Writing A Research Proposal

RESEARCH PROPOSAL
The Research Proposal is used to propose a research project by providing a brief on the literature study, research objectives, experimentation methodology and schedule, funding requirement, and possible research outcomes. The aim of your research proposal must be to justify the needs to carry out the specific research study with an organized plan to conduct that research work.

Why is Research Proposal Important?
A research proposal is a brief, well organized summing up of the research project that you propose to undertake. It lays out the central topic that your research project is based upon. It gives a rough or detailed idea to the reader about the general scope of your field of study. A reference or citations is also made to any recent deliberations on the issue in the research proposal. The knowledge on the topic in question, as it stands to date, is also discussed. This discussion would be in relation to how your research on the topic is something that hasn’t been done before and how it is likely to expand the body of knowledge on the subject.

In short, a research proposal also identifies the novelty of your proposed research idea.

What is in a Research Proposal?
The research proposal is arguably the most significant document of your application to a postgraduate course, laboratory induction program or to get funding for a scientific study. Through it, you can showcase your ability to perform research at the graduate level by communicating your ideas with clarity and in a few words. The research proposal will help in connecting you to a suitable supervisor once your application is approved. The ten tips for writing a well-structured research proposal suggests these following ten sections that one should include in a research proposal:
10 sections of a standard Research Proposal:
1. Title of Proposal Research Topic
2. Abstract
3. Highlights (3-5 Bullet Points)
4. Aims & Objectives of a proposed research study
5. Experiment methods
6. Scheduling the timeline
7. Expected research outcomes
8. Funding Requirements
9. Ethical Approval of Research Study
10. References to support your research proposal
What is a Research Plan?
A research plan is basically a list of related research steps, organized sequentially, that you will undertake in order to achieve your ultimate research objective. Research planning involves organizing your time between attending classes, experimentation, completing assignments and any other tasks that may be required for the successful completion of your research. Research plan can also be called a study plan essay.
Research Proposal VS Research Plan or Study Plan
Most of the times, you may be required to submit a study plan together with a research proposal. This Study plan is a separate document that provides a clear insight about your study schedule whereas the research proposal is a document used to describe the minor to major details of a research project.
What are the Purposes of a Research Proposal?
The main purpose of a research proposal is to explain and justify to your selection committee the need to conduct research in your chosen field of study. The research proposal also lists out the most practical ways in which your research could be conducted. The various procedures and plan essentials for conducting any research would be bound by the standards that govern the main field of study under which the research is proposed to be carried out. Hence, the principals that govern the composition of research proposals are more demanding and rigorous than those of a project proposal.

As per the University of Webminister, the research proposal must include a wide-ranging convincing analysis of the literature on the research topic which should provide conclusive proof to the selection committee that the research being proposed is novel, valuable and necessary and will provide additional insight into the topic being studied. Besides providing grounds for conducting research, a research proposal also has to explain in detail the methodology that will be adopted by you for your research that either it will be regarded as explanatory research or descriptive research. This research design methodology has to be consistent with the provisions laid down for researchers in that particular field of study. A statement detailing the likely outcomes or gains on completion of the research project should also be provided.

Approach to be Adopted While Writing a Research Proposal
1. Before beginning the process of writing your research proposal you would need to sharpen your general writing and researching skills.
2. Cultivate that innate sense of child-like curiosity that you had probably stifled over the years. That inclination to question is what will help you find your research topic and make you a better researcher.
3. Build up your ability to reflect on and conceptualize a broad-based research topic and goals.
4. Once you have a research topic in mind, outline a progressive course of action to get to your goals.
5. Extensively review the available literature on your research topic to ensure that it is not something that has already been researched on before. Your literature review could also help you determine if the topic that you have chosen has been poorly or ineffectively researched on previously.
6. Consider how you would go about collecting and evaluating the research data. Study the various methods available and assess which would be the most feasible.

How do you write a good Research Proposal?
When writing your research proposal you have to include all the 10 elements of a research proposal, formulated from the article on research proposal writing published by Birmingham University. Each element would have to be sufficiently descriptive so as to provide the selection committee with adequate information to determine how legitimate and beneficial your research would be. Ideally, your research findings and your analysis would be the only missing element in your research proposal. Focus on writing your research proposal in language that has clarity, consistency, and persuasiveness, as your proposal would also be evaluated on how well you are able to write.

Every research proposal, irrespective of the topic of research and research methodology, should deal with the following three elements:
1. Your Research Goals: Clarity in stating your research goals is of utmost importance when writing your research proposal. Explain clearly what the issue is that you are proposing research on. Leave no room for doubt in the reader’s mind about exactly what your research topic is.
2. The Importance of Your Research Goals: Besides being clear on your research goals, you also need to study the literature available on your topic in depth and make a persuasive statement on the need for research on your chosen topic and the importance of the goals that you aim to achieve. You should be able to convincingly answer the question ‘So what if the topic isn’t researched?’
3. How to Attain Your Research Goals: Ensure that the goals that you propose to attain are achievable and not out of reach. Be clear in your mind and on paper as to how you intend to reach your goals.
Research Proposal Template | Research Proposal Example
Ensure that the elements mentioned below are a part of your research proposal:
1. A Heading/Title
You have to provide a heading/title for your proposed research. This would only be a provisional heading/title which could be revised once the admission process is completed and your course begins.
2. A Summary or Abstract
Your research proposal should begin with a short summary of your entire research project. The summary should be around 100 words in length. Your summary could be a couple of sentences stating the central topic/issue that you intend to base your research upon.
3. An Overview and Context
You should provide a summarized overview of your research topic in this section along with a bit of background on your specific area of research. You could provide a short description of the present understanding of your topic as it stands as well as any recent discussions related to it. This would show your selection committee that you are familiar with your topic.
4. Goals and Inquiries
Your research proposal should clearly state your goals in researching the topic as well as the line of inquiry that you are likely to follow over the period of your research. Hence, think over the issue beforehand and understand for yourself what you wish to attain through your research and then begin writing your research proposal. If you’re left with not one but a set of issues on your research topic after your brainstorming session, place them in order of preference or priority and then fix your main research topic and any secondary issues that you would like to deal with over the course of your research. Don’t make your research topic too broad-based otherwise, it will lack focus and depth. Besides making your research too broad-based will lower its chances of being completed within a normal degree period and hence increase the likelihood of its getting rejected by the selection committee. You could also specify here whether your research approach would be hypothetical, experimental or according to the book.
5. Research Methodology
Your research proposal should have a section dedicated to detailing the methodology that you propose to follow to achieve your research goals. Your research methodology could involve taking field trips, interviewing personalities or people in general, paying visits to specific archives or libraries, etc. If the research that you propose to do is likely to be confined to a library you could list out your main sources of information such as periodicals, journals, reports, and so on, and also state which libraries you would find them in. Similar details would have to be provided in case your primary research methodology involved field trips (such as where and when you intended to carry out these trips and what information you hoped to gain from them) or interviewing subjects (whom you were likely to interview, how many interviews would you need to conduct to gather your data). You would also have to explain here how you would conduct your analysis of the data collected.
6. Importance of Your Research
The uniqueness of your research would be one of the main deciding factors for the selection committee to approve/reject your proposal. Hence spare no effort in proving its originality in your research proposal. Explain how and why it would make a difference in the field of study and possibly the world at large.
7. A Short Bibliography
Your research proposal should also provide a tentative bibliography stating the significant books/articles/documents that you would be referring to in the course of your research.