When you are applying for a research degree, like the PhD, you will very pr
obably have to write a research proposal as a part of your application file.
A PhD is awarded mainly as the result of your making a genuine contribution
to the state of knowledge in a field of your choice. Even though this is no
t the Nobel Prize yet, getting the degree means you have added something to
what has previously been known on the subject you have researched. But first
you have to prove you are capable of making such a contribution, and theref
ore write a research proposal that meets certain standards. The goal of a re
search proposal (RP) is to present and justify a research idea you have and
to present the practical ways in which you think this research should be con
ducted.
When you are writing a RP, keep in mind that it will enter a competition, be
ing read in line with quite a few other RPs. You have to come up with a docu
ment that has an impact upon the reader: write clearly and well structured s
o that your message gets across easily. Basically, your RP has to answer thr
ee big questions: what research project will you undertake, why is important
to know that thing and how will you proceed to make that research.
In order to draw the researcher's attention upon your paper, write an introd
uction with impact, and that leads to the formulation of your hypothesis. Th
e research hypothesis has to be specific, concise (one phrase) and to lead t
o the advancement of the knowledge in the field in some way. Writing the hyp
othesis in a concise manner and, first, coming up with a good hypothesis is
a difficult mission. This is actually the core of your application: you're g
oing to a university to do this very piece of research. Compared to this, th
e rest of the application is background scenery. Take your time to think of
it. When you have an idea, be careful at the formulation. A well-written hyp
othesis is something of an essay's thesis: it provides a statement that can
be tested (argues ahead one of the possible answers to a problem), it is an
idea, a concept, and not a mere fact, and is summed up in one phrase. In som
e cases, you will have no idea what the possible answer to a problem worth b
eing researched is, but you will be able to think of a way to solve that pro
blem, and find out the answer in the meantime. It's ok in this case, to form
ulate a research question, rather than a hypothesis. Let those cases be rare
, in any way.
Another piece of advice when writing your hypothesis, regarding the trendy r
esearch fields: chances are great that they're trendy because somebody has a
lready made that exciting discovery, or wrote that splendid paper that awoke
everybody's interest in the first place. If you're in one of these fields,
try to get a fresh point of view upon the subject; make new connections, don
't be 100% mainstream. This will make the project even more stimulating for
the reader. Imagine that you are writing about the trendiest subject, with a
bsolutely no change in the point of view, and you are given the chance to ma
ke the research. Trends come and go, fast; what are the chances that, in fou
r years' time, when your research is done and you are ready to publish your
results, one of those well-known professors who dispose of huge research gra
nts has already said whatever you had to say?
Remember how, in a structured essay, right after the thesis you would presen
t the organisation of your essay, by enumerating the main arguments you were
going to present? Same thing should happen in a RP. After stating your thes
is, you should give a short account of your answers to those three questions
mention earlier. State, in a few phrases, what will be learned from your re
search, that your project will make a difference, and why is that important
to be known. You will have to elaborate on both of these later in the paper.
The next step in writing your proposal is to prove that that particular piec
e of research has not been done yet. This section is usually called Literatu
re Review. Inside it, you have to enumerate and critically analyze an impres
sive list of boring bibliography. The conclusion you should - objectively! -
reach is that your idea of research has not been undertaken yet. Even more,
you use this opportunity to prove solid theoretical knowledge in the field,
and build the theoretical bases of your project. One tip: don't review all
the articles and books in the fields even if you mention them in the bibliog
raphy list; pay attention in your analysis to those you will build on. Anoth
er one: avoid jargon when writing your RP. The chances are great that the pe
rson(s) who will read your and another 1000 research proposals are not speci
alists in that very field - niche you are examining. If you are applying for
a grant with or foundation or something similar, it might happen that those
reading your paper are not even professors, but recruiters, donors, etc. An
d even if they actually are professors, one of the reasons busy people like
them agree to undertake a huge, and sometimes voluntary, work, is the desire
to meet some diversity, some change from their work - so maybe they'll read
applications for another specialisation. The capacity to get your message a
cross in clear, easy-to-grasp concepts and phrases is one of the winning pap
ers' most important advantages.
So far, you have proven you have a research idea, that you are familiar with
the field, and that your idea is new. Now, why should your project be worth
researching? Because it advances knowledge, ok. But is this knowledge that
anybody will need? Maybe nobody knows for sure how the shoelaces were being
tied in the XIXth century, but who cares, beyond two lace-tying specialists?
Find arguments to convince the reader that s/he should give you money for t
hat research: practical use, accelerating the development of knowledge in yo
ur or other fields, opening new research possibilities, a better understandi
ng of facts that will allow a more appropriate course of action are possible
reasons. Be clear and specific. Don't promise to save the world, it might b
e too much to start with. Even James Bond succeeds that only towards the end
of the movie.
We approach now one of the most difficult parts of writing a research propos
al: the methodology. In short, what actions are you going to take in order t
o answer the question? When will you know whether the hypothesis has been pr
oven wrong, or has survived enough tests to be considered, for now, valid? T
hose tests and the way you are supposed to handle them to give rigor to your
research is what is understood under methods. Methods divide in qualitative
(interviews, questionnaires) and quantitative (statistics, stuff that deals
intensively with numbers). For some projects qualitative methods are more a
ppropriate, for some quantitative, while for most a mixture of the two is ad
equate. You should pick your methods and justify your choice. Research metho
dology, however, is too a complicated thing to be explained here. And this i
s why it's so tough: not much attention is given to teaching it in Eastern E
urope. Try, before writing your RP, to read a bit more about methodology - o
n the Internet you will find for sure some articles - and decide which metho
ds suit your project best. Don't forget: reading theoretical pieces of your
work and providing a critical analysis of those is also a kind of research.
It's fine to provide a rough schedule of your research; some grant programs
will also require a detailed budget, even though for scholarships this is un
likely.
Conclusions: After working your way through the difficult methodological par
t, you only have to write your conclusions. Shortly recap why your hypothesi
s is new, why it advances knowledge, why is it worth researching and how, fr
om a practical point of view, are you going to do that. Overall, the capacit
y of your project to answer the research question should come out crystal cl
ear from the body of the paper, and especially from the conclusions. If this
happens, it means you have a well-written RP, and you have just increased y
ou chances for having a successful application.
One last word: how big should your RP be? In most cases, this is specified i
n the application form. If it is not, we suggest that you keep it at about 1
500 words (that's 3 pages, single-spaced, with 12 size Times New Roman). In
fewer words it can be really tough to write a good RP. With more you might b
ore your readers. Which we hope will not happen.
Good luck!
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