Research Proposal: From Start to End

This article provides a guideline concerning how to write a good research proposal from start to end. Presented guidelines teach students the most critical elements of this type of scholarly text, including an abstract, introduction, research question and hypothesis, methodology, limitations, and ethical considerations. Further on, writing a research proposal is an essential activity in academic life, while such a paper helps to show how people understand certain concepts. In writing, students need to understand that a research proposal is not a research paper, and this composition should give only a sense of future work. Moreover, a good scientific paper begins with a well-organized proposal, being a basis for evaluating an overall relevance and applicability of a given study. By reading this article, one can grasp valuable insights on how to start and write a research proposal, including the most critical details that can prevent a professor, department, or university committee from rejecting it.

General Aspects

Learning and perfecting how to write a research proposal is not only an academic requirement for college students but also a pivotal process of intellectual development. In any academic calendar, students write various types of papers, including different types of essays, reports, and commentaries. Therefore, continually developing one’s knowledge of writing proposals is essential for success in college. Researching is an academic and intellectual activity that helps individuals to explore or investigate phenomena to advance knowledge. Ideally, a student’s main agenda is to identify some gaps in existing knowledge and conduct a valid examination to fill these gaps. Practically, any research process begins with a proposal. As a result, this guideline teaches students and anyone interested in understanding how to start and write a good proposal.

What Is a Research Proposal and Its Purpose

According to its definition, a research proposal is a detailed plan and formal document for a scientific or academic study that outlines what a person intends to investigate, why this project is important, and how it will be conducted. For example, such a paper includes a clear research question or hypothesis, a review of relevant literature, and a methodology section that describes a study design, data collection, and analysis methods (O’Leary, 2021). As such, the main purpose of writing a research proposal is to convince others, such as teachers, professors, academic supervisors, funding bodies, or ethics committees, of an actual value and feasibility of a proposed project. Further on, people need to demonstrate their understanding of existing literature, identify gaps that an entire project will address, and detail key methods that will be used to collect, evaluate, and analyze data (Terrell, 2023). Moreover, a well-structured proposal ensures a specific research question is clear, a chosen approach is sound, and writing a whole study is manageable within given time frames and resources. By setting a clear direction, these papers also help scholars to stay focused and organized throughout a whole research and writing process (Denscombe, 2020). In terms of pages and words, the length of a research proposal depends on academic levels and specific requirements based on a field of study and institution, while general writing guidelines are:

Format

Note: Some writing sections of a research proposal can be added, deleted, or combined with each other, depending on specific disciplines, university requirements, and fields of study. For example, a standard research proposal format is a structured layout that organizes basic sections and elements of a scientific paper, such as an introduction, literature review, methodology, expected results, and references, to ensure clarity and coherence (Terrell, 2023). In writing, any research aims describe an overall goal or purpose of a study, while research objectives break down specific, measurable steps needed to achieve that goal. Further on, a research plan outlines detailed steps and timeline for conducting a project, while a research proposal is a broader document that presents a study question, significance, and methodology to seek approval or funding (Denscombe, 2020). Moreover, a master’s program is a graduate degree focused on advanced knowledge, specialized understanding, and practical skills in a specific field, while a Ph.D. is a doctoral degree that emphasizes original research and contributes new knowledge to a chosen discipline. In writing, to start a research proposal, people begin by clearly defining a specific study problem or question they intend to address, providing context, and highlighting its significance.

Importance

A research proposal is an important text that explains why understanding a topical area is critical because such a composition provides a specific question or hypothesis and how scholars intend to answer it. From this perspective, this type of document means providing a logical presentation of an intended study topic and methods to evaluate its relevance and applicability, being a first stage of writing a research paper (Rogers, 2020). As such, a real importance of writing a proposal lies in a fact that people must convince an assessment committee that they are knowledgeable about a thematic area. Moreover, students need to demonstrate this knowledge by addressing specific gaps in current literature, adding new knowledge, or evaluating existing paradigms in a topical area. In turn, they can establish their study topics and relevant evidence about their studies, determining if there exists enough support for a suggested theme under investigation to write about.

Use

In most instances, students write research proposals toward an end of their college education when they must demonstrate a deep understanding of what they have learned through the years. For example, the 5 steps of writing a research proposal include identifying a specific study problem, conducting a literature review, formulating valid questions, designing a methodology, and drafting a paper with a clear structure (Denscombe, 2020). However, a research proposal differs from a research paper in that this writing lacks the findings category, which is a primary purpose of any scientific project. Besides, people use their proposals to assess an actual relevance and scope of studied topics. As a result, proposal writing helps to evaluate an overall effectiveness of a specific issue and methods of investigation.

Key Features

Any proposal depends on a specific scope of analysis and what authors intend to achieve. In writing, main sections of any essay proposal may vary depending on a goal of a study. For small essays, some sections can be skipped, for example, due to an absence of a sample population or experiment itself (O’Leary, 2021). However, for huge projects, all main sections should be included. In turn, all research proposals must have next elements:

Steps on How to Write a Research Proposal

To write a research proposal, people clearly outline their study questions, objectives, methodologies, and an actual significance of their projects while ensuring each section logically builds upon a previous one. For example, the 7 key parts of any research proposal include a unique title, introduction, literature review, specific questions or hypotheses, methodology, expected results, and references (O’Leary, 2021). As such, any proposal describes planned study’s objectives, significance, methodology, and expected outcomes, outlining how an entire project will be conducted and its potential impact. In turn, key writing steps to follow include:

• Understand Requirements: Review specific guidelines provided by your institution or funding body to ensure compliance with all formatting and content expectations.
• Select a Good Topic: Choose a focused and relevant topic that is both interesting and feasible to study.
• Conduct a Literature Review: Analyze an existing literature to identify knowledge gaps and establish a valid foundation for writing your proposed study.
• Formulate a Research Question or Hypothesis: Develop a clear, concise question or hypothesis that your project will address.
• Define Your Study Objectives: Clearly outline what you aim to achieve through your analysis, including both general and specific goals.
• Design Your Methodology: Write about key research methods you will use and implement in your project to collect, evaluate, and analyze data, and explain why these techniques are appropriate.
• Discuss a Significance: Explain a potential impact and contributions of your examination to a specific field of study.
• Create a Timeline: Develop a realistic time frame and schedule that outlines key milestones and deadlines for your research activities.
• Prepare a Budget: Estimate and justify potential costs associated with conducting your investigation.
• Review and Revise: Carefully proofread your research proposal and seek feedback to ensure clarity, coherence, and completeness before submission.

Structure

Like any term paper or essay, a research proposal has a unique writing structure that students should adopt. For example, such a structure must include an abstract or executive summary, an introduction that emphasizes a study’s significance, a background or literature review, a project’s rationale, research methodology, ethical considerations, analysis of information, limitations and critical assumptions, expected findings and conclusion, and a list of references (Terrell, 2023). Each section addresses specific issues, and students can combine them with each other if needed. In writing, short sections have headings only, while long ones often incorporate sub-headings. Finally, people must understand that this structure is a standard outline, but professors may provide a different design depending on a topical area.

Referencing Styles

When writing a research proposal, students should ensure a relevant style applies from the beginning to the end. Academic writing rules stipulate that people can only use one style — APA, MLA, Harvard, or Chicago/Turabian —  in their proposal paper or essay. As such, one cannot structure a paper according to an APA style and provide citations according to an MLA style. In turn, each style is unique and has characteristics that students should adopt and demonstrate when producing a research proposal (Pears & Shields, 2022). The most critical writing elements in these styles are an author, a year of publication, a title of a given work, and a publisher’s name and location.

📕 APA Style

APA (American Psychological Association) writing style is the most common in a scientific work. In writing, students should understand basic rules of this referencing approach. For example, in-text citations allow authors to indicate a specific source of information they have used in their proposal to support an argument or contextualize an observation (American Psychological Association, 2019). In writing, students can use two approaches when doing these citations, such as naming a specific source in a sentence or indicating it at the end of this sentence in parenthesis: (Stevenson, 2018). At the end of any paper, one should create references listing all the sources. For example, a reference entry for a scholarly source should follow a next structure:

📕 MLA Style

MLA (Modern Language Association) is not commonly used in proposals. However, instructors may require students to use it when writing a research proposal. As such, one needs to know how to use it correctly. According to the Modern Language Association of America (2021), when citing sources in a body of a text, students should mention an author’s surname and a page where the information is located in parentheses at the end of a sentence: (Stevenson 19). At the end of a proposal, they should create a Works Cited page listing all the sources used, like:

📕 Harvard Style

Harvard style has greater similarities with APA format. One similarity is citing an author’s name and a year of publication in in-text citations. However, unlike APA style, Harvard referencing does not require people to use a comma after an author’s surname (Pears & Shields, 2022). Therefore, an in-text citation in Harvard appears as: (Stevenson 2018). At the end of a proposal, students should create a reference list where they capture all the sources they have used in writing their documents. For example, a Harvard reference entry for a scholarly article should have a following information:

📕 Chicago/Turabian Style

Chicago/Turabian referencing format is similar to MLA style. However, the most significant difference is that students should use footnotes to capture in-text citations when writing their proposals. Such citations should indicate an author’s surname and a page number where they got the cited information (The University of Chicago Press, 2017). For a scholarly source, a first footnote should capture a following information:

Ultimately, students should create a Bibliography page to note all the sources. An above source should appear as it is, except that a surname followed by first and second names and page numbers will indicate all the pages of a source document.

Reasons for Rejection

Rejection of academic texts happens for various reasons, the most common being an author’s failure to satisfy basic writing requirements, like a referencing style and deadline for submission. Other reasons include proposing a topic irrelevant to a given discipline and proposing questionable research questions, hypotheses, scientific design, and methods (Terrell, 2023). Submitting an incomplete proposal, a poorly written literature review, and presenting a scientific methodology beyond a principal investigator’s capacity can also lead to a rejection of such a document. Therefore, it is paramount that students acquaint themselves with basic writing requirements of proposals and key expectations of professors, departments, and university committees.

Error Elimination

While students must format their research paper proposals according to an applicable citation style, they should also ensure their work is error-free in writing. Basically, some authors make many mistakes when producing academic texts: wrong and missing citations, punctuation, and inconsistent arguments and ideas (O’Leary, 2021). In turn, students should eliminate such flaws when writing a proposal to avoid a professor, department, or university committee rejecting their papers or essays. It is paramount for one to read and reread their proposal to identify any errors. While it is easier to fix grammatical and formatting mistakes, it can be challenging to identify inconsistencies in thought. As such, students can give their research paper proposals or essays to colleagues or peers to peruse because authors may be biased in critiquing their own work.

Academic Writing Conventions

Students should observe academic writing conventions when organizing a research paper proposal or essay. A first rule is to use formal language (Denscombe, 2020). All authors must use third-person pronouns, such as ‘they,’ and avoid first- and second-person pronouns, such as ‘I’ and ‘we.’ Another convention is citing all information from outside sources using the applicable style described above (Terrell, 2023). Other requirements include writing in an active voice, observing a 80/20 rule, avoiding slang and emotive and exaggerated language, and following a well-organized template. In writing, a 80/20 rule suggests that people should spend 80 percent of their time researching material and 20 percent composing it into a logical proposal paper or essay. Hence, observing these rules can make a high-quality research paper proposal or essay and prevent rejection by relevant authorities.

Topics

When writing research paper proposals or essays, students should choose topics carefully because it will significantly determine an overall quality of their work. Ideally, it is easier to analyze an issue people are excited about and confident they can write about because they have studied it in class or during personal study in a library or at home (O’Leary, 2021). In other words, a proposal topic is important because it directs what students intend to do, including finding information in multiple databases. As such, a following list provides possible research proposal topics that students can choose to write about because each indicates an aspect of examination, exploration, or investigation:

• Potential Impact of Autonomous Vehicles on Urban Planning
• Innovative Approaches to Cybersecurity in Modern Businesses
• Examining an Influence of Peer Pressure on Adolescents’ Behaviors
• How Parental Divorce Impairs Teenagers’ Socioemotional Development
• Examining Leadership Through Employees’ Attitudes, Behaviors, and Performance
• Investigating a Relationship Between Education and Economic and Social Mobility
• How Morale Impacts Cohesion in a Workplace Setting?

Outline and Template

Research Proposal Example

What to Include

Common Mistakes

• Lack of Focus: Proposing a topic that is too broad or vague, making it difficult to address effectively.
• Inadequate Literature Review: Failing to thoroughly review existing knowledge, leading to a proposal that overlooks important studies or replicates previous works.
• Unclear Research Question: Not clearly defining a specific question or hypothesis for analysis, which can confuse an entire direction and purpose of writing a given study.
• Weak Justification for a Study: Not convincingly explaining a real significance or relevance of a project, making it seem unimportant.
• Poor Methodological Design: Proposing a methodology that is inappropriate for a defined question, leading to unreliable or invalid results.
• Ignoring Ethical Considerations: Overlooking potential ethical implications of a project, which can lead to its rejection by review boards.
• Unrealistic Timeline: Planning a timeline that is either too ambitious or too vague, making it difficult to complete a project and its writing on time.
• Inaccurate Budget Estimation: Underestimating or overestimating a budget, leading to potential funding issues or project infeasibility.
• Lack of Clarity and Precision: Writing in a way that is unclear or overly complex, which can confuse reviewers and detract from a proposal’s strength.
• Failure to Follow Guidelines: Ignoring specific writing instructions or formatting requirements provided by a specific institution or funding body, which can result in an automatic rejection.

Summing Up

A research proposal is a logical statement that helps to evaluate an actual relevance and applicability of any scholarly work. In writing, this type of paper must have a well-organized introduction that presents main study objectives. Then, a literature review reveals a specific knowledge gap that a further investigation must address, substantiating a scientific work or essay. Moreover, a good proposal must contain anticipated methods and a plan of work. In turn, a method section includes a detailed procedure for gathering the relevant data for a given study. As a result, students need several tips for writing a high-standard proposal that a professor or university committee cannot reject, which include:

• When writing a research proposal, a first thing to do is choose a thematic area one is acquainted with because it creates excitement and enthusiasm.
• Then, students should develop their research question(s) or hypothesis(es).
• A third agenda is to find credible sources in online databases for a literature review section to identify knowledge gaps and popular paradigms.
• A fourth aspect is to pick a specific type of scientific methodology, considering principal differences between qualitative and quantitative designs, such as correlational, descriptive, experimental, observational case studies, and ethnographies.
• Lastly, students should review their work to address every critical writing detail and aspect of a research proposal paper.

References

American Psychological Association. (2019). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.).

Axon, D. R. (2023). Research and scholarly methods: Creating a research protocol. JACCP: Journal of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy, 6(6), 632–641. https://doi.org/10.1002/jac5.1790

Denscombe, M. (2020). Research proposals: A practical guide (2nd ed.). Open University Press.

Modern Language Association of America. (2021). MLA Handbook (9th ed.).

O’Leary, Z. (2021). Research proposal. SAGE Publishing.

Pears, R., & Shields, G. J. (2022). Cite them right: The essential referencing guide (12th ed.). A&C Black.

Pirinelli, A. L. (2021). Integrating a structured research proposal into an undergraduate glycobiology class. Journal of Chemical Education, 98(11), 3542–3548. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.1c00035

Rogers, R. (2020). Removing the mysteries of research proposals: A review of Steven. R. Terrell’s writing a proposal for your dissertation: Guidelines and examples. The Qualitative Report, 25(6), 1672–1675. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2020.4720

Terrell, S. R. (2023). Writing a proposal for your dissertation: Guidelines and examples. Guilford Publications.

The University of Chicago Press. (2017). The Chicago manual of style (18th ed.).