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TIPS FOR WRITING A RESEARCH

PROPOSAL
RESEARCH PROPOSAL

 This document is intended to describe the


structure of a typical research proposal, and to
explain the function of each of the subsections
such proposals usually contain.
 There are many different forms that research
proposals can take and structures that they
can follow, and often the specific structure of a
proposal is defined by the agency to which it is
to be submitted (usually a funding agency)
THE GOALS OF A RESEARCH PROPOSAL

 Any research proposal must, at a minimum,


explain what the researcher intends to do, how
these tasks will be accomplished, and why the
expected results of the research are important.
Most good proposals will contain the following
information:
MOST GOOD PROPOSALS WILL CONTAIN THE
FOLLOWING INFORMATION:
 A summary of the research proposed (abstract)
 The context of the research and why the subject of the proposed
research is important (Introduction)
 A concise statement of the research question you propose to
answer (Problem Statement)
 A concise statement of the specific types of data (qualitative) or
datasets (quantitative) you propose to gather in order to answer
the research question (Research objectives)
 Where the researcher intends to work, if conducting fieldwork or
place-based research (Site description)
 How the researcher intends to accomplish these tasks
(Methodology)
 What the results of these are expected to be (Expected results)
 How long the proposed research will take (timeline)
 How much the research will cost (itemized budget)
MOST GOOD PROPOSALS WILL CONTAIN THE
FOLLOWING INFORMATION:

 In addition, most research proposals will


include some sort of literature review, often
contained in an introduction or problem
statement section and in the methodology.
 The literature review serves to substantiate the
context of the proposal, explain the current
state of scientific knowledge, and helps
demonstrate the author’s knowledge of the
subject area.
MOST GOOD PROPOSALS WILL CONTAIN THE
FOLLOWING INFORMATION:

 An educated reader who is unfamiliar with


your discipline and the location and nature of
your work should be able to read your
proposal and understand, more or less, what
you will be doing on a day-to-day basis, how
the various pieces fit together, what questions
these activities will allow you to answer, and
why answering this question is an important
thing to do.
II. PREPARING TO WRITE A RESEARCH
PROPOSAL

 In preparing to write a research proposal,


particularly if the subject or approach of the
research is unfamiliar, the more homework you
do the better - this will strengthen your proposal,
and hopefully save you time and heartache once
you arrive in the field or laboratory .

 Two especially helpful resources are the


published literature and the advice of other
researchers working in the field.
II. PREPARING TO WRITE A RESEARCH
PROPOSAL

 Read articles in which scientists have looked at


similar issues, worked in similar locations, or have
used methods similar to what you are thinking of
using .

 Pay particular attention to what variables they have


and have not chosen to measure, and how they’ve
measured them; to the theory they adopt, to the
sampling structure and the sampling methods
employed; to the analyses they are ultimately able to
conduct; to the inferences they are able to draw; and
to any reported difficulties.
III. THE CORE OF A RESEARCH PROPOSAL

 Any good proposal begins with a provocative


research question or problem statement.

 This research question is then parsed into a


discrete subset of research objectives – generally,
types of information (qualitative research) or data
sets (quantitative research) that the researcher
plans to gather and that, taken together, will
enable the researcher to address the research
question.
III. THE CORE OF A RESEARCH PROPOSAL

 Each objective is then examined in more detail in


the methods section, in which discrete, specific
methods for accomplishing each objective are
described.

 This fundamental relationship must be both


logical and practical. A reader must believe that it
is possible to complete the methods described,
that these methods will indeed yield the
information necessary to meet each research
objective, and that meeting all of the research
objectives will indeed allow the researcher to
address the research question.
III. THE CORE OF A RESEARCH PROPOSAL

 Research question/Problem Statement


 Objective 1 Objective 2 Objective 3

 Method 1 Method 2 Method 3 Method 4


Method 5 Method 6
III. A BASIC STRUCTURE FOR A RESEARCH
PROPOSAL

1. Title Page (1 page)


 The title page should list:

 The title of your proposed research

 Your name and institutional affiliation

 The names and affiliations of any collaborators

 The date
III. A BASIC STRUCTURE FOR A RESEARCH
PROPOSAL
2. Abstract (1 paragraph - 1 page)
 The abstract should summarize:
 The importance of the proposed research

 Your research question and objectives

 Your methods

 Expected results

 Generally, the abstract shouldn’t exceed one page,


and may often be less than that. It should provide
the most basic description of the proposed
research in only a few sentences.
III. A BASIC STRUCTURE FOR A RESEARCH
PROPOSAL
3. Introduction or Problem statement (1 page)
 The Introduction or Problem statement should define the
problem you propose to examine, explain why it is important,
and provide the context for your research. This section usually
includes a brief literature review of the history of the problem or
region, or of related work already completed.
 Opening sentence to capture the readers attention – why is this
an important problem?
 Describe or define the problem

 Justify why this problem is worth examining. This justification is


often presented in terms of the region in which you plan to
work.
III. A BASIC STRUCTURE FOR A RESEARCH
PROPOSAL
3. Introduction or Problem statement (1 page)

After completing this section, a reader should understand what


problem you plan to address, why it is important, the problem’s
political /social/ ecological/ economic context, and the
disciplinary context of your research.
III. A BASIC STRUCTURE FOR A RESEARCH
PROPOSAL

5.Research question (1 sentence – 1 short paragraph)


 The research question should develop logically from
the problem and context you have defined in section
4, and should describe the core objective of your
research. What is the most important question that,
once you have completed all of your research and
analysis, you hope to be able to answer?
III. A BASIC STRUCTURE FOR A RESEARCH
PROPOSAL

6. Research objectives (~ 1-5 sentences)


 Your research objectives are the specific types of data
(qualitative) or datasets (quantitative) that you plan to develop
or gather that, taken together, will allow you to answer your
research question.
 Your research objectives should develop logically from your
research question, and it should be clear to the reader that
accomplishing these objectives will provide you with the
information you need to address your research question.
III. A BASIC STRUCTURE FOR A RESEARCH
PROPOSAL
7. Site selection / description / justification (1 – 3 paragraphs)
 Your site description should describe in as much detail as
possible:
 Where you will be working

 Why it is the appropriate (or hopefully the best!) location in


which to conduct your research
 How you will select your specific study sites (if appropriate)
III. A BASIC STRUCTURE FOR A RESEARCH
PROPOSAL
7. Site selection / description / justification (1 – 3 paragraphs)

If you know the general region in which you will be working but
will need to select specific research sites once you arrive,
describe as best you can how those sites will be selected. What
criteria will you use? What resources will be available (i.e.
satellite images, maps, historical records, the prior work of other
researchers)? Site selection is a critically important part of any
research project. Be sure that you realistically address what
factors you will or will not be able to control across study sites (if
you will be working in more than one), and what factors at each
site will facilitate or confound your research. Feel free to include
maps or other information to support this section.
III. A BASIC STRUCTURE FOR A RESEARCH
PROPOSAL
7. Methodology (2 - 5 pages)
 The Methodology section should describe what you plan to do,
how you plan to do it, and what equipment and techniques you
plan to use both to gather and later analyze information. The
methodology section should be very specific, containing all of
the details you are able to provide on how you will conduct
specific research activities. It may be helpful to break your
methodology section down into the following subsections:
 Research design
 Sampling plan
 Measurement
 Data Collection
 Data Analysis
III. A BASIC STRUCTURE FOR A RESEARCH
PROPOSAL

8. Conclusions or expected results (1 paragraph, or bulleted list)


 Your conclusions or expected results should tie your narrative
back in to your research question.
 What contribution do you expect this research to make to our
understanding of your research question?
 This section may be a narrative statement, or may be a
combination of a narrative and a bulleted list of the
contributions your results to make, or the subsidiary
questions you expect to be able to answer. Your expected
results should be as important as your research question –
this is what the proposal is all about!
III. A BASIC STRUCTURE FOR A RESEARCH
PROPOSAL

9. Bibliography
 Include a complete bibliography for all works cited. If you
expect your proposal to be reviewed by a scientist familiar
with your field the bibliography can be an important part of
your proposal – reviewers often examine the bibliography to
see if you’ve included important works. For some topics there
may be one or two seminal works that reviewers may expect
to see included.
 More commonly, reviewers will simply check to see that it is
thorough, and that the works seem to be a well-balanced
representation of the relevant literature.
III. A BASIC STRUCTURE FOR A RESEARCH
PROPOSAL

10. Budget
 Describe all expenses associated with your research,
even if the total need is greater than the maximum award
given by a particular funding agency. List all matching
support, including both financial and in-kind support, and
list other pending applications and the amounts sought.
Your budget must also support the objectives and methods
you’ve proposed. Reviewers check the budget to see that
it is reasonable given the work proposed.
III. A BASIC STRUCTURE FOR A RESEARCH
PROPOSAL
11. Work plan or timeline
 Your work plan or timeline should explain when you will
accomplish each task (as described in your methods) and
how long each will take. A chart, with a list of tasks in the left
hand column (perhaps grouped by the objective they
support), and a list of months or seasons across the top (as
appropriate) can be an effective means of displaying this
information.

Task June 2002 July 2002 Aug. 2002 Sep. 2002

 Objective 1
 Task 1 • • •
 Task 2 • • • •
III. A BASIC STRUCTURE FOR A RESEARCH
PROPOSAL

12. Curriculum vitae (CV)


 Even if it is not asked for, it is generally a good idea to
include a CV with your proposal. Peter Otis has plenty of
good reference materials on preparing an effective CV.

13. Supporting documentation


 Include any supporting documentation, such as letters of
support from collaborators or Memoranda of
Understanding with institutions, that are relevant to your
proposal.

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