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Research Proposal (Example)
(Note: This is single spaced to save paper; yours should be double-spaced)
To: Ted Zorn
From: Chris Student
Date: 1 April 2003
Subject: Research proposal
Proposed Research Topic: A situational analysis of shared leadership in a self-managing team
[provide a brief description or a descriptive title or a research question]
Purposes: Alvesson (1996) claims that a situational approach enables leadership to be viewed
and studied as “a practical accomplishment” (p. 476) rather than starting with a
conceptualisation of leadership as whatever the appointed leader does. This approach seems
particularly well suited to self-managing teams (SMTs), in which leadership is presumably
shared. In this project, I will explore how members of a self-managing team enact leadership in
their regular team meetings. In particular, I will focus on how SMT members influence the
direction of the team as well as the relationships and identities of individual members and the
identity of the team as a unit, and how their interaction is enabled and constrained by social and
cultural influences (eg, organisational culture, national/ethnic culture, and gender). Such a
study should give insights into the workings of SMTs, an organisational form that is rapidly
gaining in popularity and acceptance. Also, the study will test the usefulness of a perspective
(the situational approach) that is underdeveloped in the leadership literature.
[Expand on the topic/question by describing what you hope to accomplish, and the desired
outcomes (especially the practical or theoretical benefits to be gained)]
Background: I will conduct my study in a team that is within the Roadworks Division within
the Hamilton City Council. Roadworks has 12 SMTs, each of which is responsible for
maintenance of roads within one geographical section of Hamilton. This particular team
includes four men and a woman. Three of the men are in their thirties and one in his early 50s;
the woman is in her thirties. They are assigned to an area around Chartwell. They start each
day with a brief (15-45 minute meeting) on an agreed upon site, often just gathering around the
back of a truck for their meeting. I will attend these three mornings a week for four weeks, and
will stay on to observe their work for approximately 20 hours during the four week period. My
primary focus will be on their interaction in meetings, although I will also observe (and perhaps
enquires about) interactions during their other work.
[Describe the context of the proposed research, making it clear how this context will allow you
to accomplish your stated purposes]
Scope: I will engage in participant-observation over a six-week period, from 8 April to 22 May
for approximately four hours per week. I will typically observe the morning meetings and stay
for an hour or so to observe their other work. On some days I may come at other times of the
day for comparison. I will not schedule structured interviews, but will interview team members
informally, as needed to clarify and provide insight into specific conversations. [Describe such
things as the time you will invest, when the field work will take place, the number of
participants, and the number of interviews you will conduct]
