Show that you understand the current state of research on your topic.
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.
Like your dissertation or thesis, the proposal will usually have a title page that includes:
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:
To guide your introduction , include information about:
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:
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.
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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:
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
Research phase | Objectives | Deadline |
---|---|---|
1. Background research and literature review | 20th January | |
2. Research design planning | and data analysis methods | 13th February |
3. Data collection and preparation | with selected participants and code interviews | 24th March |
4. Data analysis | of interview transcripts | 22nd April |
5. Writing | 17th June | |
6. Revision | final work | 28th July |
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:
To determine your budget, think about:
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
Statistics
Research 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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Full Walkthrough + Free Proposal Template
In this video, we walk you through two successful (approved) research proposals , one for a Master’s-level project, and one for a PhD-level dissertation. We also start off by unpacking our free research proposal template and discussing the four core sections of a research proposal, so that you have a clear understanding of the basics before diving into the actual proposals.
If you’re working on a research proposal for a dissertation or thesis, you may also find the following useful:
Are the sample proposals real.
Yes. The proposals are real and were approved by the respective universities.
As we discuss in the video, every research proposal will be slightly different, depending on the university’s unique requirements, as well as the nature of the research itself. Therefore, you’ll need to tailor your research proposal to suit your specific context.
You can learn more about the basics of writing a research proposal here .
You can access our free proposal template here .
Yes. There is no cost for the proposal template and you are free to use it as a foundation for your research proposal.
For self-directed learners, our Research Proposal Bootcamp is a great starting point.
For students that want hands-on guidance, our private coaching service is recommended.
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Unsure how to start your research proposal as part of your dissertation read below our top tips from banking and finance student, nelly, on how to structure your proposal and make sure it's a strong, formative foundation to build your dissertation..
It's understandable if the proposal part of your dissertation feels like a waste of time. Why not just get started on the dissertation itself? Isn't 'proposal' a just fancy word for a plan?
It's important to see your Master's research proposal not only as a requirement but as a way of formalising your ideas and mapping out the direction and purpose of your dissertation. A strong, carefully prepared proposal is instrumental in writing a good dissertation.
First things first: what do you need to include in a research proposal? The recommended structure of your proposal is:
Choose a dissertation topic well in advance of starting to write it
Allow existing research to guide you
Make your research questions as specific as possible
When you choose a topic, it will naturally be very broad and general. For example, Market Efficiency . Under this umbrella term, there are so many questions you could explore and challenge. But, it's so important that you hone in on one very specific question, such as ' How do presidential elections affect market efficiency?' When it comes to your Master's, the more specific and clear-cut the better.
Collate your bibliography as you go
Everyone knows it's best practice to update your bibliography as you go, but that doesn't just apply to the main bibliography document you submit with your dissertation. Get in the habit of writing down the title, author and date of the relevant article next to every note you make - you'll be grateful you did it later down the line!
Colour code your notes based on which part of the proposal they apply to
Use highlighters and sticky notes to keep track of why you thought a certain research piece was useful, and what you intended to use it for. For example, if you've underlined lots of sections of a research article when it comes to pulling your research proposal together it will take you longer to remember what piece of research applies to where.
Instead, you may want to highlight anything that could inform your methodology in blue, any quotations that will form your theory in yellow etc. This will save you time and stress later down the line.
Write your Motivation after your Theory
Your Motivation section will be that much more coherent and specific if you write it after you've done all your research. All the reading you have done for your Theory will better cement the importance of your research, as well as provide plenty of context for you to write in detail your motivation. Think about the difference between ' I'm doing this because I'm interested in it ' vs. ' I'm doing this because I'm passionate, and I've noticed a clear gap in this area of study which is detailed below in example A, B and C .'
Make sure your Data and Methodology section is to the point and succinct
Link your Expectations to existing research
Your expectations should be based on research and data, not conjecture and assumptions. It doesn't matter if the end results match up to what you expected, as long as both of these sections are informed by research and data.
Published By Nelly on 01/09/2020 | Last Updated 23/01/2024
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Home » How To Write A Research Proposal – Step-by-Step [Template]
Table of Contents
Writing a Research proposal involves several steps to ensure a well-structured and comprehensive document. Here is an explanation of each step:
4. Literature Review:
The format of a research proposal may vary depending on the specific requirements of the institution or funding agency. However, the following is a commonly used format for a research proposal:
1. Title Page:
2. Abstract:
3. Introduction:
5. Research Objectives:
6. Methodology:
7. Timeline:
8. Resources:
9. Ethical Considerations:
10. Expected Outcomes and Significance:
11. References:
12. Appendices:
Here’s a template for a research proposal:
1. Introduction:
2. Literature Review:
3. Research Objectives:
4. Methodology:
5. Timeline:
6. Resources:
7. Ethical Considerations:
8. Expected Outcomes and Significance:
9. References:
10. Appendices:
Title: The Impact of Online Education on Student Learning Outcomes: A Comparative Study
1. Introduction
Online education has gained significant prominence in recent years, especially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This research proposal aims to investigate the impact of online education on student learning outcomes by comparing them with traditional face-to-face instruction. The study will explore various aspects of online education, such as instructional methods, student engagement, and academic performance, to provide insights into the effectiveness of online learning.
2. Objectives
The main objectives of this research are as follows:
3. Methodology
3.1 Study Design
This research will utilize a mixed-methods approach to gather both quantitative and qualitative data. The study will include the following components:
3.2 Participants
The research will involve undergraduate students from two universities, one offering online education and the other providing face-to-face instruction. A total of 500 students (250 from each university) will be selected randomly to participate in the study.
3.3 Data Collection
The research will employ the following data collection methods:
3.4 Data Analysis
Quantitative data will be analyzed using statistical software, employing descriptive statistics, t-tests, and regression analysis. Qualitative data will be transcribed, coded, and analyzed thematically to identify recurring patterns and themes.
4. Ethical Considerations
The study will adhere to ethical guidelines, ensuring the privacy and confidentiality of participants. Informed consent will be obtained, and participants will have the right to withdraw from the study at any time.
5. Significance and Expected Outcomes
This research will contribute to the existing literature by providing empirical evidence on the impact of online education on student learning outcomes. The findings will help educational institutions and policymakers make informed decisions about incorporating online learning methods and improving the quality of online education. Moreover, the study will identify potential challenges and opportunities related to online education and offer recommendations for enhancing student engagement and overall learning outcomes.
6. Timeline
The proposed research will be conducted over a period of 12 months, including data collection, analysis, and report writing.
The estimated budget for this research includes expenses related to data collection, software licenses, participant compensation, and research assistance. A detailed budget breakdown will be provided in the final research plan.
8. Conclusion
This research proposal aims to investigate the impact of online education on student learning outcomes through a comparative study with traditional face-to-face instruction. By exploring various dimensions of online education, this research will provide valuable insights into the effectiveness and challenges associated with online learning. The findings will contribute to the ongoing discourse on educational practices and help shape future strategies for maximizing student learning outcomes in online education settings.
Researcher, Academic Writer, Web developer
Drafting your first research proposal can be intimidating if you’ve never written (or seen) one before. Our grad students and admissions staff have some advice on making a start.
Is it a requirement for your course.
For some research courses in sciences you’ll join an existing research group so you don’t need to write a full research proposal, just a list of the groups and/or supervisors you want to work with. You might be asked to write a personal statement instead, giving your research interests and experience.
Still, for many of our research courses — especially in humanities and social sciences — your research proposal is one of the most significant parts of your application. Grades and other evidence of your academic ability and potential are important, but even if you’re academically outstanding you’ll need to show you’re a good match for the department’s staff expertise and research interests. Every course page on the University website has detailed information on what you’ll need to send with your application, so make sure that’s your first step before you continue:
There are many ways to start, I’ve heard stories about people approaching it totally differently. Yannis (DPhil in Computer Science)
There isn’t one right way to start writing a research proposal. First of all, make sure you’ve read your course page - it’ll have instructions for what to include in your research proposal (as well as anything to avoid), how your department will assess it, and the required word count.
A research degree is a big undertaking, and it’s normal to feel a bit overwhelmed at first. One way to start writing is to look back at the work you’ve already done. How does your proposed research build on this, and the other research in the area? One of the most important things you’ll be showing through your research project is that your project is achievable in the time available for your course, and that you’ve got (or know how you’ll get) the right skills and experience to pull off your plan.
They don’t expect you to be the expert, you just have to have good ideas. Be willing to challenge things and do something new. Rebecca (DPhil in Medieval and Modern Languages)
However, you don’t have to know everything - after all, you haven’t started yet! When reading your proposal, your department will be looking at the potential and originality of your research, and whether you have a solid understanding of the topic you’ve chosen.
An Admissions Officer at one of our colleges says that it’s important to explain why you’re applying to Oxford, and to your department in particular:
“Really, this is all dependent on a department. Look at the department in depth, and look at what they offer — how is it in line with your interests?”
Think about what you need to successfully execute your research plans and explain how Oxford’s academic facilities and community will support your work. Should I email a potential supervisor? Got an idea? If your course page says it’s alright to contact a supervisor (check the top of the How to apply section), it’s a good idea to get in touch with potential supervisors when you come to write your proposal.
You’re allowed to reach out to academics that you might be interested in supervising you. They can tell you if your research is something that we can support here, and how, and give you ideas. Admissions Officer
You’ll find more information about the academics working in your area on your department’s website (follow the department links on your course page ). John (DPhil in Earth Sciences) emailed a professor who had the same research interests as he did.
“Luckily enough, he replied the next day and was keen to support me in the application.”
These discussions might help you to refine your ideas and your research proposal.
Layal says, “I discussed ideas with my supervisor — what’s feasible, what would be interesting. He supported me a lot with that, and I went away and wrote it.”
It’s also an opportunity to find out more about the programme and the department:
“Getting in touch with people who are here is a really good way to ask questions.”
Not sure how to find a potential supervisor for your research? Visit our How-to guide on finding a supervisor .
My supervisors helped me with my research proposal, which is great. You don’t expect that, but they were really helpful prior to my application. Nyree (DPhil in Archaeological Science)
Don’t be afraid to ask for advice and feedback as you go. For example, you could reach out to a supervisor from your current or previous degree, or to friends who are also studying and could give you some honest feedback.
You can find instructions for the supporting documents you’ll need to include in your application on your course page and in the Application Guide.
If you have a query about graduate admissions at Oxford, we're here to help:
Ask a question
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Writing a dissertation proposal.
Dissertation proposals are like the table of contents for your research project , and will help you explain what it is you intend to examine, and roughly, how you intend to go about collecting and analysing your data. You won’t be required to have everything planned out exactly, as your topic may change slightly in the course of your research, but for the most part, writing your proposal should help you better identify the direction for your dissertation.
When you’ve chosen a topic for your dissertation , you’ll need to make sure that it is both appropriate to your field of study and narrow enough to be completed by the end of your course. Your dissertation proposal will help you define and determine both of these things and will also allow your department and instructors to make sure that you are being advised by the best person to help you complete your research.
A dissertation proposal should include:
Although this content all needs to be included in your dissertation proposal, the content isn’t set in stone so it can be changed later if necessary, depending on your topic of study, university or degree. Think of your dissertation proposal as more of a guide to writing your dissertation rather than something to be strictly adhered to – this will be discussed later.
A dissertation proposal is very important because it helps shape the actual dissertation, which is arguably the most important piece of writing a postgraduate student will undertake. By having a well-structured dissertation proposal, you will have a strong foundation for your dissertation and a good template to follow. The dissertation itself is key to postgraduate success as it will contribute to your overall grade . Writing your dissertation will also help you to develop research and communication skills, which could become invaluable in your employment success and future career. By making sure you’re fully briefed on the current research available in your chosen dissertation topic, as well as keeping details of your bibliography up to date, you will be in a great position to write an excellent dissertation.
Next, we’ll be outlining things you can do to help you produce the best postgraduate dissertation proposal possible.
It’s important that when you sit down to draft your proposal, you’ve carefully thought out your topic and are able to narrow it down enough to present a clear and succinct understanding of what you aim to do and hope to accomplish in your dissertation.
A simple way to begin choosing a topic for your dissertation is to go back through your assignments and lectures. Was there a topic that stood out to you? Was there an idea that wasn’t fully explored? If the answer to either of these questions is yes, then you have a great starting point! If not, then consider one of your more personal interests. Use Google Scholar to explore studies and journals on your topic to find any areas that could go into more detail or explore a more niche topic within your personal interest.
It’s important to keep track of all the publications that you use while you research. You can use this in your literature review.
You need to keep track of:
The more research you do, the more you should be able to narrow down your topic and find an interesting area to focus on. You’ll also be able to write about everything you find in your literature review which will make your proposal stronger.
While doing your research, consider the following:
Read more about picking a topic for your dissertation .
There is usually no set length for a dissertation proposal, but you should aim for 1,000 words or more. Your dissertation proposal will give an outline of the topic of your dissertation, some of the questions you hope to answer with your research, what sort of studies and type of data you aim to employ in your research, and the sort of analysis you will carry out.
Different courses may have different requirements for things like length and the specific information to include, as well as what structure is preferred, so be sure to check what special requirements your course has.
Your dissertation proposal should have several key aspects regardless of the structure. The introduction, the methodology, aims and objectives, the literature review, and the constraints of your research all need to be included to ensure that you provide your supervisor with a comprehensive proposal. But what are they? Here's a checklist to get you started.
The introduction will state your central research question and give background on the subject, as well as relating it contextually to any broader issues surrounding it.
The dissertation proposal introduction should outline exactly what you intend to investigate in your final research project.
Make sure you outline the structure of the dissertation proposal in your introduction, i.e. part one covers methodology, part two covers a literature review, part three covers research limitations, and so forth.
Your introduction should also include the working title for your dissertation – although don't worry if you want to change this at a later stage as your supervisors will not expect this to be set in stone.
The dissertation methodology will break down what sources you aim to use for your research and what sort of data you will collect from it, either quantitative or qualitative. You may also want to include how you will analyse the data you gather and what, if any, bias there may be in your chosen methods.
Depending on the level of detail that your specific course requires, you may also want to explain why your chosen approaches to gathering data are more appropriate to your research than others.
Consider and explain how you will conduct empirical research. For example, will you use interviews? Surveys? Observation? Lab experiments?
In your dissertation methodology, outline the variables that you will measure in your research and how you will select your data or participant sample to ensure valid results.
Finally, are there any specific tools that you will use for your methodology? If so, make sure you provide this information in the methodology section of your dissertation proposal.
Your aim should not be too broad but should equally not be too specific.
An example of a dissertation aim could be: ‘To examine the key content features and social contexts that construct successful viral marketing content distribution on X’.
In comparison, an example of a dissertation aim that is perhaps too broad would be: ‘To investigate how things go viral on X’.
The aim of your dissertation proposal should relate directly to your research question.
The literature review will list the books and materials that you will be using to do your research. This is where you can list materials that gave you more background on your topic, or contain research carried out previously that you referred to in your own studies.
The literature review is also a good place to demonstrate how your research connects to previous academic studies and how your methods may differ from or build upon those used by other researchers. While it’s important to give enough information about the materials to show that you have read and understood them, don’t forget to include your analysis of their value to your work.
Where there are shortfalls in other pieces of academic work, identify these and address how you will overcome these shortcomings in your own research.
Lastly, you will also need to include the constraints of your research. Many topics will have broad links to numerous larger and more complex issues, so by clearly stating the constraints of your research, you are displaying your understanding and acknowledgment of these larger issues, and the role they play by focusing your research on just one section or part of the subject.
In this section it is important to Include examples of possible limitations, for example, issues with sample size, participant drop out, lack of existing research on the topic, time constraints, and other factors that may affect your study.
Confidentiality and ethical concerns are an important part of any research.
Ethics are key, as your dissertation will need to undergo ethical approval if you are working with participants. This means that it’s important to allow for and explain ethical considerations in your dissertation proposal.
Keep confidentiality in mind and keep your participants informed, so they are aware of how the data provided is being used and are assured that all personal information is being kept confidential.
Consider how involved your patients will be with your research, this will help you think about what ethical considerations to take and discuss them fully in your dissertation proposal. For example, face-to-face participant interview methods could require more ethical measures and confidentiality considerations than methods that do not require participants, such as corpus data (a collection of existing written texts) analysis.
Once you know what sections you need or do not need to include, it may help focus your writing to break the proposal up into separate headings, and tackle each piece individually. You may also want to consider including a title. Writing a title for your proposal will help you make sure that your topic is narrow enough, as well as help keep your writing focused and on topic.
One example of a dissertation proposal structure is using the following headings, either broken up into sections or chapters depending on the required word count:
In any dissertation proposal example, you’ll want to make it clear why you’re doing the research and what positives could come from your contribution.
This table outlines the various stages of your dissertation proposal.
|
|
Working title | This is not set in stone and is open to being changed further down the line. |
Introduction | Background information to your dissertation, including details of the basic facts, reasons for your interest in this area, and the importance of your research to the relevant industry. |
Methodology | Details of the sources you are planning to use – eg surveys, modelling, case studies. Are you collecting quantitative or qualitative data? Explain how you will analyse this data. |
Objectives | List out the goals that you are hoping to achieve through your research project. |
Literature review | Titles and URLs of proposed texts and websites that you are planning to use in your research project. |
Constraints & limitations | Clearly state the potential limitations of your research project, eg sample size, time constraints, etc. |
Ethical considerations | If your dissertation involves using participants, it will need to undergo ethical approval – explain any ethical considerations in the dissertation proposal. |
References | All factual information that is not your original work needs to be accompanied by a reference to its source. |
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Take the next steps towards your PhD
When you apply for a research degree at the University of Portsmouth, you may have to submit a research proposal that outlines, among many other things, the nature of your research, and why it's important.
To help make yours as compelling as possible, read our helpful hints for creating a clear, concise and engaging research proposal.
Prospective supervisors will not be expecting you to have all the answers at this stage; if accepted onto a research degree, your ideas will develop throughout the course of your studies.
Title and abstract.
Most proposals are between 1,500-4,000 words, but the exact length will vary depending on which research area you're applying to join.
Your potential supervisor can let you know any specific requirements for the area you’re applying to.
You are strongly encouraged to work with your potential supervisor to refine your proposal before you make a formal application. This way, you can make sure the project is a good fit with their interests and expertise.
Do your homework - make sure your problem hasn't already been solved.
Engage the reader - you don't want the reader to switch off!
Be realistic - especially about timescales and accessing data
Take your time - it's important not to rush writing your research proposal
Seek feedback - it's always a good idea to get others to read your research proposal
Prepare to be flexible, your project can evolve or change
Don’t:
My PhD supervisor supported my career ambitions and has been crucial in getting me where I am today.
Robert Lawerence, PhD Molecular Microbiology
Learn more about research proposals and the process involved in creating the perfect application.
Follow our step by step guide
Speak to one of our friendly team and ask us anything about your postgraduate study options.
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Introduction.
A research proposal is more than just a formality—it’s a blueprint for your entire project. Whether you’re applying for funding, pitching a dissertation idea, or outlining your research goals, crafting a compelling proposal is essential. But where do you start, and how do you ensure your proposal stands out? At WritersER, we’ve guided countless graduate students through the process of writing strong research proposals that get results. This step-by-step guide will help you create a clear, well-organized, and persuasive research proposal.
Before diving into the writing process, it’s important to understand the purpose of a research proposal. Essentially, it’s your chance to outline your research questions, demonstrate the relevance of your project, and convince others—whether that’s a committee, funding organization, or academic department—why your research is valuable.
Clearly define your research question or hypothesis.
Explain why your research is important.
Show how you plan to conduct your research, including methodologies and resources needed.
Demonstrate how your research fits into existing literature and fills gaps in knowledge.
A well-structured proposal is crucial to making a strong impression. While the exact structure may vary depending on your institution or field of study, most research proposals follow a similar format.
Your introduction should succinctly introduce your research topic, explain its significance, and present your research question or hypothesis. Keep it clear and concise—this is where you hook your reader’s interest.
Tip: Start by framing your research in the context of a broader issue or problem, then narrow down to your specific question.
The literature review demonstrates that you’ve done your homework. Summarize existing research related to your topic, highlight gaps or limitations in the literature, and explain how your research will address these gaps.
Tip: Use your literature review to show that your research is not only relevant but also original.
This section is where you outline how you plan to conduct your research. Describe the methods you’ll use (qualitative, quantitative, or mixed), your data collection process, and how you’ll analyze your findings. Be as specific as possible.
Tip: If applicable, mention any tools, equipment, or technology you’ll need, as well as any ethical considerations.
Include a clear, realistic timeline for your research. Break it down by key milestones, such as data collection, analysis, and writing. This shows that you’ve thought about the practicalities of your project.
Tip: Ensure your timeline is achievable within the scope of your program or funding period.
What do you hope to achieve with your research? In this section, outline the potential outcomes of your study and the impact it could have on your field. Whether you aim to inform policy, advance theoretical understanding, or improve practices, make it clear why your research matters.
Tip: Avoid over-promising—focus on achievable outcomes that you can realistically deliver.
Wrap up your proposal by summarizing the key points and reiterating why your research is valuable. This is your last chance to convince your reader, so make sure your conclusion is strong and leaves an impression.
Your proposal needs to be more than just technically sound—it should also be well-written. Proposals that are unclear or overly complicated can confuse readers, diminishing the impact of your ideas.
Tip: Keep your language clear, concise, and free of unnecessary jargon. If you have to use technical terms, explain them to ensure all readers can understand your proposal.
Tip: Avoid lengthy paragraphs. Break up your text into digestible sections, and use headings and bullet points to improve readability.
Many students struggle with certain aspects of writing research proposals. Here are some common challenges and how to overcome them:
A common mistake is being too broad with your research question. Focus on one specific issue or aspect of your topic rather than trying to cover everything.
Solution: Ask yourself, “What’s the one thing I want to discover or contribute to my field?” Use this focus to narrow your question.
It’s not enough to be passionate about your topic—you need to convince others why it matters. Look for practical applications of your research or ways it can contribute to current debates in your field.
Solution: Highlight the potential impact your research could have on policy, practice, or future research.
With so much research available, it’s easy to get overwhelmed during the literature review process. You may find it difficult to decide which studies to include and how to synthesize the information.
Solution: Focus on identifying key themes and gaps in the literature, rather than summarizing every study. Your goal is to show how your research builds on or diverges from existing work.
Once you’ve written your draft, it’s essential to take time to review and revise. Even if you feel confident, a fresh pair of eyes can often spot issues you may have missed.
Tip: Ask a peer, mentor, or advisor to review your proposal and provide feedback.
Tip: Make sure you’ve checked for consistency in formatting, grammar, and citations. A polished, professional proposal is always more convincing.
Writing a strong research proposal is the first step toward a successful project. By defining a clear research question, conducting a thorough literature review, and detailing your methodology, you’ll set yourself up for success from the start. At WritersER, we’re here to support you through every step of the research process, from developing your proposal to finalizing your thesis or dissertation.
Need help crafting a compelling research proposal? Join the WritersER community today for personalized coaching and expert advice. Click here to get started!
About western, how to write a research proposal.
Your research proposal is a key component when applying to study a research degree at Western Sydney University. These guidelines are designed to help you prepare your research proposal.
A research proposal is an outline of your research project that:
Different disciplines have different requirements and expectations for the research proposal. We recommend that you discuss your research proposal with your proposed supervisor prior to submitting your application.
We will use your research proposal to assess the quality and originality of your ideas, your expertise and understanding of the research area, and the overall feasibility of your research project. We will also consider how the project will contribute to the field of research.
Your research proposal provides you with an opportunity to capture the attention of your audience, convince them of the importance of the research, and express your enthusiasm and ability to successfully undertake the project.
You will need to identify a potential supervisor and contact them to discuss your research proposal. When you have found a researcher that has a mutual interest or experience in the research area, they will be able to provide input into the design, scope and feasibility of your research project.
You will need to provide a letter of support from your proposed supervisor as part of your application.
1. project title.
There is no set format or length for a research proposal and the content will depend on your experience in the field, the requirements of your discipline and the type of project. It should cover the main headings listed below (unless your discipline recommends otherwise) and be approximately two to five pages in length (excluding references).
You should provide the details of a supervisor who you have had a discussion with and that has provided you with a letter of support . Provide a brief description of any initial discussions you have had with the potential supervisor and outline why you would like them to join your supervisory panel. You may choose to list additional supervisors that are interested in joining your supervision panel.
You should justify your project based on a review of the current literature on the topic. You should discuss the most important books or journal articles, demonstrate your understanding of the issues that need further research, and identify the gaps that your research is intended to address.
You should put forward some questions or problems that you would like to answer in your research project. You should be able to summarise the questions in one or two sentences.
Provide a clear description of the aims and objectives of your research project. It should explain how the questions or problems are to be addressed by your project.
Provide an outline of how you plan to undertake the project. You may consider describing a qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods or practice-led approach, how the data or information will be generated, how you expect to analyse the data and indicate any broad theoretical framework you may use in the project.
If your project may involve interacting with humans or animals, you may also choose to address potential ethical considerations or implications.
Summarise the steps that will be required to undertake your research project. You might find it best to establish a set of action items, such as complete a literature review, apply for ethics approval, conduct experiments, analyse results, etc. and estimate how long each step will take to complete. You can use this to provide an approximate timeline of your project from beginning to end, within the confines of the maximum allowable time for your degree.
Your timeline can be based on a monthly or quarterly schedule and the exact dates for the completion of tasks are not required at this stage. Your aim is to demonstrate that the proposed project is feasible in the available candidature time.
Provide an outline of any specialist equipment, access to facilities, travel for fieldwork or other resources that may be required to successfully undertake the project.
You should include a list of all the references that have been used in the proposal.
Your research proposal has a direct impact on the overall strength of your application to study a research degree. The following tips and advice may help you to strengthen the quality of your research proposal.
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Whether you are a student whose goal is to complete course requirements or a researcher looking for funding, knowing how to write a research proposal is an important skill. If you have had experience writing a project proposal, you might think that they are the same. However, they are not. The standards for research proposals are much stricter and they have varying guidelines for writing styles and formatting. In fact, those guidelines can change with every discipline or department.
A basic requirement when seeking approval for any type of research project and for applying for study grants or ethics committee approval (Kivunja, 2016) is providing an example of a well-written research proposal, which generally has two purposes. First, it shows and justifies the need to investigate a research problem and, second, it presents a set of workable strategies for conducting the proposed research (Miner & Miner, 2005).
This article aims to describe the common steps taken to prepare a written proposal as attractively as possible to achieve approval and/or funding. It also seeks to discuss key aspects that must be considered to help ensure that you can convert your proposed study into well-conducted actual research work.
A. preliminary considerations.
Many students and novice researchers, unfortunately, do not completely comprehend what a research proposal structure means, nor do they recognize its value. At any rate, it is safe to say that a research project is only as good as its proposal. A poorly-prepared research proposal format adversely affects the research project although by some means it managed to get approved. Conversely, a well-written proposal not only helps ensure research success but also enhances your potential as a researcher among your evaluators.
Any type of research proposal follows the style, structure, and other writing conventions set by the relevant field of discipline. A research proposal outline’s content typically varies in length, from 3 to 35 pages, with references (and appendices, if necessary). But like any academic activity, start the research proposal template writing process by first carefully reading the instructions. Make sure to clarify anything that needs clarification and only proceed once everything is clear.
A word of caution, though. Maintain considerable control over how you conduct your research—a light, reconnaissance reading will do. People tend to fall into the over-research trap, which wastes valuable time to write. Once your structure of a research proposal has been approved, the researcher gains the right time to conduct deep research.
At this stage, it is good to ask these preparatory questions to help you steer your research in the right direction:
Generally, a compelling background and significance in research proposal will manifest if it effectively captures your knowledge about the topic and shows your deep interest to conduct the research. Handle it with the purpose of making your readers engaged about the study and what the outcomes will be.
In case you’re still unsure about your topic or in the process of exploring possibilities, it is good to consider how funding agencies across the world are allocating their budgets for research grants. For instance, in the field of market research, the top topics that won the most study grants in 2018 were market measurement (21%), media audience/research (12%), usage and attitude studies (12%), and CRM systems (8%) (ESOMAR, 2019). If you are considering marketing as a major , these are good references. Also, you can search for cutting-edge or controversial debate topics in your field. This way, you will also touch on the current interests of other researchers in your field.
A. introduction.
A research proposal is commonly written by scholars seeking grant funding for a research project when enrolling for a research-based postgraduate degree. Graduate and post-graduate students also embark on a university dissertation to obtain a degree or get that Ph.D. Although it is just a course assignment, a student must treat the introduction as the decisive initial pitch for a research inquiry or in-depth investigation of the significance of an issue for study.
After reading the introduction, your readers should be able to clearly understand what you want to do. Likewise, they should be able to appreciate your enthusiasm for the topic and to be engaged in the potential results of the study (Jackowski & Leggett, 2015).
Consider your introduction as a two-four-paragraph narrative that concisely responds to the following questions:
Take note that most academic institutions and funding agencies do not require an abstract or synopsis before the introduction. However, it is best to check your institution’s guidelines.
This part is for explaining the context of a research proposal and for clearly describing its importance. While some writers integrate this part in the introduction, a number of scholars prefer to write it separately to allow for a smooth flow of a proposal’s narrative.
A good way to approach this section is by assuming that your readers are busy but want to know the gist of your research problem and the entire study (Kivunja, 2016). Remember that this is not an extensive essay that covers everything about your proposed study, but rather a concise text that is enough to elicit interest in your research.
With these in mind and although there is no definitive rule for framing a proposed study’s significance, you should endeavor to address the following key considerations:
Your study background and significance are directly related to this section, which primarily offers a more deliberate review and synthesis of existing studies pertinent to your proposed research problem. This part aims to properly situate your proposed study within the bigger scheme of things of what is being investigated, while, at the same time, showing the innovation and originality of your proposed work (Abdulai & Owusu-Ansah, 2014).
Because a literature review often involves heavy information, it is important that this section is smartly structured to allow a reader to comprehend the major contentions that underlie your proposed research vis-a-vis those of other scholars. An effective way to do this is to separate the literature into major themes or conceptual strategies. This is a better approach instead of chronologically or methodically describing sets of studies one by one.
As there are many efficient ways in framing your review of existing related studies, many scholars are following the use of the “five Cs" in writing a literature review (Sudheesh et al., 2016):
Once you’ve determined a good angle for your study, it is time to compose your research objectives. Ask yourself: What do you want your readers to know when they read your proposal? Give considerable time to properly frame your objectives and try to write them in a single sentence, if possible.
A research objective will help you stay focused and prevent you from drifting off on tangents (Krathwohl & Smith, 2005). Regardless of the specific topic or problem or method you choose, all study proposals must deal with the various types of research questions , specifically the following:
For some institutions, this section can be included as part of the Introduction, usually placed as the last paragraph of that section. Familiarize yourself with what is a research question if you are having difficulties in this area.
This part should be written properly and organized logically since you are not yet conducting the actual research. However, it must build confidence among your readers that it is something worth pursuing.
The underlying purpose here is to convince the reader that your research design and suggested analytical strategies will properly address the problem/s of the study. It also aims to assure the reader that the selected methods offer the means to efficiently interpret the likely study outcomes. Simply put, your research design and methods should be directly connected to the particular objectives of your research (Lyman & Keyes, 2019).
An effective way to frame your study design is by drawing good examples from your literature review. Emulate the good approaches used by other researchers. Be particular about the methodological techniques you intend to use to gather data, the strategies you will utilize to analyze your data, and the external validity measures you will employ.
Make sure to cover the following when describing the methods you will utilize:
Remember, there is no such thing as a perfect method for any type of research endeavor. However, if you rigorously follow the best practices employed by those who conducted relevant studies and provide the corresponding rationales why you selected them, then you can readily address any critique that might come your way.
This section is where you contend how you think your proposed study will enhance, change, or expand current knowledge in the research topic that will be investigated. By drawing from your research objectives, explain how the expected outcomes will affect future studies, practice, theory, policymaking, procedures, etc. Discussing study implications typically have either methodological, theoretical, or substantive significance (Abdulai & Owusu-Ansah, 2014).
You can use these guide questions when framing the potential ramifications of your proposed research:
The purpose of this section is to reflect upon gaps or understudied topics of the existing literature and explain how your proposed research contributes to a new understanding of the research problem should the study be conducted as proposed.
There is nothing fundamentally best or worst when it comes to the scientific writing style. It is just a standardized approach for presenting information that is tailored to facilitate communication. Different scholarly disciplines have diverse publication styles. So this section depends on the protocols set by the target institution or agency.
Nonetheless, it should be noted that fundamental ethical principles guide all scholarly research and writing. If you are observing APA conventions, ethical guidelines are meant to accomplish three objectives, namely, “to protect intellectual property rights, to protect the rights and welfare of research participants, and to ensure the accuracy of scientific knowledge" (APA, 2014, pp. 11).
Every social and behavioral sciences writer (and other scholars who adhere to these principles) advocates these objectives and observes the long-standing standards that their professional groups follow (APA, 2014).
Another major ethical APA principle promotes the need to ensure the accuracy of scientific knowledge. The underlying principle behind the (universal) scientific method comprises observation, which can be verified and repeated by other scholars. Accordingly, scholars are expected to not engage in research writing that involves falsifying or fabricating data. Moreover, researchers should not modify study outcomes just to uphold a hypothesis or to remove problematic data in order to present a more credible report (APA, 2014).
Some universities do not require a detailed budgetary allocation for proposed studies that only involve archival research and simple academic research, although some still do. However, if you are applying for research funding, you will likely be instructed to also include a detailed budget that shows how much every major part of the project will cost.
Be sure to verify what type of costs the funding agency or institution will agree to cover, and only include relevant items in your budget. For every item, include:
Conducting a research project is not the same as buying ingredients when cooking meals. So how do you make a budget when most entries do not have a price tag? To prepare a correct budget, think about:
The research schedule is another aspect where one should be realistic and to the point. The study turnaround time shows that your proposed study can be finished within the allowed period of completion, e.g., the student’s candidature or the university’s academic calendar.
The timeline must comprise a series of objectives that should be met to complete all the aspects of your academic research requirements (thesis, dissertation, or other degree requisites), from preliminary research to the final editing. Every step must include an expected completion date.
It should likewise contain a statement of the progress that one has made so far. Other relevant research-related activities should also be included, such as paper presentations (if applicable). Finally, it must be noted that the timeline is not a fixed document—a researcher must update it regularly, when necessary.
One of the best ways to conclude your research proposal is by presenting a few of your anticipated outcomes. Upon reaching this final stage, you must disclose the conclusions and arguments that you expect to reach. Your reader will know that these are anticipated results based on how much you’ve researched so far and that these expectations will likely change once the complete study has been made.
It is important, nonetheless, that you give your reader a sense of what conclusions may be drawn. This will allow your reader to further assess the significance and validity of your project. It will also indicate to your reader that you have thought ahead and considered the potential outcomes and implications of your research. Writing a r esearch proposal example should allow you to determine if you are communicating all essential information in your conclusion.
Some funding agencies and academic institutions require proponents of research proposals to include an Appendix section. This contains supplemental material that is not a core element of a proposal’s main narrative but is considered valuable in enhancing the views and arguments raised in the proposal. It may include forms and data like tables, informed consent, clinical/research protocols, data collection instruments, etc.
This supplementary section is also the best part to include one’s latest curriculum vitae if required. You can include all relevant academic and professional experience to present your case as a qualified individual to conduct your proposed research. It will help significantly to present pertinent research works you’ve completed, especially if you have published research reports, articles, etc.
It should be noted that many students and budding researchers who went through the rigors of research actually found the experience so worthwhile that they made it a long-term career. In fact, research as a professional job is one of the better-paying jobs worldwide. According to Glassdoor (2020), the average base pay for professional researchers in the U.S. is $54,411 per year. Among OECD-member countries, Denmark tops the list with an average of 15.65 people employed as professional researchers or scientists for every 1,000 employees in 2018.
As with any other piece of academic writing, it is essential to redraft, edit, and proofread your research proposal before you submit it (van Ekelenburg, 2010). If you have the opportunity, ask a friend, colleague, or supervisor for feedback and writing suggestions before handing it over to the evaluators.
The peer-review process, whether for professional or student research, was designed not to reject submissions but actually as a quality control system to help researchers improve on their craft (RPS, 2016). Proposal revision can entail careful rewriting, which, in itself, can be a fruitful experience that can be used for the long term.
In academic publishing, proposal rejection is a reality, even for the most seasoned scholarly writers. In fact, the success rate of reapplied proposals is considerably higher compared to the first submissions. For instance, at the European Research Council, new applicants have a success rate of 9-10%. Repeat applications tend to have better success rates, from 14-15% (ERC, 2019).
To really boost your chances of getting a Google Scholar research proposal approval, you might want to consider seeking the help of professional proofreading services to remove grammatical errors, examine your proposal’s structure, and enhance your adherence to the required academic style.
It follows that the skills necessary to write research are similar to the set of skills needed to prepare a research proposal (Gilbert, 2006). Here, these necessary skills are grouped into three categories for better understanding:
It is essential to remember these skills as you work on your research proposal. This is because your readers will be looking for evidence of these important researcher’s skills in how you write. With the success rate for many research grants below 20% (e.g., NIH, Wellcome, NHMRC, etc.), these skills will be key in helping you achieve funding approval.
V. common mistakes to avoid in proposal writing.
With rejection rates reaching as high as 97% at prestigious journals, it is only prudent to ensure that you are not making any of these customary mistakes when submitting your research proposal:
Submitting lengthy proposals . When writing research proposals, be to the point. Your submitted document must be focused and concise. Don’t diverge into irrelevant tangents without a clear sense of purpose.
Covering too much research ground . It is common for students to fail in delimiting the contextual boundaries of their studies, be it the topic, time, place, etc. As with any research paper, the proposed research must clearly inform the reader how the study will investigate the problem. Look for some research paper thesis examples so you would know how to clearly communicate the scope of your inquiry.
Not citing major works in a literature review . While it is advised to keep everything in the proposal at a minimum—a few milestone research studies must already be included. Proposals should be grounded in landmark studies that provide the groundwork for appreciating the growth and scope of the issue.
Too much focus on minor issues, yet very few details on major issues . A proposal must focus only a few key study questions to clearly argue why it should be conducted. Mentioning minor issues is acceptable but they should not overpower the major ones, which should control the overall narrative.
Inability to frame a persuasive and coherent argument for the proposed study . This is another common yet crucial mistake of students and grant-seekers. In essence, the research proposal must be able to effectively argue why a study should be approved or funded.
Poor grammar or careless writing . While a research proposal only represents a small part of a complete study, it is expected to be well-written and observes the writing style and guidelines of good academic writing.
If you are looking for a research proposal example for students, here are some made for various disciplines and levels of study that you can emulate or derive valuable ideas from:
Postgraduate Research
Undergraduate Research
Although this article had covered as much ground as possible, the truth is that there is no universal style in writing search proposals. In the same manner, there is actually no definitive standard or secret formula behind a winning proposal. This is because every academic or funding institution has its own guidelines and protocols that every candidate or funding application must adhere to.
Nonetheless, integrating the specific instructions and guidelines of your institution with the key considerations and best practices discussed in this article will help ensure the approval of your proposal. Always remember to keep a healthy balance between substance and brevity when writing a research proposal. Share enough ideas just to open the door for your readers’ interest, and then give your “all" once you are given the go-signal to proceed with the proposed study.
What is the main purpose of a research proposal?
A research proposal aims to justify the need for investigating a specific research problem and to present a set of strategies for conducting the proposed research. It helps in obtaining approval or funding by demonstrating the feasibility and significance of the research.
How should I start the process of writing a research proposal?
Begin by understanding the specific guidelines and structure required by your institution or funding agency. Clarify any uncertainties and start by asking key preparatory questions to ensure your research is valuable and feasible. Read the instructions carefully before drafting your proposal.
What should be included in the introduction of a research proposal?
The introduction should concisely explain the central problem of the study, the relevant field, the methods to analyze the problem, the importance of the study, and its significance to academia and society. It should engage readers and make them understand the purpose and potential impact of the research.
How do I approach the literature review section?
Structure the literature review to compare, contrast, critique, and connect previous studies to your proposed research. Use the “five Cs” approach: cite properly, compare methods and outcomes, contrast themes, critique the literature, and connect it to your study to show innovation and relevance.
What are the key components of the research design and methods section?
This section should outline your research process, including data collection methods, analytical strategies, and validity measures. It should build confidence in the feasibility and rigor of your approach, and justify why your chosen methods are the best for addressing the research problem.
Why is it important to discuss the implications and contributions of the research?
Discussing implications shows how your research will enhance or expand current knowledge, affect future studies, practice, theory, policy, and real-world applications. It demonstrates the potential impact and relevance of your research, making it more compelling for approval or funding.
What are common mistakes to avoid when writing a research proposal?
Avoid submitting lengthy or unfocused proposals, covering too much research ground, neglecting major works in the literature review, overemphasizing minor issues, failing to frame a persuasive argument, and submitting proposals with poor grammar or careless writing.
How important is proofreading and revision in the proposal writing process?
Proofreading and revision are crucial to ensure clarity, coherence, and adherence to guidelines. Seeking feedback from peers or professional services can significantly improve the quality of your proposal, increasing the chances of approval or funding.
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This resource introduces the genre of academic proposals and provides strategies for developing effective graduate-level proposals across multiple contexts.
An important part of the work completed in academia is sharing our scholarship with others. Such communication takes place when we present at scholarly conferences, publish in peer-reviewed journals, and publish in books. This OWL resource addresses the steps in writing for a variety of academic proposals.
For samples of academic proposals, click here .
First and foremost, you need to consider your future audience carefully in order to determine both how specific your topic can be and how much background information you need to provide in your proposal. While some conferences and journals may be subject-specific, most will require you to address an audience that does not conduct research on the same topics as you. Conference proposal reviewers are often drawn from professional organization members or other attendees, while journal proposals are typically reviewed by the editorial staff, so you need to ensure that your proposal is geared toward the knowledge base and expectations of whichever audience will read your work.
Along those lines, you might want to check whether you are basing your research on specific prior research and terminology that requires further explanation. As a rule, always phrase your proposal clearly and specifically, avoid over-the-top phrasing and jargon, but do not negate your own personal writing style in the process.
If you would like to add a quotation to your proposal, you are not required to provide a citation or footnote of the source, although it is generally preferred to mention the author’s name. Always put quotes in quotation marks and take care to limit yourself to at most one or two quotations in the entire proposal text. Furthermore, you should always proofread your proposal carefully and check whether you have integrated details, such as author’s name, the correct number of words, year of publication, etc. correctly.
Methodology is often a key factor in the evaluation of proposals for any academic genre — but most proposals have such a small word limit that writers find it difficult to adequately include methods while also discussing their argument, background for the study, results, and contributions to knowledge. It's important to make sure that you include some information about the methods used in your study, even if it's just a line or two; if your proposal isn't experimental in nature, this space should instead describe the theory, lens, or approach you are taking to arrive at your conclusions.
There are common pitfalls that you might need to improve on for future proposals.
The proposal does not reflect your enthusiasm and persuasiveness, which usually goes hand in hand with hastily written, simply worded proposals. Generally, the better your research has been, the more familiar you are with the subject and the more smoothly your proposal will come together.
Similarly, proposing a topic that is too broad can harm your chances of being accepted to a conference. Be sure to have a clear focus in your proposal. Usually, this can be avoided by more advanced research to determine what has already been done, especially if the proposal is judged by an important scholar in the field. Check the names of keynote speakers and other attendees of note to avoid repeating known information or not focusing your proposal.
Your paper might simply have lacked the clear language that proposals should contain. On this linguistic level, your proposal might have sounded repetitious, have had boring wording, or simply displayed carelessness and a lack of proofreading, all of which can be remedied by more revisions. One key tactic for ensuring you have clear language in your proposal is signposting — you can pick up key phrases from the CFP, as well as use language that indicates different sections in academic work (as in IMRAD sections from the organization and structure page in this resource). This way, reviewers can easily follow your proposal and identify its relatedness to work in the field and the CFP.
Conference proposals are a common genre in graduate school that invite several considerations for writing depending on the conference and requirements of the call for papers.
Make sure you read the call for papers carefully to consider the deadline and orient your topic of presentation around the buzzwords and themes listed in the document. You should take special note of the deadline and submit prior to that date, as most conferences use online submission systems that will close on a deadline and will not accept further submissions.
If you have previously spoken on or submitted a proposal on the same topic, you should carefully adjust it specifically for this conference or even completely rewrite the proposal based on your changing and evolving research.
The topic you are proposing should be one that you can cover easily within a time frame of approximately fifteen to twenty minutes. You should stick to the required word limit of the conference call. The organizers have to read a large number of proposals, especially in the case of an international or interdisciplinary conference, and will appreciate your brevity.
Conference proposals differ widely across fields and even among individual conferences in a field. Some just request an abstract, which is written similarly to any other abstract you'd write for a journal article or other publication. Some may request abstracts or full papers that fit into pre-existing sessions created by conference organizers. Some request both an abstract and a further description or proposal, usually in cases where the abstract will be published in the conference program and the proposal helps organizers decide which papers they will accept.
If the conference you are submitting to requires a proposal or description, there are some common elements you'll usually need to include. These are a statement of the problem or topic, a discussion of your approach to the problem/topic, a discussion of findings or expected findings, and a discussion of key takeaways or relevance to audience members. These elements are typically given in this order and loosely follow the IMRAD structure discussed in the organization and structure page in this resource.
The proportional size of each of these elements in relation to one another tends to vary by the stage of your research and the relationship of your topic to the field of the conference. If your research is very early on, you may spend almost no time on findings, because you don't have them yet. Similarly, if your topic is a regular feature at conferences in your field, you may not need to spend as much time introducing it or explaining its relevance to the field; however, if you are working on a newer topic or bringing in a topic or problem from another discipline, you may need to spend slightly more space explaining it to reviewers. These decisions should usually be based on an analysis of your audience — what information can reviewers be reasonably expected to know, and what will you have to tell them?
Most of the time, when you submit an article to a journal for publication, you'll submit a finished manuscript which contains an abstract, the text of the article, the bibliography, any appendices, and author bios. These can be on any topic that relates to the journal's scope of interest, and they are accepted year-round.
Special issues , however, are planned issues of a journal that center around a specific theme, usually a "hot topic" in the field. The editor or guest editors for the special issue will often solicit proposals with a call for papers (CFP) first, accept a certain number of proposals for further development into article manuscripts, and then accept the final articles for the special issue from that smaller pool. Special issues are typically the only time when you will need to submit a proposal to write a journal article, rather than submitting a completed manuscript.
Journal proposals share many qualities with conference proposals: you need to write for your audience, convey the significance of your work, and condense the various sections of a full study into a small word or page limit. In general, the necessary components of a proposal include:
This order is a common one because it loosely follows the IMRAD (introduction, methods, results and discussion) structure often used in academic writing; however, it is not the only possible structure or even always the best structure. You may need to move these elements around depending on the expectations in your field, the word or page limit, or the instructions given in the CFP.
Some of the unique considerations of journal proposals are:
While the requirements are very similar to those of conference proposals, proposals for a book ought to address a few other issues.
Since these proposals are of greater length, the publisher will require you to delve into greater detail as well—for instance, regarding the organization of the proposed book or article.
Publishers generally require a clear outline of the chapters you are proposing and an explication of their content, which can be several pages long in its entirety.
You will need to incorporate knowledge of relevant literature, use headings and sub-headings that you should not use in conference proposals. Be sure to know who wrote what about your topic and area of interest, even if you are proposing a less scholarly project.
Publishers prefer depth rather than width when it comes to your topic, so you should be as focused as possible and further outline your intended audience.
You should always include information regarding your proposed deadlines for the project and how you will execute this plan, especially in the sciences. Potential investors or publishers need to know that you have a clear and efficient plan to accomplish your proposed goals. Depending on the subject area, this information can also include a proposed budget, materials or machines required to execute this project, and information about its industrial application.
As John Boswell (cited in: Larsen, Michael. How to Write a Book Proposal. Writers Digest Books , 2004. p. 1) explains, “today fully 90 percent of all nonfiction books sold to trade publishers are acquired on the basis of a proposal alone.” Therefore, editors and agents generally do not accept completed manuscripts for publication, as these “cannot (be) put into the usual channels for making a sale”, since they “lack answers to questions of marketing, competition, and production.” (Lyon, Elizabeth. Nonfiction Book Proposals Anybody Can Write . Perigee Trade, 2002. pp. 6-7.)
In contrast to conference or, to a lesser degree, chapter proposals, a book proposal introduces your qualifications for writing it and compares your work to what others have done or failed to address in the past.
As a result, you should test the idea with your networks and, if possible, acquire other people’s proposals that discuss similar issues or have a similar format before submitting your proposal. Prior to your submission, it is recommended that you write at least part of the manuscript in addition to checking the competition and reading all about the topic.
The following is a list of questions to ask yourself before committing to a book project, but should in no way deter you from taking on a challenging project (adapted from Lyon 27). Depending on your field of study, some of these might be more relevant to you than others, but nonetheless useful to reiterate and pose to yourself.
Your book proposal should include the following elements:
The following proposal structure, as outlined by Peter E. Dunn for thesis and fellowship proposals, provides a useful guide to composing such a long proposal (Dunn, Peter E. “Proposal Writing.” Center for Instructional Excellence, Purdue University, 2007):
Most proposals for manuscripts range from thirty to fifty pages and, apart from the subject hook, book information (length, title, selling handle), markets for your book, and the section about the author, all the other sections are optional. Always anticipate and answer as many questions by editors as possible, however.
Finally, include the best chapter possible to represent your book's focus and style. Until an agent or editor advises you to do otherwise, follow your book proposal exactly without including something that you might not want to be part of the book or improvise on possible expected recommendations.
Publishers expect to acquire the book's primary rights, so that they can sell it in an adapted or condensed form as well. Mentioning any subsidiary rights, such as translation opportunities, performance and merchandising rights, or first-serial rights, will add to the editor's interest in buying your book. It is enticing to publishers to mention your manuscript's potential to turn into a series of books, although they might still hesitate to buy it right away—at least until the first one has been a successful endeavor.
Since editors generally expect to see about one-tenth of a book, your sample chapter's length should reflect that in these building blocks of your book. The chapter should reflect your excitement and the freshness of the idea as well as surprise editors, but do not submit part of one or more chapters. Always send a chapter unless your credentials are impeccable due to prior publications on the subject. Do not repeat information in the sample chapter that will be covered by preceding or following ones, as the outline should be designed in such a way as to enable editors to understand the context already.
Depending on the subject of your book, it is advisable to include illustrations that exemplify your vision of the book and can be included in the sample chapter. While these can make the book more expensive, it also increases the salability of the project. Further, you might consider including outstanding samples of your published work, such as clips from periodicals, if they are well-respected in the field. Thirdly, cover art can give your potential publisher a feel for your book and its marketability, especially if your topic is creative or related to the arts.
In addition, professionally formatting your materials will give you an edge over sloppy proposals. Proofread the materials carefully, use consistent and carefully organized fonts, spacing, etc., and submit your proposal without staples; rather, submit it in a neat portfolio that allows easy access and reassembling. However, check the submission guidelines first, as most proposals are submitted digitally. Finally, you should try to surprise editors and attract their attention. Your hook, however, should be imaginative but inexpensive (you do not want to bribe them, after all). Make sure your hook draws the editors to your book proposal immediately (Adapted from Larsen 154-60).
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A key part of your application is your research proposal. Whether you are applying for a self-funded or studentship you should follow the guidance below.
If you are looking specifically for advice on writing your PhD by published work research proposal, read our guide .
You are encouraged to contact us to discuss the availability of supervision in your area of research before you make a formal application, by visiting our areas of research .
It should be 2,000–3,500 words (4-7 pages) long.
Your proposal should include the following:
You should include:
You should formulate these clearly, giving an explanation as to what problems and issues are to be explored and why they are worth exploring
You should provide an outline of:
You should include an outline of the various stages and corresponding time lines for developing and implementing the research, including writing up your thesis.
For full-time study your research should be completed within three years, with writing up completed in the fourth year of registration.
For part-time study your research should be completed within six years, with writing up completed by the eighth year.
Fees and funding.
How much will it cost to study a research degree?
Find out if you can apply for a Research Degree at the University of Westminster.
Find out about Research Degree distance learning options at the University of Westminster.
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Writing a research propsal - a guide for staff and students developed by Prof Jana Olivier For the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences University of South Africa, 2019
Writing a research paper - powerpoint presentation prepared by Dr Ramodungoane Tabane for the College of EDucation (2017)
Recommended layout for Masters and Doctoral degree outlines for prospective applicants in the Department of Economics .
For all Masters and Doctoral students in the C ollege of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences and compiled by Prof Elizabeth Kempen (2020)
How to write a master’s thesis proposal is one of the most-asked questions by graduate students. A master's thesis proposal involves a copious amount of data collection, particular presentation ethics, and most importantly, it will become the roadmap to your full thesis. Remember, you must convince your committee that your idea is strong and unique, and that you have done enough legwork to begin with the first few drafts of your final thesis. Your proposal should serve as a foundational blueprint on which you will later build your entire project. To have the perfect thesis proposal, you need to have original ideas, solid information, and proper presentation. While it is a good idea to take assistance from thesis writing services , you still need to personally understand the elements that contribute to a master’s thesis proposal worthy of approval. In this blog, we will discuss the process of writing your master’s thesis proposal and give you tips for making your proposal strong. Stay tuned!
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How to decide the goals for your master's thesis.
If you are pursuing a master’s or a PhD , you will be undertaking a major research paper or a thesis. Thus, writing a thesis proposal becomes inevitable. Your major objective for pursuing a master’s degree is to improve your knowledge in your field of study. When you start your degree, you delve deeper into different concepts in your discipline and try to search for answers to all kinds of questions. If you come across a question that no one can answer, you can select that question as your research thesis topic.
A master's thesis proposal will have multiple sections depending on your decided layout. These sections will continuously support your argument and try to convince the reader of your core argument. The structure will also help you arrange the various parts of the paper to have a greater impact on the readers. A paper should always begin with you giving a brief summary of the topic and how you have come across it. The introduction is particularly important because it will give the readers a brief idea about the topic of discussion and win their interest in the matter.
After the summary has been given, slowly you need to progress into the body of the thesis proposal which would explain your argument, research methodology, literary texts that have a relation to the topic, and the conclusion of your study. It would be similar to an essay or a literary review consisting of 3 or 4 parts. The bibliography will be placed at the end of the paper so that people can cross-check your sources.
Let's take a look at the sections most master's thesis proposals should cover. Please note that each university has its own guidelines for how to structure and what to include in a master’s thesis proposal. The outline we provide below is general, so please make sure to follow the exact guidelines provided by your school:
Restate your primary argument and give us a glimpse of what you will include in the main master\u2019s thesis. Leave the reader wanting more. Your research proposal should talk about what research chapters you are trying to undertake in your final thesis. You can also mention the proposed time in which you will complete these chapters. ","label":"Conclusion and proposed chapters","title":"Conclusion and proposed chapters"}]" code="tab1" template="BlogArticle">
A thesis proposal needs to be convincing enough to get approval. If the information is not enough to satisfy the evaluation committee, it would require revision. Hence, you need to select and follow the right methodology to make your argument convincing. When a research proposal is presented, the reader will determine the validity of your argument by judging the strength of your evidence and conclusions. Therefore, even writige:ng a proposal will require extensive research on your part. You should start writing your thesis proposal by working through the following steps.
Interested in a summary of the points covered below? Check out this infographic:
You need to delve deeper into your chosen topic to see if your idea is original. In the process of this exploration, you will find tons of materials that will be supportive of your argument. When choosing your research topic and the problem you want to explore, you should always consider your primary research interest (yes, the one which you had mentioned in your research interest statement during grad school applications) for a better master’s thesis. You have a high probability of performing better in an area that you have always liked as compared to any other research area or topic.
You have to include all the sources from where you have formed your argument and mention them in the thesis proposal. If you neglect to mention important source texts, the reader may consider it to be plagiarism. Furthermore, you want to keep track of all your research because it will be easier to provide references if you know the exact source of each piece of information.
You should also mention any texts that would counter your argument and try to disprove their claims in the thesis. Make sure to use evidence if you try to disprove the counterarguments you face.
At the end of the thesis proposal, you need to convince the reader why your proposal is important to your chosen field of study, which would ultimately help you in getting your topic approved. Thus, it is essential to outline the importance of your research thoroughly.
After doing proper research, you should go ahead and draft your proposal. Remember you will not get it right in just one draft, it will take at least 50 attempts to come up with a satisfactory proposal. You should proofread your draft several times and even have a fellow student review it for you before sending it further to your research supervisor.
After you have written sufficient drafts, you need to get your proposal evaluated by your research supervisor. This is necessary to meet the graduate research requirements. It will ensure the clarity and correctness of your proposal. For your supervisor to evaluate your proposal, you should complete the research methodology part along with sufficient proposed work.
Since your supervisor will play a crucial role in your master's research thesis, you must choose a supervisor who can be your ultimate guide in writing your master's thesis. They will be your partner and support system during your study and will help you in eliminating obstacles to achieving your goal.
Choosing the ideal supervisor is a pretty daunting task. Here’s how you can go about the process:
You should approach your professor with an open mind and discuss the potential goals of your research. You should hear what they think and then if you both mutually agree, you can choose them as your supervisor for your master\u2019s thesis. "}]">
The length of a master’s thesis proposal differs from university to university and depends on the discipline of research as well. Usually, you have to include all the above-mentioned sections, and the length is around 8 pages and can go up to 12-15 pages for subjects such as the liberal arts. Universities might also define the number of words in the guidelines for your master’s thesis proposal and you have to adhere to that word limit.
Now that you know how to write a thesis proposal, you must make it presentable. Although your school might give your specific instructions, you can keep in mind some of the general advice:
When you are writing your master’s thesis proposal, you should keep these tips in mind to write an excellent master’s thesis proposal with all the correct elements to get approval from the evaluating committee:
You should be clear on what you wish to learn from your research. Your learning objectives should stem from your research interests. If you are unsure, refer to your grad school career goals statement to review what you wanted out of grad school in the first place. Then, choose your objectives around it.
The title of your research proposal should be concise and written in a language that can be understood easily by others. The title should be able to give the reader an idea of your intended research and should be interesting.
You should always start with a rough outline of your arguments because you will not miss any point in this way. Brainstorm what you want to include in the proposal and then expand those points to complete your proposal. You can decide the major headings with the help of the guidelines provided to you.
You should consider whether your research is feasible with the available resources. Additionally, your proposal should clearly convey the significance of your research in your field.
Since the evaluation committee can have researchers from different subject areas, it is best to write your proposal in a simple language that is understandable by all.
Your university will be providing the guidelines for writing your research proposal. You should adhere to those guidelines strictly since your proposal will be primarily evaluated on the basis of those.
It is a no-brainer that the opening statement of your proposal should be powerful enough to grasp the attention of the readers and get them interested in your research topic. You should be able to convey your interest and enthusiasm in the introductory section.
Apart from working with your research supervisor, it is essential that you ask some classmates and friends to review your proposal. The comments and suggestions that they give will be valuable in helping you to make the language of your proposal clearer.
You have worked hard to get into grad school and even harder on searching your research topic. Thus, you must be careful while building your thesis proposal so that you have maximum chances of acceptance.
Writing the perfect research proposal might be challenging, but keeping to the basics might make your task easier. In a nutshell, you need to be thorough in your study question. You should conduct sufficient research to gather all relevant materials required to support your argument. After collecting all data, make sure to present it systematically to give a clearer understanding and convince the evaluators to approve your proposal. Lastly, remember to submit your proposal well within the deadline set by your university. Your performance at grad school is essential, especially if you need a graduate degree to gain admission to med school and your thesis contributes to that performance. Thus, start with a suitable research problem, draft a strong proposal, and then begin with your thesis after your proposal is approved.
In your master’s thesis proposal, you should include your research topic and the problem statement being addressed in your research, along with a proposed solution. The proposal should explain the importance and limitations of your research.
The length of a master’s thesis proposal is outlined by the university in the instructions for preparing your master’s thesis proposal.
The time taken to write a master’s thesis proposal depends upon the study which you are undertaking and your discipline of research. It will take a minimum time of three months. The ideal time can be around six months.
You should begin your master’s thesis proposal by writing an introduction to your research topic. You should state your topic clearly and provide some background. Keep notes and rough drafts of your proposal so you can always refer to them when you write the first real draft.
The basic sections that your master’s thesis proposal should cover are the problem statement, research methodology, proposed activities, importance, and the limitations of your research.
A master’s thesis proposal which clearly defines the problem in a straightforward and explains the research methodology in simple words is considered a good thesis proposal.
You can use any classic font for your master’s thesis proposal such as Times New Roman. If you are recommended a specific font in the proposal guidelines by your institution, it would be advisable to stick to that.
The ideal font size for your master’s thesis proposal will be 10 or 12 points.
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How to make your grad school application stand out, (and avoid the top 5 mistakes that get most rejected).
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Research proposals. Your research proposal is a key part of your application. It tells us about the question you want to answer through your research. It is a chance for you to show your knowledge of the subject area and tell us about the methods you want to use. We use your research proposal to match you with a supervisor or team of supervisors.
Before conducting a study, a research proposal should be created that outlines researchers' plans and methodology and is submitted to the concerned evaluating organization or person. Creating a research proposal is an important step to ensure that researchers are on track and are moving forward as intended. A research proposal can be defined as a detailed plan or blueprint for the proposed ...
It should give readers a quick insight into what your research is about. Tips for crafting a good title: Keep it under 20 words. Use key terms related to your research. Make it specific to your study. Avoid jargon or overly technical language. Examples: Weak title: "A Study of Climate Change".
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.
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".
Detailed Walkthrough + Free Proposal Template. If you're getting started crafting your research proposal and are looking for a few examples of research proposals, you've come to the right place. In this video, we walk you through two successful (approved) research proposals, one for a Master's-level project, and one for a PhD-level ...
The recommended structure of your proposal is: Motivation: introduce your research question and give an overview of the topic, explain the importance of your research. Theory: draw on existing pieces of research that are relevant to your topic of choice, leading up to your question and identifying how your dissertation will explore new territory.
Style: If space allows, provide a clear project title. Structure your text - if allowed use section headings. Present the information in short paragraphs rather than a solid block of text. Write short sentences. If allowed, provide images/charts/diagrams to help break up the text.
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.
Decide the type of research you are doing. Quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods. Plan out your proposal. Create writing plan. Meet with your advisor. Every department has different guidelines for proposals. Form a writing group with other grad students in your department. Visit the Writing Center.
Masters Research Proposal Guidelines - General Information. This document provides guidelines for writing the research proposal at the master's level (Minor / full dissertation). Please take note of the following before you work carefully through it: Length of the detailed proposal for masters candidates: approximately 3 000 words.
For some research courses in sciences you'll join an existing research group so you don't need to write a full research proposal, just a list of the groups and/or supervisors you want to work with. You might be asked to write a personal statement instead, giving your research interests and experience. Still, for many of our research courses ...
State the research problem, which is often referred to as the purpose of the study. Provide the context and set the stage for your research question in such a way as to show its necessity and importance. Highlight what's missing from current knowledge and what your research aims to contribute. Present the rationale of your proposed study and ...
A dissertation proposal should include: An introduction to your dissertation topic. Aims and objectives of your dissertation. A literature review of the current research undertaken in your field. Proposed methodology to be used. Implications of your research. Limitations of your research.
Write your research proposal in your own words. Acknowledge any sources you used for information or ideas presented in your research proposal. Make sure the research proposal you are about to submit looks fantastic - first impressions count! Copy and paste text directly from sources such as journal articles without acknowledging them in the text.
Writing a strong research proposal is the first step toward a successful project. By defining a clear research question, conducting a thorough literature review, and detailing your methodology, you'll set yourself up for success from the start. At WritersER, we're here to support you through every step of the research process, from ...
4. RESEARCH QUESTIONS. You should put forward some questions or problems that you would like to answer in your research project. You should be able to summarise the questions in one or two sentences. 5. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES. Provide a clear description of the aims and objectives of your research project.
I refer to the first two or three chapters as climbing up the gentle slope of a plateau. So these chapters increase in word limits in the upward order of 7,00, 8,000, 9,000. The next three chapters sit on top of the plateau, so they each have an equal amount of words, say, 10,000, 10,000, and 10,000.
A quality example of a research proposal shows one's above-average analytical skills, including the ability to coherently synthesize ideas and integrate lateral and vertical thinking. Communication skills. The proposal also demonstrates your proficiency to communicate your thoughts in concise and precise language.
An important part of the work completed in academia is sharing our scholarship with others. Such communication takes place when we present at scholarly conferences, publish in peer-reviewed journals, and publish in books. This OWL resource addresses the steps in writing for a variety of academic proposals. For samples of academic proposals ...
Your proposal should include the following: 1. TITLE. your title should give a clear indication of your proposed research approach or key question. 2. BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE. You should include: the background and issues of your proposed research. identify your discipline.
Research proposal - examples; Creating a Gantt chart; Free Apps for Research; Academic writing; Research proposal - a guide. Writing a research propsal - a guide for staff and students developed by Prof Jana Olivier For the College of Agriculture and Environmental ... CAES Procedures for Masters and Doctoral Degrees << Previous: Request a ...
A master's thesis proposal involves a copious amount of data collection, particular presentation ethics, and most importantly, it will become the roadmap to your full thesis. Remember, you must convince your committee that your idea is strong and unique, and that you have done enough legwork to begin with the first few drafts of your final thesis.
Ecological Engineering (EEE) graduate degree program. This program will provide a leadership role in Indiana's economic and social development by preparing EEE graduates to join a high. uality educated workforce in an area of national need. The creation of graduate degrees in Environmental and Ecological Engineering will contribute to meeting ...
Inquiries, Investigation, and Immersion (Quarter 3) PARTS OF A RESEARCH CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION-From macro to micro -Include the legal justification or legal bases of the proposal.-cite personal justifications why you intend to conduct a research on the chosen topic and how it is related to you.-cite some literature or concepts about the topic or from other authors.