Research Proposal Guidelines
Title:
This should be specific and
precise. It should not be more than 2 to 3 lines long, and should indicate that
one intends to do/ find out.
Ø Determine which field of science, math, or
computer science you are most interested in:
it is vital that you choose to work on something that you are truly
interested in and curious about. You will get more out of the research, it will
be more fun, and you will have a better chance of sticking with it over an
extended period of time. You will have to do literature searches into the
general area of science to develop broad ideas of what is already known and
what open research questions exists in a particular field of science; you will
then begin to narrow the focus of your interests in order to develop a set of
possible research questions.
Ø Proposed research question: this needs
to be as specific as possible in
whatever field of study you choose. Depending on which area of science you
choose to work, you will sit down to determine a realistic your topic of
interest is. You will also have to estimate how much of time commitment is
likely to carry out your project.
Ø Brief
descriptive title of proposed research: a direct statement of your research
goal.
Ø Reason for research: Why is it
important to find an answer to the question?
Ø Background information on your topic:
Provide a summary of information you have found concerning your topic. Thinks
of thing like research that has already been done in the field, question
remaining from any prior research, brief highlights of any theory/theories that may exist to explain the
phenomenon, etc. You must show that you have looked through the literature and
have found the latest updates in your area of study. Normally people don’t get
funded if they are ‘reinventing the wheel.’
Ø List of references relevant to your topic:
Keep a running list of all references as you work though the literature. You
will be required to have this list for your final paper, and chances are you
will need to go back to certain references throughout the entire research
experience. This includes all text books, reference books, journal articles,
internet sources, private communications with teachers or professors, etc.
Ø Any hypothesis relevant to your research
that you are specifically investigated: Describe/explain main points of
what you expect to happen in your research based on literature.
Format 2:
Research Proposal is a brief (up to two
pages) overview of your research paper, giving the sufficient information about
the work you have done, about the way you did it and the value if this work.
As any other
research work, Research Proposal has
its own format. Its peculiarities
are as follow:
ü
A language simple enough for a non-specialist to
understand the major points of the paper.
ü
Absence of references, unusual terms, scientific
jargon.
ü
A proposed researched question should be
determined by one field of science.
ü
Proposed researched question should be as
specific as possible.
ü
Research
Proposal should contain the following parts:
Ø Title: A brief precise phrase rendering
the main problem of your Research
Proposal (up to 80 character spaces including).
Ø Abstract: A clear summary of the work
you have done, throwing light on purposes, theoretical background of the
question under consideration and experimental approach (up to 10 typed lines).
Ø Historical Background: A section where
you describe your predecessors’ deeds in the field you are studying now. Note
that all information taken different sources is to be referenced.
Ø Objective: An explanation of your
paper’s value, naming concrete purposes to achieve.
Ø Technical Approach: A description of
the actual work you are planning to accomplish and concrete ways of doing it
(theoretical and research basis).
Ø Bibliography: A reference list where
you name all sources you have referred to or cited. Note that the items should
go in an alphabetical order.
Samples:
