For your convenience, below I summarize the major features expected in each section of your research proposal. Complete guidelines for the preparation of the research proposal are detailed in Chapter 6, "Writing Research Proposals," of Pechenik's A Short Guide to Writing about Biology, 3/E. In addition, you will find it valuable to also review Chapter 5, "Writing Essays and Term Papers." The brief summary here is not meant to substitute for a thorough reading of this valuable guide, but rather remind you of the most pertinent features expected in your research proposal.
As you prepare your proposal, also pay attention to the advice given to National Institute of Health grant applicants:
Include sufficient, but concise information to facilitate an effective evaluation without having to review any previous [document]. Be specific and informative and avoid redundancies. Reviewers often consider brevity and clarity in the presentation to be indicative of a focused approach to a research objective and the ability to achieve the specific aims of the project. (Public Health Service, 1991)
The title should be "appropriate and interesting," and "convey significant information about the specific topic" of your research proposal (Pechenik, 1993, p. 163.)
The Project Summary should briefly set the context of your research interest, aiming to indicate the significance of your research topic, and state the nature of the research problem you wish to examine. This section is generally less than a page. (See Pechenik, 1997, p. 167-169.)
In the Background, you should (1) review the appropriate literature to indicate the significance of your research question, (2) describe the preliminary studies that you've completed, and (3) end with "a brief statement of what is now known and what is not yet known..., and a clear, specific description of the research question(s) you propose to investigate" (Pechenik, 1993, p. 169).
In this section, you should describe how you will address each specific research question indicated at the end of the Background section. Describe your research design and procedures in sufficient detail so that someone else could complete the proposed research by simply referring to your proposal document and the cited references. Throughout this section, clearly indicate what specific question is addressed by each proposed experiment (Pechenik, 1993, p. 172), potential difficulties, what results you expect to find, and how they would be interpreted.
As noted in Pechenik (1993, p. 173), "present the complete citations for all the factual material you refer to in the text of your report." For instructions on properly citing sources in the text, refer to Pechenik (1993, pp. 95-97, 161-163). Prepare your list of references exactly as described in Pechenik (1993, pp. 120 - 123).
Public Health Service (1991) Application for Public Health Service Grant (Including Research Career Development Awards and Institutional National Research Service Awards). PHS 398.
Last Updated: Oct. 24, 1997
William R. Morgan wmorgan@acs.wooster.edu