At the end of every Undergraduate course or Postgraduate program, the faculty will require you to write a research project. However, before writing the research project, you will be required to come up with a project proposal. This article on how to write your final year project project will give you an overview on how to approach this important step in your academic journey.
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How to write your Final Year Project proposal
What is a Project Proposal?
A project proposal is a plan that outlines your proposed project ideas, research methodology, expected outcome and the project purpose. It describes how you intend to accomplish the research project. The project proposal because without the proposal, there is no plan, and without the plan, there is no project.
Many students tend to find writing the project proposal a very cumbersome task to accomplish. Others simply don’t understand where to start and what it should entail. If you fall in either of the categories, I am here to guide you on how to write your final year project project and get the most out of it. Have in mind that a good proposal is very useful in organizing time and other resources you will need for your research project.
Before diving into the steps to follow for your proposal, you need to identify a topic on which your proposal will be based. The key to identifying the right proposal is to focus on current problems. It may be at school, work environment, society, and the community. Your topic should then aim at solving the problems.
The next thing to do is to research the topic in detail and understand what it entails. You should be able to analyze some outline problems in detail and get a better way to solve the problem. For example, Students in your school may have challenges when it comes to finding proper housing, why not create an application that connects the students directly to Landlords? With that, you would have given the right solution to your problem.
Here are steps to follow to write a winning project proposal;
Title
This is a very important part of writing any proposal. This will attract the attention of the reader or the lecturer just at first glance. However, to do so, you should make the title as short as possible so that it is memorable and attract maximum attention. An appropriate topic should contain at least fifty characters including punctuation marks and spaces. Try to look for keywords that define your topic. Nevertheless, don’t get pressurized into coming up with the most amazing title in the whole world because it can change along the way.
Abstract
This is the first part of your project proposal. It gives the readers a brief insight into what the proposal contains. To avoid making this part boring, do not use wordy sentences. Try to make it short and appealing as possible. In other words, just talk about what the proposal will contain. A maximum of 100-200 words is ideal.
Introduction
An introduction is the most crucial part of your research proposal. It will act as the foundation of your proposal. Clearly state the objectives of the research topic. List down all the approaches you intend to use to solve the problems. Let’s use our example, whereby students have a hard time locating houses around the school. That is the problem you identified in the study area, now you will have to bring out clearly how the problem relates to your field of study and how you intend to solve the problem. Do not forget to back up the challenges with reasonable facts and evidence.
Purpose of the research
Many students confuse this part with literature review. Yet is more concise than a literature review. Your purpose for the research must also include;
- Research background– This part defines what people say about your topic, it should clearly define the debate around your topic and the steps you are taking concerning the debate. You should make it short and more precise.
- Research questions– This is the part where you clearly define what your goals are for the project. Ask yourself what you are seeking with the research. Note down other central aims that run through your area of study. At this point, you will begin to notice how your research fits into the field of study. If you find out that your research has already been discussed or talked about before, then it might not have much of an impact. Therefore, try to be unique. Work towards bringing new insight, new direction, and new consideration.
- Methodology: The methodology is the research method you will follow to bring out a meaningful conclusion. You should be able to justify why you have chosen any method that you will use. Be it qualitative or quantitative. Don’t forget to determine the success of your project in terms of how it will solve the current challenges and even future challenges. In this part, most students tend to omit any limitations. Inevitably, issues and challenges will always be there. For example, if you are issuing questionnaires in a rural area, chances are you might find language barriers or uncooperative individuals. It will hence be very naïve of you to think that you will not encounter any shortcomings. After identifying any limitations, clearly state out how you are going to overcome the challenges. This will show the lecturer or professor that you have a correct research mindset.
- Another important thing to take note of is the analysis bit. Explain in detail how you plan to analyze your data. Let’s say, you have already issued 5000 questionnaires, how will you then analyze the data you have gotten?
- Instruments: Talk about the research instruments you will be using to conduct your project. If you are looking to develop a software application, state out the modules you are going to use. This might include data floor diagrams, document management systems, Content management systems Etc.
- Reference and Citation: Citations and references shouldn’t miss in your proposal since it’s a requirement in all academic writings. It shows the reader that you have clearly understood your project title. It is also used to show appreciation to other people’s work that has helped you formulate an outstanding project proposal. It should contain the name of the authors, title of publication, and date of publication. Lastly, proofread your work for any grammatical errors. You can use online tools such as Grammarly and Hemingway to make your work error-free.
- Conclusion: Writing a project proposal is a very simple task. You don’t have to necessarily make the best proposal in the whole world. Just follow the simple steps and show the lecturer that you understand what you are doing. The most important thing is to maintain a formal approach and use simple language that won’t strain the reader or professor. All the best in your project proposal!!