supervisor to support your research proposal?
To answer these questions satisfactorily means shifting away from your own concerns and thinking about the questions that the rcader(s) of your research proposal will be asking. Many of these questions are set out in Table 9.1.
TABLE 9.1     Questions o research proposal must answer
1    Why should onyone be mreresled in my research?
2    Is the research design credible, achievable ond carefully explained?
3    Is the resoccher capable o( doing the research?
Source: adapted from Marshall and Rossntan, 1 °89: 23
How can you properly (and successfully) answer these questions?
•    He practical
•    Be persuasive
•    Make broader links
•    Aim for crystal clarity
•    Plan before you write.
Each of these suggestions are explained below.
BE PRACTICAL
One way to persuade non-specialists, Morse suggests, is to show the specific ways that your research can address a social problem or solve an organizational trouble (e.g. staff turnover).
PART     TWO             STARTINO     OUT
Such a concern with practical problems cannot be shrugged off even if you are proposing to do a purely academic piece of research with no expectation that it will be read outside Ihe university. Academic funding bodies are increasingly demanding practical pay-offs as well as analytic insights. For instance, Kelly (1998:112) quotes a policy statement by the body thai funds social science PhDs in the UK:
Any lingering public perception of social science as a source of irrelevant, introverted and incoherent output is set 'or radical alteration ... In future, research which makes a difference lo the heallh and wealth of Ute population, rather than merely supports 'ivory lower' academic excellence, will be (he ESRC's priority. (Student Information: Economic and Social Research Council, 1996)
The issue of audiences for your research is discussed further in Chapter 24. However, if what you are proposing is *basic research', i.e. a study deriving from debates and concepts internal to social science, then all is not lost. You can strengthen the persuasiveness of your case by showing non-specialists why they ought to lake your ideas seriously. One way to do that is to write a persuasive proposal as explained below.
BE PERSUASIVE
ll is easy to gel very wrapped up in the subject and think thai, because we are convinced of the particular value of <>ur research, others will be too. The way in which the proposal is presented can enable the reader to appreciate what you are planning to do. (Kelly, 1998: 121)
Kelly is reminding us that, in framing a research proposal, one must think first of the audience who is going to read it (and judge it). This means that it should set out to convince such readers that this is something worlh supporting:
The first principle of granlsmanship is to recognize that a good proposal is an argument... for the researcher's project. The proposal must make a case to the granting agency that the research question is interesting [and] that the study is important... Thus the proposal must be written persuasively. (Morse: 1994: 226)
Morse is suggesting that you try to 'sell' your proposal. This means that you must recognize that the craft of selling (your proposal, yourself) is not incongruent with working in a university. 'Ivory towers' were never so isolated as the term suggests!
However, this persuasiveness must be balanced with a realistic understanding about what you can achieve within a few years as a single researcher. Like any good salesperson, do not oversell your goods!
MAKE BROADER LINKS
Realism need not mean that you must present your research as entirely a narrow, anaemic exercise. Even if you cannot cover every aspect of the field
114
^___________■■■■■
WRITING     A     RE3CARCH     P R •.'■' I* '-' - A i
yourself, you should demonstrate your understanding of the broader implications of your proposed research. One way to do that is to hint at a wider context:
place the problem in context to show, for instance, that 'when we understand this, we will be able to work on that'. (Morse. 1994: 227)
Of course, you will be studying very few cases or maybe only a single case. De positive about the gains as well as Ihe losses of this! Show how a relatively small database will enable you to conduct an in-depth analysis (see Chapters 8 and 13). And argue that your case can indicate far larger phenomena:
The writer must show how, in examining a specific setting or group of individuals, she is studying a case of a larger phenomenon. (Marshall and Rossman, 1989:12)
AIM FOR CRYSTAL CLARITY
The proposal should use language and terminology that is understandable to an intelligent lay person as well as to a subject expert. (Cryer, 1996:15)
Although it is tempting to seek to display your newly acquired technical jargon, bear in mind that your proposal is likely to be read, in the first instance, by a faculty member who is not a specialisl in your area of the discipline. So never be content with a proposal which can look like a siream of (perhaps undigested) theories or concepts. Always aim for clear language that describes your research in a way lhal non-specialists can comprehend.
As Morse suggests, this means that you should resist the temptation lo lapse into pure jargon: 'because some of Ihe reviewers will be from other disciplines., the proposal writer should assume nothing and explain everything' (Morse, 1994: 227).
By explaining everything, you will have demonstrated the ability to think (and write) clearly. Not only is this the way to write a research proposal, it is also the best indicator that your research itself will be organized in a clear and logical way:
A sloppily prepared proposal will, at best, send a message to the agency thai if it funds the proposal, the research may also be sloppy. (1994: 226-7)
For inslance, your objectives 'should be clear and il shottld be easy to decide whether they have been achieved or not' (Kelly, 1998: 117). The ways to achieve this are:
•    De concise (there is no reason why a proposal for a piece of student research should be more lhan 500 words).
•    Use short, simple sentences.
•    Use headings as in Table 9.2.
lis
TABLE 9 2    A Structure tor a Qualitative Research PropoKÜ
•      1    TüW
2    Abstfoct (runner advice on tirlei oitd abwrods is found in Cnopler 17)
3    ßoekflround or introduction: e.y. contemporary debates in social policy and social science
4    Statement of purpose or aims: trie research question (The inleltocruol problernls) I may help ion* *fowah Ais research h (oreí      '|
5    Review of *»• relevant literatúre: showing »st importance of the pro|ect h the context of (he classic or definitivo pieces of research in 'his area
ó    Methods: description of casofsl chosen, procedures for dalo collection and data analysis in terms of (a) their appropriateness to you' theoretical orienfabon ond (b) how they satisfy criteria of voiio% and reliobifay [see Choosers 7 and 13)
7    Flr.tr.al Issues (see Chapter 15)
B    Disiemlnotion ond policy rolovonce: explain how you will communicate yowr findings (see Choplers 16 and 24)
9    Timetable: indicating the length of time to be devoted to each stage of the research 10    Befarences «se a sterdord system Lie ** Morvord system '
1 Harvord svstom in the main body of your text (not in footnotes), give surname of author, followed by dole ana nago reference In your references, give author (with initials), dale, title, ploco of publication, publisher and page references (for artldes or chapters) Source adapted from AAorse, 199* 228. Kelly, 1998: 115-21; RuoWam and New**. 1992: 18
PLAN BEFORE YOU WRITE
The wnter must show thai tlw design Is the result oi a «era» of decisions that she made because or knowledge gained from Ihe... literature. (Marshall and Rossman,
1069i 13)
Not only mtist the proposal demonstrate that it is based on an intelligent understanding of the existing literature, it must show that you have thought about the time you will need to conduct each stage of the research from obtaining access to writing up your data analysis- So, as Sara Arber notes, your research proposal will partly be judged by how you state you are going to use your time:
You need to adopt a systematic and logical approach to research, Ihe key to which b the planning and management of your time. (1993:33)
Kelly (1998: 120-1, adapted here) niters an example from an interview study planned to last 32 weeks:
Week 2     Submit proposal to University Ethical Committee.
Week 6     Draw up sample.
Week H     Begin interviews.
VVeek 15    Kml interviews.
Week 23   Complete data analysis.
116
Week 26   first draft sent out for comments. Week 32   Submission of final report.
We are not born with a natural ability to prepare research timetables! To help you plan such a timetable, seek the assistance of a trusted teacher in your department. Failing that, seek out an existing research student. With their help, make a list of all the options available in relation to your research problem, method and casefs) to be studied. Now you are in a better position to write a reasoned research proposal that explains the actual choices you have made
Table 9.2 provides a model structure for such a proposal. When you have read it, you should attempt Exercise 9,1.
SUMMARY
When preparing a research proposal, try to find answers to Ihrer questions;
1    Why should anyone be interested in my research?
2    Is the research design credible, achievable and carefully explained?
3    Is the researcher capable of doing the research?
You can answer these questions better by fol lowing five principles:
•    Be practical
•    Be persuasive
•    Make broader links
•    Aim for crystal clarity
•    Plan before you write.
Further reading
A research proposal is crafted according to the level of your research. Beginning researchers should turn to: Moira Kelly, V/ritíng a reseorch proposal', inC. Seole{ed.J, Researching Society and Culture [%oge, 1998), pp. 111-22.
At PhD level, a useful reference is: Pat Cryor, The Research Stvdenťs Guide to Success (Open University Press, 1996), Chopter 2.
Beyond ihe PhD, you should consult: Janice Morse 'Designing funded qualitative research', in N. Denzin and Y. Lincoln (eds), Handbook of Qualitative Research (Soge, 1994), pp. 220-35.
117