How to Write a Research Proposal

Elements of a Proposal

A well-written proposal includes the following elements:

Title Page – The title page must include all of your contact information and a statement of affiliation.

Abstract – The abstract must include a brief description of the problem being addressed, how it will be addressed, and what you plan to present in your research proposal. A list of references cited or referred to within the paper should not be included here because it does not appear on the first page.

Table of Contents – List all of the major headings and subheadings in your proposal.

Introduction- This should be short and include why the topic is important/relevant for scholarly work. It should be a clear statement telling the reader what you intend to do in a research proposal, including a discussion of related literature from other researchers. Then list your hypotheses or problem being explored within your project.

Statement of Purpose – The purpose statement serves to answer the question, “Why am I doing this research?” It should include the major contribution of your work and how it will help move your field forward.

Literature Review- A literature review summarizes existing scholarship on a topic or issue, whereas a research proposal outlines the methodology for a planned study or project.

Research Questions/Hypothesis – Formulate your hypothesis based on the literature you have reviewed. The writer must articulate the research questions for this project. For example, what is being tested or explored? Why would it be important?

Research Methods – List the type of research design you plan to use, including any experimental procedures and controls used. Discuss all data collection methods you will use and explain how they are appropriate for your study. Use methodological approaches to answering research questions. Have a section that discusses your participants or subjects. Include their number, the sampling method to be used, and the characteristics of the group being studied.

Alternative Explanations – If there are alternative explanations to what you propose in a research paper proposal, discuss why they are unlikely to be true or what data you would need to collect or examine to refute them.

Limitations of the Study – For any study, there are always limitations, including time, cost, and participant availability. Discuss what these limitations may be for your project.

Conclusions- This section should restate the purpose and goals of the study and summarize the key findings. Also, list any implications for practice, policy, further research, or other recommendations you may have.

Summary – Summarize your research question/hypothesis, methodology (design), data analysis techniques to be used, and potential ethical issues that may arise from this project.

References – The research must include all sources used to prepare your project, including direct quotations and paraphrased information.

Appendix – This is where you will need to provide additional information or data that does not fit within the confines of the paper (for example, questionnaires and surveys).

Editing and Proofreading – Read your completed research proposal several times to check for spelling and grammatical errors. It’s also wise to read it aloud or have someone else read it to ensure that everything makes sense. Check for plagiarism also before submitting.

What Are the Steps of Writing a Research Proposal?

Writing a research proposal varies depending on the type of research being conducted, but there are eight general steps that every proposal follows;

• Identify and research topic- what is your primary focus? Identify why the topic is relevant to the subject areas covered in your class.
• Study existing literature review connected to your research topic;
• Research question and determine aims/objectives/hypothesis;
• Develop a coherent and persuasive argument for your proposed research;
• Develop a study design by choosing data collection tools (survey, interview, observation);
• Define variables & operational definitions;
• Describe sample (if applicable);
• Determine sample size;
• Write the research proposal & establish a timeline for completion.

How to Write a Research Proposal Outline

Writing an outline for your research is significantly more important than writing one for an essay, thesis, or dissertation proposal. It sets the stage for everything that comes after it. A good outline for a research proposal should do three things:

1. It should show you how all of the parts of the paper fit together;

2. It should help you effectively write individual sections;

3. It should serve as reference material when writing your overall thesis statement, literature review, and all other key elements.

Writing the Introduction to Research Proposal

The introduction of the research proposal is your initial pitch. Ensure it clearly explains what the project is about and why it matters. The introduction should include:

• An overview of the problem or topic you are addressing leads to why it is important. This will be your thesis statement.
• A brief explanation of why you are the best person to address the problem or subject.
• A brief explanation of what you hope to accomplish by conducting your study. This should be expressed as a set of questions that you will aim to answer through your research.
• A statement on how this research would fit into the current literature on this topic and why it is important.
• A brief literature review of studies that have been conducted on the topic and what they found/how you might apply them to your research. Include also how you think your research will refine or extend existing knowledge.
• A statement on why this study is worth conducting, i.e., how will this help researchers interested in the same research? This can be expressed as a simple question.
• A statement on the structure of your research, i.e., the steps you will take to address the problem or topic and how you will use them in your paper.

Your thesis statement should have enough information to stand alone as an introduction to what you are writing about without being too vague or obvious about what you will be discussing.

Writing the Literature Review

Extensive literature reviews are often not needed in a research proposal. Think of the literature review as an introduction to your research. It’s where you introduce the reader to the problem or topic that you are addressing.

Please provide enough information about the state of existing knowledge and existing research on this topic. This is important for the reader to understand why your study is necessary and the gaps that currently exist in your understanding.

You must introduce the reader to key literature that they might not have thought of otherwise. You can do this by mentioning articles you will be referring to in your study and giving a brief description of what the article did and why it is important.

Literature reviews for research proposals should not be extensive; readers expect to see more of this material later.

Writing the Research Questions

Your research questions should directly address gaps in knowledge or understanding of the study problem or topic. These questions should be phrased in a way that allows for different research angles. They must be neither too specific nor too broad.

You can expect to answer these questions in your study, so they should tell the reader what knowledge gaps exist in this literature and show how subsequent research will fill in these gaps.

For example, “What are the effects of…?” is too broad and does not show the reader how you will answer this question. However, a statement such as “This study will investigate what effect ___ has on ____ by ______” tells the reader that your study will do a thorough investigation of this topic and how it forms a causal relationship with another variable.

Writing the Research Proposal Methodology Section

Your methodology section should describe the design and procedures of your study in enough detail for others to understand and replicate your research.

The methodology should provide enough information to convince readers that you will address the problem or question exhaustively. Provide enough detail for readers to understand how you will accomplish your research objectives.

Also, indicate what hypotheses you propose to test, the dependent and independent variables that are being measured, and any other necessary measurement devices or tools that may be used. Expose the reader to any potential problems with your study, such as internal and external validity threats.

Writing the Research Proposal Results and Discussion Section

You can organize the results of your study into a section that discusses your findings. It should be followed by a conclusion that summarizes the significance of your research. The Introduction of this section should indicate how (or if) you tested your hypotheses and what you found.

The discussion section should discuss the findings and answer any questions that your study did not address. For example, if you wanted to investigate whether people who believe in God are more likely to show empathy and could only show that these people felt guiltier after viewing a violent video, this section of your paper would explain what you found. For instance (there was no difference between believers and non-believers in how guilt was affected by the video).

The results should also discuss any trends found (for example, you could mention that participants who believed in God seemed to feel less empathy overall). These trends may not influence your hypotheses or question directly.

Writing the Conclusion

The conclusion should summarize the significance of your study and how it has added to the existing literature. It should also summarize if your hypotheses were supported or not and what gaps in knowledge you have identified through this study.

The research conclusion should also draw a connection between your research question and the overall discussion of the topic. You should tie together all of these ideas. For example, if you had asked whether people who believed in God showed more empathy than atheists, the conclusion of your paper could discuss if these people were more moral or not.

Then, you could connect this to the larger discussion of religion and morality.