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The goal of a research proposal is twofold: to present and justify the need to study a research problem and to present the practical ways in which the proposed study should be conducted.

A proposal should contain all the key elements involved in designing a completed research study, with sufficient information that allows readers to assess the validity and usefulness of your proposed study. The only elements missing from a research proposal are the findings of the study and your analysis of those findings.

The proposal is a detailed plan or ‘blueprint’ for the intended study, and once it is completed, the research project should flow smoothly.

The proposal must be capable of convincing the evaluation committee about the credibility, achievability, practicality and reproducibility (repeatability) of the research design.

Tips for preparation of a good research proposal include; ‘be practical, be persuasive, make broader links, aim for crystal clarity and plan before you write’.

An academic proposal is the first step in producing a thesis or major project. Its intent is to convince a supervisor or academic committee that your topic and approach are sound, so that you gain approval to proceed with the actual research.

As well as indicating your plan of action, an academic proposal should show your theoretical positioning and your relationship to past work in the area.

It is sensible also to indicate the limitations of your aims—don’t promise what you can’t possibly deliver.

Give them what they want. Follow the application guidelines exactly.

Follow the application guidelines exactly. (We have repeated this tip because it is very, very important.)

The abstract should explain the key elements of your research project in the future tense. Most abstracts state: (1) the general purpose, (2) specific goals, (3) research design, (4) methods, and (5) significance (contribution and rationale).

What is the central research problem?

What is the topic of study related to that research problem?

What methods should be used to analyze the research problem?

Answer the "So What?" question by explaining why this is important research, what is its significance, and why should someone reading the proposal care about the outcomes of the proposed study?

Cite, so as to keep the primary focus on the literature pertinent to your research problem.

Compare the various arguments, theories, methodologies, and findings expressed in the literature: what do the authors agree on? Who applies similar approaches to analyzing the research problem?

Contrast the various arguments, themes, methodologies, approaches, and controversies expressed in the literature: describe what are the major areas of disagreement, controversy, or debate among scholars?

Critique the literature: Which arguments are more persuasive, and why? Which approaches, findings, and methodologies seem most reliable, valid, or appropriate, and why? Pay attention to the verbs you use to describe what an author says/does [e.g., asserts, demonstrates, argues, etc.].

Connect the literature to your own area of research and investigation: how does your own work draw upon, depart from, synthesize, or add a new perspective to what has been said in the literature?

This section must be well-written and logically organized because you are not actually doing the research, yet, your reader must have confidence that you have designed a plan worth pursuing.

Keep in mind that the methodology is not just a list of tasks; it is a deliberate argument as to why techniques for gathering information add up to the best way to investigate the research problem.

Anticipate and acknowledge any potential barriers and pitfalls in carrying out your research design and explain how you plan to address them.

If the researcher is planning to acquire data through interviews or questionnaires, copy of the questions used for the same should be attached as an annexure with the proposal.

References -- a list of only the sources you actually used in creating your proposal.

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

A useful strategy to help formulate a successful research proposal is to not approach the assignment based on writing for your professor. Rather, imagine a real-world audience that will read your proposal and consider its validity and significance in terms of supporting a final research study and possibly implementing its recommended outcomes.

The "Specific Aims" attachment is required unless otherwise specified in the NOFO.

State concisely the goals of the proposed research and summarize the expected outcome(s), including the impact that the results of the proposed research will have on the research field(s) involved.

List succinctly the specific objectives of the research proposed (e.g., to test a stated hypothesis, create a novel design, solve a specific problem, challenge an existing paradigm or clinical practice, address a critical barrier to progress in the field, or develop new technology).

Organize the Research Strategy in the specified order and use the instructions provided below unless otherwise specified in the NOFO. Start each section with the appropriate heading - Significance, Innovation, Approach.

We encourage you to draft your Specific Aims early in your planning and writing process.

You can mention major experiments. However, we advise against merely describing your experiments as Specific Aims.

When possible, plan Aims where an outcome consistent with the null hypothesis will still contribute to your field and allow your project to continue.

The typical research project grant (R01) applicant proposes about three related Specific Aims that can be completed during a four- or five-year grant.

Describe the overall strategy, methodology, and analyses to be used to accomplish the specific aims of the project. Describe plans to address weaknesses in the rigor of the prior research that serves as the key support for the proposed project. Describe the experimental design and methods proposed and how they will achieve robust and unbiased results. Include how the data will be collected, analyzed, and interpreted, and reference any Resource Sharing Plans and the Data Management and Sharing (DMS) Plan, as appropriate.

Discuss potential problems, alternative strategies, and benchmarks for success anticipated to achieve the aims.

Applicants proposing to conduct research that will generate scientific data are subject to the NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy and must attach a Data Management and Sharing (DMS) Plan.

Do not include hyperlinks in this attachment. Recommended not to exceed two pages.

A Data Management and Sharing Plan should reflect the proposed approach at the time the application is prepared.

Each proposal must contain a summary of the proposed project not more than one page in length. The Project Summary consists of an overview, a statement on the intellectual merit of the proposed activity, and a statement on the broader impacts of the proposed activity.

The Project Summary should be informative to other persons working in the same or related fields, and, insofar as possible, understandable to a broad audience within the scientific domain. It should not be an abstract of the proposal.

The Project Description should outline the general plan of work, including the broad design of activities to be undertaken, and, where appropriate, provide a clear description of experimental methods and procedures. Proposers should address what they want to do, why they want to do it, how they plan to do it, how they will know if they succeed, and what benefits could accrue if the project is successful.

The Project Description also must contain, as a separate section within the narrative, a section labeled "Broader Impacts", and "Broader Impacts" must appear as a heading on its own line.

PIs are cautioned that the Project Description must be self-contained, and that URLs must not be used because: 1) the information could circumvent page limitations; 2) the reviewers are under no obligation to view the sites; and 3) the sites could be altered or deleted between the time of submission and the time of review.

The results must be separately described under two distinct headings: Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts;

a listing of the publications resulting from the NSF award (a complete bibliographic citation for each publication must be provided either in this section or in the References Cited section of the proposal); if none, state “No publications were produced under this award.”

In no more than one page, the mentoring plan must describe the mentoring that will be provided to all postdoctoral scholars or graduate students supported by the project, regardless of whether they reside at the submitting organization, any subrecipient organization, or at any organization participating in a simultaneously submitted collaborative proposal.

Proposals must include a document of no more than two pages uploaded under “Data Management and Sharing Plan” in the supplementary documentation section of Research.gov.

The Data Management and Sharing Plan will be reviewed as an integral part of the proposal, considered under Intellectual Merit or Broader Impacts or both, as appropriate for the scientific community of relevance.

A valid Data Management and Sharing Plan may include only the statement that no detailed plan is needed, for example, if no data, samples, physical collections, software, curriculum materials, or other materials are to be produced in the course of the project. However, such a statement must be accompanied by a clear justification.

Ethical considerations refer to the protection of the participants' rights (right to self-determination, right to privacy, right to autonomy and confidentiality, right to fair treatment and right to protection from discomfort and harm), obtaining informed consent and the institutional review process (ethical approval).

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

Failure to be concise. A research proposal must be focused and not be "all over the map" or diverge into unrelated tangents without a clear sense of purpose.

Failure to cite landmark works in your literature review.

Failure to delimit the contextual scope of your research [e.g., time, place, people, etc.].

Failure to develop a coherent and persuasive argument for the proposed research.

Sloppy or imprecise writing, or poor grammar.

Too much detail on minor issues, but not enough detail on major issues.

What are we going to learn as a result of the proposed project that we do not know now? (goals, aims, and outcomes)

Why is it worth knowing? (significance)

How will we know that the conclusions are valid? (criteria for success) (2)

• التكليف أو قالب اللجنة أو إشعار NIH أو طلب NSF مفتوح بجانب المسودة.
• العنوان يسمّي مشكلة يستطيع القارئ التعرّف عليها، لا شعارًا.
• كل سؤال بحث قابل للإجابة بالمنهج الذي وصفته.
• قسم الأدبيات يستخدم خمسة C لدى USC لا كومة ملخصات مقالات.
• المناهج بصيغة المستقبل ومحددة بما يكفي للتكرار.
• النتائج لا تظهر. أنواع الدليل المتوقعة تظهر.
• limitation وdelimitation مسمّيان معًا.
• مراجعة الأخلاقيات معالجة بمجلس حقيقي أو سبب صادق «غير مطلوب».
• طلبات NIH التي ستولّد بيانات علمية تتضمن DMS Plan من صفحتين على الأكثر، بلا روابط تشعبية.
• مسودات NSF تُبقي Broader Impacts في سطر مستقل، وتُخرج عناوين URL من Project Description، وتُرفق خطط الإرشاد وإدارة البيانات عندما تنطبق.
• الجدول الزمني، والميزانية إن طُلبت، يمكن أن ينفّذهما الأشخاص المسمّون.
• الاستشهادات تطابق الأسلوب المطلوب وتشمل landmark works التي قرأتها فعلًا.
• مشرف وقارئ مناهج وغير متخصص رأوا كل منهم مسودة.