Research Proposal

For most types of research you will need to produce a research proposal. This is a document which sets out your ideas in an easily accessible way. Even if you have not been asked specifically to produce a research proposal by your boss or tutor, it is a good idea to do so, as it helps you to focus your ideas and provides a useful document for you to reference, should your research wander off track a little.

Before you start work on your research proposal, find out whether you’re required to produce the document in a specific format. For college and university students, you might be given a general outline and a guide as to how many pages to produce. For those of you who are producing a proposal to send to a funding organisation you might have to produce something much more specific.

Many funding organisations provide their own forms for you to complete. Some provide advice and guidance about what they would like to see in your proposal. The larger funding bodies produce their proposal forms on-line so that they can be filled in and sent electronically, which makes the process a lot quicker and easier.