Any tips for doing a research proposal?

[joedo]

Hey there, I have to write up a research proposal for a validity study on a laparoscopic simulator. Just wondering if anyone could help me with the basics of what to write; what to include, what not to include, format, etc.

Any help is appreciated!

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[RxnMan]

It's just like any report you did in college chem, without the results (Intro, Methods sections). You need develop your intro more- have a very strong development of the problem you are solving and a strong arguement as to why your solution is best. Compare your solution to those found in the literature and show how yours both builds off of others (i.e., is supported by pprevious research,) yet improves upon them in X, Y, and Z, ways.

Have a detailed plan as to how you will attack this problem with your solution. That is, what experiments will you conduct to prove what you said in the intro? Prove that these experiments build logically and lead to a result.

You also need to have a section on how you will disperse this info. Do you write a closing report to the funding agency? Poster or presentation at a conference? If you get money from this proposal, then you need to have a preliminary budget too.

 

[rahuldave]

Usually the agency you are submitting to will have a specific format ... In general the above poster is correct. Yet note the following

- Intro: Describe why the line of work is important; clearly state your hypothesis.
- Methods - this is the most important and should be the most detailed of your sections. Far more so than a paper or college report. Describing proper controls is necessary, as is a detailed description of techniques. They want to ensure that you understand the drawbacks of techniques you used. Also, include alternate procedures in case your original method does not pan out or work for whatever reason.

 

[relentless11]

Some agencies follow an NIH format, so you can probably go to the NIH website to see if they have a layout. Another way is to go to your affliate university to see if they have a quick seminar, or handouts that talk about grant writing. But yea, I agree with the two posters above too.