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How to Write a Research Proposal | Examples & Templates

How to Write a Research Proposal | Examples & Templates

Published on October 12, 2022 by Shona McCombes and Tegan George. Revised on November 21, 2023.

A research proposal describes what you will investigate, why it’s important, and how you will conduct your research.

The format of a research proposal varies between fields, but most proposals will contain at least these elements:

Introduction

Literature review.

Research design

Reference list

While the sections may vary, the overall objective is always the same. A research proposal serves as a blueprint and guide for your research plan, helping you get organized and feel confident in the path forward you choose to take.

Research proposal purpose, research proposal examples, research design and methods, contribution to knowledge, research schedule, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about research proposals.

Academics often have to write research proposals to get funding for their projects. As a student, you might have to write a research proposal as part of a grad school application , or prior to starting your thesis or dissertation .

In addition to helping you figure out what your research can look like, a proposal can also serve to demonstrate why your project is worth pursuing to a funder, educational institution, or supervisor.

Research proposal length

The length of a research proposal can vary quite a bit. A bachelor’s or master’s thesis proposal can be just a few pages, while proposals for PhD dissertations or research funding are usually much longer and more detailed. Your supervisor can help you determine the best length for your work.

One trick to get started is to think of your proposal’s structure as a shorter version of your thesis or dissertation , only without the results , conclusion and discussion sections.

Download our research proposal template

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Writing a research proposal can be quite challenging, but a good starting point could be to look at some examples. We’ve included a few for you below.

Example research proposal #1: “A Conceptual Framework for Scheduling Constraint Management”
Example research proposal #2: “Medical Students as Mediators of Change in Tobacco Use”

Like your dissertation or thesis, the proposal will usually have a title page that includes:

The proposed title of your project
Your supervisor’s name
Your institution and department

The first part of your proposal is the initial pitch for your project. Make sure it succinctly explains what you want to do and why.

Your introduction should:

Introduce your topic
Give necessary background and context
Outline your problem statement and research questions

To guide your introduction , include information about:

Who could have an interest in the topic (e.g., scientists, policymakers)
How much is already known about the topic
What is missing from this current knowledge
What new insights your research will contribute
Why you believe this research is worth doing

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As you get started, it’s important to demonstrate that you’re familiar with the most important research on your topic. A strong literature review shows your reader that your project has a solid foundation in existing knowledge or theory. It also shows that you’re not simply repeating what other people have already done or said, but rather using existing research as a jumping-off point for your own.

In this section, share exactly how your project will contribute to ongoing conversations in the field by:

Comparing and contrasting the main theories, methods, and debates
Examining the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches
Explaining how will you build on, challenge, or synthesize prior scholarship

Following the literature review, restate your main objectives . This brings the focus back to your own project. Next, your research design or methodology section will describe your overall approach, and the practical steps you will take to answer your research questions.

To finish your proposal on a strong note, explore the potential implications of your research for your field. Emphasize again what you aim to contribute and why it matters.

For example, your results might have implications for:

Improving best practices
Informing policymaking decisions
Strengthening a theory or model
Challenging popular or scientific beliefs
Creating a basis for future research

Last but not least, your research proposal must include correct citations for every source you have used, compiled in a reference list . To create citations quickly and easily, you can use our free APA citation generator .

Some institutions or funders require a detailed timeline of the project, asking you to forecast what you will do at each stage and how long it may take. While not always required, be sure to check the requirements of your project.

Here’s an example schedule to help you get started. You can also download a template at the button below.

Download our research schedule template

If you are applying for research funding, chances are you will have to include a detailed budget. This shows your estimates of how much each part of your project will cost.

Make sure to check what type of costs the funding body will agree to cover. For each item, include:

Cost : exactly how much money do you need?
Justification : why is this cost necessary to complete the research?
Source : how did you calculate the amount?

To determine your budget, think about:

Travel costs : do you need to go somewhere to collect your data? How will you get there, and how much time will you need? What will you do there (e.g., interviews, archival research)?
Materials : do you need access to any tools or technologies?
Help : do you need to hire any research assistants for the project? What will they do, and how much will you pay them?

If you want to know more about the research process , methodology , research bias , or statistics , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

Methodology

Sampling methods
Simple random sampling
Stratified sampling
Cluster sampling
Likert scales
Reproducibility

Statistics

Null hypothesis
Statistical power
Probability distribution
Effect size
Poisson distribution

Research bias

Optimism bias
Cognitive bias
Implicit bias
Hawthorne effect
Anchoring bias
Explicit bias

Once you’ve decided on your research objectives , you need to explain them in your paper, at the end of your problem statement .

Keep your research objectives clear and concise, and use appropriate verbs to accurately convey the work that you will carry out for each one.

I will compare …

A research aim is a broad statement indicating the general purpose of your research project. It should appear in your introduction at the end of your problem statement , before your research objectives.

Research objectives are more specific than your research aim. They indicate the specific ways you’ll address the overarching aim.

A PhD, which is short for philosophiae doctor (doctor of philosophy in Latin), is the highest university degree that can be obtained. In a PhD, students spend 3–5 years writing a dissertation , which aims to make a significant, original contribution to current knowledge.

A PhD is intended to prepare students for a career as a researcher, whether that be in academia, the public sector, or the private sector.

A master’s is a 1- or 2-year graduate degree that can prepare you for a variety of careers.

All master’s involve graduate-level coursework. Some are research-intensive and intend to prepare students for further study in a PhD; these usually require their students to write a master’s thesis . Others focus on professional training for a specific career.

Critical thinking refers to the ability to evaluate information and to be aware of biases or assumptions, including your own.

Like information literacy , it involves evaluating arguments, identifying and solving problems in an objective and systematic way, and clearly communicating your ideas.

The best way to remember the difference between a research plan and a research proposal is that they have fundamentally different audiences. A research plan helps you, the researcher, organize your thoughts. On the other hand, a dissertation proposal or research proposal aims to convince others (e.g., a supervisor, a funding body, or a dissertation committee) that your research topic is relevant and worthy of being conducted.

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11.2 Steps in Developing a Research Proposal

Learning objectives.

Identify the steps in developing a research proposal.
Choose a topic and formulate a research question and working thesis.
Develop a research proposal.

Writing a good research paper takes time, thought, and effort. Although this assignment is challenging, it is manageable. Focusing on one step at a time will help you develop a thoughtful, informative, well-supported research paper.

Your first step is to choose a topic and then to develop research questions, a working thesis, and a written research proposal. Set aside adequate time for this part of the process. Fully exploring ideas will help you build a solid foundation for your paper.

Choosing a Topic

When you choose a topic for a research paper, you are making a major commitment. Your choice will help determine whether you enjoy the lengthy process of research and writing—and whether your final paper fulfills the assignment requirements. If you choose your topic hastily, you may later find it difficult to work with your topic. By taking your time and choosing carefully, you can ensure that this assignment is not only challenging but also rewarding.

Writers understand the importance of choosing a topic that fulfills the assignment requirements and fits the assignment’s purpose and audience. (For more information about purpose and audience, see Chapter 6 “Writing Paragraphs: Separating Ideas and Shaping Content” .) Choosing a topic that interests you is also crucial. You instructor may provide a list of suggested topics or ask that you develop a topic on your own. In either case, try to identify topics that genuinely interest you.

After identifying potential topic ideas, you will need to evaluate your ideas and choose one topic to pursue. Will you be able to find enough information about the topic? Can you develop a paper about this topic that presents and supports your original ideas? Is the topic too broad or too narrow for the scope of the assignment? If so, can you modify it so it is more manageable? You will ask these questions during this preliminary phase of the research process.

Identifying Potential Topics

Sometimes, your instructor may provide a list of suggested topics. If so, you may benefit from identifying several possibilities before committing to one idea. It is important to know how to narrow down your ideas into a concise, manageable thesis. You may also use the list as a starting point to help you identify additional, related topics. Discussing your ideas with your instructor will help ensure that you choose a manageable topic that fits the requirements of the assignment.

In this chapter, you will follow a writer named Jorge, who is studying health care administration, as he prepares a research paper. You will also plan, research, and draft your own research paper.

Jorge was assigned to write a research paper on health and the media for an introductory course in health care. Although a general topic was selected for the students, Jorge had to decide which specific issues interested him. He brainstormed a list of possibilities.

If you are writing a research paper for a specialized course, look back through your notes and course activities. Identify reading assignments and class discussions that especially engaged you. Doing so can help you identify topics to pursue.

Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) in the news
Sexual education programs
Hollywood and eating disorders
Americans’ access to public health information
Media portrayal of health care reform bill
Depictions of drugs on television
The effect of the Internet on mental health
Popularized diets (such as low-carbohydrate diets)
Fear of pandemics (bird flu, HINI, SARS)
Electronic entertainment and obesity
Advertisements for prescription drugs
Public education and disease prevention

Set a timer for five minutes. Use brainstorming or idea mapping to create a list of topics you would be interested in researching for a paper about the influence of the Internet on social networking. Do you closely follow the media coverage of a particular website, such as Twitter? Would you like to learn more about a certain industry, such as online dating? Which social networking sites do you and your friends use? List as many ideas related to this topic as you can.

Narrowing Your Topic

Once you have a list of potential topics, you will need to choose one as the focus of your essay. You will also need to narrow your topic. Most writers find that the topics they listed during brainstorming or idea mapping are broad—too broad for the scope of the assignment. Working with an overly broad topic, such as sexual education programs or popularized diets, can be frustrating and overwhelming. Each topic has so many facets that it would be impossible to cover them all in a college research paper. However, more specific choices, such as the pros and cons of sexual education in kids’ television programs or the physical effects of the South Beach diet, are specific enough to write about without being too narrow to sustain an entire research paper.

A good research paper provides focused, in-depth information and analysis. If your topic is too broad, you will find it difficult to do more than skim the surface when you research it and write about it. Narrowing your focus is essential to making your topic manageable. To narrow your focus, explore your topic in writing, conduct preliminary research, and discuss both the topic and the research with others.

Exploring Your Topic in Writing

“How am I supposed to narrow my topic when I haven’t even begun researching yet?” In fact, you may already know more than you realize. Review your list and identify your top two or three topics. Set aside some time to explore each one through freewriting. (For more information about freewriting, see Chapter 8 “The Writing Process: How Do I Begin?” .) Simply taking the time to focus on your topic may yield fresh angles.

Jorge knew that he was especially interested in the topic of diet fads, but he also knew that it was much too broad for his assignment. He used freewriting to explore his thoughts so he could narrow his topic. Read Jorge’s ideas.

Conducting Preliminary Research

Another way writers may focus a topic is to conduct preliminary research . Like freewriting, exploratory reading can help you identify interesting angles. Surfing the web and browsing through newspaper and magazine articles are good ways to start. Find out what people are saying about your topic on blogs and online discussion groups. Discussing your topic with others can also inspire you. Talk about your ideas with your classmates, your friends, or your instructor.

Jorge’s freewriting exercise helped him realize that the assigned topic of health and the media intersected with a few of his interests—diet, nutrition, and obesity. Preliminary online research and discussions with his classmates strengthened his impression that many people are confused or misled by media coverage of these subjects.

Jorge decided to focus his paper on a topic that had garnered a great deal of media attention—low-carbohydrate diets. He wanted to find out whether low-carbohydrate diets were as effective as their proponents claimed.

Writing at Work

At work, you may need to research a topic quickly to find general information. This information can be useful in understanding trends in a given industry or generating competition. For example, a company may research a competitor’s prices and use the information when pricing their own product. You may find it useful to skim a variety of reliable sources and take notes on your findings.

The reliability of online sources varies greatly. In this exploratory phase of your research, you do not need to evaluate sources as closely as you will later. However, use common sense as you refine your paper topic. If you read a fascinating blog comment that gives you a new idea for your paper, be sure to check out other, more reliable sources as well to make sure the idea is worth pursuing.

Review the list of topics you created in Note 11.18 “Exercise 1” and identify two or three topics you would like to explore further. For each of these topics, spend five to ten minutes writing about the topic without stopping. Then review your writing to identify possible areas of focus.

Set aside time to conduct preliminary research about your potential topics. Then choose a topic to pursue for your research paper.

Collaboration

Please share your topic list with a classmate. Select one or two topics on his or her list that you would like to learn more about and return it to him or her. Discuss why you found the topics interesting, and learn which of your topics your classmate selected and why.

A Plan for Research

Your freewriting and preliminary research have helped you choose a focused, manageable topic for your research paper. To work with your topic successfully, you will need to determine what exactly you want to learn about it—and later, what you want to say about it. Before you begin conducting in-depth research, you will further define your focus by developing a research question , a working thesis, and a research proposal.

Formulating a Research Question

In forming a research question, you are setting a goal for your research. Your main research question should be substantial enough to form the guiding principle of your paper—but focused enough to guide your research. A strong research question requires you not only to find information but also to put together different pieces of information, interpret and analyze them, and figure out what you think. As you consider potential research questions, ask yourself whether they would be too hard or too easy to answer.

To determine your research question, review the freewriting you completed earlier. Skim through books, articles, and websites and list the questions you have. (You may wish to use the 5WH strategy to help you formulate questions. See Chapter 8 “The Writing Process: How Do I Begin?” for more information about 5WH questions.) Include simple, factual questions and more complex questions that would require analysis and interpretation. Determine your main question—the primary focus of your paper—and several subquestions that you will need to research to answer your main question.

Here are the research questions Jorge will use to focus his research. Notice that his main research question has no obvious, straightforward answer. Jorge will need to research his subquestions, which address narrower topics, to answer his main question.

Using the topic you selected in Note 11.24 “Exercise 2” , write your main research question and at least four to five subquestions. Check that your main research question is appropriately complex for your assignment.

Constructing a Working ThesIs

A working thesis concisely states a writer’s initial answer to the main research question. It does not merely state a fact or present a subjective opinion. Instead, it expresses a debatable idea or claim that you hope to prove through additional research. Your working thesis is called a working thesis for a reason—it is subject to change. As you learn more about your topic, you may change your thinking in light of your research findings. Let your working thesis serve as a guide to your research, but do not be afraid to modify it based on what you learn.

Jorge began his research with a strong point of view based on his preliminary writing and research. Read his working thesis statement, which presents the point he will argue. Notice how it states Jorge’s tentative answer to his research question.

One way to determine your working thesis is to consider how you would complete sentences such as I believe or My opinion is . However, keep in mind that academic writing generally does not use first-person pronouns. These statements are useful starting points, but formal research papers use an objective voice.

Write a working thesis statement that presents your preliminary answer to the research question you wrote in Note 11.27 “Exercise 3” . Check that your working thesis statement presents an idea or claim that could be supported or refuted by evidence from research.

Creating a Research Proposal

A research proposal is a brief document—no more than one typed page—that summarizes the preliminary work you have completed. Your purpose in writing it is to formalize your plan for research and present it to your instructor for feedback. In your research proposal, you will present your main research question, related subquestions, and working thesis. You will also briefly discuss the value of researching this topic and indicate how you plan to gather information.

When Jorge began drafting his research proposal, he realized that he had already created most of the pieces he needed. However, he knew he also had to explain how his research would be relevant to other future health care professionals. In addition, he wanted to form a general plan for doing the research and identifying potentially useful sources. Read Jorge’s research proposal.

Before you begin a new project at work, you may have to develop a project summary document that states the purpose of the project, explains why it would be a wise use of company resources, and briefly outlines the steps involved in completing the project. This type of document is similar to a research proposal. Both documents define and limit a project, explain its value, discuss how to proceed, and identify what resources you will use.

Writing Your Own Research Proposal

Now you may write your own research proposal, if you have not done so already. Follow the guidelines provided in this lesson.

Key Takeaways

Developing a research proposal involves the following preliminary steps: identifying potential ideas, choosing ideas to explore further, choosing and narrowing a topic, formulating a research question, and developing a working thesis.
A good topic for a research paper interests the writer and fulfills the requirements of the assignment.
Defining and narrowing a topic helps writers conduct focused, in-depth research.
Writers conduct preliminary research to identify possible topics and research questions and to develop a working thesis.
A good research question interests readers, is neither too broad nor too narrow, and has no obvious answer.
A good working thesis expresses a debatable idea or claim that can be supported with evidence from research.
Writers create a research proposal to present their topic, main research question, subquestions, and working thesis to an instructor for approval or feedback.

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Acknowledgments

The goal of a research proposal is twofold: to present and justify the need to study a research problem and to present the practical ways in which the proposed study should be conducted. The design elements and procedures for conducting research are governed by standards of the predominant discipline in which the problem resides, therefore, the guidelines for research proposals are more exacting and less formal than a general project proposal. Research proposals contain extensive literature reviews. They must provide persuasive evidence that a need exists for the proposed study. In addition to providing a rationale, a proposal describes detailed methodology for conducting the research consistent with requirements of the professional or academic field and a statement on anticipated outcomes and benefits derived from the study's completion.

Krathwohl, David R. How to Prepare a Dissertation Proposal: Suggestions for Students in Education and the Social and Behavioral Sciences . Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2005.

How to Approach Writing a Research Proposal

Your professor may assign the task of writing a research proposal for the following reasons:

Develop your skills in thinking about and designing a comprehensive research study;
Learn how to conduct a comprehensive review of the literature to determine that the research problem has not been adequately addressed or has been answered ineffectively and, in so doing, become better at locating pertinent scholarship related to your topic;
Improve your general research and writing skills;
Practice identifying the logical steps that must be taken to accomplish one's research goals;
Critically review, examine, and consider the use of different methods for gathering and analyzing data related to the research problem; and,
Nurture a sense of inquisitiveness within yourself and to help see yourself as an active participant in the process of conducting scholarly research.

A proposal should contain all the key elements involved in designing a completed research study, with sufficient information that allows readers to assess the validity and usefulness of your proposed study. The only elements missing from a research proposal are the findings of the study and your analysis of those findings. Finally, an effective proposal is judged on the quality of your writing and, therefore, it is important that your proposal is coherent, clear, and compelling.

Regardless of the research problem you are investigating and the methodology you choose, all research proposals must address the following questions:

What do you plan to accomplish? Be clear and succinct in defining the research problem and what it is you are proposing to investigate.
Why do you want to do the research? In addition to detailing your research design, you also must conduct a thorough review of the literature and provide convincing evidence that it is a topic worthy of in-depth study. A successful research proposal must answer the "So What?" question.
How are you going to conduct the research? Be sure that what you propose is doable. If you're having difficulty formulating a research problem to propose investigating, go here for strategies in developing a problem to study.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Failure to be concise . A research proposal must be focused and not be "all over the map" or diverge into unrelated tangents without a clear sense of purpose.
Failure to cite landmark works in your literature review . Proposals should be grounded in foundational research that lays a foundation for understanding the development and scope of the the topic and its relevance.
Failure to delimit the contextual scope of your research [e.g., time, place, people, etc.]. As with any research paper, your proposed study must inform the reader how and in what ways the study will frame the problem.
Failure to develop a coherent and persuasive argument for the proposed research . This is critical. In many workplace settings, the research proposal is a formal document intended to argue for why a study should be funded.
Sloppy or imprecise writing, or poor grammar . Although a research proposal does not represent a completed research study, there is still an expectation that it is well-written and follows the style and rules of good academic writing.
Too much detail on minor issues, but not enough detail on major issues . Your proposal should focus on only a few key research questions in order to support the argument that the research needs to be conducted. Minor issues, even if valid, can be mentioned but they should not dominate the overall narrative.

Procter, Margaret. The Academic Proposal. The Lab Report. University College Writing Centre. University of Toronto; Sanford, Keith. Information for Students: Writing a Research Proposal. Baylor University; Wong, Paul T. P. How to Write a Research Proposal. International Network on Personal Meaning. Trinity Western University; Writing Academic Proposals: Conferences, Articles, and Books. The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Writing a Research Proposal. University Library. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Structure and Writing Style

Beginning the Proposal Process

As with writing most college-level academic papers, research proposals are generally organized the same way throughout most social science disciplines. The text of proposals generally vary in length between ten and thirty-five pages, followed by the list of references. However, before you begin, read the assignment carefully and, if anything seems unclear, ask your professor whether there are any specific requirements for organizing and writing the proposal.

A good place to begin is to ask yourself a series of questions:

What do I want to study?
Why is the topic important?
How is it significant within the subject areas covered in my class?
What problems will it help solve?
How does it build upon [and hopefully go beyond] research already conducted on the topic?
What exactly should I plan to do, and can I get it done in the time available?

In general, a compelling research proposal should document your knowledge of the topic and demonstrate your enthusiasm for conducting the study. Approach it with the intention of leaving your readers feeling like, "Wow, that's an exciting idea and I can’t wait to see how it turns out!"

Most proposals should include the following sections:

I. Introduction

In the real world of higher education, a research proposal is most often written by scholars seeking grant funding for a research project or it's the first step in getting approval to write a doctoral dissertation. Even if this is just a course assignment, treat your introduction as the initial pitch of an idea based on a thorough examination of the significance of a research problem. After reading the introduction, your readers should not only have an understanding of what you want to do, but they should also be able to gain a sense of your passion for the topic and to be excited about the study's possible outcomes. Note that most proposals do not include an abstract [summary] before the introduction.

Think about your introduction as a narrative written in two to four paragraphs that succinctly answers the following four questions :

What is the central research problem?
What is the topic of study related to that research problem?
What methods should be used to analyze the research problem?
Answer the "So What?" question by explaining why this is important research, what is its significance, and why should someone reading the proposal care about the outcomes of the proposed study?

II. Background and Significance

This is where you explain the scope and context of your proposal and describe in detail why it's important. It can be melded into your introduction or you can create a separate section to help with the organization and narrative flow of your proposal. Approach writing this section with the thought that you can’t assume your readers will know as much about the research problem as you do. Note that this section is not an essay going over everything you have learned about the topic; instead, you must choose what is most relevant in explaining the aims of your research.

To that end, while there are no prescribed rules for establishing the significance of your proposed study, you should attempt to address some or all of the following:

State the research problem and give a more detailed explanation about the purpose of the study than what you stated in the introduction. This is particularly important if the problem is complex or multifaceted .
Present the rationale of your proposed study and clearly indicate why it is worth doing; be sure to answer the "So What? question [i.e., why should anyone care?].
Describe the major issues or problems examined by your research. This can be in the form of questions to be addressed. Be sure to note how your proposed study builds on previous assumptions about the research problem.
Explain the methods you plan to use for conducting your research. Clearly identify the key sources you intend to use and explain how they will contribute to your analysis of the topic.
Describe the boundaries of your proposed research in order to provide a clear focus. Where appropriate, state not only what you plan to study, but what aspects of the research problem will be excluded from the study.
If necessary, provide definitions of key concepts, theories, or terms.

III. Literature Review

Connected to the background and significance of your study is a section of your proposal devoted to a more deliberate review and synthesis of prior studies related to the research problem under investigation . The purpose here is to place your project within the larger whole of what is currently being explored, while at the same time, demonstrating to your readers that your work is original and innovative. Think about what questions other researchers have asked, what methodological approaches they have used, and what is your understanding of their findings and, when stated, their recommendations. Also pay attention to any suggestions for further research.

Since a literature review is information dense, it is crucial that this section is intelligently structured to enable a reader to grasp the key arguments underpinning your proposed study in relation to the arguments put forth by other researchers. A good strategy is to break the literature into "conceptual categories" [themes] rather than systematically or chronologically describing groups of materials one at a time. Note that conceptual categories generally reveal themselves after you have read most of the pertinent literature on your topic so adding new categories is an on-going process of discovery as you review more studies. How do you know you've covered the key conceptual categories underlying the research literature? Generally, you can have confidence that all of the significant conceptual categories have been identified if you start to see repetition in the conclusions or recommendations that are being made.

NOTE: Do not shy away from challenging the conclusions made in prior research as a basis for supporting the need for your proposal. Assess what you believe is missing and state how previous research has failed to adequately examine the issue that your study addresses. Highlighting the problematic conclusions strengthens your proposal. For more information on writing literature reviews, GO HERE .

To help frame your proposal's review of prior research, consider the "five C’s" of writing a literature review:

Cite , so as to keep the primary focus on the literature pertinent to your research problem.
Compare the various arguments, theories, methodologies, and findings expressed in the literature: what do the authors agree on? Who applies similar approaches to analyzing the research problem?
Contrast the various arguments, themes, methodologies, approaches, and controversies expressed in the literature: describe what are the major areas of disagreement, controversy, or debate among scholars?
Critique the literature: Which arguments are more persuasive, and why? Which approaches, findings, and methodologies seem most reliable, valid, or appropriate, and why? Pay attention to the verbs you use to describe what an author says/does [e.g., asserts, demonstrates, argues, etc.].
Connect the literature to your own area of research and investigation: how does your own work draw upon, depart from, synthesize, or add a new perspective to what has been said in the literature?

IV. Research Design and Methods

This section must be well-written and logically organized because you are not actually doing the research, yet, your reader must have confidence that you have a plan worth pursuing . The reader will never have a study outcome from which to evaluate whether your methodological choices were the correct ones. Thus, the objective here is to convince the reader that your overall research design and proposed methods of analysis will correctly address the problem and that the methods will provide the means to effectively interpret the potential results. Your design and methods should be unmistakably tied to the specific aims of your study.

Describe the overall research design by building upon and drawing examples from your review of the literature. Consider not only methods that other researchers have used, but methods of data gathering that have not been used but perhaps could be. Be specific about the methodological approaches you plan to undertake to obtain information, the techniques you would use to analyze the data, and the tests of external validity to which you commit yourself [i.e., the trustworthiness by which you can generalize from your study to other people, places, events, and/or periods of time].

When describing the methods you will use, be sure to cover the following:

Specify the research process you will undertake and the way you will interpret the results obtained in relation to the research problem. Don't just describe what you intend to achieve from applying the methods you choose, but state how you will spend your time while applying these methods [e.g., coding text from interviews to find statements about the need to change school curriculum; running a regression to determine if there is a relationship between campaign advertising on social media sites and election outcomes in Europe ].
Keep in mind that the methodology is not just a list of tasks; it is a deliberate argument as to why techniques for gathering information add up to the best way to investigate the research problem. This is an important point because the mere listing of tasks to be performed does not demonstrate that, collectively, they effectively address the research problem. Be sure you clearly explain this.
Anticipate and acknowledge any potential barriers and pitfalls in carrying out your research design and explain how you plan to address them. No method applied to research in the social and behavioral sciences is perfect, so you need to describe where you believe challenges may exist in obtaining data or accessing information. It's always better to acknowledge this than to have it brought up by your professor!

V. Preliminary Suppositions and Implications

Just because you don't have to actually conduct the study and analyze the results, doesn't mean you can skip talking about the analytical process and potential implications . The purpose of this section is to argue how and in what ways you believe your research will refine, revise, or extend existing knowledge in the subject area under investigation. Depending on the aims and objectives of your study, describe how the anticipated results will impact future scholarly research, theory, practice, forms of interventions, or policy making. Note that such discussions may have either substantive [a potential new policy], theoretical [a potential new understanding], or methodological [a potential new way of analyzing] significance. When thinking about the potential implications of your study, ask the following questions:

What might the results mean in regards to challenging the theoretical framework and underlying assumptions that support the study?
What suggestions for subsequent research could arise from the potential outcomes of the study?
What will the results mean to practitioners in the natural settings of their workplace, organization, or community?
Will the results influence programs, methods, and/or forms of intervention?
How might the results contribute to the solution of social, economic, or other types of problems?
Will the results influence policy decisions?
In what way do individuals or groups benefit should your study be pursued?
What will be improved or changed as a result of the proposed research?
How will the results of the study be implemented and what innovations or transformative insights could emerge from the process of implementation?

NOTE: This section should not delve into idle speculation, opinion, or be formulated on the basis of unclear evidence . The purpose is to reflect upon gaps or understudied areas of the current literature and describe how your proposed research contributes to a new understanding of the research problem should the study be implemented as designed.

ANOTHER NOTE : This section is also where you describe any potential limitations to your proposed study. While it is impossible to highlight all potential limitations because the study has yet to be conducted, you still must tell the reader where and in what form impediments may arise and how you plan to address them.

VI. Conclusion

The conclusion reiterates the importance or significance of your proposal and provides a brief summary of the entire study . This section should be only one or two paragraphs long, emphasizing why the research problem is worth investigating, why your research study is unique, and how it should advance existing knowledge.

Someone reading this section should come away with an understanding of:

Why the study should be done;
The specific purpose of the study and the research questions it attempts to answer;
The decision for why the research design and methods used where chosen over other options;
The potential implications emerging from your proposed study of the research problem; and
A sense of how your study fits within the broader scholarship about the research problem.

VII. Citations

As with any scholarly research paper, you must cite the sources you used . In a standard research proposal, this section can take two forms, so consult with your professor about which one is preferred.

References -- a list of only the sources you actually used in creating your proposal.
Bibliography -- a list of everything you used in creating your proposal, along with additional citations to any key sources relevant to understanding the research problem.

In either case, this section should testify to the fact that you did enough preparatory work to ensure the project will complement and not just duplicate the efforts of other researchers. It demonstrates to the reader that you have a thorough understanding of prior research on the topic.

Most proposal formats have you start a new page and use the heading "References" or "Bibliography" centered at the top of the page. Cited works should always use a standard format that follows the writing style advised by the discipline of your course [e.g., education=APA; history=Chicago] or that is preferred by your professor. This section normally does not count towards the total page length of your research proposal.

Develop a Research Proposal: Writing the Proposal. Office of Library Information Services. Baltimore County Public Schools; Heath, M. Teresa Pereira and Caroline Tynan. “Crafting a Research Proposal.” The Marketing Review 10 (Summer 2010): 147-168; Jones, Mark. “Writing a Research Proposal.” In MasterClass in Geography Education: Transforming Teaching and Learning . Graham Butt, editor. (New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2015), pp. 113-127; Juni, Muhamad Hanafiah. “Writing a Research Proposal.” International Journal of Public Health and Clinical Sciences 1 (September/October 2014): 229-240; Krathwohl, David R. How to Prepare a Dissertation Proposal: Suggestions for Students in Education and the Social and Behavioral Sciences . Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2005; Procter, Margaret. The Academic Proposal. The Lab Report. University College Writing Centre. University of Toronto; Punch, Keith and Wayne McGowan. "Developing and Writing a Research Proposal." In From Postgraduate to Social Scientist: A Guide to Key Skills . Nigel Gilbert, ed. (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2006), 59-81; Wong, Paul T. P. How to Write a Research Proposal. International Network on Personal Meaning. Trinity Western University; Writing Academic Proposals: Conferences , Articles, and Books. The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Writing a Research Proposal. University Library. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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Proposal – Types, Examples, and Writing Guide

Table of Contents

Definition:

Proposal is a formal document or presentation that outlines a plan, idea, or project and seeks to persuade others to support or adopt it. Proposals are commonly used in business, academia, and various other fields to propose new initiatives, solutions to problems, research studies, or business ventures.

Proposal Layout

While the specific layout of a proposal may vary depending on the requirements or guidelines provided by the recipient, there are some common sections that are typically included in a standard proposal. Here’s a typical layout for a proposal:

The title of the proposal.
Your name or the name of your organization.
Date of submission.
A list of sections or headings with corresponding page numbers for easy navigation.
An overview of the proposal, highlighting its key points and benefits.
Summarize the problem or opportunity.
Outline the proposed solution or project.
Mention the expected outcomes or deliverables.
Keep it concise and compelling.
Provide background information about the issue or context.
Explain the purpose and objectives of the proposal.
Clarify the problem statement or opportunity that the proposal aims to address.
Describe in detail the methodology , approach , or plan to achieve the objectives.
Outline the steps or tasks involved in implementing the proposal.
Explain how the proposed solution or project will be executed.
Include a timeline or schedule to demonstrate the project’s timeline.
Define the specific activities, tasks, or services to be provided.
Clarify the deliverables and expected outcomes.
Mention any limitations or exclusions, if applicable.
Provide a detailed breakdown of the costs associated with the proposal.
Include itemized expenses such as personnel, materials, equipment, and any other relevant costs.
If applicable, include a justification for each cost.
Introduce the individuals or team members involved in the proposal.
Highlight their qualifications, expertise, and experience relevant to the project.
Include their roles and responsibilities.
Specify how the success of the proposal will be measured.
Define evaluation criteria and metrics to assess the outcomes.
Explain how progress will be tracked and reported.
Recap the main points of the proposal.
Reiterate the benefits and advantages of the proposed solution.
Emphasize the value and importance of supporting or adopting the proposal.
Include any additional documents, references, charts, graphs, or data that support your proposal.
These can include resumes, letters of support, financial projections, or relevant research materials.

Types of Types of Proposals

When it comes to proposals, there are various types depending on the context and purpose. Here are some common types of proposals:

Business Proposal

This type of proposal is used in the business world to present a plan, idea, or project to potential clients, investors, or partners. It typically includes an executive summary, problem statement, proposed solution, timeline, budget, and anticipated outcomes.

Project Proposal

A project proposal is a detailed document that outlines the objectives, scope, methodology, deliverables, and budget of a specific project. It is used to seek approval and funding from stakeholders or clients.

Research Proposal

Research proposals are commonly used in academic or scientific settings. They outline the research objectives, methodology, timeline, expected outcomes, and potential significance of a research study. These proposals are submitted to funding agencies, universities, or research institutions.

Grant Proposal

Non-profit organizations, researchers, or individuals seeking funding for a project or program often write grant proposals. These proposals provide a detailed plan of the project, including goals, methods, budget, and expected outcomes, to convince grant-making bodies to provide financial support.

Sales Proposal

Sales proposals are used by businesses to pitch their products or services to potential customers. They typically include information about the product/service, pricing, features, benefits, and a persuasive argument to encourage the recipient to make a purchase.

Sponsorship Proposal

When seeking sponsorship for an event, sports team, or individual, a sponsorship proposal is created. It outlines the benefits for the sponsor, the exposure they will receive, and the financial or in-kind support required.

Marketing Proposal

A marketing proposal is developed by marketing agencies or professionals to present their strategies and tactics to potential clients. It includes an analysis of the target market, proposed marketing activities, budget, and expected results.

Policy Proposal

In the realm of government or public policy, individuals or organizations may create policy proposals to suggest new laws, regulations, or changes to existing policies. These proposals typically provide an overview of the issue, the proposed solution, supporting evidence, and potential impacts.

Training Proposal

Organizations often create training proposals to propose a training program for their employees. These proposals outline the training objectives, topics to be covered, training methods, resources required, and anticipated outcomes.

Partnership Proposal

When two or more organizations or individuals wish to collaborate or form a partnership, a partnership proposal is used to present the benefits, shared goals, responsibilities, and terms of the proposed partnership.

Event Proposal

Event planners or individuals organizing an event, such as a conference, concert, or wedding, may create an event proposal. It includes details about the event concept, venue, logistics, budget, marketing plan, and anticipated attendee experience.

Technology Proposal

Technology proposals are used to present new technological solutions, system upgrades, or IT projects to stakeholders or decision-makers. These proposals outline the technology requirements, implementation plan, costs, and anticipated benefits.

Construction Proposal

Contractors or construction companies create construction proposals to bid on construction projects. These proposals include project specifications, cost estimates, timelines, materials, and construction methodologies.

Book Proposal

Authors or aspiring authors create book proposals to pitch their book ideas to literary agents or publishers. These proposals include a synopsis of the book, target audience, marketing plan, author’s credentials, and sample chapters.

Social Media Proposal

Social media professionals or agencies create social media proposals to present their strategies for managing social media accounts, creating content, and growing online presence. These proposals include an analysis of the current social media presence, proposed tactics, metrics for success, and pricing.

Training and Development Proposal

Similar to training proposals, these proposals focus on the overall development and growth of employees within an organization. They may include plans for leadership development, skill enhancement, or professional certification programs.

Consulting Proposal

Consultants create consulting proposals to present their services and expertise to potential clients. These proposals outline the problem statement, proposed approach, scope of work, timeline, deliverables, and fees.

Policy Advocacy Proposal

Organizations or individuals seeking to influence public policy or advocate for a particular cause create policy advocacy proposals. These proposals present research, evidence, and arguments to support a specific policy change or reform.

Website Design Proposal

Web designers or agencies create website design proposals to pitch their services to clients. These proposals outline the project scope, design concepts, development process, timeline, and pricing.

Environmental Proposal

Environmental proposals are created to address environmental issues or propose conservation initiatives. These proposals may include strategies for renewable energy, waste management, biodiversity preservation, or sustainable practices.

Health and Wellness Proposal

Proposals related to health and wellness can cover a range of topics, such as wellness programs, community health initiatives, healthcare system improvements, or health education campaigns.

Human Resources (HR) Proposal

HR professionals may create HR proposals to introduce new policies, employee benefits programs, performance evaluation systems, or employee training initiatives within an organization.

Nonprofit Program Proposal

Nonprofit organizations seeking funding or support for a specific program or project create nonprofit program proposals. These proposals outline the program’s objectives, activities, target beneficiaries, budget, and expected outcomes.

Government Contract Proposal

When bidding for government contracts, businesses or contractors create government contract proposals. These proposals include details about the project, compliance with regulations, cost estimates, and qualifications.

Product Development Proposal

Businesses or individuals seeking to develop and launch a new product present product development proposals. These proposals outline the product concept, market analysis, development process, production costs, and marketing strategies.

Feasibility Study Proposal

Feasibility study proposals are used to assess the viability and potential success of a project or business idea. These proposals include market research, financial analysis, risk assessment, and recommendations for implementation.

Educational Program Proposal

Educational institutions or organizations create educational program proposals to introduce new courses, curricula, or educational initiatives. These proposals outline the program objectives, learning outcomes, curriculum design, and resource requirements.

Social Service Proposal

Organizations involved in social services, such as healthcare, community development, or social welfare, create social service proposals to seek funding, support, or partnerships. These proposals outline the social issue, proposed interventions, anticipated impacts, and sustainability plans.

Proposal Writing Guide

Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you with proposal writing:

Understand the Requirements: Before you begin writing your proposal, carefully review any guidelines, instructions, or requirements provided by the recipient or organization. This will ensure that you meet their expectations and include all necessary information.
Research and Gather Information: Conduct thorough research on the topic or project you are proposing. Collect relevant data, statistics, case studies, and any supporting evidence that strengthens your proposal. This will demonstrate your knowledge and credibility.
Define the Problem or Opportunity: Clearly identify and articulate the problem or opportunity that your proposal aims to address. Provide a concise and compelling explanation of why it is important and relevant.
State Your Objectives: Outline the specific objectives or goals of your proposal. What do you hope to achieve? Make sure your objectives are clear, measurable, and aligned with the needs of the recipient.
Present Your Solution: Propose your solution or approach to the problem. Describe how your solution is unique, innovative, and effective. Provide a step-by-step plan or methodology, highlighting key activities, deliverables, and timelines.
Demonstrate Benefits and Impact: Clearly outline the benefits and impact of your proposal. Explain how it will add value, solve the problem, or create positive change. Use evidence and examples to support your claims.
Develop a Budget: If applicable, include a detailed budget that outlines the costs associated with implementing your proposal. Be transparent and realistic about expenses, and clearly explain how the funding will be allocated.
Address Potential Risks and Mitigation Strategies: Identify any potential risks, challenges, or obstacles that may arise during the implementation of your proposal. Offer strategies or contingency plans to mitigate these risks and ensure the success of your project.
Provide Supporting Documentation: Include any supporting documents that add credibility to your proposal. This may include resumes or bios of key team members, letters of support or partnership, relevant certifications, or past success stories.
Write Clearly and Concisely: Use clear and concise language to communicate your ideas effectively. Avoid jargon or technical terms that may confuse or alienate the reader. Structure your proposal with headings, subheadings, and bullet points to enhance readability.
Proofread and Edit: Carefully review your proposal for grammar, spelling, and formatting errors. Ensure that it is well-organized, coherent, and flows logically. Consider asking someone else to review it for feedback and suggestions.
Include a Professional Cover Letter: If appropriate, attach a cover letter introducing your proposal. This letter should summarize the key points, express your enthusiasm, and provide contact information for further discussion.
Follow Submission Instructions: Follow the specific instructions for submitting your proposal. This may include submitting it electronically, mailing it, or delivering it in person. Pay attention to submission deadlines and any additional requirements.
Follow Up: After submitting your proposal, consider following up with the recipient to ensure they received it and address any questions or concerns they may have. This shows your commitment and professionalism.

Purpose of Proposal

The purpose of a proposal is to present a plan, idea, project, or solution to a specific audience in a persuasive and compelling manner. Proposals are typically written documents that aim to:

Convince and Persuade: The primary purpose of a proposal is to convince the recipient or decision-makers to accept and support the proposed plan or idea. It is important to present a strong case, providing evidence, logical reasoning, and clear benefits to demonstrate why the proposal should be approved.
Seek Approval or Funding: Proposals often seek approval or funding for a project, program, research study, business venture, or initiative. The purpose is to secure the necessary resources, whether financial, human, or technical, to implement the proposed endeavor.
Solve Problems or Address Opportunities: Proposals are often developed in response to a problem, challenge, or opportunity. The purpose is to provide a well-thought-out solution or approach that effectively addresses the issue or leverages the opportunity for positive outcomes.
Present a Comprehensive Plan : Proposals outline a comprehensive plan, including objectives, strategies, methodologies, timelines, budgets, and anticipated outcomes. The purpose is to demonstrate the feasibility, practicality, and potential success of the proposed plan.
Inform and Educate: Proposals provide detailed information and analysis to educate the audience about the subject matter. They offer a thorough understanding of the problem or opportunity, the proposed solution, and the potential impact.
Establish Credibility: Proposals aim to establish the credibility and expertise of the individual or organization presenting the proposal. They demonstrate the knowledge, experience, qualifications, and track record that make the proposer capable of successfully executing the proposed plan.
I nitiate Collaboration or Partnerships: Proposals may serve as a means to initiate collaboration, partnerships, or contractual agreements. They present an opportunity for individuals, organizations, or entities to work together towards a common goal or project.
Provide a Basis for Decision-Making: Proposals offer the information and analysis necessary for decision-makers to evaluate the merits and feasibility of the proposed plan. They provide a framework for informed decision-making, allowing stakeholders to assess the risks, benefits, and potential outcomes.

When to write a Proposal

Proposals are typically written in various situations when you need to present a plan, idea, or project to a specific audience. Here are some common scenarios when you may need to write a proposal:

Business Opportunities: When you identify a business opportunity, such as a potential client or partnership, you may write a proposal to pitch your products, services, or collaboration ideas.
Funding or Grants: If you require financial support for a project, research study, non-profit program, or any initiative, you may need to write a proposal to seek funding from government agencies, foundations, or philanthropic organizations.
Project Planning: When you plan to undertake a project, whether it’s a construction project, software development, event organization, or any other endeavor, writing a project proposal helps outline the objectives, deliverables, timelines, and resource requirements.
Research Studies: In academic or scientific settings, researchers write research proposals to present their study objectives, research questions, methodology, anticipated outcomes, and potential significance to funding bodies, universities, or research institutions.
Business Development: If you’re expanding your business, launching a new product or service, or entering a new market, writing a business proposal helps outline your plans, strategies, market analysis, and financial projections to potential investors or partners.
Partnerships and Collaborations: When seeking partnerships, collaborations, or joint ventures with other organizations or individuals, writing a partnership proposal helps communicate the benefits, shared goals, responsibilities, and terms of the proposed partnership.
Policy or Advocacy Initiatives: When advocating for a particular cause, addressing public policy issues, or proposing policy changes, writing a policy proposal helps outline the problem, proposed solutions, supporting evidence, and potential impacts.
Contract Bidding: If you’re bidding for contracts, whether in government or private sectors, writing a proposal is necessary to present your capabilities, expertise, resources, and pricing to potential clients or procurement departments.
Consulting or Service Contracts: If you offer consulting services, professional expertise, or specialized services, writing a proposal helps outline your approach, deliverables, fees, and timeline to potential clients.

Importance of Proposal

Proposals play a significant role in numerous areas and have several important benefits. Here are some key reasons why proposals are important:

Communication and Clarity: Proposals serve as a formal means of communication, allowing you to clearly articulate your plan, idea, or project to others. By presenting your proposal in a structured format, you ensure that your message is conveyed effectively, minimizing misunderstandings and confusion.
Decision-Making Tool: Proposals provide decision-makers with the necessary information and analysis to make informed choices. They offer a comprehensive overview of the proposal, including objectives, strategies, timelines, budgets, and anticipated outcomes. This enables stakeholders to evaluate the proposal’s feasibility, alignment with goals, and potential return on investment.
Accountability and Documentation: Proposals serve as a written record of commitments, responsibilities, and expectations. Once a proposal is approved, it becomes a reference point for all parties involved, ensuring that everyone is on the same page and accountable for their roles and obligations.
Planning and Organization: Writing a proposal requires thorough planning and organization. It compels you to define objectives, outline strategies, consider potential risks, and create a timeline. This process helps you think critically about the proposal, identifying strengths, weaknesses, and areas that require further refinement.
Persuasion and Influence: Proposals are persuasive documents that aim to convince others to support or approve your plan. By presenting a well-constructed proposal, supported by evidence, logical reasoning, and benefits, you enhance your ability to influence decision-makers and stakeholders.
Resource Allocation and Funding: Many proposals are written to secure resources, whether financial, human, or technical. A compelling proposal can increase the likelihood of obtaining funding, grants, or other resources needed to execute a project or initiative successfully.
Partnership and Collaboration Opportunities: Proposals enable you to seek partnerships, collaborations, or joint ventures with other organizations or individuals. By presenting a clear proposal that outlines the benefits, shared goals, responsibilities, and terms, you increase the likelihood of forming mutually beneficial relationships.
Professionalism and Credibility: A well-written proposal demonstrates professionalism, expertise, and credibility. It showcases your ability to analyze complex issues, develop effective strategies, and present ideas in a concise and persuasive manner. This can enhance your reputation and increase trust among stakeholders.
Continual Improvement: The process of writing proposals encourages you to refine your ideas, explore alternatives, and seek feedback. It provides an opportunity for reflection and refinement, ultimately leading to continuous improvement in your plans and approaches.

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How to Write a Research Proposal | Examples & Templates

How to Write a Research Proposal | Examples & Templates

Published on 30 October 2022 by Shona McCombes and Tegan George. Revised on 13 June 2023.

A research proposal describes what you will investigate, why it’s important, and how you will conduct your research.

The format of a research proposal varies between fields, but most proposals will contain at least these elements:

Introduction

Literature review.

Research design

Reference list

While the sections may vary, the overall objective is always the same. A research proposal serves as a blueprint and guide for your research plan, helping you get organised and feel confident in the path forward you choose to take.

Research proposal purpose, research proposal examples, research design and methods, contribution to knowledge, research schedule, frequently asked questions.

Research proposal length

One trick to get started is to think of your proposal’s structure as a shorter version of your thesis or dissertation , only without the results , conclusion and discussion sections.

Download our research proposal template

Prevent plagiarism, run a free check.

Writing a research proposal can be quite challenging, but a good starting point could be to look at some examples. We’ve included a few for you below.

Example research proposal #1: ‘A Conceptual Framework for Scheduling Constraint Management’
Example research proposal #2: ‘ Medical Students as Mediators of Change in Tobacco Use’

Like your dissertation or thesis, the proposal will usually have a title page that includes:

The proposed title of your project
Your supervisor’s name
Your institution and department

The first part of your proposal is the initial pitch for your project. Make sure it succinctly explains what you want to do and why.

Your introduction should:

Introduce your topic
Give necessary background and context
Outline your problem statement and research questions

To guide your introduction , include information about:

Who could have an interest in the topic (e.g., scientists, policymakers)
How much is already known about the topic
What is missing from this current knowledge
What new insights your research will contribute
Why you believe this research is worth doing

In this section, share exactly how your project will contribute to ongoing conversations in the field by:

Comparing and contrasting the main theories, methods, and debates
Examining the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches
Explaining how will you build on, challenge, or synthesise prior scholarship

To finish your proposal on a strong note, explore the potential implications of your research for your field. Emphasise again what you aim to contribute and why it matters.

For example, your results might have implications for:

Improving best practices
Informing policymaking decisions
Strengthening a theory or model
Challenging popular or scientific beliefs
Creating a basis for future research

Here’s an example schedule to help you get started. You can also download a template at the button below.

Download our research schedule template

If you are applying for research funding, chances are you will have to include a detailed budget. This shows your estimates of how much each part of your project will cost.

Make sure to check what type of costs the funding body will agree to cover. For each item, include:

Cost : exactly how much money do you need?
Justification : why is this cost necessary to complete the research?
Source : how did you calculate the amount?

To determine your budget, think about:

Travel costs : do you need to go somewhere to collect your data? How will you get there, and how much time will you need? What will you do there (e.g., interviews, archival research)?
Materials : do you need access to any tools or technologies?
Help : do you need to hire any research assistants for the project? What will they do, and how much will you pay them?

Once you’ve decided on your research objectives , you need to explain them in your paper, at the end of your problem statement.

Keep your research objectives clear and concise, and use appropriate verbs to accurately convey the work that you will carry out for each one.

I will compare …

Research objectives are more specific than your research aim. They indicate the specific ways you’ll address the overarching aim.

A PhD is intended to prepare students for a career as a researcher, whether that be in academia, the public sector, or the private sector.

A master’s is a 1- or 2-year graduate degree that can prepare you for a variety of careers.

Critical thinking refers to the ability to evaluate information and to be aware of biases or assumptions, including your own.

Like information literacy , it involves evaluating arguments, identifying and solving problems in an objective and systematic way, and clearly communicating your ideas.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the ‘Cite this Scribbr article’ button to automatically add the citation to our free Reference Generator.

McCombes, S. & George, T. (2023, June 13). How to Write a Research Proposal | Examples & Templates. Scribbr. Retrieved 9 April 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/the-research-process/research-proposal-explained/

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How To Write A Research Proposal

A Straightforward How-To Guide (With Examples)

By: Derek Jansen (MBA) | Reviewed By: Dr. Eunice Rautenbach | August 2019 (Updated April 2023)

Writing up a strong research proposal for a dissertation or thesis is much like a marriage proposal. It’s a task that calls on you to win somebody over and persuade them that what you’re planning is a great idea. An idea they’re happy to say ‘yes’ to. This means that your dissertation proposal needs to be persuasive , attractive and well-planned. In this post, I’ll show you how to write a winning dissertation proposal, from scratch.

Before you start:

– Understand exactly what a research proposal is – Ask yourself these 4 questions

The 5 essential ingredients:

The title/topic
The introduction chapter
The scope/delimitations
Preliminary literature review
Design/ methodology
Practical considerations and risks

What Is A Research Proposal?

The research proposal is literally that: a written document that communicates what you propose to research, in a concise format. It’s where you put all that stuff that’s spinning around in your head down on to paper, in a logical, convincing fashion.

Convincing is the keyword here, as your research proposal needs to convince the assessor that your research is clearly articulated (i.e., a clear research question) , worth doing (i.e., is unique and valuable enough to justify the effort), and doable within the restrictions you’ll face (time limits, budget, skill limits, etc.). If your proposal does not address these three criteria, your research won’t be approved, no matter how “exciting” the research idea might be.

PS – if you’re completely new to proposal writing, we’ve got a detailed walkthrough video covering two successful research proposals here .

Free Webinar: How To Write A Research Proposal

How do I know I’m ready?

Before starting the writing process, you need to ask yourself 4 important questions . If you can’t answer them succinctly and confidently, you’re not ready – you need to go back and think more deeply about your dissertation topic .

You should be able to answer the following 4 questions before starting your dissertation or thesis research proposal:

WHAT is my main research question? (the topic)
WHO cares and why is this important? (the justification)
WHAT data would I need to answer this question, and how will I analyse it? (the research design)
HOW will I manage the completion of this research, within the given timelines? (project and risk management)

If you can’t answer these questions clearly and concisely, you’re not yet ready to write your research proposal – revisit our post on choosing a topic .

If you can, that’s great – it’s time to start writing up your dissertation proposal. Next, I’ll discuss what needs to go into your research proposal, and how to structure it all into an intuitive, convincing document with a linear narrative.

The 5 Essential Ingredients

Research proposals can vary in style between institutions and disciplines, but here I’ll share with you a handy 5-section structure you can use. These 5 sections directly address the core questions we spoke about earlier, ensuring that you present a convincing proposal. If your institution already provides a proposal template, there will likely be substantial overlap with this, so you’ll still get value from reading on.

For each section discussed below, make sure you use headers and sub-headers (ideally, numbered headers) to help the reader navigate through your document, and to support them when they need to revisit a previous section. Don’t just present an endless wall of text, paragraph after paragraph after paragraph…

Top Tip: Use MS Word Styles to format headings. This will allow you to be clear about whether a sub-heading is level 2, 3, or 4. Additionally, you can view your document in ‘outline view’ which will show you only your headings. This makes it much easier to check your structure, shift things around and make decisions about where a section needs to sit. You can also generate a 100% accurate table of contents using Word’s automatic functionality.

Ingredient #1 – Topic/Title Header

Your research proposal’s title should be your main research question in its simplest form, possibly with a sub-heading providing basic details on the specifics of the study. For example:

“Compliance with equality legislation in the charity sector: a study of the ‘reasonable adjustments’ made in three London care homes”

As you can see, this title provides a clear indication of what the research is about, in broad terms. It paints a high-level picture for the first-time reader, which gives them a taste of what to expect. Always aim for a clear, concise title . Don’t feel the need to capture every detail of your research in your title – your proposal will fill in the gaps.

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Ingredient #2 – Introduction

In this section of your research proposal, you’ll expand on what you’ve communicated in the title, by providing a few paragraphs which offer more detail about your research topic. Importantly, the focus here is the topic – what will you research and why is that worth researching? This is not the place to discuss methodology, practicalities, etc. – you’ll do that later.

You should cover the following:

An overview of the broad area you’ll be researching – introduce the reader to key concepts and language
An explanation of the specific (narrower) area you’ll be focusing, and why you’ll be focusing there
Your research aims and objectives
Your research question (s) and sub-questions (if applicable)

Importantly, you should aim to use short sentences and plain language – don’t babble on with extensive jargon, acronyms and complex language. Assume that the reader is an intelligent layman – not a subject area specialist (even if they are). Remember that the best writing is writing that can be easily understood and digested. Keep it simple.

The introduction section serves to expand on the research topic – what will you study and why is that worth dedicating time and effort to?

Note that some universities may want some extra bits and pieces in your introduction section. For example, personal development objectives, a structural outline, etc. Check your brief to see if there are any other details they expect in your proposal, and make sure you find a place for these.

Ingredient #3 – Scope

Next, you’ll need to specify what the scope of your research will be – this is also known as the delimitations . In other words, you need to make it clear what you will be covering and, more importantly, what you won’t be covering in your research. Simply put, this is about ring fencing your research topic so that you have a laser-sharp focus.

All too often, students feel the need to go broad and try to address as many issues as possible, in the interest of producing comprehensive research. Whilst this is admirable, it’s a mistake. By tightly refining your scope, you’ll enable yourself to go deep with your research, which is what you need to earn good marks. If your scope is too broad, you’re likely going to land up with superficial research (which won’t earn marks), so don’t be afraid to narrow things down.

Ingredient #4 – Literature Review

In this section of your research proposal, you need to provide a (relatively) brief discussion of the existing literature. Naturally, this will not be as comprehensive as the literature review in your actual dissertation, but it will lay the foundation for that. In fact, if you put in the effort at this stage, you’ll make your life a lot easier when it’s time to write your actual literature review chapter.

There are a few things you need to achieve in this section:

Demonstrate that you’ve done your reading and are familiar with the current state of the research in your topic area.
Show that there’s a clear gap for your specific research – i.e., show that your topic is sufficiently unique and will add value to the existing research.
Show how the existing research has shaped your thinking regarding research design . For example, you might use scales or questionnaires from previous studies.

When you write up your literature review, keep these three objectives front of mind, especially number two (revealing the gap in the literature), so that your literature review has a clear purpose and direction . Everything you write should be contributing towards one (or more) of these objectives in some way. If it doesn’t, you need to ask yourself whether it’s truly needed.

Top Tip: Don’t fall into the trap of just describing the main pieces of literature, for example, “A says this, B says that, C also says that…” and so on. Merely describing the literature provides no value. Instead, you need to synthesise it, and use it to address the three objectives above.

If you put in the effort at the proposal stage, you’ll make your life a lot easier when its time to write your actual literature review chapter.

Ingredient #5 – Research Methodology

Now that you’ve clearly explained both your intended research topic (in the introduction) and the existing research it will draw on (in the literature review section), it’s time to get practical and explain exactly how you’ll be carrying out your own research. In other words, your research methodology.

In this section, you’ll need to answer two critical questions :

How will you design your research? I.e., what research methodology will you adopt, what will your sample be, how will you collect data, etc.
Why have you chosen this design? I.e., why does this approach suit your specific research aims, objectives and questions?

In other words, this is not just about explaining WHAT you’ll be doing, it’s also about explaining WHY. In fact, the justification is the most important part , because that justification is how you demonstrate a good understanding of research design (which is what assessors want to see).

Some essential design choices you need to cover in your research proposal include:

Your intended research philosophy (e.g., positivism, interpretivism or pragmatism )
What methodological approach you’ll be taking (e.g., qualitative , quantitative or mixed )
The details of your sample (e.g., sample size, who they are, who they represent, etc.)
What data you plan to collect (i.e. data about what, in what form?)
How you plan to collect it (e.g., surveys , interviews , focus groups, etc.)
How you plan to analyse it (e.g., regression analysis, thematic analysis , etc.)
Ethical adherence (i.e., does this research satisfy all ethical requirements of your institution, or does it need further approval?)

This list is not exhaustive – these are just some core attributes of research design. Check with your institution what level of detail they expect. The “ research onion ” by Saunders et al (2009) provides a good summary of the various design choices you ultimately need to make – you can read more about that here .

Don’t forget the practicalities…

In addition to the technical aspects, you will need to address the practical side of the project. In other words, you need to explain what resources you’ll need (e.g., time, money, access to equipment or software, etc.) and how you intend to secure these resources. You need to show that your project is feasible, so any “make or break” type resources need to already be secured. The success or failure of your project cannot depend on some resource which you’re not yet sure you have access to.

Another part of the practicalities discussion is project and risk management . In other words, you need to show that you have a clear project plan to tackle your research with. Some key questions to address:

What are the timelines for each phase of your project?
Are the time allocations reasonable?
What happens if something takes longer than anticipated (risk management)?
What happens if you don’t get the response rate you expect?

A good way to demonstrate that you’ve thought this through is to include a Gantt chart and a risk register (in the appendix if word count is a problem). With these two tools, you can show that you’ve got a clear, feasible plan, and you’ve thought about and accounted for the potential risks.

Tip – Be honest about the potential difficulties – but show that you are anticipating solutions and workarounds. This is much more impressive to an assessor than an unrealistically optimistic proposal which does not anticipate any challenges whatsoever.

Final Touches: Read And Simplify

The final step is to edit and proofread your proposal – very carefully. It sounds obvious, but all too often poor editing and proofreading ruin a good proposal. Nothing is more off-putting for an assessor than a poorly edited, typo-strewn document. It sends the message that you either do not pay attention to detail, or just don’t care. Neither of these are good messages. Put the effort into editing and proofreading your proposal (or pay someone to do it for you) – it will pay dividends.

When you’re editing, watch out for ‘academese’. Many students can speak simply, passionately and clearly about their dissertation topic – but become incomprehensible the moment they turn the laptop on. You are not required to write in any kind of special, formal, complex language when you write academic work. Sure, there may be technical terms, jargon specific to your discipline, shorthand terms and so on. But, apart from those, keep your written language very close to natural spoken language – just as you would speak in the classroom. Imagine that you are explaining your project plans to your classmates or a family member. Remember, write for the intelligent layman, not the subject matter experts. Plain-language, concise writing is what wins hearts and minds – and marks!

Let’s Recap: Research Proposal 101

And there you have it – how to write your dissertation or thesis research proposal, from the title page to the final proof. Here’s a quick recap of the key takeaways:

The purpose of the research proposal is to convince – therefore, you need to make a clear, concise argument of why your research is both worth doing and doable.
Make sure you can ask the critical what, who, and how questions of your research before you put pen to paper.
Title – provides the first taste of your research, in broad terms
Introduction – explains what you’ll be researching in more detail
Scope – explains the boundaries of your research
Literature review – explains how your research fits into the existing research and why it’s unique and valuable
Research methodology – explains and justifies how you will carry out your own research

Hopefully, this post has helped you better understand how to write up a winning research proposal. If you enjoyed it, be sure to check out the rest of the Grad Coach Blog . If your university doesn’t provide any template for your proposal, you might want to try out our free research proposal template .

Psst… there’s more!

This post is an extract from our bestselling Udemy Course, Research Proposal Bootcamp . If you want to work smart, you don't want to miss this .

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30 Comments

Thank you so much for the valuable insight that you have given, especially on the research proposal. That is what I have managed to cover. I still need to go back to the other parts as I got disturbed while still listening to Derek’s audio on you-tube. I am inspired. I will definitely continue with Grad-coach guidance on You-tube.

Thanks for the kind words :). All the best with your proposal.

First of all, thanks a lot for making such a wonderful presentation. The video was really useful and gave me a very clear insight of how a research proposal has to be written. I shall try implementing these ideas in my RP.

Once again, I thank you for this content.

I found reading your outline on writing research proposal very beneficial. I wish there was a way of submitting my draft proposal to you guys for critiquing before I submit to the institution.

Hi Bonginkosi

Thank you for the kind words. Yes, we do provide a review service. The best starting point is to have a chat with one of our coaches here: https://gradcoach.com/book/new/ .

Hello team GRADCOACH, may God bless you so much. I was totally green in research. Am so happy for your free superb tutorials and resources. Once again thank you so much Derek and his team.

You’re welcome, Erick. Good luck with your research proposal 🙂

thank you for the information. its precise and on point.

Really a remarkable piece of writing and great source of guidance for the researchers. GOD BLESS YOU for your guidance. Regards

Thanks so much for your guidance. It is easy and comprehensive the way you explain the steps for a winning research proposal.

Thank you guys so much for the rich post. I enjoyed and learn from every word in it. My problem now is how to get into your platform wherein I can always seek help on things related to my research work ? Secondly, I wish to find out if there is a way I can send my tentative proposal to you guys for examination before I take to my supervisor Once again thanks very much for the insights

Thanks for your kind words, Desire.

If you are based in a country where Grad Coach’s paid services are available, you can book a consultation by clicking the “Book” button in the top right.

Best of luck with your studies.

May God bless you team for the wonderful work you are doing,

If I have a topic, Can I submit it to you so that you can draft a proposal for me?? As I am expecting to go for masters degree in the near future.

Thanks for your comment. We definitely cannot draft a proposal for you, as that would constitute academic misconduct. The proposal needs to be your own work. We can coach you through the process, but it needs to be your own work and your own writing.

Best of luck with your research!

I found a lot of many essential concepts from your material. it is real a road map to write a research proposal. so thanks a lot. If there is any update material on your hand on MBA please forward to me.

GradCoach is a professional website that presents support and helps for MBA student like me through the useful online information on the page and with my 1-on-1 online coaching with the amazing and professional PhD Kerryen.

Thank you Kerryen so much for the support and help 🙂

I really recommend dealing with such a reliable services provider like Gradcoah and a coach like Kerryen.

Hi, Am happy for your service and effort to help students and researchers, Please, i have been given an assignment on research for strategic development, the task one is to formulate a research proposal to support the strategic development of a business area, my issue here is how to go about it, especially the topic or title and introduction. Please, i would like to know if you could help me and how much is the charge.

This content is practical, valuable, and just great!

Thank you very much!

Hi Derek, Thank you for the valuable presentation. It is very helpful especially for beginners like me. I am just starting my PhD.

This is quite instructive and research proposal made simple. Can I have a research proposal template?

Great! Thanks for rescuing me, because I had no former knowledge in this topic. But with this piece of information, I am now secured. Thank you once more.

I enjoyed listening to your video on how to write a proposal. I think I will be able to write a winning proposal with your advice. I wish you were to be my supervisor.

Dear Derek Jansen,

Thank you for your great content. I couldn’t learn these topics in MBA, but now I learned from GradCoach. Really appreciate your efforts….

From Afghanistan!

I have got very essential inputs for startup of my dissertation proposal. Well organized properly communicated with video presentation. Thank you for the presentation.

Wow, this is absolutely amazing guys. Thank you so much for the fruitful presentation, you’ve made my research much easier.

this helps me a lot. thank you all so much for impacting in us. may god richly bless you all

How I wish I’d learn about Grad Coach earlier. I’ve been stumbling around writing and rewriting! Now I have concise clear directions on how to put this thing together. Thank you!

Fantastic!! Thank You for this very concise yet comprehensive guidance.

Even if I am poor in English I would like to thank you very much.

Thank you very much, this is very insightful.

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Research Methodology and Scientific Writing pp 169–198 Cite as

Planning and Writing a Research Proposal

C. George Thomas 2
First Online: 25 February 2021

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Research is a costly venture. In a research organization inclusive of university and college departments, funds for research are released only after careful scrutiny of the merit of the proposed work. A formal research proposal and its approval are also necessary for thesis works of students. In addition to the in-house funds of the organization, scientists may get funds from external agencies—both national and international. Fortunately, there are several funding agencies to promote research and development in specified areas, usually on project mode, by providing grants to individuals and groups. Therefore, instead of waiting for the meagre resources of parent institutions, scientists can approach a suitable external agency for financing research projects. Your success in obtaining a research grant means that you and your institution are benefited in various ways.

Good fortune is what happens when opportunity meets with planning . Thomas Alva Edison (1847–1931)

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Developing an Effective Research Proposal

Welcome to this RMIT University Library online module which provides you with key information, strategies and resources for developing an effective research proposal.

The module is aimed at graduate researchers (PhD or Masters by Research) who are seeking to understand why and how to write their research proposal.

The course materials include information, videos and learning activities which explore key features of developing effective research proposals.

We hope you find this module useful and stimulating.

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On successful completion of the module, you will be able to:

determine the purpose and importance of the research proposal
create effective research questions
identify they key components which structure a research proposal, and
familiarise yourself with writing the “what”, “why” and “how” sections of your proposal.

This module should take you about 30 minutes to complete.

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Indian J Anaesth
v.60(9); 2016 Sep

How to write a research proposal?

Department of Anaesthesiology, Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Devika Rani Duggappa

Writing the proposal of a research work in the present era is a challenging task due to the constantly evolving trends in the qualitative research design and the need to incorporate medical advances into the methodology. The proposal is a detailed plan or ‘blueprint’ for the intended study, and once it is completed, the research project should flow smoothly. Even today, many of the proposals at post-graduate evaluation committees and application proposals for funding are substandard. A search was conducted with keywords such as research proposal, writing proposal and qualitative using search engines, namely, PubMed and Google Scholar, and an attempt has been made to provide broad guidelines for writing a scientifically appropriate research proposal.

INTRODUCTION

A clean, well-thought-out proposal forms the backbone for the research itself and hence becomes the most important step in the process of conduct of research.[ 1 ] The objective of preparing a research proposal would be to obtain approvals from various committees including ethics committee [details under ‘Research methodology II’ section [ Table 1 ] in this issue of IJA) and to request for grants. However, there are very few universally accepted guidelines for preparation of a good quality research proposal. A search was performed with keywords such as research proposal, funding, qualitative and writing proposals using search engines, namely, PubMed, Google Scholar and Scopus.

Five ‘C’s while writing a literature review

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Object name is IJA-60-631-g001.jpg

BASIC REQUIREMENTS OF A RESEARCH PROPOSAL

A proposal needs to show how your work fits into what is already known about the topic and what new paradigm will it add to the literature, while specifying the question that the research will answer, establishing its significance, and the implications of the answer.[ 2 ] The proposal must be capable of convincing the evaluation committee about the credibility, achievability, practicality and reproducibility (repeatability) of the research design.[ 3 ] Four categories of audience with different expectations may be present in the evaluation committees, namely academic colleagues, policy-makers, practitioners and lay audiences who evaluate the research proposal. Tips for preparation of a good research proposal include; ‘be practical, be persuasive, make broader links, aim for crystal clarity and plan before you write’. A researcher must be balanced, with a realistic understanding of what can be achieved. Being persuasive implies that researcher must be able to convince other researchers, research funding agencies, educational institutions and supervisors that the research is worth getting approval. The aim of the researcher should be clearly stated in simple language that describes the research in a way that non-specialists can comprehend, without use of jargons. The proposal must not only demonstrate that it is based on an intelligent understanding of the existing literature but also show that the writer has thought about the time needed to conduct each stage of the research.[ 4 , 5 ]

CONTENTS OF A RESEARCH PROPOSAL

The contents or formats of a research proposal vary depending on the requirements of evaluation committee and are generally provided by the evaluation committee or the institution.

In general, a cover page should contain the (i) title of the proposal, (ii) name and affiliation of the researcher (principal investigator) and co-investigators, (iii) institutional affiliation (degree of the investigator and the name of institution where the study will be performed), details of contact such as phone numbers, E-mail id's and lines for signatures of investigators.

The main contents of the proposal may be presented under the following headings: (i) introduction, (ii) review of literature, (iii) aims and objectives, (iv) research design and methods, (v) ethical considerations, (vi) budget, (vii) appendices and (viii) citations.[ 4 ]

Introduction

It is also sometimes termed as ‘need for study’ or ‘abstract’. Introduction is an initial pitch of an idea; it sets the scene and puts the research in context.[ 6 ] The introduction should be designed to create interest in the reader about the topic and proposal. It should convey to the reader, what you want to do, what necessitates the study and your passion for the topic.[ 7 ] Some questions that can be used to assess the significance of the study are: (i) Who has an interest in the domain of inquiry? (ii) What do we already know about the topic? (iii) What has not been answered adequately in previous research and practice? (iv) How will this research add to knowledge, practice and policy in this area? Some of the evaluation committees, expect the last two questions, elaborated under a separate heading of ‘background and significance’.[ 8 ] Introduction should also contain the hypothesis behind the research design. If hypothesis cannot be constructed, the line of inquiry to be used in the research must be indicated.

Review of literature

It refers to all sources of scientific evidence pertaining to the topic in interest. In the present era of digitalisation and easy accessibility, there is an enormous amount of relevant data available, making it a challenge for the researcher to include all of it in his/her review.[ 9 ] It is crucial to structure this section intelligently so that the reader can grasp the argument related to your study in relation to that of other researchers, while still demonstrating to your readers that your work is original and innovative. It is preferable to summarise each article in a paragraph, highlighting the details pertinent to the topic of interest. The progression of review can move from the more general to the more focused studies, or a historical progression can be used to develop the story, without making it exhaustive.[ 1 ] Literature should include supporting data, disagreements and controversies. Five ‘C's may be kept in mind while writing a literature review[ 10 ] [ Table 1 ].

Aims and objectives

The research purpose (or goal or aim) gives a broad indication of what the researcher wishes to achieve in the research. The hypothesis to be tested can be the aim of the study. The objectives related to parameters or tools used to achieve the aim are generally categorised as primary and secondary objectives.

Research design and method

The objective here is to convince the reader that the overall research design and methods of analysis will correctly address the research problem and to impress upon the reader that the methodology/sources chosen are appropriate for the specific topic. It should be unmistakably tied to the specific aims of your study.

In this section, the methods and sources used to conduct the research must be discussed, including specific references to sites, databases, key texts or authors that will be indispensable to the project. There should be specific mention about the methodological approaches to be undertaken to gather information, about the techniques to be used to analyse it and about the tests of external validity to which researcher is committed.[ 10 , 11 ]

The components of this section include the following:[ 4 ]

Population and sample

Population refers to all the elements (individuals, objects or substances) that meet certain criteria for inclusion in a given universe,[ 12 ] and sample refers to subset of population which meets the inclusion criteria for enrolment into the study. The inclusion and exclusion criteria should be clearly defined. The details pertaining to sample size are discussed in the article “Sample size calculation: Basic priniciples” published in this issue of IJA.

Data collection

The researcher is expected to give a detailed account of the methodology adopted for collection of data, which include the time frame required for the research. The methodology should be tested for its validity and ensure that, in pursuit of achieving the results, the participant's life is not jeopardised. The author should anticipate and acknowledge any potential barrier and pitfall in carrying out the research design and explain plans to address them, thereby avoiding lacunae due to incomplete data collection. If the researcher is planning to acquire data through interviews or questionnaires, copy of the questions used for the same should be attached as an annexure with the proposal.

Rigor (soundness of the research)

This addresses the strength of the research with respect to its neutrality, consistency and applicability. Rigor must be reflected throughout the proposal.

It refers to the robustness of a research method against bias. The author should convey the measures taken to avoid bias, viz. blinding and randomisation, in an elaborate way, thus ensuring that the result obtained from the adopted method is purely as chance and not influenced by other confounding variables.

Consistency

Consistency considers whether the findings will be consistent if the inquiry was replicated with the same participants and in a similar context. This can be achieved by adopting standard and universally accepted methods and scales.

Applicability

Applicability refers to the degree to which the findings can be applied to different contexts and groups.[ 13 ]

Data analysis

This section deals with the reduction and reconstruction of data and its analysis including sample size calculation. The researcher is expected to explain the steps adopted for coding and sorting the data obtained. Various tests to be used to analyse the data for its robustness, significance should be clearly stated. Author should also mention the names of statistician and suitable software which will be used in due course of data analysis and their contribution to data analysis and sample calculation.[ 9 ]

Ethical considerations

Medical research introduces special moral and ethical problems that are not usually encountered by other researchers during data collection, and hence, the researcher should take special care in ensuring that ethical standards are met. Ethical considerations refer to the protection of the participants' rights (right to self-determination, right to privacy, right to autonomy and confidentiality, right to fair treatment and right to protection from discomfort and harm), obtaining informed consent and the institutional review process (ethical approval). The researcher needs to provide adequate information on each of these aspects.

Informed consent needs to be obtained from the participants (details discussed in further chapters), as well as the research site and the relevant authorities.

When the researcher prepares a research budget, he/she should predict and cost all aspects of the research and then add an additional allowance for unpredictable disasters, delays and rising costs. All items in the budget should be justified.

Appendices are documents that support the proposal and application. The appendices will be specific for each proposal but documents that are usually required include informed consent form, supporting documents, questionnaires, measurement tools and patient information of the study in layman's language.

As with any scholarly research paper, you must cite the sources you used in composing your proposal. Although the words ‘references and bibliography’ are different, they are used interchangeably. It refers to all references cited in the research proposal.

Successful, qualitative research proposals should communicate the researcher's knowledge of the field and method and convey the emergent nature of the qualitative design. The proposal should follow a discernible logic from the introduction to presentation of the appendices.

Financial support and sponsorship

Conflicts of interest.

There are no conflicts of interest.

Proposal Preparation and Development

Proposal Development Resources

While developmenting a proposal can feel daunting, the Office of Research and Technology Management is here to help you be successful. Connect with various resources available to researchers at CWRU throughout the proposal development process.

Get Support from CWRU Teams

CWRU Writing Resource Center (WRC) is staffed with an experienced group of consultants, including writing instructors holding doctorates in a variety of disciplines, who can support faculty members in all parts of their composition process. The WRC can be particularly valuable when crafting proposal research narratives and project descriptions. The WRC has locations across campus and offers in-person, online synchronous, and asynchronous appointments. To see the center's availability and sign-up for an appointment, please visit wrc.case.edu . For more information about support for your own professional/scholarly writing projects, please reach out to the Director of WAC, Dr. Erika Olbricht, [email protected] .
The SPARC Team supports proposal development for complex, center-level grants and contracts greater than $10 million.
Great Lakes Energy Institute (GLEI) offers proposal development services for energy-related research proposals.
The Clinical and Translational Science Collaborative (CTSC) offers proposal development resources for faculty in the School of Medicine.

GLEI and CTSC each have teams that can offer hands-on support for proposal preparation. This is available on a case-by-case basis.

Consult Proposal Guidances

Proposal writing and review guides.

NIH Grants Basics and grant writing tip sheets .
The National Library of Medicine brings together NIH grant tutorials and grant writing tip sheets in a single site, including an annotated sample R01 grant.
NIH Grant Writing for Success is a popular presentation from NIH experts that provides insights and helpful hints on preparing an application for submission. Learn how to avoid the most common mistakes in writing grant applications and correct some typical misconceptions about the grant review process.
The NIH offers webinar series and All About Grants Podcasts covering topics related to the process of seeking NIH funding, including honing research ideas, selecting application opportunities, and effective grant writing. Live webinars occur throughout the year and pre-recorded webinars are available for viewing. Podcasts range from 4 minutes to 20 minutes and cover all of the ins and outs of NIH funding.
View an NIH Peer Review Live Mock Study Section with Q&A. This NIH presentation is designed for anyone who ever wondered what an NIH peer review study section meeting might look and sound like as applications are discussed. During this 45-minute video, you’ll get a better idea of how the meeting is conducted, as well as hear a sampling of common questions asked by reviewers and mistakes made by applicants. A short Q&A follows the presentation.
View sample grant applications from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) for a range of funding mechanisms, including research grants (R series) and training and career development awards.
NSF A Guide for Proposal Writing for beginners.
On the Art of Writing Proposals - Liberal Arts and Humanities proposal guidance, published by the Social Science Research Council.
Proposal Writing Short Course - A self-paced, online class that introduces key components of foundation proposal writing.

Frequently Used Application Guides and Forms

Department of Defense (DOD)

CDMRP Applications Guide

Department of Energy (DOE)

Grants Policy and Guidance
Grants and Contracts Support

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

How to Apply - Application Guide
Writing Your Application
NIH Grant Forms
NIH Public Health Service (PHS) Forms

National Science Foundation (NSF)

Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG)
Preparing Proposals

National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)

Grant Opportunities, Application Guidelines and Resources for Managing Your Grant

Guidance for Correcting an Application

Guidance for pulling applications back from sponsors to make edits or corrections:

NIH: Submit a Changed/Corrected Application
Research.gov: Proposal Submission>Proposal FAQs>Editing a Submitted Proposal

Keep These Proposal Development Tools on Hand

ORCID : The current tool federal agencies accept for a Digital Personal Identifier (DPI), a unique number representing an individual researcher. While it is not required, we strongly encourage that individual researchers on any federal research grant register with a service that provides them with a digital persistent identifier. For tutorials, videos and other information about DPIs, explore the Kelvin Smith Library’s Research Guide to ORCID .
SciENcv : This tool allows researchers to track and share their biosketch and current and pending support.
Research Data Resources : Resources with guidelines on research data management best practices, data storage options, funding guidelines, and training and support opportunities.
Calendar Months Converter : An Excel spreadsheet to help convert the number of months to percentage of year.

Tools for Creating Charts, Graphs and Figures

Adobe Creative Cloud contains a wide range of Adobe software including Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop. The Creative Cloud is available to CWRU faculty, staff, and enrolled students.
BioRender is an online tool that allows individuals to create scientific figures using premade icons and templates.
Canva is a free online design tool for creating infographics, reports, and more. It's especially helpful for creating visual social media posts. Many templates are available.
LucidChart offers a free tool for creating charts and data visualizations.
Piktochart is a free design tool for creating basic infographics. Many templates are available.
Prezi is a free design tool for creating infographics, powerpoint presentations, videos, charts, and more.

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Proposal development, explore the proposal lifecycle.

This page contains content across the Research Gateway on each stage of the proposal lifecycle. Explore this content for agency-specific best practices, tools, and templates.

Research Proposal Life Cycle

Research Life Cycle: 1: Generage Ideas. 2: Find Funding. 3: Develop Proposals. 4: Submit Proposals. 5: Award Review. 6: Manage Awards

Proposal Planning

Prepare to Write

The next step in the proposal lifecycle is to plan the development and submission of your proposal. This will ensure that your proposal is well written, responsive to the Request for Proposals (RFP) and that it is complete and ready for submission by the deadline. Consider the following questions before you begin to write.

What do I want to do and why do I want to do it?
What are the short-term and long-term objectives and outcomes of my work?
How will I execute my project? Are the facilities and resources I need available?
What does success look like? How will I evaluate and assess my progress?
Does my project require expertise I don't have? If so, can I form strategic collaborations?
Can I make a case for feasibility based on previously published or preliminary work?
Do I have alternative approaches in mind, if my hypothesis is not supported or my objectives are not attainable?
If awarded, will I be able to commit the necessary level of effort to the project?

Coordinate with Campus Resources

Your departmental/unit business office.

they might want stuff here, if their department helps with campus resources, reach out.

Research Development Services

Also might want stuff here, IDK yet

Best Practices in Proposal Planning

Why proposals fail.

These are some of the most common reasons why proposals fail.

Failure to address sponsor requirements
Lack of experience/track record
High-risk project with no contingency plan
Lack of clarity
Proposal is not compliant (e.g. line spacing, pages)
Lack of front-end planning
Lack of rationale for project aims/objectives
Lack of identified pitfalls (potential problems) and proposed alternatives
Lack of a clear evaluation and monitoring plan
Proposed activities do not align with project aims/objectives

Describe your competitive advantage

Seek opportunities in your proposal to describe how you, your collaborators, your research, and your environment differentiate you from your competitors. Also consider timing: Why is now the perfect time to do your proposed project?

Pay attention to the structure

Depending on the funding source, requests for proposal (RFPs) vary on proposal structure: some give detailed instructions whereas others are vague. That said, the following best practices apply to all proposals.

Mirror the RFP’s section numbers, titles, and terminology
Number or title sections and refer to them this way. Don’t use “See above” or “See below”
Clarify vague language in the RFP with your Program Officer, e.g., for NIH proposals, where should preliminary data be included?
Respect page limits, i.e., don’t use other proposal components (e.g., Appendices) to expand on your proposal narrative.

Write, review and revise

One of the most effective ways to increase your competitiveness for funding is to have your draft proposal reviewed by your peers. The following guidance has been adapted from industry-wide best practices in business development.

Strategy Review: Also known as a “pink team” review is a critical review of your idea, this review focuses on the principal ideas and scope of the project. The pink team review can identify major gaps or deficiencies, and significantly improve the design of your proposed work. It should also identify missing elements, which may cause you to reorganize your proposal.
Full-Proposal Review: Also known as a “red team” review, this is a critical review of your complete draft. This review focuses on how well your written proposal responds to the requirements of the RFP. The red team review can identify missing elements and weak sections. Critiques should highlight deficiencies in the flow of the document rather than the approach.
Final Review: Also known as a “gold team” review, this is a critical review of your final draft, this review focuses on the details such as use of acronyms, terminology, figures and tables, formatting, spelling, and grammar. The gold team review can catch minor errors that could leave reviewers with a negative impression.

Pink, red, and gold team reviewers read the RFP prior to evaluating your work to understand the requirements and apply the same review criteria that will be used by the agency’s review committee. Consider including the following types of members on your peer review teams:

Peers in your field of research
Peers in a different, but related, field of research
Peers with no specialized knowledge of your field of research
Peers who have received funding from the agency you are applying to

Additional tips

Be considerate of your peer reviewers, allow them enough time to read the RFP and your draft, and be able to provide critical feedback.
Allow yourself enough time to incorporate changes based on critical feedback.

Develop a Proposal Submission Strategy

This section is empty on arizona site, embarrassing

Proposal Planning and Writing Resources

Grant writing resources.

Writing a Grant Proposal 101 (A collection of links compiled by NORDP)
The Grant Doctor (An online resource by AAAS, atlink, scroll down for writing-related content)
Grant-Writing Tips for Graduate Students (The Chronicle of Higher Education)
Internal grant review to increase grant funding for junior investigators (Annals of Neurology)

NIH resources

NIH Grants YouTube channel
NCI Division of Extramural Activities: Preparing Grant Applications
How to Apply-Application Guide
NIAID: Prepare your Application
NIH-Plan Your Application

NSF resources

NSF YouTube channel (search for ‘grants') How to Prepare an NSF Proposal: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (pdf download)

DoEDU resources

Institute of Education Sciences Research Funding Opportunities On-Demand Webinars

CDMRP resources

Introductory Overview Video
Funding and Review Process Video
Funding Opportunities Webinar Series

NASA resources

New Principal Investigator Resources

USDA resources

Grant Training webpage
Grant Writing Tips for Success (pdf download)
Large Transdisciplinary Projects guidance (pdf download)
Leading Large Transdisciplinary Projects: Insights from the Authors (YouTube videos)

USAID resources

Grant & Contract Process
Training E-Modules (including Exploring Funding Opportunities, Effectively Responding to USAID Award Solicitations)

European Research Council

ERC Grant Competitions for 2020 (YouTube)
Proposal Preparation

The next step in the proposal lifecycle is to prepare your proposal for submission. The USU sponsored Programs Office provides some great resources to help you prepare your proposal.

Proposal Preparation Resources

The proposal submission process is handled by USU Sponsored Programs and proposals are submitted using Kuali .

Funder Review

The Review Process

After submission, proposals are received by the funder and undergo standard eligibility and compliance checking. From there, most go on to some form of peer review. In proposal writing, as opposed to manuscript writing, it is critical to understand the review process and the review criteria. This will help you to write with the reviewers in mind, thus producing a competitive proposal.

One of the best ways to accomplish this is to serve as a reviewer yourself. By serving as a reviewer you:

Improve your grantsmanship
Learn what makes a proposal successful
Build and maintain professional contacts
Keep abreast of your field
Become a better mentor
Give back to the scientific community
Shape the future of science

Proposal Review at Other Agencies

The NIFA Peer Review Process for Competitive Grant Applications
Serve as a reviewer at the National Institute of Justice

Video Resources

NSF’s merit review process determines which research has the greatest potential Written and produced by Cliff Braverman and Amina Khan at the National Science Foundation, Published on YouTube, June 21, 2014, by the National Science Foundation:

NIH - Tips for Applicants

Produced by the Center for Scientific Review and NIH Division of Events Management Multi Media Department and Rocket Media Group, Published on YouTube, June 14, 2010, by NIHOD:

NEH - Crafting a Competitive NEH Proposal

Published on YouTube, March 8, 2018, by Duke Franklin Humanities Institute:

Award or Revise and Resubmit

Reading Reviewer Comments

The next step in the proposal lifecycle depends on the outcome of funder review. You will either receive a notification of award (congratulations on your hard work!), a notification of non-award with reviewer comments, or a notification of non-award with minimal or no reviewer comments. In some cases (e.g., NEH) you may need to request reviewer comments. Your next step largely depends on how you interpret the reviewer comments.

Should you resubmit, or change funding mechanism, agency, or idea?

Analyze the reviewer comments and scores (if provided) to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the proposal..

If comments and scores are provided by multiple reviewers, evaluate their uniformity across reviewers and note any disagreement.

Determine whether (or not) the weaknesses are correctable.

Weaknesses in grantsmanship (packaging and presentation) are correctable, whereas inherent weaknesses may or may not be correctable.
It can be helpful to obtain objective feedback from senior investigators in your field.

If you are considering resubmitting, consult with the other senior/key members of your research team.

Distribute the reviewer comments and scores (if provided) to the team members to identify constructive criticisms and form independent recommendations.
Hold a meeting with team members to discuss individual assessments and make a collective decision whether (or not) to resubmit.

If resubmitting, determine how to respond to reviewer criticisms.

List and prioritize all reviewer criticisms and discuss with your research team how to respond to each one.
Strongly justify rejection of any criticisms.
If your proposal was discussed by the review committee (i.e., not triaged), contact your Program Officer to discuss your strategy for resubmission. Visit the Contacting a Program Officer section for helpful tips.
Prepare your response to reviewer criticisms. Depending on the agency, this response can take different forms. For tips on preparing the Introduction section to an A1 proposal (resubmission) see Writing your Introduction (NIH) below.

If the weaknesses are inherent and not correctable

You may be more successful in developing a new idea, and reconsidering the funding mechanism and/or agency. For helpful tips on all stages of the proposal development lifecycle, visit the Proposal Development section.

Writing your Introduction (NIH)

At the NIH, resubmission applications must include an introduction that:

Summarizes substantial additions, deletions, and changes to the application,
Responds to the issues and criticism raised in the summary statement, and
Is one page or less in length, unless specified otherwise in the FOA or is specified differently on the NIH table of page limits.

Helpful tips:

Be responsive to all constructive criticisms; save space by only responding to criticisms and not reiterating identified strengths.
Prioritize your response by addressing the areas of greatest weakness for each of the review criteria.
Reference where changes have been made (e.g., see Research Strategy-Innovation); this will save space
Provide pre-submission reviewers this information so they can evaluate your response.

Agency Resubmission Policies

The NIH ’s proposal resubmission policy is found on the NIH Resubmission Applications website. A list of frequently asked questions is found on the Frequently Asked Questions: Resubmissions of NIH Applications website.
The NSF ’s proposal resubmission policy is found in the NSF PAPPG Chapter IV:E. Resubmission, and is reproduced here for convenience:

“A declined proposal may be resubmitted, but only after it has undergone substantial revision. A resubmitted proposal that has not clearly taken into account the major comments or concerns resulting from the prior NSF review may be returned without review. The Foundation will treat the revised proposal as a new proposal, subject to the standard review procedures.”

NASA ’s proposal resubmission policy is found in the Guidebook for Proposers Responding to a NASA Funding Announcement, and is reproduced here for convenience: “Non-selected proposals may not be submitted as an unsolicited proposal. The non-selection of a proposal does not restrict the submission of a similar or even the same effort by the proposer(s) in response to appropriate future NASA FAs or to other appropriate funding agencies or organizations. However, if a proposal to NASA is contemplated, proposers are strongly urged to carefully consider the entirety of comments offered during their debriefing, as well as the proposal guidelines, before making the decision to resubmit the same, or nearly the same, proposal. Merely correcting any perceived deficiencies in a proposal as noted by a review process for one FA in no way guarantees a higher rating or selection in response to another FA.”
Applicants may (or may not) revise and resubmit a proposal that was not recommended for funding. Check specific program guidelines.
All applicants can receive upon request the evaluators’ ratings and written comments (source: NEH’s Application Review Process)
NIFA ’s proposal resubmission policy is found in the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Federal Assistance Policy Guide, and is reproduced here for convenience: “A resubmission is an application submitted for consideration under the same program previously but has not been approved for an award under the program. For competitive programs, this type of application is evaluated in competition with other pending applications in the area to which it is assigned. Resubmissions are reviewed according to the same evaluation criteria as new applications. In addition, applicants must respond to the previous panel review summaries, unless waived by NIFA. When reviewing a resubmission application the panel will evaluate the application as now presented, taking into consideration the responses to comments from the previous scientific review group and changes made to the project. (7 CFR 3430.14).”

Assistance with Proposal Revision

RD Associates are available to assist you with interpretation of reviewer comments, contacting your program officer, assessing whether to resubmit, submit as new, and/or change funding mechanism or agency, as well as crafting your NIH Introduction (or equivalent required resubmission document). Learn more about engaging RDS

Proposal Development

Research Development supports researchers with upgraded proposal development services to improve submission quality.

Enhanced Proposal Development

A winning proposal requires more than great science. A professional, well-executed proposal affords research teams a competitive edge when seeking funding. We provide proposal management that empowers the research team to deliver a compelling narrative utilizing storytelling strategies enhanced with visualizations and infographics.

Research Development offers hands-on assistance in:

narrative composition
proposal curation
proposal editing
proposal management

Research Development Self-Service Portal

In 2023, in order to provide supplemental support for the Drexel research community at large, Research Development launched the Self-Service portal .

*The Self-Service Portal is currently under construction. If you would like access please reach out to [email protected]

Search form

Research and innovation menu, research and innovation, proposal development.

A key step in seeking external funding for your research is planning and developing your proposal. Research Development Services (RDS) can help you in a variety of ways as you explore, design, and prepare your applications. Our services are designed to meet the unique needs of researchers across disciplines and career stages.

Request Help

Services for Researchers

Grant Planning : Develop a long-term grant strategy with RDS help, creating a clear roadmap for funding for each stage of your career.
Funding Searches : Learn to navigate the online funding database (Pivot) with individual training from RDS, and read the weekly OVPRI Funding Opportunities Newsletter to find announcements and opportunities for funding. RDS also can design customized funding searches for individual faculty, students, or units.
Navigating Submissions : RDS can help you interpret funding guidelines to develop competitive submission materials based on funder requirements. Our expertise helps researchers submit a strong, persuasive proposal that meets all the review criteria.
Proposal Critique : Feedback matters, particularly in the world of grant writing where the style is quite different from academic writing. From simple copy-edits to multiple-iteration reviews, RDS helps ensure grant applications are well organized, clear, and persuasive, and that they directly address a funder’s requirements. We can also review and edit all the ancillary documents that might be needed for submission, such as biographical sketches and facilities documents.
Project Management : For large, institutional grants (e.g., centers, graduate training), RDS can support your application by providing a high level of coordination and project management, such as gathering collaborators' materials, tracking proposal components and versions, and coordinating support letters.

How to Apply for Funding Video

Important Proposal Development Policies and Procedures

Animal Welfare / Human Subject Research : All proposals involving animals or human subjects in research must consult with Research Compliance Services for necessary approvals.
Cost Sharing / Institutional Support : Some grants require support from the institution in the form of matching funds or general investment into services or resources. Find the OVPRI institutional commitment policy and request form on the linked page.
Principal Investigator Status : The Principal Investigator or PI is the lead person responsible for a project. Find guidance on PI responsibilities, PI status, and how to request exceptions if you do not automatically qualify as a PI.
Proposal Submission : All proposals for external funds that will be managed by the UO must be reviewed and approved by Sponsored Projects Services . Faculty and staff are not authorized to submit proposals for the university without SPS review and approval.
Proposal Tracking: As part of proposal review and approval, an Electronic Proposal Clearance (EPCS) record must be made, as well as completed and finalized a minimum of three business days before your proposal's due date.
Roles and Responsibilities : This graphic of the grant process (PDF) will help to clarify the varied units and responsible parties in proposal development. Text version grant process graphic (MSWord) .
Timeline: This suggested timeline for proposal development incorporates the UO procedures for application submission.

The open-access book below discusses how to become more productive earlier in their career. Topics include: public perceptions of scholarly work and its use in policy; understanding the big picture of funding and national priorities as well as identifying funding sources; research methods; collecting data and materials; writing grant proposals; publishing results; ethical conduct; bias and peer review; intellectual property and compliance regulations; partnerships and collaboration; diversity, equity, and inclusion; and the future of research.

Demystifying the Academic Research Enterprise: Becoming a Successful Scholar in a Complex and Competitive Environment By: Kelvin K. Droegemeier

Proposal Development

Proposal development is a team effort and can benefit from the early involvement of the Grants and Contracts Administrator (GCA), potential collaborators, and guidance from a mentor or seasoned investigator.

To get started, the Principal Investigator (PI) will need to:

Identify a research idea, funding opportunity and confirm eligibility
Review the funding announcement (with the GCA)
Establish a timeline
Create proposal components (research strategy, budget, etc.)

Duke uses Sponsored Projects System (SPS) to prepare, route and manage all proposal submissions and awards. For each proposal, an SPS record is created by the GCA and routed for institutional review. Before the SPS record can be generated, the PI needs to provide the following:

Funding Announcement
Budget Justification
Project Title
Draft Abstract
Protocol Information (IRB, IACUC, IBC)
Key Personnel List

To ensure the proposal routes smoothly, the PI will need to work with the GCA to ensure all required elements have been addressed.

When in doubt about how to proceed, reach out to the GCA for assistance. Duke is committed to supporting research and the Department of Medicine has access to the many resources at Duke, as well as staff with many years of experience to support this mission.

In order to apply for a grant through Duke University, an individual must hold PI status. The status of PI is granted to all individuals with faculty appointments. For employees that need to acquire PI status for an application, please refer to the Procedure for Requesting Eligibility To Serve as Principal Investigator .

Sponsors communicate the purpose, criteria and guidelines of a funding opportunity through a funding announcement. A funding announcement specifies the:

Type of funding mechanism (grant, contract, cooperative agreement or gift)
Sponsor agency
Application due date
Maximum project period
Eligibility criteria and application guidelines
Conditions or restrictions to consider prior to preparing an application

Eligibility or other sponsor criteria can impact the viability of an application, so it is important to uncover these factors as soon as possible. Include the GCA in the review of the funding announcement to identify application components and non-standard aspects of the announcement.

Developing a timeline for the preparation of an application can help the PI successfully meet the internal and sponsor deadlines for a submission. It also allows the GCA and the PI to coordinate efforts in the creation of application materials and ensure consistency throughout each section. It is recommended that the PI:

Begin the research strategy and budget 2 months prior to sponsor deadline
Notify the GCA of intent to submit at least 30 days prior to sponsor deadline
Provide the GCA with final budget and budget justification, as well as other designated administrative sections, 20 days prior to sponsor deadline
Submit proposal to Office of Research Administration (ORA) for review at least 7 business days before sponsor due date

To develop a timeline start with the sponsor due date and work backwards, as is shown in this example for an R01 submission due June 5.

Regardless of the sponsor, an application typically requires a research strategy and a budget for the proposal. Other proposal sections may be identified in the funding announcement.

Research Strategy The research strategy typically describes the significance, innovation and approach of the research. The PI’s approach and the experiments that will be done to accomplish the aims should be explained, as well as the context for the research, including preliminary data, literary citations, and anticipated results and implications. For consistency, the research strategy and budget creation should be developed simultaneously.

The Office of Research Development provides services to teams of investigators and individual investigators to help ensure submission of high quality grant applications. Services are available on a first come, first serve basis. They also offer writing workshops.

Budget A budget outlines the expenses required to successfully complete the proposed research. The amounts listed should be a reasonable estimation of the actual costs and should be consistent with the application narrative. Inconsistencies can put the proposal at risk. It is not recommended to match the budget to the sponsor’s maximum funding level. If the budget total is below the minimum funding level consider additional experiments or sub-aims that would strengthen the proposed research.

As a starting point, the GCA will provide the PI with a proposal tool to identify the application sections where funds are requested. When creating the budget there are six main budget categories:

Personnel (Salary and Fringe Benefits)
Patient Care Costs
Other Expenses
Indirect Costs
Subcontractors/Collaborators

Personnel Personnel costs support the professional effort necessary to satisfactorily complete the goals and aims of the project. Proposed effort should be a reasonable estimation of the time it takes for the identified personnel to complete their roles on the project, and should be determined using the institutional base salary for each individual. This applies to all personnel, from the PI, to collaborators, research technicians, postdoctoral associates and other personnel. If certain personnel are needed, but named individuals are not yet known, the GCA can help determine a salary range based on the anticipated level of experience.

Supplies, Patient Care Costs and Other Expenses When budgeting for supplies, patient care costs, and other expenses (such as facility user fees) use a reasonable estimation as to what items are needed to complete the proposed research project and the costs associated.

Equipment Any item that is necessary to complete the work of the proposed research, exceeds $5,000, has a useful life of more than 1 year and is not currently available through Duke is considered equipment and can be requested in a project budget. It is important to note that indirect costs are generally not applied to equipment expenses, which can affect the total budget for the project. When budgeting for equipment, it is best to discuss the needs with your GCA and a faculty mentor (if available), who can determine if it is appropriate to include in the budget.

Indirect Costs Indirect Costs, also known as Facilities and Administrative (F&A) costs, are expenses incurred for a shared or common objective and cannot readily be associated with a specific project, such as administration. These rates are set by Duke via the negotiated rate established with DHHS. It is necessary to consider these costs when funding announcements restrict the total funding limit for a project. Otherwise, if the funding limit is direct cost based, the indirect costs do not need to be considered when establishing the budget.

Collaborators When collaborators are necessary to successfully execute the research, the PI should have discussions early on to better understand that relationship. There are three types of external collaborators:

Subrecipient/Subawardee/Subcontractor : A third-party entity that receives funding from the Duke University to carry out activities related to the project’s scope of work. The subrecipient plays an integral role in the project and is involved in programmatic decision-making.
Contractor : A dealer, distributor, merchant or other entity (which may include an outside institution or university) that provides goods or services required for the conduct of the project. These goods or services may be for Duke’s own use or for the beneficiaries of the project.
Consultant : An individual or firm that provides professional advice or services for a fee, but not normally as an employee of the prime organization. In very rare circumstances, an individual may be both a consultant and an employee of the prime organization.

Contact the GCA if unsure which best categorizes the project’s external collaborator. Determining the type of collaborator will help establish a budget for the subcontracted work. For example, indirect costs are charged on a portion of a subcontractor’s expense, but are charged on the full expense of a consultant. The GCA should be notified of subcontractor involvement in the proposed research well in advance of the budget due date. As with all budget requests, the subcontractor’s budget should be based on actual needs to complete the proposed work or services.

Other Proposal Sections Additional sections of the proposal are identified in the funding announcement and often include:

Specific Aims
Responsible Conduct in Research
Human Subjects Protections with IRB protocols/clinical research
Vertebrate Animals for research with IACUC protocols/research
Letters of Support
Biographical Sketches

Each item is an additional section and requires separate documentation to be attached in the proposal. Communicating with the GCA early in the proposal development process and thorough review of the funding announcement will help to make sure all required sections are completed. The GCA can provide examples of sections, if needed.

Biographical sketches need to be completed in the correct format. Different funding agencies have different formats, specifically DOD, NIH and NASA, even though they are all federal sponsors. NIH biographical sketches can be created using existing Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae ( SciENcv ) profiles. For assistance in determining the correct format, contact a GCA.

University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame Research

Research and Proposal Development
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The Research Development (RD) Team is available to assist faculty in developing a successful research portfolio. The RD Team can provide faculty with expert guidance on connecting to potential resources, collaborators, and funding, as well as cultivating relationships with federal, state, and corporate funding agencies.

The RD team serves Notre Dame faculty by helping to develop high quality, competitive proposals that lead to success. As part of the proposal development services offered by Notre Dame Research, the team can assist individual faculty or faculty teams with complex proposals, including reviews by technical experts.

The full suite of services offered include:

Hosting of federal agency program officers on campus.
Visits to federal funding agencies to discuss faculty research interests.
Connecting faculty to proposal development specialists at all phases of developing a proposal.
Providing technical proposal reviews, or reviews by federal or military advisors, prior to submission.
Grant writing workshops.
Support for development of large, complex proposals or multi-institutional proposals.
Advising faculty on how to build a successful research program.
Other support services, as appropriate. (Please contact the Research Development Program Director to discuss.)

Meet the Team

Heather H. Boyd

Research Development Program Director

Patricia L. Clark

Associate Vice President for Research, Biophysics Instrumentation Core Facility Faculty Director

Edward Maginn

Associate Vice President for Research

Kate Mueller

Academic Advancement Director

Jill Pentimonti

Executive Director of Research Advancement

Gina Svarovsky

Faculty Director

Research Development Working Group

The Research Development Working Group (RDWG) is an interdisciplinary team of research-active faculty and staff who collaborate closely with the RD Team to support the advancement of research at the University of Notre Dame.

At RDWG meetings, members share best practices, discuss emerging research development opportunities, bring together collaborative teams and coordinate research development-related campus events. The group also serves as a resource for the RD team, providing expert insights and perspectives on research development initiatives.

Heather Boyd , Research Development Program Director
Patricia Clark (RDWG chair), O'Hara Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry and Associate Vice President for Research
Dave Delgado , Research Security Program Director
Brian Fogarty , Associate Director of Center for Social Science Research
Mike Hildreth , Professor of Physics and Associate Dean for College of Science
Derek Lake , Associate Director of NDnano
Ronald Metoyer , Professor of Computer Science & Engineering and Associate Dean for College of Engineering
Jarek Nabrzyski , Faculty Director of Center for Research Computing
Prakash Nallathamby , Associate Director of Berthiaume Institute for Precision Health
Jonathan Noble , Senior Assistant Provost for Internationalization
Jill Pentimonti , Director of Research Advancement for Office of Federal Relations
Arnie Phifer , Associate Director of Berthiaume Institute for Precision Health
Tom Scrace , Director of Foundation Relations
Subhash Shinde , Associate Director of ND Energy
Michael Sweikar , Executive Director of Pulte Institute for Global Development
Josh Tullis , Managing Program Director of SpectrumX
Josh Tychonievich , Research Development Program Director for the Institute for Scholarship in the Liberal Arts (ISLA)

Campus Collaborations

The RD Team consists of federal and military research agency advisors, as well as proposal development specialists. The RD Team works closely with the following offices at the University, including:

Office of Corporate & Foundation Relations
Office of Federal and Washington Relations
Office of Public Affairs

Need More Information?

For relevant forms, codes, and policies, please visit the Resource Library .

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The Office of Proposal Development partners with faculty, staff and administrators to develop competitive external grant proposals. Our team of proposal development professionals enhances overall proposal quality by ensuring applicants meet sponsor guidelines and by improving the content, organization and visual appeal of proposal packages. Since 2005, we have helped UNL investigators secure more than $564 million in grant funding from a wide range of federal agencies and private foundations.

Contact Information

Testimonials.

"The staff made such a personal commitment to the projects. That's really special."

Kathleen Lodl

"Because of OPD’s services, working on a proposal is a more creative process."

Yongfeng Lu

"When you contact them, you feel like you're asking for help from friends."

Maital Neta

"They make it possible and manageable to put together grants and get them funded."

Sue Sheridan

"OPD’s work has helped my individual efforts and those of the entire center."

Janos Zempleni

"What UNL has to offer is far superior to what other institutions have."

Research and Economic Development

Research development, sponsored programs, research responsibility, industry relations, nebraska innovation campus, nutech ventures.

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Developing Proposals

620 W. Lexington St. Fourth Floor Baltimore, MD 21201

P 410-706-6723

Obtaining funding for a worthy project starts with a well-crafted proposal.

Here, you can find processes and procedures, policies and guidelines, and tips and tools to facilitate and support your proposal development.

The Office of Research and Development provides service to faculty in their pursuit of sponsored funding. The Office of Sponsored Programs Administration reviews proposals for submission to federal, state, and local government agencies and to foundations and other nonprofit funders. The Center for Clinical Trials and Corporate Contracts reviews proposals for clinical trials and research agreements funded by corporations (for-profit organizations).

Kuali Research , UMB's enterprise software system for electronic research administration, is used to create the proposal budget, compile the proposal, route for approvals, and — in the case of many federal proposals — submit to the agency.

Attachments in Kuali Research (checklists, forms, tips)
Continuous Submission - NIH information
Checklist: FOA Review Worksheet
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Writing Proposals

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SPA SOPs - proposal development

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Rand Paul claims 'smoking gun' ties Fauci, NIH to research with 'desire' to create COVID-type virus

A fter Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. , sent letters to 15 federal agencies requesting information on their purported newfound connections to a 2018 grant proposal that sought to experiment with a COVID-19-type microbe, the lawmaker told Fox News the development is the "smoking gun" critics had long sought.

Paul claimed the developments — to which he credited a Marine Corps whistleblower — tie the National Institutes of Health to the research and proves former National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci was untruthful in his denials before Congress.

The lawmaker, a doctor of ophthalmology who has been investigating COVID-19's origins since the height of the pandemic, blasted the feds for allegedly keeping the research from the public.

"Yeah, we found out about this first from a brave Marine who reported that this research — was a grant proposal back in 2018 — would have allowed Wuhan Institute to create a virus very similar to what COVID-19 turned out to be," he said.

OPINION: THE GREAT COVID COVER-UP: SHOCKING TRUTH ABOUT WUHAN AND 15 FEDERAL AGENCIES

"But we only found out about this from a whistleblower — nobody else in government ever informed us, including Anthony Fauci."

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Paul has long sparred with Fauci , who joined NIH in 1968, was appointed by former President Reagan to lead the NIAID and retired in December 2022.

During a July 2021 hearing before a Senate committee, Fauci bristled at Paul's claim he had lied about funding or being linked to funding gain-of-function research.

"Sen. Paul, I have never lied before Congress and I do not retract that statement. This paper that you are referring to was judged by qualified staff up and down the chain as not being gain-of-function," Fauci said at the time. "Sen. Paul, you do not know what you are talking about, quite frankly."

In an op-ed for Fox News Digital, Paul wrote that he requested information from 15 agencies, including Fauci's former employers NIAID and NIH, about a 2018 grant proposal led by EcoHealth Alliance called "DEFUSE Project."

RAND PAUL ACCUSES FAUCI OF COVER-UP OF COVID ORIGINS

Paul said the proposal was submitted to the DoD's research agency, DARPA, and that NIAID's Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Hamilton, Mont., was listed as a proposal partner at one point. In his missives, Paul requested each agency provide more information to him by April 23.

Paul told "America Reports" that when Fauci was asked about the DEFUSE grant, he claimed he did not fund it or "know anything about it."

"This was his own agency," the lawmaker added. "We now have proof that the NIH and the NIAID — Fauci's agency — knew about this proposal and were part of the proposal, despite him continuing in public to say he knew nothing of this proposal. This basically is a smoking gun that ties Anthony Fauci and NIH to the funding of research that may well have led to COVID-19."

Paul said DEFUSE was never funded by the feds, but that Fauci and others knew that the Wuhan lab continued to work on the microbial research.

"Anthony Fauci, for the first several months and really for years, has tried to call anybody who believes that it came from the lab or looks at evidence that the virus came from this lab, calls them conspiracy theorists, downplays them, denigrates them," he said.

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

"He promoted journal articles to downplay and say it wasn't possible, when all the while it looks like he knew it."

Paul said that advising the public about the research could have led to more substantive understanding of the viability of the lab-leak theory.

Many Americans had been lambasted for months over banter about the theory, which appeared to break the political barrier when liberal comic Jon Stewart stunned his former protégé Stephen Colbert by openly musing about a lab leak in February 2023.

When Stewart appeared on Colbert's CBS program, he quipped that "the disease is the same name as the lab," and that people should pause if they believe the virus sprang up when a "pangolin kissed a turtle," or "a bat flew into the cloaca of a turkey… "

Colbert replied by joking he must be working for Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis. — a supporter of the lab-leak theory.

The NIH confirmed in a statement to Fox News Digital it had received Paul's letter and would be responding directly. The NIAID did not respond to a separate request for comment.

Original article source: Rand Paul claims 'smoking gun' ties Fauci, NIH to research with 'desire' to create COVID-type virus

Dr. Anthony Fauci accusing the GOP of “character assassination” masquerading as oversight.

COMMENTS

How to Write a Research Proposal
Research proposal examples. Writing a research proposal can be quite challenging, but a good starting point could be to look at some examples. We've included a few for you below. Example research proposal #1: "A Conceptual Framework for Scheduling Constraint Management" Example research proposal #2: "Medical Students as Mediators of ...
11.2 Steps in Developing a Research Proposal
Key Takeaways. Developing a research proposal involves the following preliminary steps: identifying potential ideas, choosing ideas to explore further, choosing and narrowing a topic, formulating a research question, and developing a working thesis. A good topic for a research paper interests the writer and fulfills the requirements of the ...
What Is A Research Proposal? Examples + Template
Research Proposal Bootcamp: The Ultimate Online Course; Template: A basic template to help you craft your proposal; If you're looking for 1-on-1 support with your research proposal, be sure to check out our private coaching service, where we hold your hand through the proposal development process (and the entire research journey), step by step.
PDF A GUIDE TO RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT
As a research institution, this investment is most often in man-hours spent. developing the initial research proposal. In 2018, the United States government spent $142.9 billion funding research and. development activities.1 This funding makes up only a portion of the overall research.
How To Write A Research Proposal
Here is an explanation of each step: 1. Title and Abstract. Choose a concise and descriptive title that reflects the essence of your research. Write an abstract summarizing your research question, objectives, methodology, and expected outcomes. It should provide a brief overview of your proposal. 2.
Writing a Research Proposal
Proposals should be grounded in foundational research that lays a foundation for understanding the development and scope of the the topic and its relevance. Failure to delimit the contextual scope of your research [e.g., time, place, people, etc.].
Proposal
Proposal. Definition: Proposal is a formal document or presentation that outlines a plan, idea, or project and seeks to persuade others to support or adopt it. Proposals are commonly used in business, academia, and various other fields to propose new initiatives, solutions to problems, research studies, or business ventures.
How to Write a Research Proposal
Research proposal examples. Writing a research proposal can be quite challenging, but a good starting point could be to look at some examples. We've included a few for you below. Example research proposal #1: 'A Conceptual Framework for Scheduling Constraint Management'.
How To Write A Research Proposal (With Examples)
Make sure you can ask the critical what, who, and how questions of your research before you put pen to paper. Your research proposal should include (at least) 5 essential components : Title - provides the first taste of your research, in broad terms. Introduction - explains what you'll be researching in more detail.
Planning and Writing a Research Proposal
Request for Proposals and Call for Proposals. Grants for research or development are sanctioned based on some form of 'grant writing', often referred to as a research proposal or project proposal. It is usually submitted in response to a request for proposal (RFP) or call for proposal (CFP) in pre-defined areas.
Developing an Effective Research Proposal
The module is aimed at graduate researchers (PhD or Masters by Research) who are seeking to understand why and how to write their research proposal. The course materials include information, videos and learning activities which explore key features of developing effective research proposals. We hope you find this module useful and stimulating.
Proposal Development: Research Development
Research Development strategizes with PIs on conveying the overarching theme, strengths and weaknesses of proposal elements, overall integration of center components or partners, and incorporating feedback from reviewers. Research Development offers developmental editing of proposals at each stage of the proposal development process.
How to prepare a Research Proposal
It puts the proposal in context. 3. The introduction typically begins with a statement of the research problem in precise and clear terms. 1. The importance of the statement of the research problem 5: The statement of the problem is the essential basis for the construction of a research proposal (research objectives, hypotheses, methodology ...
How to write a research proposal?
A proposal needs to show how your work fits into what is already known about the topic and what new paradigm will it add to the literature, while specifying the question that the research will answer, establishing its significance, and the implications of the answer. [ 2] The proposal must be capable of convincing the evaluation committee about ...
Proposal Writing Resources
Guidelines for reporting animal research: The ARRIVE Guidelines 2.0, PLOS Biology (7/14/2020) National Science Foundation: A Guide for Proposal Writing. 10 Common Grant-Writing Mistakes, The Chronicle of Higher Education (1/4/2018) U.S. General Services Administration, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance: Developing and Writing Grant Proposals
Writing Qualitative Research Proposals Using the Pathway Project
The QL-PPMT aims to provide new investigators with guidance to strengthen the development of qualitative research proposals. 1. Project Title. The title introduces the research project to the reader. The title must be concise and informative of the research design, study population(s), and focus. For example, in studies examining PrEP use in ...
Proposal Development Resources
Great Lakes Energy Institute (GLEI) offers proposal development services for energy-related research proposals. The Clinical and Translational Science Collaborative (CTSC) offers proposal development resources for faculty in the School of Medicine. GLEI and CTSC each have teams that can offer hands-on support for proposal preparation.
Proposal Planning
Prepare to Write. The next step in the proposal lifecycle is to plan the development and submission of your proposal. This will ensure that your proposal is well written, responsive to the Request for Proposals (RFP) and that it is complete and ready for submission by the deadline. Consider the following questions before you begin to write.
Proposal Development
A professional, well-executed proposal affords research teams a competitive edge when seeking funding. We provide proposal management that empowers the research team to deliver a compelling narrative utilizing storytelling strategies enhanced with visualizations and infographics. Research Development offers hands-on assistance in:
Development of Research Proposal for Academic Research
Research process where development of a research proposal is an important step and rst step. The goal of research proposal. development persuades reader to believe the solution are appropriate ...
Proposal Development
Proposal Development. A key step in seeking external funding for your research is planning and developing your proposal. Research Development Services (RDS) can help you in a variety of ways as you explore, design, and prepare your applications. Our services are designed to meet the unique needs of researchers across disciplines and career stages.
(Pdf) Research Proposal
A r esearch proposal is a document written by a researcher that provides a detailed description of. the pr oposed pr ogram. It is like an outline of the entire research process that gives a reader ...
Proposal Development
Proposal Development. Proposal development is a team effort and can benefit from the early involvement of the Grants and Contracts Administrator (GCA), potential collaborators, and guidance from a mentor or seasoned investigator. To get started, the Principal Investigator (PI) will need to: Identify a research idea, funding opportunity and ...
Research and Proposal Development
As part of the proposal development services offered by Notre Dame Research, the team can assist individual faculty or faculty teams with complex proposals, including reviews by technical experts. The full suite of services offered include: Hosting of federal agency program officers on campus. Visits to federal funding agencies to discuss ...
UNL
The Office of Proposal Development partners with faculty, staff and administrators to develop competitive external grant proposals. Our team of proposal development professionals enhances overall proposal quality by ensuring applicants meet sponsor guidelines and by improving the content, organization and visual appeal of proposal packages.
Developing Proposals
The Office of Research and Development provides service to faculty in their pursuit of sponsored funding. The Office of Sponsored Programs Administration reviews proposals for submission to federal, state, and local government agencies and to foundations and other nonprofit funders. The Center for Clinical Trials and Corporate Contracts reviews ...
Federal Research and Development R&D Funding: FY2024
President Biden's budget proposal for FY2024 includes approximately $209.7 billion for R&D, $8.9 billion (4.4%) above the FY2023 estimated level of $200.8 billion. Adjusted for inflation to FY2024 dollars, the President's FY2024 R&D proposal ... Federal Research and Development Funding by Agency, FY2022-FY2024..... 4 Table 2. Federal R&D ...
PDF ORSD is excited to announce the upcoming launch of a new
etc.) drug development programs for FTD through this RFP. *NEW: Human Immunome Project: Michelson Prizes: Next Generation Grants . Deadline: June 9, 2024 . This grant is interested in research that tackles the current roadblocks in human vaccine development and expands our understanding of immune processes fundamental to successful vaccine and
Biomedical Sciences Innovation Fund
The Office of Proposal Development (OPD) is committed to providing Stony Brook University's research community with high level support to identify extramural funding opportunities, build networks, and foster collaborations for the development of large, complex and innovative proposals. ... Research Team and Roles (500 word limit), describing ...
Rand Paul claims 'smoking gun' ties Fauci, NIH to research with 'desire
Paul said the proposal was submitted to the DoD's research agency, DARPA, and that NIAID's Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Hamilton, Mont., was listed as a proposal partner at one point.

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How to Write a Research Proposal | Examples & Templates

Introduction

Reference list

Table of contents

Research proposal length

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11.2 Steps in Developing a Research Proposal

Choosing a Topic

Identifying Potential Topics

Narrowing Your Topic

Exploring Your Topic in Writing

Conducting Preliminary Research

Writing at Work

A Plan for Research

Formulating a Research Question

Constructing a Working ThesIs

Creating a Research Proposal

Writing Your Own Research Proposal

Key Takeaways

Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Assignments

How to Approach Writing a Research Proposal

Structure and Writing Style

Proposal – Types, Examples, and Writing Guide

Proposal Layout

Types of Types of Proposals

Business Proposal

Project Proposal

Research Proposal

Grant Proposal

Sales Proposal

Sponsorship Proposal

Marketing Proposal

Policy Proposal

Training Proposal

Partnership Proposal

Event Proposal

Technology Proposal

Construction Proposal

Book Proposal

Social Media Proposal

Training and Development Proposal

Consulting Proposal

Policy Advocacy Proposal

Website Design Proposal

Environmental Proposal

Health and Wellness Proposal

Human Resources (HR) Proposal

Nonprofit Program Proposal

Government Contract Proposal

Product Development Proposal

Feasibility Study Proposal

Educational Program Proposal

Social Service Proposal

Proposal Writing Guide

Purpose of Proposal

When to write a Proposal

Importance of Proposal

About the author

Muhammad Hassan

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