ABSTRACT
The abstract is a brief summary of your Research Proposal, and should be no longer than
200 words. It starts by describing in a few words the knowledge domain (broad area of
research) where your research takes place and the key issues of that domain that offer
opportunities for the scientific or technological innovations you intend to explore. You then
present briefly your research statement (focus area), your proposed research approach,
the results you expect to achieve, and the anticipated implications of such results on the
advancement of the knowledge domain. It is important to keep your abstract concise, clear,
and objective.

Table of Contents
1. Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 3
2. Overview or Background …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 3
3. Problem Statement ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 3
4. Research Goal and Objectives …………………………………………………………………………………………….. 4
5. Literature review …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 4
6. Research Methodology ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 5
7. Contribution to the field/ Significance and /or Impact of Proposed Research …………… 6
8. Relevance to the Department …………………………………………………………………………………………….. 6
9. Research Plan and Timeline ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 6
10. References……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 6

1. INTRODUCTION
This template is designed to assist you in writing a research proposal in the correct structure
and format as required by the College of Computer and Information Sciences (CCIS). This
template should serve as a starting point for any student writing a research proposal. The
headings and styles give an indication of the sections required in the research proposal. A
research proposal is an outline of your proposed project that is designed to:
• Define a clear question and approach to answering it
• Highlight its originality and/or
 significance
• Explain how it adds to, develops (or challenges) existing literature in the field
• Persuade readers of the importance of the work.
The introduction of the research proposal should aim to catch the reader’s interest and
should be written in a style that can be understood easily by any reader with a general
computing science background. It gives an overview of the research project you propose
and explains the background of the project, focusing briefly on the major issues of its
knowledge domain. It then proceeds with the presentation of the research focus, which can
take the form of a hypothesis, a research question, a project statement, or a goal statement.
Research proposals may vary in length, but in general, it should not exceed 10 pages in
length.
2. OVERVIEW OR BACKGROUND
Give an overview of the knowledge domain (broad area of research) where your research
takes place. This section should take the form of an abstract of the general subject or study
area and identify the discipline(s) within which it falls.

3. PROBLEM STATEMENT
In this section you should provide a research statement that captures both the essence
of the project and its delimiting boundaries (scope). Hence it should be followed by a
clarification of the extent to which you expect its outcomes to represent an advance in
the knowledge domain you have described. This section states the problem that you are
exploring. The research statement is specific, concise, and clear. Answer the question:
“What is the gap that needs to be filled?” and/or “What is the problem that needs to be
solved?” State the problem clearly early in a paragraph. Limit the variables you address
in stating your problem. Consider framing the problem as a question. You will probably
need to address questions such as;
• What is the specified aspect in the defined area (you provided the area in the research
problem section) in which you will be working?
• What is the shortcoming in the defined area or gap in this defined area that you would
like to address
4. RESEARCH GOAL AND OBJECTIVES
Next, you have to describe the research goal(s) as it relates to solving the uncertainty or
question you are interested in. It should explicitly hint towards the contribution you want to
make with the intended study. You will elaborate on the scientific contribution made in a later
section. Goal describes what you want to achieve. Objectives describe how you are going
to achieve the goal(s).
Objectives should be S.M.A.R.T.:
• Specific – be precise about what you are going to do
• Measureable – specify an indicator for success, so that you will know when you
have reached your goal
• Achievable –a less ambitious but completed objective is better than an
overambitious one that you cannot possible achieve.
• Realistic – do you have the necessary resources to achieve the objective? 
Time constrained – determine when each stage needs to be completed.
The clarification of the research objectives should relate your research to the work carried
out by others. It should explain the measure to which your work develops from their work
and the extent to which it diverges from theirs to open up new and yet unexplored avenues.
It explains what you plan to do to tackle your research problem, why you plan to do it that
way, and how you are going to do it.
5. LITERATURE REVIEW
The Literature Review serves several purposes. First of all, it demonstrates that you have
built a solid knowledge of the field where the research is taking place, that you are
familiar with the main issues at stake, and that you have critically identified and evaluated
the key literature. On the other hand, it shows that you have created an innovative and
coherent view integrating and synthesizing the main aspects of the field, so that you can
now put into perspective the new direction that you propose to explore. It should be
accompanied by comprehensive references, which you list at the end of the proposal.
In this section you should demonstrate that you are aware of the issues raised in related
literature. You should provide a description of recent academic research in your chosen
focus area; including the below parts:
1. How other scholars have written about your topic: include the list of references
to key texts and recently published articles should be made to convince that
you appreciate their integrative relevance to your research area.
2. The range of methods/ theories used to scrutinize, analyze and or test data:
List the best methodologies and research techniques for your particular topic.
Justifies methodological choices.
3. How other scholars connect their specific research topics to larger issues,
questions, or practices within the field.
4. Identify potential gaps in knowledge: illustrates the uniqueness, importance of
and need for your particular project.
5. Establish a need for current and/or future research projects.
6. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The “how to” component of the proposal is called the Research Methodology, component.
In the computing field, there are several research methodologies, including quantitative,
qualitative, formal, experimental, build, process, and model [1], more on research methods
in the computing discipline can be found in [2] . Usually, the activities required to tackle a
single research question may include several of these methodologies.
You need to display an awareness of the available methodologies and show a clear
understanding of the methodologies that would be most suitable for your research. You need
to address the following:
• Introduce the overall methodological approach: What steps will you take and what
methods will you use to address your question? How will your proposed method
provide a reliable answer to your question? method provide a reliable answer to your
question
• Resources Requirements: What practical considerations are there; for example,
equipment, facilities, and other resources will be required
• Explain how you will test your findings: such as methods of data collection laboratory
procedures, interviews, questionnaires, modeling, simulation, text analysis, use of
secondary data sources, etc.
• Explain how you intend to analyze and interpret your results (i.e. statistical analysis,
theoretical framework).
• What do you want to demonstrate, test, investigate or examine?, e.g. Experiments
must contain the following steps to be considered “good science.“
a. Must keep track of the information by recording the data.
b. The data should be presented visually, if possible, such as through a graph
or table and results can be compared to something.
c. Errors must be reported
• Are there particular ethical issues that will need to be considered (for example, all
projects using human participants require ethical approval)?
• Are there any potential problems / difficulties that you foresee (for example, delays in
gaining access to special populations or materials) that might affect your rate of
progress?
• Address potential limitations
7. CONTRIBUTION TO THE FIELD/ SIGNIFICANCE AND /OR IMPACT OF
PROPOSED RESEARCH
You will need to explain the proposed research significance, and locate it within the relevant
literature. A convincing statement is required as to why your topic is worth scientific
research, i.e. how it will contribute to and enrich the academic knowledge. This contribution
results from your research activities, which are conducted to discover new information, as
well as to expand and verify existing knowledge. You need to provide indication of how you
feel your research can make an original contribution, how it may fill gaps in existing work and
how it may extend understanding of particular topics in your particular subject area.
The working paper by Dr. John Morrison [3] is a good resource for helping you understand
what constitutes a contribution.
8. RELEVANCE TO THE DEPARTMENT
You should relate the proposed research to the existing specialties in the department in
which you are studying and understanding of computing within your specific discipline
(department specialty)
9. RESEARCH PLAN AND TIMELINE
You need to include a preliminary time and work schedule outlining the main phases in your
research project. You will need to provide a rough time line for the completion of your
research to show that the project is achievable (given the facilities and resources required)
in no more than (3years).
It is important to establish specific milestones and timelines and a Gantt diagram
REFERENCES
Your references should provide the reader with a good sense of your grasp on the literature
and how you can contribute to it.