Knowledge is expected to grow in itself and also within the population. Therefore a proposal and report must represent a growth into a community of those with formal approach to knowledge learning, generation, preservation and transmission. This calls for interest, appreciation of several theories, practices and values which lead to emancipation of the individual and society from the burden of the problem and resulting into a socio-economic and/or technological value to the community. Research therefore, must have a moral value and the researcher a sense of responsibility to himself or herself, research subjects without deception and plagiarism while seeking the truth. More important in all these is the researcher’s ability to discover his or her own ignorance in other areas of knowledge which helps create an attitude to want to know, be critical, systematic, orderly and meek in knowledge, but aggressive in inquiry.
A good proposal is usually a long way to a well-written thesis or journal article. Therefore the problem in question has to be well-defined, methods to investigate it and
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Amoud University - School of Research and Postgraduate Studies
Research Handbook
research design clear, so that data analysis and reporting are made easy. This manual is intended to make academic research at Amoud University achieve these criteria. But as a guide, it is not an end in itself, neither is it cast on a stone. Amoud University like all other universities and research institutions is continuously under transformation and therefore these guidelines will as well be. As a University, we take note of the value of digital technology that allows for access to several knowledge bases and easier presentation of good quality reports. But we are equally aware, and want to emphasize here that information and communication technology is not a substitute to personal involvement and evidence of knowledge of the processes of research, data analysis and presentation. Information and communication technology should only be used to enable presentation of clear, better-organized, well-analyzed reports and above all, save on time loss associated with delayed report preparation. The student is encouraged to use this handbook as a guide to proposal and report writing following the acceptable guidelines for Amoud University with the help of the supervisors approved by the University.