header-bg

Research Proposal

Background Header
subpage

 

Purpose of the proposal

The research proposal is the initial plan of your thesis project and is written in conjunction with both your NIH and U.K. mentors during August and September during your time at the NIH. The research proposal is your own work. It is essential that all principal parties involved in your research achieve initial agreement on the scope of the thesis project. Writing the research proposal:

  • Focuses the attention on the entire research project, not just the next experiment.
  • Ensures that a comprehensive review of the literature is conducted.
  • Establishes an agreement with both mentors on the scope of the thesis.
  • Begins development of technical writing skills.
  • Begins development of grant writing skills.

The research proposal also pushes you to think about what is known in the field, how you will contribute new information, and what logical steps must be taken to accomplish your research goals. Students are strongly advised to incorporate alternative strategies to accomplish their research goal.

Format of the research proposal

The proposal should be clear and concise and contain specific aims of what you plan to accomplish during your thesis research. The suggested proposal length is 9-12 pages, excluding tables, figures and references. Recommended formatting is size 11 Times New Roman font, single-spaced with 1 inch margins.

  1. Title (56 Characters including spaces - absolute maximum)
    1. Actually quite important - searched and indexed
    2. Creates an initial impression
       
  2. Abstract (0.5 pages)
    1. Can be thought of as a mini-proposal
    2. Written for a more general audience
    3. Written last but NOT at the last minute
       
  3. Overview and Specific Aims (1 page)
    1. Briefly introduce the biological problem you plan to address.
    2. Explain why it is important to investigate this problem.
    3. State the central hypotheses and how they will be tested
    4. Briefly describe the specific aims (typically 2-3 aims) for your project.
    5. A bullet point approach is very effective to articulate exactly what you plan to do - it may include a small elaboration.
    6. Summarize the expected outcomes and impact of your research.
    7. Consider including an overview figure.
       
  4. Background and Significance (2 - 3 pages)
    1. Introduce the central biological problem.
    2. Sets up the "story" you want the reader to read - lead them toward your research vision
    3. Provide a historical perspective and highlight the key findings in your field that are relevant to the proposal.
    4. Demonstrate that you are cognizant of the most important work already published on the topic
    5. Explain the significance of your project.
    6. Help the reader understand the logical next steps of your specific aims.
    7. Describe how the proposal will drive the field forward.
       
  5. Research Plan (4 - 6 pages)
    1. The proposal typically includes 2-3 Specific Aims. Include the following for each Aim:
    2. Hypothesis you will test
    3. Preliminary data, if applicable (This is not required or expected. Only include preliminary data if it was generated by you)
    4. Explain the experimental design, approach, methods, and analyses to be used
    5. Conceptual and experimental design for each laboratory
    6. Details of the methods
    7. Expected outcomes and feasibility (remember, this is a 4-year project).
    8. Potential pitfalls and alternative approaches. These should acknowledge potential barriers and how you plan to get around them
    9. If you are testing alternative hypotheses, make it very clear how the experiments will differentiate between them
       
  6. Summary and Project Timeline (1 page)
       a. It is important to demonstrate that you have thought about your timeline and how you will divide your four years. Be sure to outline how research will be performed between the two laboratories. Also explain why the two labs you have selected are the ideal environments to carry out the proposed research. Include a Gantt chart to detail when and where each Aim will be completed.
     
  7. References
    1. Choose carefully - more is not necessarily better
    2. Important to have a balance between papers of historical importance and more current developments in the field

       
▲Back to Top