From a good research proposal sample you can learn what exactly you should write in every of the

following sections:

1. Title page;

2. Abstract;

3. Introduction;

4. Review of literature;

5. The research approach;

6. Conclusion.

7. References.

SAMPLE RESEARCH PROPOSAL

PROMOTING GOOD GOVERNANCE IN PUBLICINSTITUTIONS OF GHANA: THE
ROLE OF THEINTERNAL AUDITOR
5/5/2009SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST, GHANA
ISHMEAL OFORI AMPONSAH (STUDENT)
Table of Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................3Bac
kground of the Study ........................................................................................3Problem
Statement ..................................................................................................4Research
Questions: ...........................................................................................4Hypothesis: .........
.................................................................................................4Objectives .......................
.........................................................................................5Significance of
Study ...............................................................................................5Literature
Review ........................................................................................................6Definition of
Internal Audit ...................................................................................6Role of the Internal
Auditor in
governance ..........................................................7Methodology ......................................
.........................................................................8Research
Design ...................................................................................................8Population .........
...................................................................................................8Sampling and Sampling
Technique .......................................................................8Data
Collection ....................................................................................................9Data
collection instrument ...................................................................................9Data
Analysis .....................................................................................................12 Timescale ..
.........................................................................................................12Limitations .............
...................................................................................................12References .................
...............................................................................................13
Research proposal – SB/MAC/08/0005
Page 2
Promoting Good Governance in Public Institutionsof Ghana: The Role of the Internal
Auditor
Introduction
All over the world there is a realization that the Internal Audit
activity has the potential to provide hitherto unparalleled services to
management in the conduct of their duties. This potential has been
turned into a challenge and embodied in the new definition of
I n t e r n a l Auditing from the Institute of Internal Auditors (the IIA).
Background of the Study
The Government of the Republic of Ghana by the Internal Audit Agency A ct,
2003 (Act 658)established the Internal Audit Agency “as an apex oversight
body to co-ordinate, facilitate and provide quality assurance for Internal Audit
activities within the public sector” (Section 16 of Act6 5 8 ) . T h e I n t e r n a l A u d i t o r ’ s
value lies in how well he has been able to contribute to
t h e achievement of the overall organisational objective. The Internal Auditor should
constantly seek t o m a k e h i m s e l f r e l e v a n t t o h i s o r g a n i s a t i o n b y
p r o v i d i n g i n f o r m a t i o n t h a t w i l l m a k e management take decisions that
impact positively on their ability to achieve the organisationalgoals.However,
according to research and surveys conducted by Deloitte & Touche (2004)
and theI n t e r n a l A u d i t A g e n c y o f G h a n a ( 2 0 0 6 ) , m u c h o f t h e w o r k o f
I n t e r n a l A u d i t h a s b e e n v e r y restrictive in terms of scope. This needs to be
addressed if the required return on investment inthe Internal Audit activity is to be
attained.
Research proposal – SB/MAC/08/0005
Page 3

lic sector managers do not support Internal Audit. The Internal Audit
f u n c t i o n i n t h e Audit Agency (2006) believes that the importancenal Audit is
"shrouded in obscurity”. This unfortunate background continues to playn t h e
importance of Internal Audit as a key function that can strengthen
t h e o v e r s i g h t nsibility of the governing body. This reflects in the
management attitude towards theor. Most often than not the budget of the Internal
Audit Unit, if any exist at all, isly inadequate to enable them meet the resource
requirements of their annual audit plans.s strive for organisational excellence.
unt for the low support for Internal Audit by public sector managers? t
actions are necessary to get the support of management of internal
auditing in the
rove public understanding of the role of the Internal Auditor in the
a c h i e v e m e n t o f e literature on public sector Internal Auditing in Ghana.f i l l
the MBA requirement.
ive step in establishing the Internal Audit AgencyA c t 2 0 0 3 , A c t 6 5 8 ) . T h e
A g e n c y h a s f o r m u l a t e d t h r e e s t r a t e g i e s w h i c h i t i s c u r r e n t l y essional
Practice Framework which aims at developing key documents and
templatesa n R e s o u r c e D e v e l o p m e n t w h i c h s e e k s t o f a c i l i t a t e t h e
r e c r u i t m e n t , t r a i n i n g a n d y Assurance and Improvement which addresses
the issue of continues improvement.
surance and consulting activity designed to add value and
i m p r o v e a n o r g a n i z a t i o n ’ s rations. It helps an organization
accomplish its objectives by bringing a systematic,
rs. Modern internal audit covers (or should cover) all activities of the
organisation.
ouche and the Institute of s, U.K., (2004) “improved attitudes toward internal audit are
built on a belief thata g e m e n t t o a c h i e v e t h e o b j e c t i v e s o f t h e
o r g a n i s a t i o n . H o w e v e r , e v e r y d e c i s i o n a n d of programs. Some of the risks
are reputational, financial, operational,same objectives. i.e. an integrated risk
management framework that is embeddedn n i n g p r o c e s s o f t h e o r g a n i s a t i o n s .
Internal Auditors are experts in creating and
. Areas covered include the
nisations in the public sector. Consequently, the research will be designed to
achieve the
inistries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). The public sector alsoes Metropolitan,
Municipal and District Assemblies MMDAs). The targeted population
., the researcher will adopt the survey type of research in which a sample from the
. In total, a sample of 185 elements will be selectedof 300. Details of the sample are as
follows:
t a multistage stratified sampling method to select elements. First, theation
will be divided into MDAs and MMDAs. Next, the MDAs will be grouped
intoi s t r i e s , D e p a r t m e n t s a n d A g e n c i e s a n d t h e M M D A s i n t o
Metropolitan, Municipal andtricts. This will ensure a fair
representation of each group of institutions since their
udes and perception and the importance of primary data cannot ber -
emphasised. However, secondary data will also be collected to
a u g m e n t t h e s t u d i e s . ess of the University of Cape Coast to the sampled
institutions. The initial visit to thee c t e d i n s t i t u t i o n s w i l l t h e r e f o r e b e t o
introduce himself, familiarize himself with those.
er will collect data by administering a questionnaire. The questionnaire will
use
on ‘A’ will consist of seven questions seeking to answer the first researchwill
consist of six questions covering the second research question whereas
able 1 below provides samples of the investigative
e c t i o n R e s e a r c h
Q u e s t i o n I n v e s t i g a t i v e Q u e s t i o n s
’
a t a c c o u n t f o r t h e l o w rt for Internal Audit by
e t t h e s u p p o r t o f anagement of
internal
e a link between theu d i t o r provides for hisnagers
towards the
ould agree to the statement that one’s
ill your attitude towards Internal Audit be
ts willmark the appropriate box matching the correct answer. Other
nses to the structured close-ended questions will be rated in
p e r c e n t a g e s . T h e tage of respondents for each alternative will be given and
analysed. The data collected
e ten regions of Ghana. The research will therefore be restricted to five
alue Agenda.
www.iia.org.uk gency, Republic of Ghana. (2007),
., & Thornhill, A. (2007),
umberg, B., Cooper, D.R., and Schindler, P.S. (2005)
siness Research Methods