How to write a research

proposal
What is the purpose of a
proposal?
• To convince reviewers (or your PhD committee)
that:
• there is a gap of knowledge or technology
• that you know how to fill the gap
• that you have the necessary tools to do the necessary
work, and
• that you will be able to demonstrate that you have filled
the gap
• (and that you can do it in a reasonable amount of time
for a reasonable amount of money)
Elements of a proposal
• Introduction
• Background
• Hypotheses and objectives
• Proposed work
• Success criteria
• Budget/timeline
Before you begin
• If there are specific guidelines or instructions, make
sure to read them and follow them exactly
• Usually not following the instructions will result in
automatic rejection
• Example: NSF Proposal & Award Policies &
Procedure Guide (PAPPG) https://
www.nsf.gov/pubs/policydocs/pappg22_1/index.js
p
Introduction
• This is where you introduce your reader to the area of research that
you want to work on
• It’s always a good idea to start the introduction with a direct, concise
statement of what you are proposing to do
• Ex: “We propose to acquire a tightly spaced grid of high-resolution
multichannel seismic (MCS) data, gravity and piston cores, and heat flow
data inside and around the Cape Fear Slice complex offshore North
Carolina.”
• Then, describe what the area of research is and why it is interesting
• Ex: “Recent investigations and data compilations have demonstrated a high
concentration of seafloor methane seeps on the continental shelf and upper
continental slope on the U.S. Atlantic margin, mainly in the region north of
Cape Hatteras. This was unexpected as previous work had only identified a
handful of seeps…”
Background
• Sometimes called a literature review
• I prefer background because it conveys the idea that you are focusing
on a specific problem
• This is where you convince readers that you are aware of
previous work and understand the fundamental concepts of
your research area
• You also need to show what the knowledge/technology gap is
• Ex. “Physicists have struggled for years to build a functional warp
drive. Star Trek has shown us that dilithium crystals possess unique
bandgap functionality due to sp3 hybridization in their outer electron
shells. Including this technology will yield a functional warp drive.”
• Avoid making a laundry list of so-and-so did this, then so-and-
so did that, then…
Hypotheses and objectives
• These are critical. If you have no hypotheses, you have no proposal.
• Exception: straight-up engineering or technology development proposals
can get by just with objectives… but they have to be really specific. Not “to
study the effects of…”
• How to write a hypothesis: go back to your identified
knowledge/technology gap from the previous section. What do you
think the answer is?
• Ex. “Repetitive submarine landslides at the same locations on the ENAM
result from the interplay between high sedimentation rates, elevated pore
pressure, gas hydrate dissociation, and gas and porewater migration .”
• Hypotheses need to be testable and specific
• Ex. “Elephants are big” vs “the average adult male African elephant is 3.6
m tall”
• Objectives also need to be specific
• “To measure…” “To model…” “To quantify…” “To build…”
Proposed work
• This is where you tell readers what you are going to
do to test your hypotheses and meet your
objectives.
• Be as specific as possible
• Software, numerical modeling scheme, specific lab
equipment and procedures, etc.
• Organize around specific tasks (Task 1: Model
benchmarking; Task 2: Permeability measurement; etc.)
• It can be helpful to link each research task back to a
specific hypothesis or objective
Success criteria
• How are you going to know whether you met your
objectives and successfully tested your hypotheses?
• “If hypothesis 1 is correct, then I expect…”
• “I will consider objective 1 to be met if…”
• Again, be quantitative and realistic
Budget and schedule
• If you are making a budget, make sure that you
request the amount of money that you actually
think you need
• You can’t really ask for more
• Reviewers will assess whether your budget is too high or
too low
• Including a project timeline/Gantt chart can be
helpful
• This is strongly encouraged for PhD proposals