Why is it useful to write a good research proposal?

Being able to write a good research proposal is key to unlock countless possibilities. For example, a research proposal is usually one of the main prerequisites to apply for a PhD position. In some cases, it is even required for the admission to some prestigious MA. Phil. More in general, a valid research proposal is the starting point of any good research and to write it in the best way possible is fundamental for several reasons, among which getting funds. But, let’s start from the beginning.

What is a research proposal?

A widely accepted definition of 'research proposal' is: 'a document aimed at outline the main aspects of a research'. However, such definition is not entirely useful as the reality is more complex.
As a matter of a fact, a successful research proposal is a document that says something 'interesting' not only about your research, but also about your skills as a scholar. Now, when I use the word 'interesting', you must not be misled: 'interesting' here means 'useful'. Indeed, a research proposal is considered promising – and thus useful – when it could realistically enrich the knowledge of the scientific community, even with only a small contribution. In addition, you have to keep in mind that your research proposal must be useful also for the institution or university you are applying for.
Let’s make a practical example. Let’s say you are interested in applying for a PhD position in molecular biology. In order to conduct your research, you will certainly need a laboratory with some very specific equipment. The best choice, therefore, will be to apply for an institution that already has such laboratory, or that has already shown some interest in this line of research. Otherwise, the chances of success will diminish dramatically.
What I am trying to tell you is that you don't have to write a research proposal and send it randomly to several universities in hope to be accepted. Rather, a research proposal – like any other kind of text – has to be specifically tailored for an audience. And, in this specific case, the audience coincides with the commission that will evaluate your proposal.

So, do some research. Ask suggestions to your supervisor, or another professor worthy of your esteem, and select the best institutions that may be interested in your research. Only after doing this, open your laptop and start to write a proposal tailored for your very specific situation and audience.

How to write a research proposal: content, structure and templates

If you have never written a research proposal and you are looking for a practical guide, Ludwig.guru is here to help you. Let’s start with some basic practical information.

How long should a research proposal be?

The average length of a research proposal is usually about 2.500 words. However, as we have already pointed out, a research proposal is a document that must be written keeping in mind the specific institution you are applying to. So, the best thing to do is to consult the official website of that institution and look for the information you need. For example, a research proposal submitted to Cambridge must not exceed 800 words for a PhD position and 500 for an M.Phil., while a PhD proposal submitted to the Massachusetts Institute of Technologies must be ideally no more than 2.000 words in length. So, again, get the information you need before starting to write.

What should be the content of a research proposal? How should the document be structured? Are templates useful?

As regard the content and the structure, a research proposal usually consists of the following parts:

• TITLE
• ABSTRACT
• LITERATURE REVIEW
• RESEARCH QUESTION(S)
• METHODOLOGY
• PLAN OF WORK & TIME SCHEDULE
• BIBLIOGRAPHY

However, keep in mind that the exact requirements can vary from institution to institution. Some universities, for example, require an abstract of the research proposal and the texts have to be organized in sections with headings. Other institutions, instead, prefer a research proposal not divided into sections: just a title, the text of the proposal and the bibliography. So, visit the website of the university you are interested in and check the format they prefer and the required rules. If they have an official template, download it.
On the other hand, before filling the template like a Sudoku, remember what we have already said: you are writing your research proposal to prove that you are a capable, trustworthy scholar. In other words, you have to impress your audience positively.

How to impress the audience: critical literature review, well-defined research questions and feasibility

As said previously, a research proposal is not just about the topic you wish to investigate. It is, above all, about you and your reliability as a scholar. So, one of the main purposes of your research project is to impress the evaluation commission in the best way, by showing them that you are the candidate they are looking for. In other words, you must demonstrate to know what you are going to do and that you know how to do it.
To reach these goals, your research proposal has to meet certain requirements in order to make you look like a reliable, trustworthy candidate.
What are these requirements?

• Start with a good literature review
  The first rule to make a good impression is to demonstrate that you are familiar with the proposed topic. I am not just talking about a good general knowledge of your field. Rather, you have to show to be able to master the very specific scientific literature concerning your research.
  The literature review, also known as “the state-of-the-art”, is not just a resume of the previous publications concerning your topic: it is a process that involves a critical approach. Try asking yourself the following questions: are there any aspects that have been neglected by the previous studies? What kind of methodologies have been used in the aforementioned previous studies? Are some of these methodologies more valid than others? If yes, why? Is it possible to say something new by using a different methodological approach?
  In other words, given the whole picture of the state-of-the-art, how do you place your research?
  These questions are of vital importance and – as we will see later – they play a main role also in the most important part of your research proposal: the formulation of the research questions.

• The research questions must be well-defined and original
  Any research proposal has a specific object – or a main aim – and it is explained by the research questions.
  To develop one, or more, strong research questions is the most important and, at the same time, the most difficult part of the proposal. So, how to develop a good research question? And, what separates a good research question from a bad one?
  Well, as we have already seen, a good research question has to arise by a critical literature review and it has to fill a gap in the state of the art. In other words, it could be said that a good research question has to be original, and in some ways “innovative”, but within the specific context of the previous studies.
  However, originality alone is not enough. A good research question must be, above all, well-defined and specific. Let’s make a practical example. “Why is it so difficult for students to find a home in some university cities?” is not a good research question: it is too vague and it is not clear how you intend to carry out the investigation. Instead, a question like “What impact have regional policies had on the affordability and accessibility of student housing in Tuscany between the 1980 and the 2000?” is a pretty good question. It indeed doesn’t ask for opinions, but defines a well circumscribed area of research. The object of the research is clear and narrow and, above all, it looks like a feasible research. But, what does it mean?

• Feasibility
  In order to look like a trustworthy, reliable candidate your research proposal has to be… researchable. What does it mean?
  Any good research is based on the analysis of the data. If data is missing, you are not doing scientific research: you are writing a science fiction story. So, it is very important to show how you will have access to the data you need.
  Let’s go back to the example of the housing problem. The research question “What impact have university policies had on the affordability and accessibility of student housing in Tuscany between the 1980 and the 2000?” look like a feasible research. Yet, in order to show its feasibility, you have to explain where and how you will find the relevant data. Do you have access to certain archives? Or can you find some data online? Can you realistically collect a list of the relevant university policies that occurred in the proposed time span? If yes, go into detail and explain how. This will give your proposal an edge.
  Another important aspect is to show that your research could get some valid results within a set deadline. As we have already seen, several universities require you to add a timetable and a work plan to your project. This is another important occasion to show your organizational skills. So, do not fill it randomly. Rather, try to demonstrate that you have a valid method. A good tip, for example, is to give the priority to data collection.

• Language and style
  Your research proposal is written for the scientific community. Yet, it does not mean that it must be hard to read.
  A clear and concise style is the key to success. Avoid long sentences and use scientific jargon only when strictly necessary. Avoid cliché and, above all, do not copy other research proposal samples found online. Rather, use your own words and be clear and original.
  Finally, keep in mind that – if you are not a native English speaker – Ludwig.guru is here to help you. Ludwig is the first sentence search engine that helps you write better English by giving you contextualized examples of sentences taken from reliable sources. If you haven't tried it, it'll give an upgrade to your writing skills.

Examples of Research projects

To clarify your ideas, here are some examples of real research proposals provided by renowned institutions. You can draw inspiration from these documents to write yours. As you will see, the length and the structure can be various.

Example 1

This example, instead, is provided by York St John University and it is a research proposal for a PhD.

Title of research:

Research Capacity in Health Librarianship: The ReCAP Project

Objectives:

• To identify key priorities and barriers for research development in health librarianship

• To gain consensus on key questions to be included in a national survey for research development in health librarianship

Please give a brief justification of your proposed research project:

The aim of this focus group study is to identify key issues relating to the engagement with research of health librarians with research and in particular, their consideration of research development in the contexts of their professional practice.

The existing healthcare system is based on accountability, cost containment, and quality of care; fundamental to the achievement of these is the integration and application of the results of sound, reliable research and therefore the practice and delivery of evidence based patient care1-3. The latest Government documents which consider the future of the NHS confirms the continued Government prioritisation of this in highlighting the need to develop a strategy for leadership in health related research1-4. The development of research capacity goes hand in hand with research and development activities and the Department of Health proposes that building research capacity will be achieved primarily through the application of collaborative practice models5-6.

Librarians are fundamentally associated with research; their work involves the organisation and management of the knowledge that is generated from research. The recent review of NHS library services7 identifies research as one of the four key areas where librarians have an essential role and recommends that the Department of Health issues formal guidance indicating this. Given this recommendation health librarians will in the future increasingly need to become more engaged with research. Furthermore, as research capacity building is becoming increasingly significant within the current climate of research and development in health, it is necessary to consider the role of health librarianship in this context. This is particularly pertinent in light of the recent Hill Report9 which specifically recommends that “research to measure the impact of the application of best available evidence in decision making should continue to be pursued vigorously and routinely by health librarians, in partnership with researchers”.

It is hoped that the end result of this focus group study will be a clearer identification of the priorities and barriers in relation to research development in health librarianship and to reach a consensus agreement which will inform the development of a national questionnaire survey which will explore these issues in greater depth.

1. National Institute for Health Research. Transforming health research: the first two years: National Institute for Health Research: progress report 2006-2008. London: National Institute for Health Research, 2008.

2. Department of Health. World class commissioning: adding life to years and years to life. London: Department of Health Commissioning. 2007.

3. Department of Health. Best research for best health: a new national research strategy. London: Department of Health, 2006.

4. UK Clinical Research Collaboration (UKCRC). Developing the best research professionals: qualified graduate nurses: recommendations for preparing and supporting clinical academic nurses of the future: report of the UKCRC Subcommittee for Nurses in Clinical Research (Workforce). London: UKCRC, 2007.

5. Care Services Improvement Partnership. Designing networks for collaborative advantage: practice-based evidence on how to set up networks to improve partnership working and achieve positive outcomes,. London: Care Services Improvement Partnership, 2006.

6. Hill, Peter. Report of a national review of NHS library services in England: from knowledge to health in the 21st century. NHS Institute for Improvement and Innovation: Warwick, 2008.

Please outline the proposed sample group, including any specific criteria:

The sample group will include a single representative for seven identified areas of health librarianship:

• Academic health librarians
• Clinical librarians
• NHS library service managers
• Other health librarians (non-NHS)
• Research librarians (in health)
• Senior information strategy managers
• Senior strategy group members

Describe how the proposed sample group will be formulated:

A call for representatives will be sent out to targeted groups and communities in the areas of representation identified, and through the use of cascading methods. This will include JISCmail groups, special interest and professional groups, and cascades through senior strategic managers and group Chairs.

Indicate clearly what the involvement of the sample group will be in the research process:

The main purpose of the focus group is to reach a consensus agreement which will inform the development of a national questionnaire survey. The results of the focus group will be used to develop the survey which will then be sent out to a large representative sample group of health librarians working in the seven different contexts of health librarianship identified.

Specify how the consent of participants will be obtained. Please include within this a description of any information with which you intend to provide the subjects:

Participants will be sent an information sheet and consent form giving full details of the study (see attached). Participants will be sent this information by email and asked to bring a signed copy on the day the focus group runs.

Indicate any potential risks to subjects and how you propose to minimise these:

Participation in this focus group presents no potential risks to the participants. Participants and their organisations will not be named in subsequent write ups and material submitted for publication.

Describe the procedures you intend to follow in order to maintain the anonymity and confidentiality of the subjects

Participants and their organisations will not be named in subsequent write ups and material submitted for publication.

Example 2

This is a research proposal written for a Mphil in American Literature at Cambridge University.

MPhil dissertation proposal

Much of the recent revival of critical interest in the previously understudied American writer and activist John Neal (galvanised by the publication of John Neal and Nineteenth-Century Literature and Culture (2011), edited by Edward Watts and David J. Carlson) has touched upon, or treated in some depth, his proclamation of the need for a new “declaration of independence in the republic of letters” (preface to Rachel Dyer (1828)).
Critical convention has been to gloss this statement as an argument for the liberation of American literature from the demands and conventions of the British literary market, with Neal’s remark read by Watts and Carlson as a nationalist censure on the ‘Britishness’ of the writing of a number of his contemporaries. In my MPhil dissertation I will suggest that this is only a partial reading of Neal’s phrase and that his declaration of independence also refers to a literary revolution intended to establish the independence of the American writer from the American state. I will explore how Neal’s work argues for a “republic of letters” in which the American writer is an independent political entity whose function is to act as a ‘check and balance’ on the shortcomings and hypocrisies of the American nation.
Drawing on both my undergraduate dissertation, which discussed the use of early American gothic as a counter-literature to the ideals of the American Enlightenment, and Teresa A. Goddu’s (Gothic America, Narrative, History and Nation (1997)) investigation into John Neal’s interest in Native American language, I will show how Neal’s attempt to establish this literary independence of the American author was predicated on the appropriation of a linguistic style based on what he perceived to be “the candor, and straightforwardness” of Native American speech.
Taking as a starting point, Neal’s gothic novels Logan (1822) and Rachel Dyer (1828), his short story Otter-Bag, the Oneida Chief (1829), and the criticism he made of the literary style of his contemporaries and predecessors in the use of gothic as a counter-literature (Charles Brockden Brown, James Fennimore-Cooper and Washington Irving), my dissertation will illustrate how Neal appropriates this supposedly honest language - chosen for its fundamental and pointed separation from the social and philosophical ideals upon which the American nation had been settled - as a means of freeing the American author from any complicity with that which they felt impelled to critique.
As this project will rely heavily upon Neal’s works of literary criticism, Cambridge’s excellent provision of electronic access to journals to which Neal contributed, including the New England Magazine and Portland Magazine, would be invaluable to my dissertation. The early weeks of the “American Texts and Contexts” seminar series will also provide valuable insights into the literary historical context within which Neal and his contemporaries wrote.

You can find other useful examples, by following this link.