What is the most important part of the research proposal?

What is Research Proposal? It is very important to understand. Mostly, students who are new in the field of research or beginners, don’t understand fully what it actually means. A research proposal needs to be good as ones research. A research proposal is a proposal through which you need to convince others that you have great research idea and have the required abilities to complete it on time. The evaluators evaluate your proposed study through the proposal. So, it should have necessary information and key elements on the basis of which it could be evaluated.. Sometimes a good research project is been rejected due to poorly written research proposal, so quality of your research writing matters a lot along with the quality of your proposed research.

Points you need to focus on while writing a research proposal:

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1) Title: Title should be short and descriptive. An informative and catchy title will not only creates interest but also persuade the readers favorably towards the proposal.

2) Abstract: It is defined as a small summary of around about 300 words, which should include the research problem, basis for the study, assumption if have any, methods and findings.

3) Introduction: In an introduction part you need to introduce your research problem, provide the necessary background for it. Framing a problem is in itself a toughest task. As such there is no particular format for framing your research question, all depends upon your creativity, ability to think independently and the understanding you have towards your research area .You need to bring out the importance of your research area in front of your readers. Introduction generally covers following points:i) Research problemii) Provide the context/background for your research problem.iii) Rationale for the research studyiv) Discussing major and minor issues mentioned in your research.v) Identification of dependent and independent variables.

vi) Assumption ,if any

The structure of a research proposal includes various elements. The elements outlined below are applicable to proposals for studies situated in the humanities and those situated in STEM fields but there may be different expectations about the ordering or naming of particular sections. It is best to check any specific discipline or unit/ faculty requirements and preferences.

The title of your proposal should clearly summarise what the research is about – it must be descriptive. Use key terms and be direct. Avoid lengthy titles with too much information.

The examples below are from research proposals. They incorporate key terms, and are direct and descriptive.

Melody recognition at varying frequency ranges in cochlear implant users.

Empowering indigenous women in education in rural Australia.

Structural Analysis of Aromatic Polyketide Synthase for the Design of Novel Aromatic Polyketide Natural Products of Pharmaceutical Importance.

Strain Sensitive Array for the Study of Bone Surface Mechanics.

Evaluation of historical media reporting of gender violence.

Developing Linguistics Data Commons in Australia.

Effects of music therapy on infants undergoing medical procedures.

Integrated social sciences curriculum developments in Australian regional Middle Schools.

Collaborative performance making in communities recovering from catastrophic events.

‘New world’ symbolism in John Donne’s poetry.

Introduce the topic that is the focus of this proposal. Continue the introduction by providing a summary overview of what the reader will find in the full research proposal. Include a brief reference to the aims of the research, what will frame the research (this could be the literature that you will review and/or the theory that you will use to guide your study and the methodology and/or methods you will use to gather data. While you might write a draft of this section at the outset, it is often written last to capture the essence of the research project.

Read the example from an IT research proposal. Click to find out more about the contents of a research proposal introduction.

You’ll need to provide the meaning of key terms that you refer to in your proposal, if this is relevant. Do not assume your readers are familiar with your topic; so write the proposal as if an unfamiliar but knowledgeable person is reading it. These terms may be integrated in your introduction or clarified in the literature review section. Some research proposals include a glossary of key terms and abbreviations in the Appendix section.

Definitions should be clear and concise, and may include subject-specific vocabulary. Definitions may be descriptive and contain a brief illustrative example.

Example definitions.

The isq– ligand is a mono-anionic radical ligand capable of chelating metal ions such as nickel(II), palladium(II), and platinum(II). (Chemistry research proposal)
Pitch perception relies both on the “place code” and the “temporal code” (Zeng 2002). Basically, pitch is determined both by the place along the cochlea where stimulation occurs (the place code) and by the frequency of stimulations (the temporal code) (Zeng 2002). (Medical research proposal)

The literature review provides the scholarly context that positions your research. In academic research, it is always important to acknowledge previous work that has been done that is relevant to work that will be undertaken. It shows what has already been done in the field, the gaps in research, and the relationship between previous research and your proposed research. The synthesis of previous research literature informs the aims, questions and/or hypothesis of your research proposal.

Read the example from a medical research proposal. Click to find out more about the contents of a research proposal literature review.

Disciplinary traditions will determine whether a research proposal will identify research questions or a hypothesis. Both provide the focus of the intended research project. The research proposal in its entirety is a justification of an effective approach to answer the research questions or to test the hypothesis.

In this section of the proposal, explicitly state the question(s) that the research will address. They need to be in the form of questions and they need to be specific and answerable through the method that you have proposed in your proposal. They should relate directly to the overall topic you have discussed and incorporate any concepts of variables that you have discussed earlier in the proposal.

How have school intervention programs affected the literacy levels of Grade 6 students in Victorian public schools?

In what ways have parental education levels affected the literacy levels of Grade 6 students in Victorian public schools?

The hypothesis that you wish to test should be a statement beginning with “That …”.

Biological research project hypothesis statement

My hypothesis predicts that placenta from Fad104 homozygous mutant embryos will lack, or have reduced, expression of PPAR-γ. To do so, I will test my hypothesis that PPAR-γ expression in vivo is dependent upon Fad104. To do so I will perform western analysis and immunohistochemistry on placentae from wild type and Fad104 homozygous mutant embryos.

In this section, you provide an overview of how you will gather the evidence on which the research you propose will be based. This section may be called the research methodology and it would include the research ‘theory’ you will use to guide the data collection (for example, “I am using grounded theory to frame the primary data gathering in this research”) and then the specific methods you will use to gather the data (for example, “I am using interviews”). The methods should include how you will collect data (and secure it) and how you will interpret and analyse it.

In a research proposal, this section is written in the future tense as you’re describing what you plan to do. Modal verbs like will, may and could are useful to writing up this section.

Example 1

The paragraph below is from an IT research project about artificial intelligence. The researcher describes their methods in four numbered and subtitled paragraph sections. This is the first paragraph of the sequence.

The use of future tense throughout the paragraph – “will” is italicised.
The researcher describes how they will undertake this part of the research and the theoretical frameworks they’ll draw on. There is appropriate and accurate application of subject-specific vocabulary evident – this is bolded.

The project will be divided into the following four main components:

1) Generalization of relationships in a multi-agent system:

The focus of this part of the research is to develop algorithms for the autonomous agents to form social relationships with each other in a multi-agent community. It will explore how people generalize from previous relationships and other information when originating a new relationship. This project will involve the implementation of a novel construct that we call a Generalizing Emotional Memory (GEM). It is derived from the Context-Specific Emotional Memory (CSEM) [15]. Specific attention will be paid to the phenomenon of negative stereotyping, a pathological phenomenon that appears to be caused by humans’ broader abilities to generalize and to learn from the experiences of others. This project will consult previous research in multi-agent systems [2, 10, 15], artificial intelligence [16], psychology [4], and animal behaviour [8], among others.

Example 2

The paragraph below is from a research proposal about policing social welfare initiatives. Note the naming of the methodological framework (ethnography), identification of participants and the step-by-step outline of what will be done. The researcher has included in-text citations to justify their research and align it with previous research. This is written in future tense.

Key terms are bolded and future tense is italicised.

This project will advance an ethnographic methodology, combining a number of in-depth qualitative approaches (Hammersley, 1995; Hammersley and Atkinson, 1995). In the first phase: (1) policy documents, (2) relevant legislation and (3) the political impetus behind the emergence of new forms of policing will be analysed. Next, a number of focus groups in Milton Keynes, and other Thames Valley Police areas will be held in order to ascertain the level of cultural acceptance and beliefs about the service-led, consumerist approach (Westmarland, 2001). An extensive series of ‘open’ interviews will then proceed with senior police officers and other key players, such as members of the Local Police Authority (Sapsford, 1996). The final phase of the research will consist of substantial periods of observational research of police work, through investigation of Thames Valley Police Restorative Justice programme.

In this section, you give an overview of any ethical issues inherent in the research project. Outline how informed consent will be obtained from participants, any animal participant ethics, and how you’ll mitigate any potential ethical issues. Importantly, how you’ll describe how you’ll ensure privacy and secure the data. Additionally, you might state the benefits to the participants.

In many cases, the university will have ethics compliance forms for you to complete, including explanation and consent forms for participants and, in this section, you will acknowledge your completion of these.

In this section, outline any foreseeable problems or limitations, and how you might address these or how they might impact on the research.

Why is your study worth doing? In this section, justify your research. You can justify the study on the basis of knowledge gaps, doing the research in a different context than those explored previously, the methodological approach, or the theoretical contributions. This is your chance to pitch your research idea and state its potential contribution.

In this section, you list what resources you require to do the project. Do you need lab access? Do you require access to archives? Do you need to establish a budget? How will you procure the required resources?

Provide a working plan for the stages of carrying out and completing your research project. This may be a general overview or it may be date-specific. There are many different electronic work-flow programs to help you plan a timetable. The best planning trick is to start at your end date and work backwards by listing what you have to do.

You can present your proposed timeline in visual format.

You could include references. Most research proposals and grant or scholarship applications require these. Depending on the purpose of your research proposal, you may also need to identify referees who can vouch for you and your skills to undertake the research.

Appendices can be useful if they provide support material to endorse your proposal. These can be terminologies, sample research instruments, etc.

There are three broad sections in a research proposal: introduction, literature review and methodology.

The introduction is written in the present tense.
The literature review is written in the past tense.
The methodology is written in the future tense.

Cohesive ties

Cohesive ties are linguistic devices that link words, phrases and clauses into fluent sentences and paragraphs. These are important in a research proposal as they help you signpost and order your material. They are especially useful in the methodology section to ensure that your process is clearly and logically set out.

Purpose	Examples	Purpose	Examples
Indicate time	In the interim, thereafter	Indicate result	Consequently, thereby
Indicate place	First/second/third, adjacent to	Indicate purpose	In response to, with this object
Indicate frequency	A percentage, throughout	Indicate coincidence	Incidentally, equally important
Indicate subtraction	However, although	Indicate sequence	Simultaneously, previously
Provide example	A case in point, by way of demonstration	Indicate comparison	Alike, whereas
Indicate contrast	On the contrary, a variation is	Indicate additional idea	Furthermore, also
Indicate opposite idea	An alternative is, despite	Indicate emphasis	According to, primarily
Indicate conclusion or summary	On the whole, ultimately

Examples
In accordance with	A capacity for	In common with
In conformity with	In consideration of	In contrast with
In default of	To a great extent	In keeping with
The opposite of	For the purpose of	With reference/regard to
In that regard	Without regard for	Resistance to
In respect of	In view of	With a view to

The cohesive ties are bolded in this introductory paragraph.

Artificial Intelligence is an evolving aspect of computer science. Foremost, the thing that makes humans intelligent is our ability to learn from experience. Not only can we learn from our own experience, but also from experiences told to us by other people. In order to decide how much to trust this information, people need to form long-term relationships with each other. Subsequently, this is a first step toward forming communities.