graduate school research proposal sample

• Postgraduate

Research degrees

• Examples of Research proposals
• Find a course
• Accessibility

Examples of research proposals

How to write your research proposal, with examples of good proposals.

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.

In your proposal, please tell us if you have an interest in the work of a specific academic at York St John. You can get in touch with this academic to discuss your proposal. You can also speak to one of our Research Leads. There is a list of our Research Leads on the Apply page.

When you write your proposal you need to:

• Highlight how it is original or significant
• Explain how it will develop or challenge current knowledge of your subject
• Identify the importance of your research
• Show why you are the right person to do this research
• Research Proposal Example 1 (DOC, 49kB)
• Research Proposal Example 2 (DOC, 0.9MB)
• Research Proposal Example 3 (DOC, 55.5kB)
• Research Proposal Example 4 (DOC, 49.5kB)

Subject specific guidance

• Writing a Humanities PhD Proposal (PDF, 0.1MB)
• Writing a Creative Writing PhD Proposal (PDF, 0.1MB)
• About the University
• Our culture and values
• Academic schools
• Academic dates
• Press office

Our wider work

• Business support
• Work in the community
• Donate or support

Connect with us

York St John University

Lord Mayor’s Walk

[email protected]

01904 624 624

York St John London Campus

6th Floor Export Building

1 Clove Crescent

[email protected]

01904 876 944

• Policies and documents
• Module documents
• Programme specifications
• Quality gateway
• Admissions documents
• Access and Participation Plan
• Freedom of information
• Accessibility statement
• Modern slavery and human trafficking statement

© York St John University 2024

Colour Picker

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Dui id ornare arcu odio.

Felis bibendum ut tristique et egestas quis ipsum. Et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Faucibus pulvinar elementum integer enim neque volutpat ac. Hac habitasse platea dictumst vestibulum rhoncus.

Nec ullamcorper sit amet risus nullam eget felis eget. Eget felis eget nunc lobortis mattis aliquam faucibus purus.

Have a language expert improve your writing

Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, generate accurate citations for free.

• Knowledge Base
• Starting the research process
• How to Write a Research Proposal | Examples & Templates

How to Write a Research Proposal | Examples & Templates

Published on October 12, 2022 by Shona McCombes and Tegan George. Revised on November 21, 2023.

A research proposal describes what you will investigate, why it’s important, and how you will conduct your research.

The format of a research proposal varies between fields, but most proposals will contain at least these elements:

Introduction

Literature review.

• Research design

Reference list

While the sections may vary, the overall objective is always the same. A research proposal serves as a blueprint and guide for your research plan, helping you get organized and feel confident in the path forward you choose to take.

Table of contents

Research proposal purpose, research proposal examples, research design and methods, contribution to knowledge, research schedule, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about research proposals.

Academics often have to write research proposals to get funding for their projects. As a student, you might have to write a research proposal as part of a grad school application , or prior to starting your thesis or dissertation .

In addition to helping you figure out what your research can look like, a proposal can also serve to demonstrate why your project is worth pursuing to a funder, educational institution, or supervisor.

Research proposal length

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

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

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”
• Example research proposal #2: “Medical Students as Mediators of Change in Tobacco Use”

Like your dissertation or thesis, the proposal will usually have a title page that includes:

• The proposed title of your project
• Your supervisor’s name
• Your institution and department

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:

• Introduce your topic
• Give necessary background and context
• Outline your  problem statement  and research questions

To guide your introduction , include information about:

• Who could have an interest in the topic (e.g., scientists, policymakers)
• How much is already known about the topic
• What is missing from this current knowledge
• What new insights your research will contribute
• Why you believe this research is worth doing

Here's why students love Scribbr's proofreading services

Discover proofreading & editing

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:

• Comparing and contrasting the main theories, methods, and debates
• Examining the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches
• Explaining how will you build on, challenge, or synthesize prior scholarship

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.

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:

• Improving best practices
• Informing policymaking decisions
• Strengthening a theory or model
• Challenging popular or scientific beliefs
• Creating a basis for future research

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

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:

• Cost : exactly how much money do you need?
• Justification : why is this cost necessary to complete the research?
• Source : how did you calculate the amount?

To determine your budget, think about:

• Travel costs : do you need to go somewhere to collect your data? How will you get there, and how much time will you need? What will you do there (e.g., interviews, archival research)?
• Materials : do you need access to any tools or technologies?
• Help : do you need to hire any research assistants for the project? What will they do, and how much will you pay them?

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

• Sampling methods
• Simple random sampling
• Stratified sampling
• Cluster sampling
• Likert scales
• Reproducibility

 Statistics

• Null hypothesis
• Statistical power
• Probability distribution
• Effect size
• Poisson distribution

Research bias

• Optimism bias
• Cognitive bias
• Implicit bias
• Hawthorne effect
• Anchoring bias
• Explicit 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.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

McCombes, S. & George, T. (2023, November 21). How to Write a Research Proposal | Examples & Templates. Scribbr. Retrieved June 27, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/research-process/research-proposal/

Is this article helpful?

Shona McCombes

Other students also liked, how to write a problem statement | guide & examples, writing strong research questions | criteria & examples, how to write a literature review | guide, examples, & templates, what is your plagiarism score.

Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Academic Proposals

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

This resource introduces the genre of academic proposals and provides strategies for developing effective graduate-level proposals across multiple contexts.

Introduction

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 .

Important considerations for the writing process

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.

Reasons proposals fail/common pitfalls

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

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.

Beginning the process

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.

Structure and components

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?

Journal Proposals

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:

• Problem or topic statement that defines the subject of your work (often includes research questions)
• Background information (think literature review) that indicates the topic's importance in your field as well as indicates that your research adds something to the scholarship on this topic
• Methodology and methods used in the study (and an indication of why these methods are the correct ones for your research questions)
• Results or findings (which can be tentative or preliminary, if the study has not yet been completed)
• Significance and implications of the study (what will readers learn? why should they care?)

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:

• The CFP may ask you for an abstract, a proposal, or both. If you need to write an abstract, look for more information on the abstract page. If you need to write both an abstract and a proposal, make sure to clarify for yourself what the difference is. Usually the proposal needs to include more information about the significance, methods, and/or background of the study than will fit in the abstract, but often the CFP itself will give you some instructions as to what information the editors are wanting in each piece of writing.
• Journal special issue CFPs, like conference CFPs, often include a list of topics or questions that describe the scope of the special issue. These questions or topics are a good starting place for generating a proposal or tying in your research; ensuring that your work is a good fit for the special issue and articulating why that is in the proposal increases your chances of being accepted.
• Special issues are not less valuable or important than regularly scheduled issues; therefore, your proposal needs to show that your work fits and could readily be accepted in any other issue of the journal. This means following some of the same practices you would if you were preparing to submit a manuscript to a journal: reading the journal's author submission guidelines; reading the last several years of the journal to understand the usual topics, organization, and methods; citing pieces from this journal and other closely related journals in your research.

Book Proposals

While the requirements are very similar to those of conference proposals, proposals for a book ought to address a few other issues.

General considerations

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.

Pre-writing strategies

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.

• Do you have sufficient enthusiasm for a project that may span years?
• Will publication of your book satisfy your long-term career goals?
• Do you have enough material for such a long project and do you have the background knowledge and qualifications required for it?
• Is your book idea better than or different from other books on the subject? Does the idea spark enthusiasm not just in yourself but others in your field, friends, or prospective readers?
• Are you willing to acquire any lacking skills, such as, writing style, specific terminology and knowledge on that field for this project? Will it fit into your career and life at the time or will you not have the time to engage in such extensive research?

Essential elements of a book proposal

Your book proposal should include the following elements:

• Your proposal requires the consideration of the timing and potential for sale as well as its potential for subsidiary rights.
• It needs to include an outline of approximately one paragraph to one page of prose (Larsen 6) as well as one sample chapter to showcase the style and quality of your writing.
• You should also include the resources you need for the completion of the book and a biographical statement (“About the Author”).
• Your proposal must contain your credentials and expertise, preferably from previous publications on similar issues.
• A book proposal also provides you with the opportunity to include information such as a mission statement, a foreword by another authority, or special features—for instance, humor, anecdotes, illustrations, sidebars, etc.
• You must assess your ability to promote the book and know the market that you target in all its statistics.

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):

• Literature Review
• Identification of Problem
• Statement of Objectives
• Rationale and Significance
• Methods and Timeline
• Literature Cited

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.

The sample chapter

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.

How to make your proposal stand out

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).

10 Helpful Steps for Writing a Graduate Research Proposal

The road to obtain a graduate degree is unquestionably long. But we have ten incredibly helpful steps for writing your graduate research proposal. When you finally reach your destination, it will all be worthwhile.

As a graduate student, when you start your journey, you must write, present and defend a graduate research proposal in front of a committee of professors, also known as a graduate advisory committee.

A research proposal is usually short, with only fewer than ten pages, but it has to cover the proposed research in detail. After the committee approves it, you should follow the research plan explained in the research proposal to complete your research project.

Figure 1. The typical timeline in graduate school.

Why is it important to write a research proposal?

There are eight major reasons for graduate students to write a research proposal in graduate school:

• It's required by the graduate school before performing research.
• Students become more familiar with the research project
• They develop research skills and academic writing skills.
• Students develop literature review skills.
• Students learn how to identify the research problem, objective, research questions and hypothesis.
• They learn to explore different methods to collect and analyze data, and to select the most appropriate methods for solving research problems.
• They learn to design research experiments based on logical and chronological steps.
• The process nurtures critical thinking and logical reasoning skills.

What to include in a research proposal

The common elements to include in a good research proposal are:

• Title : The title of a research proposal should be clear and brief.
• Introduction : This part contains the background information of the proposed study leading to the research problem.
• Statement of purpose : This element should include the research objectives.
• Literature review : It should include an overview of findings from the previous studies, the gaps in the previous studies and the findings from a preliminary study.
• Research questions and hypothesis : This includes the research questions and hypothesis.
• Methodology : This element contains a full description of the research procedures, possible problems and alternatives strategies.
• The significance and impact of the study : This part shows how the proposed research will contribute to the field of study.

The 10 steps to writing an incredible research proposal

Below are ten steps for writing a research proposal:

1.Choose a research topic and develop a working title

Having a strong interest in your research topic will certainly help you to keep going when the journey becomes more challenging. The research topic is the subject of your research, which is a part of a broader field of study.

When you pick a research topic, find a topic that is not too narrow nor too broad. You can limit your topic, for example, by focusing on a certain treatment, population group, species, geographical area, period, methodology, or other specific factors.

After selecting a research topic, develop a working title to help you focus on your topic. As you write the proposal, you can keep changing the working title to formulate the perfect title.

2.Perform a literature review

The next step is to conduct a literature review. This step is important because when you write out the background information and knowledge gaps in your topic area, it will help you become more familiar with your research topic.

In addition, performing a literature review will direct you to a research problem . A research problem is a specific area of concern serving as the focus of your proposed research.

When performing a literature review, a graduate student can also discover some ideas for designing their research plan.

To help you conduct a literature review, answer the following questions below:

What have others done so far to solve the research problem?

Some helpful steps to answer this question:

• Understand the experimental designs from previous studies to help you design your own research experiments.
• Learn about appropriate sample sizes, data collection, and statistical analyses from previous studies.
• Investigate and make a list the reagents and equipment you’ll possibly need for your research.
• Learn the research questions, the findings, the impact and the significance of previous studies.
• Find out about any ethical concerns.

What additional studies are still needed to solve the research problem?

• Pay attention to the strength and limitation part of the discussion section of scientific articles. From this part, make notes about the limitations of previous studies to give you an idea about a potential research problem.
• Read the suggestions for future research part of scientific articles. That can serve as a call to action for you to solve those unanswered questions from previous studies.

3.Write an introduction

The introduction of your research proposal builds a framework for the research. This framework is the structure that supports your study and contains the background information. Its function is similar to the role of a foundation in supporting a building—if it is weak, a building will fall apart. Likewise, if your research lacks a strong background as a framework, it’s hard for others to see why it matters.

Writing your introduction can feel a little overwhelming. Where do you begin? How do you know you’re not missing anything?

You might want to read over our article:

How to Write an Effective Introduction Section of a Scientific Article

While the article is more specific to the introduction section of a formal research paper, there are some parts and tips you might find helpful.

4. Write research objectives or aims

In the next step, include research objectives or aims in the research proposal. A research objective is a goal you want to achieve in your research project ( Al-Riyami, 2008 ). Your research objectives must have a strong connection with your research problem.

When developing research objectives, identify all variables associated with the research problem. A variable in the research is a characteristic that you manipulate or observe in your experiment.

There are different types of variables, including an independent variable and dependent variable (Al-Riyami, 2008). An independent variable is a variable you can change in your experiment, whereas a dependent variable is a variable you observe in response to the independent variable. After identifying the variables, connect them to the research objective.

An example of a research objective: to determine the effect of different doses of a novel antibiotic X on the growth rate of some resistant bacterial strains . In this example, the independent variable is the treatment (the different doses of antibiotic X), and the dependent variable is the growth rate of some bacterial strains.

5.State a research question

The next step is to identify a research question. A research question is the key question you want to answer in your proposed study ( Farrugia et al ., 2010 ). A research project can contain several research questions.

Keep in mind that your research question must meet the criteria of a good research question, including specific, feasible, interesting, novel, ethical, and relevant (Farrugia et al ., 2010).

In term of feasibility, use current methods and technology to answer the question during your limited time in the graduate school.

An example of a research question : What doses of the antibiotic X are effective to inhibit the growth of some resistant bacterial strains?

6.Formulate a research hypothesis

After developing the research objectives and question, the next step is to formulate a research hypothesis. A research hypothesis is a statement of a possible research outcome.

Some criteria of a good hypothesis ( Prasad et al., 2010 ; Al-Riyami, 2008):

• Logical, precise, and clear
• Testable with research experiments
• Makes a prediction about the relationship between variables

An example of a research hypothesis: The new antibiotic X will significantly prevent the growth of some resistant bacterial strains.

7.Explain research methods

The methodology section containing proposed experimental procedures is required for a research proposal. This section has the detailed plan to solve the research problem. It also reflects the research questions and hypothesis.

After reviewing the credibility and validity of your research methods, your advisory committee will make a decision about the fate of your proposed study. Therefore, when writing the methodology section, keep in mind that others should be able to follow each step in the research design to perform the same experiment.

In this section, you should include these following key points:

• Experimental design : This is the research strategy you choose to solve your problem.
• Samples : It contains the description about the samples for each group of treatment in the proposed study.
• Sample size : This information is important to make sure your sample size is sufficient.
• Materials : It contains the reagents and chemicals needed in the proposed study.
• Equipment : This has the list of equipment needed for the proposed study.
• Protocols of data collection : It contains the procedures needed before collecting your data.
• Ethical issues and consent forms : You may need to include these if your proposed studies will need human participants.
• Data analysis : This part should include the steps to analyze the data.
• Gantt chart : This chart contains tasks in each research project with the timeline for each task.

8.Include potential problems and alternative strategies

When performing your study, you may encounter potential problems. Therefore, include some of the possible problems that may occur during your study and the potential solution for them. By doing so, you can use your backup plan to solve each potential problem when the problems actually occurs.

9.Conduct and include a preliminary study

Perform and include the findings from a preliminary study in your research proposal. A preliminary study is a small-scale pilot study, conducted to test the experimental design ahead of time and increase the likelihood of success. By including the findings from a preliminary study, your advisory committee can visualize and assess the feasibility of your large-scale study.

10.State the potential impact and significance

In the last paragraph of your research proposal, include the potential impact and significance of your proposed study.

The potential impact of your study means the changes that your proposed research would make. These changes can be positive or negative, immediate or long-term, and direct or indirect.

Whereas, the potential significance of your study means the contribution that your proposed research would make. For example, you can explain its contribution to the knowledge in your field of study.

After putting it all together, evaluate the entire proposal to make sure it is strong and well written.

Al-Riyami, A. (2008). How to prepare a Research Proposal. Oman Medical Journal, 23(2), 66–69. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC32824...

Benedetti, A. (n.d.). Research Guides: Advanced Research Methods: Writing a Research Proposal. Guides.library.ucla.edu. Retrieved March 17, 2021, from https://guides.library.ucla.edu/c.php?g=180334&p=1289236.

Crawford, L. (2020). LITERATURE-BASED DEFINITIONS OF CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORKS. https://us.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-assets/105274_book_item_105274.pdf.

Farrugia, P., Petrisor, B. A., Farrokhyar, F., & Bhandari, M. (2010). Practical tips for surgical research: Research questions, hypotheses and objectives. Canadian Journal of Surgery. Journal Canadien de Chirurgie, 53(4), 278–281. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC29120...

How to choose a research area. (2016, April 8). ASCB. https://www.ascb.org/careers/choose-research-area/

How to Select a Research Topic | University of Michigan-Flint. (2019). Umflint.edu; UM-Flint. https://www.umflint.edu/library/how-select-research-topic.

How To Write a Proposal | Science & Quantitative Reasoning. (n.d.). Science.yalecollege.yale.edu. Retrieved March 17, 2021, from https://science.yalecollege.yale.edu/fellowships/how-write-proposal.

Jacobs, R. L. (2013). Developing a dissertation research problem: A guide for doctoral students in human resource development and adult education. New Horizons in Adult Education and Human Resource Development, 25(3), 103–117. https://doi.org/10.1002/nha3.20034.

Kivunja, C. (2018). Distinguishing between Theory, Theoretical Framework, and Conceptual Framework: A Systematic Review of Lessons from the Field. International Journal of Higher Education, 7(6), 44. https://doi.org/10.5430/ijhe.v7n6p44.

LibGuides: Writing a Research Proposal: Parts of a Proposal. (2017). Illinois.edu. https://guides.library.illinois.edu/c.php?g=504643&p=3454882.

LibGuides: Research Process: Finding a Research Topic. (2019). Libguides.com. https://ncu.libguides.com/researchprocess/researchtopic.

LibGuides: Research Process: Literature Gap and Future Research. (2012). Libguides.com. https://ncu.libguides.com/researchprocess/literaturegap.

Pajares, F. (n.d.). THE ELEMENTS OF A PROPOSAL. https://www.uky.edu/~eushe2/Pajares/ElementsOfaProposal.pdf.

Prasad, S., Rao, A., & Rehani, E. (2001). DEVELOPING HYPOTHESES & RESEARCH QUESTIONS DEVELOPING HYPOTHESIS AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS. https://www.public.asu.edu/~kroel/www500/hypothesi...

Shardlow, M., Batista-Navarro, R., Thompson, P., Nawaz, R., McNaught, J., & Ananiadou, S. (2018). Identification of research hypotheses and new knowledge from scientific literature. BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making, 18(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12911-018-0639-1

Steps in Developing a Research Proposal. Open.lib.umn.edu; University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing edition, 2015. This edition adapted from a work originally produced in 2010 by a publisher who has requested that it not receive attribution. https://open.lib.umn.edu/writingforsuccess/chapter...

Vining, S. (2019, July 22). Dissertation Proposal | Genetics and Genomics. https://genetics.mcb.uconn.edu/dissertation-propos...

Writing a Research Plan. (2017, December 11). Science | AAAS. https://www.sciencemag.org/careers

Related Articles

The road to obtain a graduate degree is unquestionably long. But we have ten incredibly helpful step...

Guide to Writing the Results and Discussion Sections of a Scientific Article

A quality research paper has both the qualities of in-depth research and good writing (Bordage, 200...

Building a Clear Path and Finishing Graduate School Even When You’re Ready to Give Up

Obtaining a graduate degree can be an arduous, long, and unpredictable journey. Sometimes when this...

How to Master Collaboration Skills in the Graduate School

It’s common for researchers to collaborate in science. By doing so, scientists can share expertise,...

Join our list to receive promos and articles.

• Competent Cells
• Lab Startup
• Z')" data-type="collection" title="Products A->Z" target="_self" href="/collection/products-a-to-z">Products A->Z
• GoldBio Resources
• GoldBio Sales Team
• GoldBio Distributors
• Duchefa Direct
• Sign up for Promos
• Terms & Conditions
• ISO Certification
• Agarose Resins
• Antibiotics & Selection
• Biochemical Reagents
• Bioluminescence
• Buffers & Reagents
• Cell Culture
• Cloning & Induction
• Competent Cells and Transformation
• Detergents & Membrane Agents
• DNA Amplification
• Enzymes, Inhibitors & Substrates
• Growth Factors and Cytokines
• Lab Tools & Accessories
• Plant Research and Reagents
• Protein Research & Analysis
• Protein Expression & Purification
• Reducing Agents

• International
• We are Beckett
• Accessibility
• Accommodation
• Merchandise
• Schools and Colleges
• Skills for Learning
• Sport and Active Lifestyles
• Student information
• Students' Union
• Teaching and Learning Resources
• (+44) 113 812 0000
• Other contact numbers

Leeds Beckett University - City Campus, Woodhouse Lane, LS1 3HE

• Undergraduate study
• Postgraduate study
• Distance learning
• Student experience
• Chat with current students
• Degree apprenticeships
• CPD and short courses
• Information for students and applicants
• Careers support
• Stay in touch
• How to apply
• Funding your studies
• Prepare for uni

Student Blog Squad

• Chat to a student
• Mature students
• Parents' guide
• Schools and colleges

Undergraduate Applicant Days

Undergraduate open days, virtual open day.

• Research degrees
• Professional development

Postgraduate Open Days

• Information for employers
• Sport and active lifestyles
• Leeds Beckett Students' Union

Life in Leeds

Virtual campus tour.

• Apply to study
• Fees and scholarships
• Support for students
• International partners
• International Summer School
• English language courses
• Study abroad
• Find your country for entry requirements
• English language requirements
• Find an agent in your country
• Applying for your visa
• Course fees and living costs
• International scholarships
• Global Village
• Arrival guide
• International Partners
• Study Abroad Partners
• Research centres
• Research Areas
• Research Excellence Framework
• Teaching and research facilities
• Research for business
• Carnegie Applied Rugby Research centre
• Centre for Active Lifestyles
• Centre for Applied Social Research
• Centre for Biomedical Science Research
• Centre for Child and Adolescent Physical Literacy
• Centre for Culture and Humanities
• Centre for Dementia Research
• Centre for Entrepreneurship and Knowledge Exchange
• Centre for Health Promotion
• Centre for Human Performance
• Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Citizenship, Education and Society (CIRCES)
• Centre for LGBTQ+ Inclusion in Education
• CollectivED: The Centre for Coaching, Mentoring & Professional Learning (in education)
• Centre for Psychological Research
• Centre for Race, Education and Decoloniality
• Centre for Research in Computer Science and Applications
• Centre for Social Justice in Sport and Society
• Centre for Sport Coaching
• Centre of Excellence for Mental Health in Schools
• Cybercrime and Security Innovation Centre
• Interdisciplinary Centre for Implant Research
• Leeds Arts Research Centre
• Leeds Sustainability Institute
• Obesity Institute

The Retail Institute

• Story Makers Company
• Sustainable Business Research Institute
• Architecture
• Computer science
• Culture and the arts
• Events, Tourism and Hospitality Management
• Social Sciences
• The Graduate School
• Types of research degrees
• Funded studentships
• Doctoral funding
• Our university
• Our schools
• Our community
• Work with us
• Sustainability
• Contact and find us
• Campuses and facilities
• Equality and inclusion
• Governance, leadership and structure
• Public information
• Leeds School of Arts
• School of Built Environment, Engineering and Computing
• Leeds Business School
• Carnegie School of Education
• School of Events, Tourism and Hospitality Management
• School of Health
• School of Humanities and Social Sciences
• Leeds Law School
• Carnegie School of Sport
• LBU Together blog
• Support. Report. Respect. A safe and inclusive community
• University Mental Health Charter
• WE CHALLENGE - the big issues affecting people and planet
• Schools and colleges outreach
• Business services
• Business consultancy
• Recruit our students

Work at Leeds Beckett

• Develop your business
• Develop your people
• Work with our students and graduates
• Leeds Beckett Business Centre
• The Knowledge Exchange
• Business news
• Get funded and innovate
• Office space, networking and mentoring
• Support for small and medium-sized businesses
• Tap into new research and insights

Help to Grow: Management

Knowledge transfer partnerships (ktps).

• Short courses and CPD

Carnegie Great Outdoors

The leadership centre, manage your preferences.

The Leeds Beckett website is designed to enable you to manage your own privacy preferences. By clicking on 'Cookies' below you can manage what data the site collects about your browsing. This will only maintain if you are on your own device or using a synched version of your chosen browser. If you are using a shared or public machine without synching your browser then there is no need to change the preferences.

Our site is built with accessibility in mind and we seek to adhere to the WACG AA levels of compliance for digital accessibility. To support that we have provided instructions on managing animations below.

Necessary cookies enable you to use all the different parts of leedsbeckett.ac.uk. Without them services that you have asked for cannot be provided. Necessary cookies can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.

Analytical cookies help us understand how people are using our websites, so we can improve them and provide a better user experience. We also sometimes get our approved partner companies to analyse how people are using Leeds Beckett Websites and they may set their own analytical cookies in order to do this.

Marketing cookies allow us to provide you with online adverts that are the most relevant and useful for you.

For more information please view our Privacy Policy

Animations & Interaction

The Leeds Beckett University website occasionally uses animations to page elements and animated gifs to add impact to pages. If you wish to stop them from playing for accessibility purposes or for personal preference then please see the guidance below. Please note that browsers sometimes change how they operate, so please refer to your browser help files to find their latest information.

How do I turn off animations?

Chrome users will need to use browser extensions. Animation Policy from Google will help you set your own preferences.

Microsoft Edge

There is currently no way to disable animations within Microsoft Edge. Users of Edge (Chromium) browser can install the Chrome extensions above and use them.

Internet Explorer

To stop animations on a single page you can just press the 'Esc' key. This will stop the animation on that page. If you wish to restart the animations you need to refresh the page. To permanently disable the playing of animated GIF images, open Internet Options > Advanced tab. Under the Multimedia section, uncheck the Play animations in webpage check-box, click Apply and Exit and then restart your computer.

Type about:config in Firefox address bar and hit Enter to open Settings. Search for the image.animation_mode flag and change its value from Normal to None. Once you restart Firefox this will disable animations.

• THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
• Funded PhDs and studentships
• Fees and finance
• Talk to an academic supervisor
• Writing a research proposal
• Research Facilities
• Masters by Research (Mres)
• Masters by Research (Mres) Education
• Professional Doctorate
• New Students
• Existing Students
• Documents and forms
• Important information
• International students
• Student Admin Manager (SAM)
• Progression, review and changes to your study
• Training and Development
• Wellbeing and support
• Completing your research
• Supervision
• Postgraduate Research Experience Survey
• Research Cafes
• Research Society
• External examiners

writing a research proposal

Writing your research proposal is an important element of your application for postgraduate research study with us..

Here are some tips to help you prepare a successful application.

What is a research proposal?

A research proposal is a concise summary of your proposed research that sets out the key issues or questions you plan to address. This is an opportunity to demonstrate the originality of your proposal by outlining the general area of study that your research falls under and referencing the current knowledge on this topic.

Your proposal is a chance to prove your ability to communicate complex ideas clearly, concisely and critically. It also helps us in The Graduate School to match your research interest with the right supervisor.

How long should my research proposal be?

Your research proposal should be approximately four sides of A4.

If you are applying to a specific funding body, please check its requirements as to word counts, which may be different to ours.

Research proposal template

What should you include in your research proposal? Use our recommended template below to get you started:

1. Working title

You can change your title once you get started on your project, but we recommend you sum up your proposed idea with a working title at this stage.

2. Research context

This explains the context in which you will conduct your research. Show how familiar you are with the field by including a brief overview of the general area of study, summarising the current state of knowledge and recent debates on the topic.

3. Research questions

What are the central aims and questions that will guide your research? Before writing your proposal, it is a good idea to reflect on the key issues and questions that your work will concentrate on. This will help to make sure your project is sufficiently focused for you to complete it within the time limits.

We also recommend outlining the approach you intend to take in answering your research questions: for example, will it be empirical, doctrinal or theoretical?

4. Research methods

What are the methods you plan use to conduct your research? This could include accessing specific archives or libraries, field work or interviews.

If your proposed research is library-based, explain where your key resources (for example, law reports and journal articles) are located. If you plan on doing field work or collecting empirical data, provide details about this (for example, if you want to do interviews, who you will interview and how many interviews you will do). You should also explain how you are going to analyse your research findings.

5. Significance of your research

Tell us why your proposed research is original and important. How will it add to existing knowledge in the field? Why is it timely to research your proposed topic?

6. Scale and scope of the proposed research

You will need to outline how you will be able to complete on time.

7. Bibliography

Be sure to include a short bibliography citing the most relevant works for your topic.

Contact The Graduate School

• 0113 812 5375
• [email protected]

Funded Phds and studentships

Did you know? You can actually get paid to study your area of interest.

Funded PhD opportunities across our academic schools give you the chance to work on a specific research project and have your fees funded by our university and/or an external partner organisation. They may also include a bursary.

• Find an academic supervisor

The graduate school

Realise your research ambitions and influence the future for everyone.

At The Graduate School, our specialist team aim to foster an environment for a high quality postgraduate study experience. Facilitating collaboration and innovation, our staff support scholars and researchers in the delivery of research excellence and real world impact.

Find your country

Middle East

North America

Can't find your country in our list?

• Jump to menu
• Student Home
• Accept your offer
• How to enrol
• Student ID card
• Set up your IT
• Orientation Week
• Fees & payment
• Academic calendar
• Special consideration
• Transcripts
• The Nucleus: Student Hub
• Referencing
• Essay writing
• Learning abroad & exchange
• Professional development & UNSW Advantage
• Employability
• Financial assistance
• International students
• Equitable learning
• Postgraduate research
• Health Service
• Events & activities
• Emergencies
• Volunteering
• Clubs and societies
• Accommodation
• Health services
• Sport and gym
• Arc student organisation
• Security on campus
• Maps of campus
• Careers portal
• Change password

Guide for Writing Research Proposals

This guide is for candidates who are enrolled in a higher degree research program (PhD, Masters by Research or Master of Philosophy) and who have been asked to submit a research proposal as part of their Research Progress Review or Confirmation of Candidature.

The aim of the research proposal is to convince your school that:

• there is a need for the research; it is significant and important.
• you are contributing something original to the field.
• the topic is feasible in terms of availability of funding, equipment, supervisors, and data.
• the research can be completed in the expected time period(3-4 years full time for a PhD or 1.5 – 2 years full time for a research Masters).
• ethical issues have been considered and approval has been given for the research by the University Ethics Committee.
• the topic matches your interests and capabilities.

What is the difference between a Masters and a Doctoral research proposal?

As research Masters degrees are shorter than PhDs, the main goals and complexity of your proposed research should align with this shorter timeframe. If you are unsure of what is required, you should seek advice from your supervisor or your School’s Postgraduate Coordinator.

Who is my audience?

Your research proposal is normally assessed during your Research Progress Review by the Review Panel. If you are a PhD candidate, your research proposal will normally be submitted as part of your Confirmation of Candidature Review. Most candidates need to submit a written report and present their proposal during their Review. If you are not sure of the requirements within your School or Faculty, contact your supervisor or your School’s Postgraduate Coordinator.

The research proposal helps you focus your research aims, clarify its importance and the need, describe the methods, predict problems and outcomes, and plan alternatives and interventions. 

Getting it done

Preparing your proposal will be an iterative process. You will most likely need to prepare a number of drafts, improving each one with feedback from your supervisors. You should be writing regularly to have your proposal completed by the due date.

Demonstrating originality

Your work will make a worthwhile contribution to your field if it fulfils one or more of the following: 

• it provides evidence to support or disprove a concept, theory, or model;
• it contributes new data/information, new or improved solution, analysis procedure or a new improved research methodology;
• it results in a new or improved concept, theory or model.

See next: Structuring the proposal

Postgrad research.

• Academic skills support
• Structuring the proposal
• Literature review

Study Hacks Workshops | All the hacks you need! 28 May – 25 Jul 2024

Thriving as an HDR Candidate - Helping international students navigate challenges & build success in their HDR journey 30 May – 28 Nov 2024

What’s Included: Research Proposal Template

Our free dissertation/thesis proposal template covers the core essential ingredients for a strong research proposal. It includes clear explanations of what you need to address in each section, as well as straightforward examples and links to further resources.

The research proposal template covers the following core elements:

• Introduction & background (including the research problem)
• Literature review
• Research design / methodology
• Project plan , resource requirements and risk management

The cleanly-formatted Google Doc can be downloaded as a fully editable MS Word Document (DOCX format), so you can use it as-is or convert it to LaTeX.

PS – if you’d like a high-level template for the entire thesis, you can we’ve got that too .

Research Proposal Template FAQS

What types of research proposals can this template be used for.

The proposal template follows the standard format for academic research projects, which means it will be suitable for the vast majority of dissertations and theses (especially those within the sciences), whether they are qualitative or quantitative in terms of design.

Keep in mind that the exact requirements for the introduction chapter/section will vary between universities and degree programs. These are typically minor, but it’s always a good idea to double-check your university’s requirements before you finalise your structure.

Is this template for an undergrad, Master or PhD-level proposal?

This template can be used for a research project at any level of study. Doctoral-level projects typically require the research proposal to be more extensive/comprehensive, but the structure will typically remain the same.

How long should my research proposal be?

The length of a research proposal varies by institution and subject, but as a ballpark, it’s usually between 1,500 and 3,000 words.

To be safe, it’s best to check with your university if they have any preferences or requirements in terms of minimum and maximum word count for the research propsal.

How detailed should the methodology of the proposal be?

You don’t need to go into the fine details of your methodology, but this section should be detailed enough to demonstrate that your research approach is feasible and will address your research questions effectively. Be sure to include your intended methods for data collection and analysis.

Can I include preliminary data or pilot study results in my proposal?

Generally, yes. This can strengthen your proposal by demonstrating the feasibility of your research. However, make sure that your pilot study is approved by your university before collecting any data.

Can I share this template with my friends/colleagues?

Yes, you’re welcome to share this template in its original format (no editing allowed). If you want to post about it on your blog or social media, we kindly request that you reference this page as your source.

What format is the template (DOC, PDF, PPT, etc.)?

The research proposal template is provided as a Google Doc. You can download it in MS Word format or make a copy to your Google Drive. You’re also welcome to convert it to whatever format works best for you, such as LaTeX or PDF.

Do you have templates for the other chapters?

Yes, we do. We are constantly developing our collection of free resources to help students complete their dissertations and theses. You can view all of our template resources here .

Can Grad Coach help me with my dissertation/thesis?

Yes, you’re welcome to get in touch with us to discuss our private coaching services .

Further Resources: Proposal Writing

The template provides step-by-step guidance for each section of your research proposal, but if you’d like to learn more about how to write up a high-quality research proposal, check out the rest of our free proposal-related resources:

• Research Proposal 101
• Examples of research proposals
• How To Find A Research Topic
• How To Find A Research Gap
• Developing Your Golden Thread
• How To Write A Research Proposal
• 8 Common Proposal Writing Mistakes

You can also visit the Grad Coach blog for more proposal-related resources.

If you’d prefer 1-on-1 support with your research proposal, have a look at our private coaching service , where we hold your hand through the research process, step by step.

• Writing Home
• Writing Advice Home

Academic Proposals in Graduate School

• Printable PDF Version
• Fair-Use Policy

The Thesis Proposal

There is no one formula for a thesis proposal, given the range of disciplines and organizational sequences for processing it. The advice here is meant to raise your awareness of some of the underlying functions and issues around this important event in your graduate experience. Think of the thesis or grant proposal as a way of raising your voice to speak out within the academic community.

Process (how to do it)

• Look closely at departmental specifications (about timing, scope, length, readers, etc.)
• Ask other graduate students in your department about their experiences; look at past proposals
• Try out your ideas as widely as possible, especially with your supervisor and committee members. Make the most of chances to take part in informal discussions, drafts, preliminary meetings, presentations at colloquia, etc.
• Don’t procrastinate; delay just isolates you.

Function (what it’s for)

• Show why your research idea is interesting within the field (by discussing what others have done and not done).
• Show that you can carry it out (by sketching your methodology.
• Limit your promises: exclude things you won’t get to (texts, topics, methods) as well as outlining those you will use.
• Remember that your proposal is a document to be filed, not a promise to be fulfilled in every detail.

Rhetoric (how it gets through)

• Start with why your idea is worth doing (contribution to field), then fill in how (technicalities about topic and method).
• Give enough detail to establish feasibility, but not so much as to bore the reader.
• Show your ability to deal with possible problems or changes in focus.
• Show confidence and eagerness (use I or we and active verbs, concise style, positive phrasing).

A Note on Grant Proposals

Graduate students are often asked to write grant proposals along with their thesis proposals, and they sometimes find themselves part of teams writing proposals for funding to support their lab activity. Compared to a thesis proposal, a grant proposal typically contains more detail about practical matters such as resources, funding, and timelines. It may be expected to contain a section on how the results of your research will be evaluated (e.g., by practical results). Be as realistic as possible about these matters, remembering, for instance the typical “50% rule” about funding: if your estimate is more than 50% above the reviewer panel’s estimate of likely costs, it may be disqualified. But continue to use the advice above (including the recommendation to gain the reader’s interest early), within the constraints of these practicalities and the length and format guidelines.

When writing as part of a team, work out individual responsibilities before starting. Take extra care to ensure that all parts of the document are included, correctly formatted, and consistent with each other.

You will find useful information about grant proposals at the websites for granting agencies, such as SSHRC (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, NSERC (National Sciences and Engineering Research Council, and CIHR (Canadian Institutes of Health Research. These sites also contain news stories and press releases indicating the agencies’ concern with public perception of research projects. For information about research at U of T, see the websites for U of T’s office of Research and Innovation and the Faculty of Medicine’s office of Research (RIR).

/images/cornell/logo35pt_cornell_white.svg" alt="graduate school research proposal sample"> Cornell University --> Graduate School

Writing your research statement, set yourself apart.

Most reviewers volunteer their time. Faced with a huge pile of applications, they’ll move quickly and won’t take time to search out hidden answers.

In reviewing your application, the reader will scan for clear answers to three questions:

• What new knowledge will be generated for the discipline?
• Why is it valuable?
• How can they be assured the conclusions will be valid?

You want to make sure that the reviewer will be left with something to remember: a message that will remain after reading many other proposals. Make sure your proposal is clear and has a strong opening paragraph that will grab the reader’s attention. Your statement should tell a compelling story with a beginning, a middle, and an end.

Avoid jargon

Always keep in mind that reviewers may not be experts in your particular research area. It is essential that you couch your proposal in language and a narrative that will be accessible to an intelligent but non-specialized reviewer. In particular, don’t use jargon. Eliminate any theoretical discourse that is only accessible to those trained in your area.

Keep the spotlight on ideas

Start with a subject that interests you – a research proposal or a question – and develop a good proposal around it. Don’t worry if your proposed research project isn’t the “hot” topic in the field right now. In fact, an off-the-beaten-path project may stand out among all the other applications.

Show the reviewer that you are ready to take on the challenge of independent research; that you have not only a strong foundation for research as evidenced by a knowledge of the core scholarly publications in your discipline, but also that you possess the creativity, passion, and drive that will take you from more passive learning to active invention and hypothesis. Be clear about how you will undertake the research and how you will analyze the results. Argue why you think this is the best approach to the problem.

Explain which approaches are standard and which are innovative. The way you formulate your questions and describe how you will address them will reveal a lot to the review committee about your thought processes.

Your proposal is not the same as a final plan

If you’re a first-year student, remember that you’re writing a proposal: you are not committed to following the exact path you establish in your proposal. Most funding agencies expect that your project will change as you get underway. The important thing is to show that you’ll be capable of carrying out research in the discipline area proposed given the resources available to you.

Applying for dissertation-year fellowships

If you’re applying for a dissertation-year fellowship, the bar has been raised. Given your breadth of experience, the reviewers will expect to see more from you than they will from a first-year student. Reviewers will want to see that you’ve taken an interest in your professional development by presenting at national conferences and by having publications accepted to peer-review journals or in process, so be sure to address those issues.

Discuss your research proposal with your special committee chair, your director of graduate studies, faculty in your field, and other students. If you can identify students who have had successful proposals or faculty who have served as adjudicators, ask them. It’s okay to tailor your research statement to present the version most likely to win the fellowship. Focus on the aspects of your project that are the best fit with the sponsoring agency’s stated goals for the fellowship program. If you need inspiration, check out the reference notebooks of successful applications available in 350 Caldwell Hall.

Details matter, so sweat them

Your bibliography is important. This is where you will show experts in your field that you know the discipline and that you’ve done your homework. Make sure you cover the key papers in your discipline, but don’t make the bibliography too long. Reviewers want to see that you can distinguish between the most important contributions and secondary papers. A good bibliography shows you know enough about the discipline to avoid duplicating other work.

Proof your work

Make sure that there are no typographical or grammatical errors and follow the guidelines carefully. Your statements reflect on the level of professionalism you will bring to your research. When the competition is extreme, reviewers look for clues that differentiate one application from another. Typographical errors, grammatical errors, and inattention to guidelines will create suspicion over your attention to detail and will probably result in your application being passed over.

Allow enough time

You need to be exceptional in an excellent group of applicants. A good proposal may take up to three months to develop. Write a draft, seek input from others, revise, set it aside, come back to it, revise again, seek input again. Keep working until you have a polished product. If you put in the time to make your proposal as good as it can be, it will show in the end result and your application will be more competitive.

Get the Reddit app

This subreddit is for discussing academic life, and for asking questions directed towards people involved in academia, (both science and humanities).

How to write a research proposal from scratch and with no support?

I have a M.Sc. and recently I applied for a PhD position. I must admit I applied mostly on a whim - the topic sounded pretty nice, it's in a city I like, it's fully funded, and I thought why not. I've never ruled out the possibility of doing a PhD. I just had to upload my CV and certificates anyway so it took 5 mins.

Much to my surprise, however, they now replied saying they are interested in my profile and I would be a potential candidate BUT this is one of those programs where I have to come up with a research proposal before starting, otherwise I won't be considered. I now have one month to prepare a research proposal.

I don't even know where to start. My mind is totally blank. I did prepare a research proposal for my M.Sc. thesis (which later got published), but I only did so with massive help and multiple revisions from my supervisor, who's currently on leave and there is no way I'll be able to get in touch with him before September. So I have to do it by myself. I don't even know much (if any) of the literature because, even though the general discipline is the same I studied at uni, the specific topic is not.

I'd still like to give this a try because it could be a nice opportunity and I've always wanted to do research, but I don't know if it's feasible and realistic.

• UB Directory
• Research and Economic Development >
• Need to Know and Events >

Eight UB researchers awarded over $4.7 million in NSF CAREER awards

research news

By ELIZABETH EGAN, PETER MURPHY and LAURIE KAISER

Published June 27, 2024

Eight UB researchers — seven from the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and one from the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (SPPS) — have received National Science Foundation CAREER awards, one of the nation’s most prestigious honors for early-career engineers and scientists.

CAREER grants provide scholars with funding to conduct research and develop educational programming for K-12 students, university students and members of the public.

The SEAS recipients are Courtney Faber, Luis Herrera, Craig Snoeyink, Kang Sun, Yinyin Ye, Zhuoyue Zhao and Shaofeng Zou. The SPPS recipient is Jason Sprowl.

Together, the eight grantees will receive more than $4.7 million for projects that address pressing societal problems such as the need for more reliable artificial intelligence algorithms, preventing deaths from bacterial infections, mapping air pollution and better understanding how glucose moves throughout the human body.

“We take great pride in our eight faculty members who have been honored with this prestigious NSF award,” says Venu Govindaraju, vice president for research and economic development. “Their exceptional research is integral to UB’s mission of fostering a better world for all.”

Among the support that awardees receive is guidance from UB’s Office of Research Advancement, which is overseen by Chitra Rajan, associate vice president for research advancement. The office is managed by three co-directors — Joanna Tate, Maggie Shea and Menna Mbah — and provides a comprehensive suite of services, including proposal management, scientific editing, graphics and help with non-technical parts of the proposal. 

These services, Rajan says, play a critical role in assisting faculty members in submitting high-quality proposals.

UB’s awardees are:

Courtney Faber , assistant professor of engineering education; award amount: $590,963.

When a research team is made up of people with various engineering and education backgrounds, different ideas of what knowledge is and how it is acquired can hinder team members’ ability to work cohesively.

Having firsthand experience with this issue, Faber’s goal is to support engineering education researchers who find themselves in a similar situation. 

She will facilitate interdisciplinary work by identifying barriers that research teams face related to differences in thinking and creating ways to bring them to the surface for discussion before they become a problem.

“It’s important for the field of engineering education to be able to do this type of interdisciplinary work,” Faber says. “The problems we are trying to solve are very complex and require an interdisciplinary approach to make space for diversity of thinking.”

The project will involve observing research teams and conducting interviews to see how they function together, as well as how individual members think independently of the group.

Faber plans to develop trainings that new and established engineering education researchers can freely access.

She also hopes to create a tool that assists research groups in integrating approaches and goals that might otherwise be problematic for a group. The tool could be as simple as a one-page guide that provides questions to be considered throughout the research process to help identify where a team’s ideas might differ across various aspects of their research. 

Luis Herrera , assistant professor of electrical engineering; award amount: $500,000.

Herrera’s research lies at the intersection of power electronics, power systems and control theory.

With this grant, he is developing different control methods to promote the wider adoption of direct current (DC) microgrids, which can run more efficiently than the more commonly used AC (alternating current) microgrids.

“Currently, DC electrical systems are primarily used in applications such as electric aircrafts, including the Boeing 787 Dreamliner; navy ships; and data centers,” Herrera says. “However, most renewable energy sources are interfaced to the AC power grid through an intermediate DC stage.”

More networks operated through DC grids could significantly increase energy efficiency, reduce losses and improve the overall operation of electrical systems, he explains.

This potential creates motivation for DC systems to be implemented in commonly used structures, such as residential and office buildings.

Graduate students will participate in a summer internship at the Air Force Research Laboratory through a partnership with the University of Dayton Research Institute.

Herrera also plans to create demonstrations of the research and present them to elementary, middle school and high school students, aiming to get students excited about STEM early in their academic careers. 

Craig Snoeyink , assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering; award amount: $581,088 .

Water filtration, whiskey distillation and blood-based diagnostics are just a few of the potential applications of dielectrophoretic molecular transport (DMT), a process that uses strong electric fields to push solutes out of water. This even includes those such as sugar and alcohol that do not have an electrical charge.

DMT is not used, however, due to the inaccuracy of current mathematical models.

With his grant, Snoeyink will develop and validate models for DMT for use in these applications. With one of the first accurate models of DMT, the process could be used, for example, to clean water as effectively as a water filter that never needs to be changed.

Snoeyink notes that point-of-care diagnostics are another significant application. 

“Down the line, we could use this technology to separate blood into components we want to test and stuff we don’t, making medical diagnostics cheaper and more sensitive,” he says.

To help with testing and to offer students research opportunities that could propel them into graduate school, Snoeyink will teach a course for students to do research for the project as part of their curriculum. With his guidance, students will run tests and create their own hypothesis. He hopes students will have papers based on their research that will bolster their graduate school applications.

Jason A. Sprowl , assistant professor of pharmaceutical sciences; award amount: $746,886.

Sodium-glucose-linked transporters (SGLT) work like little doors in human cells that help bring in glucose, an important type of sugar that fuels the human body. Without the right amount of glucose, an individual can experience nutrient deficiencies and other health issues.

Unfortunately, cellular events that regulate SGLT activity are poorly understood. This is particularly true for tyrosine phosphorylation, a form of modification that can change protein structure and function.

For his research project, Sprowl will study how tyrosine phosphorylation regulates changes in glucose movement into cells. He’ll use techniques like genetic manipulation and mass spectrometry to see how changing the tyrosine phosphorylation state of SLGTs affects its ability to let glucose into a cell. Finally, he will try to figure out which tyrosine kinases are responsible for phosphorylating SGLTs.

The project also includes several strategies for educational improvements at the middle school, high school and university levels. They include highlighting the biological importance of SGLTs, as well as the training and recruitment of junior scientists who will lead future research efforts. Collectively, the project is expected to impact many scientific disciplines, including molecular, cellular and systems biology.

To improve basic scientific knowledge, generate a passion for research and improve leadership capabilities in the field of biological sciences, Sprowl plans to establish an annual summer research position for underprivileged high school students. He also will work with middle school educators to increase recognition of reproducible and high-quality science, and develop online content that will increase familiarity with transporter proteins. 

Kang Sun , assistant professor of civil, structural and environmental engineering; award amount: $643,562.

Sun has been interested in astronomy since he was a young child. He’s currently fascinated by the idea of pointing a space telescope toward Earth and imaging emission sources like celestial objects.

With the research grant, Sun will map global emission sources of gaseous air pollutants and greenhouse gases. Such gases are invisible to the human eye. While they can be detected by satellites, their images are naturally smeared due to wind dispersion.

“This research removes the smearing effect using a simple and elegant equation that originates from mass balance,” Sun explains. “The results are timely and precise estimates of emissions that can inform policy and scientific studies.”

Currently, the two mainstream, emission-estimating methods are bottom-up, accounting for activities on the ground and how they emit, and top-down, inferring emissions with observations, numerical models and complicated frameworks that are usually region-specific.

Sun’s method will fall within the scope of the latter but will work faster, be globally applicable and provide the high spatial resolutions that are more commonly achieved by the bottom-up method.

The results will resemble a space-telescope image, with significant emission sources standing out like galaxies and smaller sources, such as towns and power plants, sprinkled about like star clusters.

By the end of the five-year study, Sun hopes students and educators may use his open-source algorithms to generate satellite-based concentration and emission maps on their personal computers. 

Yinyin Ye , assistant professor of civil, structural and environmental engineering; award amount: $580,393.

Bacterial infections cause more than 300,000 deaths annually in the United States. Many of these infections are triggered by proteins secreted from bacteria in lipid-containing particles called extracellular vesicles (EV). These harmful materials move from the human body through feces into the sewer systems, where their fate is not fully understood.

With the research grant, Ye will monitor EV persistence and stability in wastewater and throughout the wastewater-treatment process. She will analyze functions of environmental EV and what contents are packed in them, and develop an analysis method that integrates genome sequencing and proteomic analysis.

“If the vesicles preserve the function of virulence proteins in wastewater, we need to better understand the fate of the vesicles when they go through the treatment chain,” Ye says. “How are we able to minimize the health risks of vesicles after the treatment at the wastewater treatment plants? If they escape the treatment process and are still active, that can have certain health impacts.”

Ye’s project will focus on wastewater samples. However, these approaches can be applied to analyzing vesicles and their potential health risks in air dust, drinking water and rainwater, she notes. Ultimately, this work will help determine what harmful materials — if any — are still present after the wastewater-treatment process and how to remove them most effectively through disinfection.

She will also create hands-on activities to engage K-12 and undergraduate students in learning about wastewater microbiome analysis and microbial risk mitigation for public health and potentially build their interest in environmental engineering.

Zhuoyue Zhao , assistant professor of computer science and engineering; award amount: $599,977.

Today’s internet databases hold large volumes of data that are processed at higher speeds than ever before.

A new type of database system, hybrid transactional/analytical processing (HTAP), allows for real-time data analytics on databases that undergo constant updates.

“While real-time data analytics can provide valuable insights for applications such as marketing, fraud detection and supply chain analytics, it is increasingly hard to ensure a sufficiently low response time of query answering in existing HTAP systems,” Zhao says.

Approximate query processing (AQP) is a faster alternative that uses random sampling. However, many AQP prototypes and adopted systems sacrifice query efficiency or the ability to handle rapid updates correctly.

With the research grant, Zhao aims to support real-time data analytics on large and rapidly growing databases by enabling reliable AQP capabilities in HTAP systems, leading to increasingly demanding, real-time analytics applications.

“If this problem is solved, it will potentially make it possible to finally adopt AQP in many existing database systems and create sizable impacts on real-world data analytics applications,” Zhao explains.

Zhao will incorporate new material into existing UB undergraduate- and graduate-level courses, as well as offer tutorials and projects in various K-12 outreach and undergraduate experiential learning programs. 

Shaofeng Zou , assistant professor of electrical engineering; award amount: $520,000.

Reinforcement learning (RL) is a type of machine learning that trains autonomous robots, self-driving cars and other intelligent agents to make sequential decisions while interacting with an environment.

Many RL approaches assume the learned policy will be deployed in the same — or similar — environment as the one it was trained in. In most cases, however, the simulated environment is vastly different from the real world — such as when a real-world environment is mobile while a simulated environment is stationary. These differences often lead to major disruptions in industries using RL, including health care, critical infrastructure, transportation systems, education and more.

Zou’s award will fund his work developing RL algorithms that do not require excessive resources, and that will perform effectively under the most challenging conditions, including those outside of the training environment. According to Zou, the project could have a significant impact on both the theory and practice of sequential decision-making associated with RL in special education, intelligent transportation systems, wireless communication networks, power systems and drone networks.

“The activities in this project will provide concrete principles and design guidelines to achieve robustness in the face of model uncertainty,” Zou says. “Advances in machine learning and data science will transform modern humanity across nearly every industry. They are already the main driver of emerging technologies.

“The overarching goal of my research is to make machine learning and data science provably competent.”