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Ways to Improve Your Research Proposal Writing

Author: Phdizone Madurai
by Phdizone Madurai
Posted: Jul 07, 2017

Follow these steps when writing the actual Research Proposal:

  • Align Your Goals - show how your vision aligns with their strategic plans and where their goals will be realized by your research findings. This also helps if you want to win repeat business from this client. · Be Selective - don't bid on projects where you have no track record. Instead, target your Research Proposal to areas where you can leverage your skillsets and expertise. · Be Specific - one cardinal sin in Proposal writing is to be vague and missing the point. Funders don't like bids that sidestep costs or other 'hard' facts, such as project deadlines. Instead discus the project's outcome, the use of funds, be very specific about goals, and how you will measure objectives. · Better Writing Skills - to increase your chance of success, examine other successful Research Proposals and see how the Proposal Writers use different techniques to persuade the reader. Understand how to use the correct writing techniques when developing Research Proposals, for example, write in the active voice, be positive, be specific, and make it interesting to read. Remember, the evaluation team gets many, many bids every week so make sure yours stands out. · Define Your Plan - demonstrate your planning, research and leadership skills throughout your proposal and show where and how you will address risks and issues are they arise. · Follow-up - once you've submitted the Research Proposal, contact the funding officer and discuss the status, evaluation, and outcome of your proposal. · Make Contact - for those involved in funding applications, contact the grant-maker before you write your proposal and discuss their application guidelines. This also helps form a greater connection with the evaluation team. · Use the Right Format - most Research Proposals request that you follow a specific format when responding to the bid. Develop your proposal in the appropriate and correct format and include all necessary attachments. · Make it Comply - avoid the mistake of not complying with the Request For Proposal's purpose, goals and objectives. For example, ensure that you submit the Tax Clearance Form and other legal documents.
The purpose of the proposal is to ensure that

  • 1. the candidates have done sufficient preliminary reading/research

    in the area of their interest

  • 2. that they have thought about the issues involved and are able to provide more than a broad description of the topic which they are planning to research.
  • Review of research literature

    1. A short and precise overview about the current state of research that is immediately connected with your research project.

  • 2. Reference the most important contributions of other scientists.

  • 3.Discuss the theoretical scope or the framework of ideas that will be used to back the research.

  • 4.Demonstrate that you are fully conversant with the ideas you are dealing with and that you grasp their methodological implications.
  • 5. Indicate the open problem which then will be the motive for your project. State clearly how your research will contribute to the existing research.
  • Writing/presentation style:

  • 1. Verify that the title, the abstract and the content of your proposal clearly correspond to each other!
  • 2. Maintain a clear structure, an intuitive navigational style throughout the document with headings and summaries, enabling the reader to quickly reference where they are for future commenting;

    (Have a reader skim your document to verify)

  • 3. Summarize significant issues and make no assumptions where possible.
  • 4. Keep a reasonable, clear, declarative writing style (active verbs!) throughout the document;
  • 5. Breakup the narrative with bulleted lists, visuals, etc. demonstrating a command of abstract concepts and relationships

    Use white space to highlight and emphasize important sections

  • 6. Make sure your proposal does not contain any grammatical/spelling mistakes or typos; engage a proofreader;
  • 7. Request an experienced academic to proofread your proposal in order to ensure the proposal conforms to institutional and international academic standards.
  • Outline the project

    This is the central part of your research outline.

  • 1. Detail your research procedure within the given time.
  • List sources and quality of evidence you will consult, the analytical technique you will employ, and the timetable you will follow.

    2. Depending on the topic, suitable research strategies should be defined to ensure

    that enough and adequate empirical data will be gathered for a successful research project.

  • 3. Describe the intended methods of data gathering, the controls you will introduce, the statistical methods to be used, the type of literature or documentary analysis to be followed, etc.
  • Some of the important parts of a good quantitative or qualitative research proposal include:

  • 1. Determining the general topic;
  • 2. Performing a Literature review on the topic;
  • 3. Identifying a gap in the literature;
  • 4. Identifying a problem highlighted by the gap in the literature and framing a
  • 5. purpose for the study;
  • 6. Writing an Introduction to the study;
  • 7. Framing research hypotheses and or research questions to investigate or guide the study;
  • 8. Determine the method of investigation
  • 9. Outline the research design
  • 10. Define the Sample size and the characteristics of the proposed sample;
  • 11. Describe the procedures to follow for data collection and data analyses.

About the Author

We, Phdizone develop and assimilate innovative and cutting-edge technologies for providing highly advanced and creative research articles and journals to the PhD scholars.

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Author: Phdizone Madurai

Phdizone Madurai

Member since: May 30, 2017
Published articles: 16

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