Pitfalls of tourism graduate students in presenting the ingredients of research proposals

This study aims to investigate the pitfalls of graduate students to present essential ingredients of research proposals. This case study examined twelve student research proposals. The collected data of the proposal ingredients were analyzed by organizing, comparing and interpreting the data. The findings indicate that students have problems to provide essential background information in the introduction, to present critical evaluation, to undertake a rigorous review, to include relevant research findings, to identify a research gap, and to describe a research design along with an adequate justification. In conclusion, the students have serious pitfalls in presenting certain ingredients of research proposal.