Join Prof. Johannes Cronje and Dr Franci Cronje five weeks of proposal-writing support via Zoom and WhatsApp.
We will meet every Saturday from 15 March to 12 April from 09:30 to 11:00 for group and individual feedback and support as well as covering a specific theme for the day. There will also be a WhatsApp group for continuous peer support. The idea is to have a draft proposal at the end of five weeks.
More information and bookings email johannes.cronje@gmail.com WhatsApp +27825585311
Duration: 5 weeks
Time: 09:30–11:00 (90 minutes per session)
Date: Saturday, 15 March - Saturday 12 April
Week 4: Writing the Proposal and Ethical Considerations
Date: Saturday, 5 April
Objective: Learn how to structure and write a compelling research proposal, including ethical considerations.
Agenda:
Recap of Week 3 and Q&A (10 minutes)
Structuring the proposal: title, introduction, objectives, methodology, timeline, and references (30 minutes)
Ethical considerations in research: informed consent, confidentiality, and data handling (20 minutes)
Homework: Draft the full research proposal, including ethical considerations.
Week 5: Peer Review, Feedback, and Finalizing the Proposal
Date: Saturday, 12 April
Objective: Refine and finalize the research proposal based on feedback.
Agenda:
Recap of Week 4 and Q&A (10 minutes)
Do Exercises 1 and 2 and discuss the solution
Peer review activity: Exchange proposals and provide constructive feedback (30 minutes)
Incorporating feedback and finalizing the proposal (20 minutes)
Workshop wrap-up: Tips for submitting proposals and next steps (10 minutes)
Resources
Most of your article will be in the past tense. The literature survey is in the present tense, but Don't be tense about tense.
Delete all your commas. Then go back and put them only where they belong.
Take a break and watch some comics for grammar nerds.
Here is a nice free online writing course..
Preparation: Read this website and complete the online form: Research as a fairy tale
Week 1: Introduction to Research Proposals and Topic Selection
Date: Saturday, 15 March
Objective: Understand the purpose of a research proposal and identify a research topic.
Agenda:
Welcome and workshop overview (10 minutes)
What is a research proposal? Key components and structure (20 minutes)
How to choose a research topic: relevance, feasibility, and originality (30 minutes)
Interactive activity: Brainstorming and refining research ideas (20 minutes)
Homework: Formulate a personal goal with your research using the GROW methodology and complete the GROW worksheet. Incorporate insights from the literature in moving through the various stages.
Deliverable 1. Grow worksheet complete
Deliverable 2. Analysis of the relevant literature through PaperDigest and Voyant Tools.
Resources for homework:
And a related paper: Terblanche N, Molyn J, de Haan E, Nilsson VO (2022) Comparing artificial intelligence and human coaching goal attainment efficacy. PLoS ONE 17(6): e0270255. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0270255
Week 2: Literature Review and Research Gap Identification
Date: Saturday, 22 March
Objective: Learn how to conduct a literature review and identify research gaps.
Agenda:
Recap of Week 1 and Q&A (10 minutes)
The role of a literature review in a research proposal (20 minutes)
Strategies for finding and evaluating academic sources using conventional and Artificial Intelligence tools (20 minutes)
Homework:
Make a literature table.
Watch this video, then make a branching tree diagram to organise your literature.
Draft a brief 750 word literature review and justify the research gap. Here is the Wits template for your thesis. Use the literature chapter as your guideline.
Propose a theoretical or conceptual framework.
Resources for literature reviews
Week 3: Research Methodology and Design
Date: Saturday, 29 March
Objective: Develop a clear research methodology and design.
Agenda:
Recap of Week 2 and Q&A
Theoretical and conceptual frameworks
Saunders's Research Onion: An overview of research methodologies: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods
Identifying research gaps and formulating a research problem and questions using the ABC method
Choosing appropriate research methods and tools
Designing a research plan: sampling, data collection, and analysis
Homework:
Develop a conceptual model
Produce two research questions that are at right angles on the ABC model
Sessions will be conducted via Zoom, and each session will be recorded. Recordings will be available for download but will expire after one week.
Each session will include a 10-minute break at the halfway point
Write your own research proposal in the format of a fairy tale like this. No more than 100 words.
Once upon a time researchers believed that...
But I think that maybe...
So I am going to...
And I hope to find...
Which will change the way in which we...
Example: Once upon a time, researchers believed that interactive teaching and learning could only be achieved face-to-face. But I think that we could use cheap, available technology to promote interactivity. So I will make a class WhatsApp group to run alongside my real classes and analyze the messages. And I hope to find some levels of activity that will change the way we promote interactive teaching and learning in future.
Resources for literature reviews
The purpose of the literature survey is not to impress us with how much you have read. Its purpose is to show why your research was unique and necessary. A good literature survey would describe the current state of the field, identify gaps or errors, add new perspectives and present the basis of your argument.
There are two main "metaphors" that you could use for your literature survey, the debate and the foil.
You could present the reader with one point of view, and contrast that with another point of view, and then point out that your research will either side with one of them, or produce a third position, which could be a synthesis of theirs, or could be an entirely new position all together.
Alternatively you could use the literature as a foil, or a sword to "cut down" all the current positions already taken. You would present an argument by a certain author, and then show why it is not the ultimate solution. Maybe the sample size is too small. Perhaps it is a quantitative study whereas you need the depth of a qualitative study or vice versa. Maybe it was done too long ago, or, maybe it was so good that it needs to be replicated.
Here is a Checklist for evaluating introductions and literature reviews from Indiana University.
And HERE is the definitive PRISMA STATEMENT of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses.
Resources
How to conceptualise your research in a four-sentence summary. Check out this suggestion by Amanda Wolf of a Four Sentence Research Proposal. Such a proposal makes a good introductory setting. Now write your own:
Narrative hook
Puzzle or curiosity
Researchable opportunity
Purpose / significance
Now that you have the concept you need to structure your writing accordingly. Here is an example of the outline of an academic paper.
Here is Wikihow's structure of an introduction for a research paper.
If you are writing an article for publication, you want to avoid what Tanya Maria Golash-Boza's Get a life, PhD blog calls "Rookie mistakes".
Here is a "Guide to writing your research paper" by Ashley Leeds of Rice University.
Here are some workshop notes.
The late Prof Chris Kapp developed this four part formula for an introduction. The first two parts correspond roughly with Amanda Wolf's "Narrative hook". The third, "Disruption" talks to the Wolf's "Puzzle or curiosity", while her "Researchable opportunity" and "Purpose / Significance" map onto the "Resolution".
Opening Moves
This is the hook to get your reader interested. You could use a general statement that would be a "catch all", you could use an anecdote or describe an event - people love a good story. You could use statistics, quotations or provocative facts.
Common ground
Here you present the context in a way that will resonate with the reader. Show why this research is relevant and significant. Describe the current status of the problem. Discuss previous studies and show their benefits, but specifically also their limitations and omissions. Explain where your research fits into the current body of literature.
Disruption
Now it is your turn. Explain what does not work. (On the other hand...). Show gaps, inconsistencies or misunderstandings in previous research. Finally show the cost of leaving the matter unresolved, or the benefit of the solution.
Resolution
Present YOUR response to the problem What is the purpose of your research and how will it differ from others. Indicate your research methods, clarify concepts and give an indication of what is to follow.
Here is Arkansas State University's example of an introductory paragraph.
Background
Here are some academic writing checklists from:
The purpose of the research methods section is to establish the credibility of your results and to enable replication.
The pattern is: I did this, because I wanted to achieve the following, as is suggested by this author.
Most of your article will be in the past tense. The literature survey is in the present tense, but Don't be tense about tense.
Delete all your commas. Then go back and put them only where they belong.
Take a break and watch some comics for grammar nerds.
Here is a nice free online writing course..
Here are the guidelines for reviewers used by Taylor and Francis.
Advice from Tanya Maria Golash-Boza's Get a life, PhD blog on How to Respond to a “Revise and Resubmit” from an Academic Journal: Ten Steps to a Successful Revision http://getalifephd.blogspot.co.za/2011/03/how-to-respond-to-revise-and-resubmit.html?m=1
Feedback form to use at the end of each day