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Howtowritearesearchproposal

YourStudyGuidesandStrategiescontentstartshere!
Writingassignmentseries
Howtowritearesearchproposal*
Theserecommendationsdonotguaranteeasuccessfulresearchapplication!
Theyareintendedtohelpyouconceptualizeandpreparearesearchproposal,
givingtheprocessstructureandatimetableforyoutodevelop.Goodluck!
Whenapplyingforaresearchgrantorastudyscholarship,youareexpectedto
handina"detailedandprecisedescriptionofstudyorresearchproposalaswellasinformationonany
previousstudyorresearchprojectsofparticularrelevancetoadecisionofaward."
Thepurposeoftheproposalistoensurethat
thecandidateshavedonesufficientpreliminaryreading/research
intheareaoftheirinterest
thattheyhavethoughtabouttheissuesinvolvedandareabletoprovidemorethanabroaddescriptionof
thetopicwhichtheyareplanningtoresearch.
Theproposalisnotafixedblueprint.Onecannotpredictone'sfindingsbeforehandormechanicallystickto
anargumentsincetheresearchwillinevitablyalterorevenunseatone'sinitialexpectations.Thereisno
fixedformulaforwritingaproposal.
However,yourchallengeistoconvincemembersofthescientificcommunitythatyou
haveidentifiedascientificproblem
haveatheoreticalbackgroundandamethodicalapproachtosolvetheproblem
withinarealistictimeframeandatreasonableexpenses.
Withyourresearchyouwilladdanewaspecttothescientificdiscourse.
First,consultyouradvisoronlength,layout(typeface,linespacing,font,etc.),format,aswellasatableof
contentsandpagenumbers.Membersoftheselectioncommitteemayhavetoreadalargenumberof
researchproposalssogoodconstructionandlegibilityofyourproposalistoyouradvantage.
TitlePage:
Personaldata(name,academictitle,yourpositionatyourownuniversity,dateof
birth,nationality,yourcontactinformation,institutionalcontact.
(Working)Titleofyourplanneddissertationorresearchreport.
wordsinthetitleshouldbechosenwithgreatcare,andtheirassociationwithoneanothermustbecarefully
considered.Whilethetitleshouldbebrief,itshouldbeaccurate,descriptiveandcomprehensive,clearly
indicatingthesubjectoftheinvestigation.
Inordertodevelopacleartitle,youmustalsobeclearaboutthefocusofyourresearch!
Striveforthetitletobetenwordsor60characters:focusonorincorporatekeywordsthatreferencethe
classificationoftheresearchsubject
Indicatearealistictimeframetowardprojectcompletion,
followedbythename(s)ofyoursupervisor(s),theuniversitydepartmentwhereyouhopetodoyour
researchand,ifapplicable,informationaboutotheracademicswithwhomyouplantocollaborate.
Refertosuccessfullyfundedprojectstodeterminewhetheryourtopicfitswiththegrantingorganization's
missionandtomimictheirtitle/proposalstructure
Abstract/summarystatementoftheresearchproject:
Thisonepagesummaryfocusesontheresearchtopic,itsnew,currentandrelevantaspects.Strivefor
clarityyourgreatestchallengemightbenarrowingthetopic
Reviewofresearchliterature
Ashortandpreciseoverviewaboutthecurrentstateofresearchthatisimmediately
connectedwithyourresearchproject.
Referencethemostimportantcontributionsofotherscientists.
Discussthetheoreticalscopeortheframeworkofideasthatwillbeusedtobacktheresearch.
Demonstratethatyouarefullyconversantwiththeideasyouaredealingwithandthatyou
grasptheirmethodologicalimplications.
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Indicatetheopenproblemwhichthenwillbethemotiveforyourproject.Stateclearlyhowyourresearch
willcontributetotheexistingresearch.
Yourhistory/preparation
Summarizethemostimportantimpactofyourownworkonthetopic(ifapplicable).
Attachcopiesofyourownpublicationsthatmightbeseeninrelationtoyourresearchproject.
Objectiveoftheresearchproject
Giveaconciseandclearoutlineoftheacademic(possiblyalsononacademic,e.g.socialandpolitical)
objectivesthatyouwanttoachievethroughyourproject.Yourproposal
needstoshowwhytheintendedresearchisimportantandjustifiesthesearcheffort.Hereyououtlinethe
significance(theoreticalorpractical)orrelevance
ofthetopic.
Suchjustificationmayeitherbeofanempiricalnature(youhopetoaddto,orextend
anexistingbodyofknowledge)orofatheoreticalnature(youhopetoelucidatecontentious
areasinabodyofknowledgeortoprovidenewconceptualinsightsintosuch
knowledge).Allresearchispartofalargerscholarlyenterpriseandcandidatesshould
beabletoargueforthevalueandpositioningoftheirwork.
Outlinetheproject
Thisisthecentralpartofyourresearchoutline.
Detailyourresearchprocedurewithinthegiventime.
Listsourcesandqualityofevidenceyouwillconsult,theanalyticaltechniqueyouwillemploy,andthe
timetableyouwillfollow.
Dependingonthetopic,suitableresearchstrategiesshouldbedefinedtoensure
thatenoughandadequateempiricaldatawillbegatheredforasuccessfulresearchproject.
Describetheintendedmethodsofdatagathering,thecontrolsyouwillintroduce,thestatisticalmethodsto
beused,thetypeofliteratureordocumentaryanalysistobefollowed,etc.
ConsideryourworktobeaWorkinProgressandallowyourselfaflexibleplanning:
Stayreadytorevisetheproposalaccordingtonewinsightsandnewlyarousedquestions
andkeeponmodifyingtheworkinghypothesisaccordingtonewinsightswhile
formulatingtheproposalandtheworkinghypothesis.Onceyouhaveauseful
workinghypothesis,concentrateonpursuingtheprojectwithinthelimitsofthetopic.
Timetable
Developatimetable(ifpossibleintableform),indicatingthesequenceofresearchphasesandthetimethat
youwillprobablyneedforeachphase.Takeintoaccountthatatthisstage,itcanonlybeestimated,but
makeclearthatyouhaveanideaaboutthetimespanthatwillbeneededforeachstep.
Selectiveresearchbibliography
Listacademicworksmentionedinyourresearchoutlineaswellasotherimportantworkstowhichyouwill
referduringyourresearch
Attachments:
Listotherdocumentsattachedtoyourproposal.
References,CV,etc.
Editing:
Onceyouhavefinishedtheconceptualworkonyourproposal,gothroughacareful
editingstage
Writing/presentationstyle:
Verifythatthetitle,theabstractandthecontentofyourproposalclearlycorrespondtoeachother!
Maintainaclearstructure,
anintuitivenavigationalstylethroughoutthedocumentwithheadingsandsummaries,enablingthereader
toquicklyreferencewheretheyareforfuturecommenting
(Haveareaderskimyourdocumenttoverify)
Summarizesignificantissuesandmakenoassumptionswherepossible.
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Keepareasonable,clear,declarativewritingstyle(activeverbs!)throughoutthedocument
Breakupthenarrativewithbulletedlists,visuals,etc.demonstratingacommandofabstractconceptsand
relationships
Usewhitespacetohighlightandemphasizeimportantsections
Makesureyourproposaldoesnotcontainanygrammatical/spellingmistakesortyposengagea
proofreader
Requestanexperiencedacademictoproofreadyourproposalinordertoensuretheproposalconformsto
institutionalandinternationalacademicstandards.
Partiallyadaptedwithpermissionfrom
Olk,Dr.Harald.(October2009).HowtoWriteaResearchProposal.InDeutscherAkademischer
AustauschdienstDienst(DAAD).RetrievedJanuary28,2011
Commonrejectionreasons*
TheNationalInstituteofHealth(NIH)analyzedthereasonswhyover700researchproposal
applicationsweredenied.Theirfindingsastothecauseofrejectionareworthreviewing:
NatureoftheProblem(18%)
Itisdoubtfulthatneworusefulinformation
willresultfromtheproject(14%).
Thebasichypothesisisunsound(3.5%).
Theproposedresearchisscientificallyprematureduetothepresentinadequacyofsupportingknowledge
(0.6%).
ApproachtotheProblem(38.9%)
Theresearchplanisnebulous,diffuse
andnotpresentedinconcretedetail(8.6%).
Theplannedresearchisnotadequatelycontrolled(3.7%).
Greatercareinplanningisneeded(25.2%).
1.Theresearchplanhasnotbeencarefullydesigned(11.8%).
2.Theproposedmethodswillnotyieldaccurateresults(8.8%).
3.Theprocedurestobeusedshouldbespelledout
inmoredetail(4.6%).
Amorethoroughstatisticaltreatmentisneeded(0.7%).
Theproposedtestsrequiremoreindividualsubjects
thanthenumbergiven(0.7%).
CompetenceoftheInvestigators(38.2%)
Theapplicantsneedtoacquiregreaterfamiliaritywiththe
pertinentliterature(7.2%).
Theproblemstobeinvestigatedaremorecomplexthanthe
applicantsrealize(10.5%).
Theapplicantsproposetoenteranareaofresearchforwhich
theyarenotadequatelytrained(12.8%).
Theprincipalinvestigatorintendstogiveactualresponsibility
forthedirectionofacomplexprojecttoaninexperienced
coinvestigator(0.9%).
Thereviewersdonothavesufficientconfidenceintheapplicants
toapprovethepresentapplication,largelybasedonthepast
effortsoftheapplicants(6.8%).
ConditionsoftheResearchEnvironment(4.8%)
Theinvestigatorswillberequiredtodevotetoomuchtimeto
teachingorothernonresearchduties(0.9%).
Betterliaisonisneededwithcolleaguesincollateraldisciplines(0.4%).
Requestedexpansiononcontinuationofacurrentlysupportedresearchprojectwouldresultinfailureto
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achievethemaingoalofthework(3.5%).
Basedontheaboveanalysis,
acarefullydesigned,wellreasonedproposalwillovercomethesecommonpitfalls.Italsorepresentsand
importantcredibilitystatementabouttheinvestigator.
TheBureauofOccupationalandVocationalEducationcomparablestudy.
Basedonasampleof353researchgrantapplications:
18%forgottonumberthepages.
73%forgottoincludeatableofcontents.
81%hadnoabstract.
92%failedtoprovideresumesofproposedconsultants.
25%hadnoresumefortheprincipalinvestigator.
66%includednoplanforprojectevaluation.
17%forgottoidentifytheprojectdirectorbyname.
20%failedtolisttheobjectivesoftheproject.
Scienceseries
Followingthescientificmethod|Studyingtextbooksinscience|
Writinglabreportsandscientificpapers|Howtowritearesearchproposal|
Writingwhitepapers|Labsafety
Writingassignments
Writingforthe"Web"|Thefiveparagraphessay|Essaysforaliteratureclass|
Expositoryessays|Persuasiveessays|Positionpapers|Openbookexams|
EssayExams|Whitepapers|Labreports/scientificpapers|Researchproposals
*Shapek,Dr.Raymond,(July1995),ProposalWriting:StagesandStrategieswithExamples.inGeorgia
PerimeterCollegefromhttp://facstaff.gpc.edu/~ebrown/infobr3.htm#shapek,retrievedJanuary31,2011.

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