what is in the introduction of a research proposal

How to Write a Research Paper Introduction (with Examples)

The research paper introduction section, along with the Title and Abstract, can be considered the face of any research paper. The following article is intended to guide you in organizing and writing the research paper introduction for a quality academic article or dissertation.

The research paper introduction aims to present the topic to the reader. A study will only be accepted for publishing if you can ascertain that the available literature cannot answer your research question. So it is important to ensure that you have read important studies on that particular topic, especially those within the last five to ten years, and that they are properly referenced in this section. 1 What should be included in the research paper introduction is decided by what you want to tell readers about the reason behind the research and how you plan to fill the knowledge gap. The best research paper introduction provides a systemic review of existing work and demonstrates additional work that needs to be done. It needs to be brief, captivating, and well-referenced; a well-drafted research paper introduction will help the researcher win half the battle.

The introduction for a research paper is where you set up your topic and approach for the reader. It has several key goals:

• Present your research topic
• Capture reader interest
• Summarize existing research
• Position your own approach
• Define your specific research problem and problem statement
• Highlight the novelty and contributions of the study
• Give an overview of the paper’s structure

The research paper introduction can vary in size and structure depending on whether your paper presents the results of original empirical research or is a review paper. Some research paper introduction examples are only half a page while others are a few pages long. In many cases, the introduction will be shorter than all of the other sections of your paper; its length depends on the size of your paper as a whole.

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Table of Contents

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The introduction in a research paper is placed at the beginning to guide the reader from a broad subject area to the specific topic that your research addresses. They present the following information to the reader

• Scope: The topic covered in the research paper
• Context: Background of your topic
• Importance: Why your research matters in that particular area of research and the industry problem that can be targeted

The research paper introduction conveys a lot of information and can be considered an essential roadmap for the rest of your paper. A good introduction for a research paper is important for the following reasons:

• It stimulates your reader’s interest: A good introduction section can make your readers want to read your paper by capturing their interest. It informs the reader what they are going to learn and helps determine if the topic is of interest to them.
• It helps the reader understand the research background: Without a clear introduction, your readers may feel confused and even struggle when reading your paper. A good research paper introduction will prepare them for the in-depth research to come. It provides you the opportunity to engage with the readers and demonstrate your knowledge and authority on the specific topic.
• It explains why your research paper is worth reading: Your introduction can convey a lot of information to your readers. It introduces the topic, why the topic is important, and how you plan to proceed with your research.
• It helps guide the reader through the rest of the paper: The research paper introduction gives the reader a sense of the nature of the information that will support your arguments and the general organization of the paragraphs that will follow. It offers an overview of what to expect when reading the main body of your paper.

What are the parts of introduction in the research?

A good research paper introduction section should comprise three main elements: 2

• What is known: This sets the stage for your research. It informs the readers of what is known on the subject.
• What is lacking: This is aimed at justifying the reason for carrying out your research. This could involve investigating a new concept or method or building upon previous research.
• What you aim to do: This part briefly states the objectives of your research and its major contributions. Your detailed hypothesis will also form a part of this section.

How to write a research paper introduction?

The first step in writing the research paper introduction is to inform the reader what your topic is and why it’s interesting or important. This is generally accomplished with a strong opening statement. The second step involves establishing the kinds of research that have been done and ending with limitations or gaps in the research that you intend to address. Finally, the research paper introduction clarifies how your own research fits in and what problem it addresses. If your research involved testing hypotheses, these should be stated along with your research question. The hypothesis should be presented in the past tense since it will have been tested by the time you are writing the research paper introduction.

The following key points, with examples, can guide you when writing the research paper introduction section:

• Highlight the importance of the research field or topic
• Describe the background of the topic
• Present an overview of current research on the topic

Example: The inclusion of experiential and competency-based learning has benefitted electronics engineering education. Industry partnerships provide an excellent alternative for students wanting to engage in solving real-world challenges. Industry-academia participation has grown in recent years due to the need for skilled engineers with practical training and specialized expertise. However, from the educational perspective, many activities are needed to incorporate sustainable development goals into the university curricula and consolidate learning innovation in universities.

• Reveal a gap in existing research or oppose an existing assumption
• Formulate the research question

Example: There have been plausible efforts to integrate educational activities in higher education electronics engineering programs. However, very few studies have considered using educational research methods for performance evaluation of competency-based higher engineering education, with a focus on technical and or transversal skills. To remedy the current need for evaluating competencies in STEM fields and providing sustainable development goals in engineering education, in this study, a comparison was drawn between study groups without and with industry partners.

• State the purpose of your study
• Highlight the key characteristics of your study
• Describe important results
• Highlight the novelty of the study.
• Offer a brief overview of the structure of the paper.

Example: The study evaluates the main competency needed in the applied electronics course, which is a fundamental core subject for many electronics engineering undergraduate programs. We compared two groups, without and with an industrial partner, that offered real-world projects to solve during the semester. This comparison can help determine significant differences in both groups in terms of developing subject competency and achieving sustainable development goals.

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With Paperpal Copilot, create a research paper introduction effortlessly. In this step-by-step guide, we’ll walk you through how Paperpal transforms your initial ideas into a polished and publication-ready introduction.

How to use Paperpal to write the Introduction section

Step 1: Sign up on Paperpal and click on the Copilot feature, under this choose Outlines > Research Article > Introduction

Step 2: Add your unstructured notes or initial draft, whether in English or another language, to Paperpal, which is to be used as the base for your content.

Step 3: Fill in the specifics, such as your field of study, brief description or details you want to include, which will help the AI generate the outline for your Introduction.

Step 4: Use this outline and sentence suggestions to develop your content, adding citations where needed and modifying it to align with your specific research focus.

Step 5: Turn to Paperpal’s granular language checks to refine your content, tailor it to reflect your personal writing style, and ensure it effectively conveys your message.

You can use the same process to develop each section of your article, and finally your research paper in half the time and without any of the stress.

The purpose of the research paper introduction is to introduce the reader to the problem definition, justify the need for the study, and describe the main theme of the study. The aim is to gain the reader’s attention by providing them with necessary background information and establishing the main purpose and direction of the research.

The length of the research paper introduction can vary across journals and disciplines. While there are no strict word limits for writing the research paper introduction, an ideal length would be one page, with a maximum of 400 words over 1-4 paragraphs. Generally, it is one of the shorter sections of the paper as the reader is assumed to have at least a reasonable knowledge about the topic. 2 For example, for a study evaluating the role of building design in ensuring fire safety, there is no need to discuss definitions and nature of fire in the introduction; you could start by commenting upon the existing practices for fire safety and how your study will add to the existing knowledge and practice.

When deciding what to include in the research paper introduction, the rest of the paper should also be considered. The aim is to introduce the reader smoothly to the topic and facilitate an easy read without much dependency on external sources. 3 Below is a list of elements you can include to prepare a research paper introduction outline and follow it when you are writing the research paper introduction. Topic introduction: This can include key definitions and a brief history of the topic. Research context and background: Offer the readers some general information and then narrow it down to specific aspects. Details of the research you conducted: A brief literature review can be included to support your arguments or line of thought. Rationale for the study: This establishes the relevance of your study and establishes its importance. Importance of your research: The main contributions are highlighted to help establish the novelty of your study Research hypothesis: Introduce your research question and propose an expected outcome. Organization of the paper: Include a short paragraph of 3-4 sentences that highlights your plan for the entire paper

Cite only works that are most relevant to your topic; as a general rule, you can include one to three. Note that readers want to see evidence of original thinking. So it is better to avoid using too many references as it does not leave much room for your personal standpoint to shine through. Citations in your research paper introduction support the key points, and the number of citations depend on the subject matter and the point discussed. If the research paper introduction is too long or overflowing with citations, it is better to cite a few review articles rather than the individual articles summarized in the review. A good point to remember when citing research papers in the introduction section is to include at least one-third of the references in the introduction.

The literature review plays a significant role in the research paper introduction section. A good literature review accomplishes the following: Introduces the topic – Establishes the study’s significance – Provides an overview of the relevant literature – Provides context for the study using literature – Identifies knowledge gaps However, remember to avoid making the following mistakes when writing a research paper introduction: Do not use studies from the literature review to aggressively support your research Avoid direct quoting Do not allow literature review to be the focus of this section. Instead, the literature review should only aid in setting a foundation for the manuscript.

Remember the following key points for writing a good research paper introduction: 4

• Avoid stuffing too much general information: Avoid including what an average reader would know and include only that information related to the problem being addressed in the research paper introduction. For example, when describing a comparative study of non-traditional methods for mechanical design optimization, information related to the traditional methods and differences between traditional and non-traditional methods would not be relevant. In this case, the introduction for the research paper should begin with the state-of-the-art non-traditional methods and methods to evaluate the efficiency of newly developed algorithms.
• Avoid packing too many references: Cite only the required works in your research paper introduction. The other works can be included in the discussion section to strengthen your findings.
• Avoid extensive criticism of previous studies: Avoid being overly critical of earlier studies while setting the rationale for your study. A better place for this would be the Discussion section, where you can highlight the advantages of your method.
• Avoid describing conclusions of the study: When writing a research paper introduction remember not to include the findings of your study. The aim is to let the readers know what question is being answered. The actual answer should only be given in the Results and Discussion section.

To summarize, the research paper introduction section should be brief yet informative. It should convince the reader the need to conduct the study and motivate him to read further. If you’re feeling stuck or unsure, choose trusted AI academic writing assistants like Paperpal to effortlessly craft your research paper introduction and other sections of your research article.

1. Jawaid, S. A., & Jawaid, M. (2019). How to write introduction and discussion. Saudi Journal of Anaesthesia, 13(Suppl 1), S18.

2. Dewan, P., & Gupta, P. (2016). Writing the title, abstract and introduction: Looks matter!. Indian pediatrics, 53, 235-241.

3. Cetin, S., & Hackam, D. J. (2005). An approach to the writing of a scientific Manuscript1. Journal of Surgical Research, 128(2), 165-167.

4. Bavdekar, S. B. (2015). Writing introduction: Laying the foundations of a research paper. Journal of the Association of Physicians of India, 63(7), 44-6.

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Get accurate academic translations, rewriting support, grammar checks, vocabulary suggestions, and generative AI assistance that delivers human precision at machine speed. Try for free or upgrade to Paperpal Prime starting at US$19 a month to access premium features, including consistency, plagiarism, and 30+ submission readiness checks to help you succeed.  

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Key Components of a Research Proposal: What You Need to Know

A research proposal is like a roadmap for your study. It shows where you're starting, where you want to go, and how you plan to get there. In this article, we'll break down the key parts of a research proposal to help you understand what you need to include.

Key Takeaways

• A clear and catchy title grabs attention and sums up your research.
• An abstract gives a brief overview of your study, including the problem, methods, and goals.
• The introduction and background sections explain the research problem and why it's important.
• A literature review shows what other researchers have found and identifies gaps your study will fill.
• Research objectives and questions guide your study and help keep it focused.

Title and Abstract

Crafting an effective title.

When crafting an effective Ph.D. thesis proposal , your title should be clear and engaging. It must capture the essence of your research while being concise. A good title not only grabs the reader's attention but also gives a glimpse into your study's objectives and scope. Think of it as the first step in your roadmap for your research journey.

Writing a Concise Abstract

An abstract is a brief summary of your study, usually around 300 words. It should include the research problem, objectives, methodology, and potential implications. A well-written abstract is crucial for securing funding and guiding your research journey. Remember, a concise abstract helps readers quickly understand the importance and scope of your work.

Introduction and Background

Stating the research problem.

The introduction sets the stage for your research proposal by providing a clear and compelling overview of the research problem. It should include a background of the issue, highlighting its significance and relevance. Additionally, the introduction should present a research question or hypothesis, explaining why it is important to address it. The introduction should also provide a brief literature review to establish the existing knowledge and identify gaps that the proposed study aims to fill.

Significance of the Study

In general, a compelling research proposal should document your knowledge of the topic and demonstrate your enthusiasm for conducting the study. Approach it by explaining the potential impact of your research. Why does this study matter? What contributions can it make to the field? Addressing these questions will help underline the importance of your work.

Contextual Background

Providing a contextual background is essential for situating your research within a broader framework. This involves discussing the historical, social, or theoretical context that surrounds your research problem. By doing so, you help readers understand the environment in which your study is situated, making it easier to grasp the relevance and necessity of your research.

Literature Review

Reviewing relevant literature.

In this section, you will delve into the existing body of knowledge related to your research problem. A thorough review of relevant literature shows your understanding of the topic and helps justify the need for your study. Look at what other researchers have found, the methods they used, and their conclusions. This will provide a solid foundation for your research.

Identifying Research Gaps

As you review the literature, identify any gaps or inconsistencies in the existing research. Highlighting these gaps is crucial as it shows where your research can contribute new insights. Think about what is missing and how your study can fill these gaps. This step is essential for establishing the significance of your research.

Establishing Theoretical Frameworks

Your literature review should also help you establish the theoretical frameworks that will guide your study. These frameworks are the lenses through which you will view your research problem. They provide a structure for your analysis and help you interpret your findings. Make sure to clearly explain the theories you are using and why they are relevant to your study.

Research Objectives and Questions

Formulating clear objectives.

Your research objectives are the desired outcomes you aim to achieve from your project. These objectives should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). Clear objectives help direct your research process and guide data collection and analysis. They can be general, outlining what the project will accomplish, or specific, relating directly to the research questions you aim to answer.

Developing Research Questions

A well-defined research question is crucial for a successful research proposal. It pinpoints the major focus of your research project and guides your study's direction. To develop a strong research question, ensure it is clear, focused, and researchable. This will help you stay on track and make your research more effective.

Hypotheses Formulation

Formulating hypotheses involves making educated guesses about the outcomes of your research. These hypotheses should be testable and based on existing knowledge and theories. They provide a foundation for your research design and help you determine what data to collect and how to analyze it. Hypotheses give your research a clear direction and purpose.

Methodology

The methodology section of your research proposal is crucial as it outlines the research design, methods, and procedures you will use. This section should clearly explain why you have chosen a particular procedure or technique.

Research Design

In this part, you need to describe your overall approach, whether it is qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods. Clearly articulate the reasons for your choice based on your research objectives. For example, if you are conducting a survey, explain why this method is suitable for your study.

Data Collection Methods

Here, you should detail the techniques you will use to gather data. This could include surveys, interviews, or experiments. Make sure to justify your choices and explain how they will help you address your research questions. For instance, if you choose interviews, discuss how they will provide in-depth insights into your topic.

Data Analysis Techniques

In this section, outline the methods you will use to analyze the data you collect. This might involve statistical analysis, thematic analysis, or other techniques. Be sure to explain why these methods are appropriate for your study. For example, if you are using statistical analysis, describe how it will help you identify patterns and relationships in your data.

Timeline and Budget

Creating a research timeline.

A well-structured timeline is essential for the success of your research project. It breaks down the study into manageable phases and specifies the estimated time required for each task. This helps ensure that the research is feasible within the available resources and allows you to monitor progress throughout the project. A realistic timeline is crucial for keeping your research on track.

Budget Estimation

The budget section provides an estimate of the financial resources needed to conduct the research. It includes a breakdown of anticipated expenses, such as equipment, participant recruitment, data analysis software, and travel costs. A well-prepared budget demonstrates the feasibility and practicality of the proposed research. Make sure to include all potential costs to avoid any surprises later on.

Resource Allocation

Resource allocation involves distributing the available resources effectively to different parts of the research project. This includes assigning funds to various categories like personnel, equipment, and supplies. Proper resource allocation ensures that each aspect of the research is adequately funded and can proceed without financial hindrances. This step is vital for the smooth execution of your project.

Preliminary Suppositions and Implications

Initial assumptions.

When starting your research, it's crucial to outline your initial assumptions . These are the beliefs or ideas you hold before collecting any data. Be realistic in stating your anticipated findings . This means you should avoid idle speculation and focus on what you genuinely expect to discover based on existing literature and your research design.

Potential Impact of the Research

Consider how your research might refine, revise, or extend existing knowledge in your field. Think about the possible implications for future research, policies, or theoretical frameworks. For instance, could your study lead to a new policy or a better method for analyzing data? Reflect on how your findings might influence future studies and what they could mean for practitioners working in the field.

Ethical Considerations

Ethical considerations are a vital part of any research proposal. You need to address how you will handle issues like consent, confidentiality, and potential harm to participants. Make sure to outline the steps you will take to ensure your research is conducted ethically. This includes explaining where you believe you will find challenges related to data collection, such as access to participants and information.

Before diving into the details, let's consider some initial thoughts and their effects. Many students feel lost and anxious when starting their thesis. This is where our Thesis Action Plan comes in. It breaks down the process into simple, manageable steps. Ready to conquer your thesis? Visit our website to learn more .

In summary, writing a research proposal involves several key components that together create a solid plan for your study. These components include the title, introduction, objectives, methodology, literature review, timeline, and budget. Each part plays a crucial role in explaining your research idea, its importance, and how you plan to carry it out. By carefully including these elements, you can clearly communicate your research goals and the steps you will take to achieve them. This not only helps in getting approval but also sets a clear path for your research journey.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should be included in a research proposal title.

Your title should be clear and concise, giving a snapshot of your research topic. It should grab attention and reflect the main idea of your study.

How do I write an effective abstract?

An effective abstract summarizes the main points of your proposal. Keep it brief, usually around 150-250 words, and make sure it covers the research problem, objectives, methods, and potential impact.

Why is the introduction important in a research proposal?

The introduction sets the stage for your research. It explains the problem you want to solve, why it's important, and provides background information to help readers understand the context.

What is the purpose of a literature review?

A literature review shows that you understand the existing research on your topic. It helps identify gaps in knowledge and sets up the theoretical framework for your study.

How do I formulate research questions and objectives?

Your research questions should be clear and focused, guiding your study. Objectives are the steps you plan to take to answer these questions. Both should be specific and achievable.

What should be included in the methodology section?

The methodology section outlines how you will conduct your research. This includes your research design, data collection methods, and data analysis techniques. Be detailed to show your plan is feasible.

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How To Write A Research Proposal

A Straightforward How-To Guide (With Examples)

By: Derek Jansen (MBA) | Reviewed By: Dr. Eunice Rautenbach | August 2019 (Updated April 2023)

Writing up a strong research proposal for a dissertation or thesis is much like a marriage proposal. It’s a task that calls on you to win somebody over and persuade them that what you’re planning is a great idea. An idea they’re happy to say ‘yes’ to. This means that your dissertation proposal needs to be   persuasive ,   attractive   and well-planned. In this post, I’ll show you how to write a winning dissertation proposal, from scratch.

Before you start:

– Understand exactly what a research proposal is – Ask yourself these 4 questions

The 5 essential ingredients:

• The title/topic
• The introduction chapter
• The scope/delimitations
• Preliminary literature review
• Design/ methodology
• Practical considerations and risks 

What Is A Research Proposal?

The research proposal is literally that: a written document that communicates what you propose to research, in a concise format. It’s where you put all that stuff that’s spinning around in your head down on to paper, in a logical, convincing fashion.

Convincing   is the keyword here, as your research proposal needs to convince the assessor that your research is   clearly articulated   (i.e., a clear research question) ,   worth doing   (i.e., is unique and valuable enough to justify the effort), and   doable   within the restrictions you’ll face (time limits, budget, skill limits, etc.). If your proposal does not address these three criteria, your research won’t be approved, no matter how “exciting” the research idea might be.

PS – if you’re completely new to proposal writing, we’ve got a detailed walkthrough video covering two successful research proposals here . 

How do I know I’m ready?

Before starting the writing process, you need to   ask yourself 4 important questions .  If you can’t answer them succinctly and confidently, you’re not ready – you need to go back and think more deeply about your dissertation topic .

You should be able to answer the following 4 questions before starting your dissertation or thesis research proposal:

• WHAT is my main research question? (the topic)
• WHO cares and why is this important? (the justification)
• WHAT data would I need to answer this question, and how will I analyse it? (the research design)
• HOW will I manage the completion of this research, within the given timelines? (project and risk management)

If you can’t answer these questions clearly and concisely,   you’re not yet ready   to write your research proposal – revisit our   post on choosing a topic .

If you can, that’s great – it’s time to start writing up your dissertation proposal. Next, I’ll discuss what needs to go into your research proposal, and how to structure it all into an intuitive, convincing document with a linear narrative.

The 5 Essential Ingredients

Research proposals can vary in style between institutions and disciplines, but here I’ll share with you a   handy 5-section structure   you can use. These 5 sections directly address the core questions we spoke about earlier, ensuring that you present a convincing proposal. If your institution already provides a proposal template, there will likely be substantial overlap with this, so you’ll still get value from reading on.

For each section discussed below, make sure you use headers and sub-headers (ideally, numbered headers) to help the reader navigate through your document, and to support them when they need to revisit a previous section. Don’t just present an endless wall of text, paragraph after paragraph after paragraph…

Top Tip:   Use MS Word Styles to format headings. This will allow you to be clear about whether a sub-heading is level 2, 3, or 4. Additionally, you can view your document in ‘outline view’ which will show you only your headings. This makes it much easier to check your structure, shift things around and make decisions about where a section needs to sit. You can also generate a 100% accurate table of contents using Word’s automatic functionality.

Ingredient #1 – Topic/Title Header

Your research proposal’s title should be your main research question in its simplest form, possibly with a sub-heading providing basic details on the specifics of the study. For example:

“Compliance with equality legislation in the charity sector: a study of the ‘reasonable adjustments’ made in three London care homes”

As you can see, this title provides a clear indication of what the research is about, in broad terms. It paints a high-level picture for the first-time reader, which gives them a taste of what to expect.   Always aim for a clear, concise title . Don’t feel the need to capture every detail of your research in your title – your proposal will fill in the gaps.

Need a helping hand?

Ingredient #2 – Introduction

In this section of your research proposal, you’ll expand on what you’ve communicated in the title, by providing a few paragraphs which offer more detail about your research topic. Importantly, the focus here is the   topic   – what will you research and why is that worth researching? This is not the place to discuss methodology, practicalities, etc. – you’ll do that later.

You should cover the following:

• An overview of the   broad area   you’ll be researching – introduce the reader to key concepts and language
• An explanation of the   specific (narrower) area   you’ll be focusing, and why you’ll be focusing there
• Your research   aims   and   objectives
• Your   research question (s) and sub-questions (if applicable)

Importantly, you should aim to use short sentences and plain language – don’t babble on with extensive jargon, acronyms and complex language. Assume that the reader is an intelligent layman – not a subject area specialist (even if they are). Remember that the   best writing is writing that can be easily understood   and digested. Keep it simple.

Note that some universities may want some extra bits and pieces in your introduction section. For example, personal development objectives, a structural outline, etc. Check your brief to see if there are any other details they expect in your proposal, and make sure you find a place for these.

Ingredient #3 – Scope

Next, you’ll need to specify what the scope of your research will be – this is also known as the delimitations . In other words, you need to make it clear what you will be covering and, more importantly, what you won’t be covering in your research. Simply put, this is about ring fencing your research topic so that you have a laser-sharp focus.

All too often, students feel the need to go broad and try to address as many issues as possible, in the interest of producing comprehensive research. Whilst this is admirable, it’s a mistake. By tightly refining your scope, you’ll enable yourself to   go deep   with your research, which is what you need to earn good marks. If your scope is too broad, you’re likely going to land up with superficial research (which won’t earn marks), so don’t be afraid to narrow things down.

Ingredient #4 – Literature Review

In this section of your research proposal, you need to provide a (relatively) brief discussion of the existing literature. Naturally, this will not be as comprehensive as the literature review in your actual dissertation, but it will lay the foundation for that. In fact, if you put in the effort at this stage, you’ll make your life a lot easier when it’s time to write your actual literature review chapter.

There are a few things you need to achieve in this section:

• Demonstrate that you’ve done your reading and are   familiar with the current state of the research   in your topic area.
• Show that   there’s a clear gap   for your specific research – i.e., show that your topic is sufficiently unique and will add value to the existing research.
• Show how the existing research has shaped your thinking regarding   research design . For example, you might use scales or questionnaires from previous studies.

When you write up your literature review, keep these three objectives front of mind, especially number two (revealing the gap in the literature), so that your literature review has a   clear purpose and direction . Everything you write should be contributing towards one (or more) of these objectives in some way. If it doesn’t, you need to ask yourself whether it’s truly needed.

Top Tip:  Don’t fall into the trap of just describing the main pieces of literature, for example, “A says this, B says that, C also says that…” and so on. Merely describing the literature provides no value. Instead, you need to   synthesise   it, and use it to address the three objectives above.

Ingredient #5 – Research Methodology

Now that you’ve clearly explained both your intended research topic (in the introduction) and the existing research it will draw on (in the literature review section), it’s time to get practical and explain exactly how you’ll be carrying out your own research. In other words, your research methodology.

In this section, you’ll need to   answer two critical questions :

• How   will you design your research? I.e., what research methodology will you adopt, what will your sample be, how will you collect data, etc.
• Why   have you chosen this design? I.e., why does this approach suit your specific research aims, objectives and questions?

In other words, this is not just about explaining WHAT you’ll be doing, it’s also about explaining WHY. In fact, the   justification is the most important part , because that justification is how you demonstrate a good understanding of research design (which is what assessors want to see).

Some essential design choices you need to cover in your research proposal include:

• Your intended research philosophy (e.g., positivism, interpretivism or pragmatism )
• What methodological approach you’ll be taking (e.g., qualitative , quantitative or mixed )
• The details of your sample (e.g., sample size, who they are, who they represent, etc.)
• What data you plan to collect (i.e. data about what, in what form?)
• How you plan to collect it (e.g., surveys , interviews , focus groups, etc.)
• How you plan to analyse it (e.g., regression analysis, thematic analysis , etc.)
• Ethical adherence (i.e., does this research satisfy all ethical requirements of your institution, or does it need further approval?)

This list is not exhaustive – these are just some core attributes of research design. Check with your institution what level of detail they expect. The “ research onion ” by Saunders et al (2009) provides a good summary of the various design choices you ultimately need to make – you can   read more about that here .

Don’t forget the practicalities…

In addition to the technical aspects, you will need to address the   practical   side of the project. In other words, you need to explain   what resources you’ll need   (e.g., time, money, access to equipment or software, etc.) and how you intend to secure these resources. You need to show that your project is feasible, so any “make or break” type resources need to already be secured. The success or failure of your project cannot depend on some resource which you’re not yet sure you have access to.

Another part of the practicalities discussion is   project and risk management . In other words, you need to show that you have a clear project plan to tackle your research with. Some key questions to address:

• What are the timelines for each phase of your project?
• Are the time allocations reasonable?
• What happens if something takes longer than anticipated (risk management)?
• What happens if you don’t get the response rate you expect?

A good way to demonstrate that you’ve thought this through is to include a Gantt chart and a risk register (in the appendix if word count is a problem). With these two tools, you can show that you’ve got a clear, feasible plan, and you’ve thought about and accounted for the potential risks.

Tip – Be honest about the potential difficulties – but show that you are anticipating solutions and workarounds. This is much more impressive to an assessor than an unrealistically optimistic proposal which does not anticipate any challenges whatsoever.

Final Touches: Read And Simplify

The final step is to edit and proofread your proposal – very carefully. It sounds obvious, but all too often poor editing and proofreading ruin a good proposal. Nothing is more off-putting for an assessor than a poorly edited, typo-strewn document. It sends the message that you either do not pay attention to detail, or just don’t care. Neither of these are good messages. Put the effort into editing and proofreading your proposal (or pay someone to do it for you) – it will pay dividends.

When you’re editing, watch out for ‘academese’. Many students can speak simply, passionately and clearly about their dissertation topic – but become incomprehensible the moment they turn the laptop on. You are not required to write in any kind of special, formal, complex language when you write academic work. Sure, there may be technical terms, jargon specific to your discipline, shorthand terms and so on. But, apart from those,   keep your written language very close to natural spoken language   – just as you would speak in the classroom. Imagine that you are explaining your project plans to your classmates or a family member. Remember, write for the intelligent layman, not the subject matter experts. Plain-language, concise writing is what wins hearts and minds – and marks!

Let’s Recap: Research Proposal 101

And there you have it – how to write your dissertation or thesis research proposal, from the title page to the final proof. Here’s a quick recap of the key takeaways:

• The purpose of the research proposal is to   convince   – therefore, you need to make a clear, concise argument of why your research is both worth doing and doable.
• Make sure you can ask the critical what, who, and how questions of your research   before   you put pen to paper.
• Title – provides the first taste of your research, in broad terms
• Introduction – explains what you’ll be researching in more detail
• Scope – explains the boundaries of your research
• Literature review – explains how your research fits into the existing research and why it’s unique and valuable
• Research methodology – explains and justifies how you will carry out your own research

Hopefully, this post has helped you better understand how to write up a winning research proposal. If you enjoyed it, be sure to check out the rest of the Grad Coach Blog . If your university doesn’t provide any template for your proposal, you might want to try out our free research proposal template .

Psst… there’s more!

This post is an extract from our bestselling short course, Research Proposal Bootcamp . If you want to work smart, you don't want to miss this .

30 Comments

Thank you so much for the valuable insight that you have given, especially on the research proposal. That is what I have managed to cover. I still need to go back to the other parts as I got disturbed while still listening to Derek’s audio on you-tube. I am inspired. I will definitely continue with Grad-coach guidance on You-tube.

Thanks for the kind words :). All the best with your proposal.

First of all, thanks a lot for making such a wonderful presentation. The video was really useful and gave me a very clear insight of how a research proposal has to be written. I shall try implementing these ideas in my RP.

Once again, I thank you for this content.

I found reading your outline on writing research proposal very beneficial. I wish there was a way of submitting my draft proposal to you guys for critiquing before I submit to the institution.

Hi Bonginkosi

Thank you for the kind words. Yes, we do provide a review service. The best starting point is to have a chat with one of our coaches here: https://gradcoach.com/book/new/ .

Hello team GRADCOACH, may God bless you so much. I was totally green in research. Am so happy for your free superb tutorials and resources. Once again thank you so much Derek and his team.

You’re welcome, Erick. Good luck with your research proposal 🙂

thank you for the information. its precise and on point.

Really a remarkable piece of writing and great source of guidance for the researchers. GOD BLESS YOU for your guidance. Regards

Thanks so much for your guidance. It is easy and comprehensive the way you explain the steps for a winning research proposal.

Thank you guys so much for the rich post. I enjoyed and learn from every word in it. My problem now is how to get into your platform wherein I can always seek help on things related to my research work ? Secondly, I wish to find out if there is a way I can send my tentative proposal to you guys for examination before I take to my supervisor Once again thanks very much for the insights

Thanks for your kind words, Desire.

If you are based in a country where Grad Coach’s paid services are available, you can book a consultation by clicking the “Book” button in the top right.

Best of luck with your studies.

May God bless you team for the wonderful work you are doing,

If I have a topic, Can I submit it to you so that you can draft a proposal for me?? As I am expecting to go for masters degree in the near future.

Thanks for your comment. We definitely cannot draft a proposal for you, as that would constitute academic misconduct. The proposal needs to be your own work. We can coach you through the process, but it needs to be your own work and your own writing.

Best of luck with your research!

I found a lot of many essential concepts from your material. it is real a road map to write a research proposal. so thanks a lot. If there is any update material on your hand on MBA please forward to me.

GradCoach is a professional website that presents support and helps for MBA student like me through the useful online information on the page and with my 1-on-1 online coaching with the amazing and professional PhD Kerryen.

Thank you Kerryen so much for the support and help 🙂

I really recommend dealing with such a reliable services provider like Gradcoah and a coach like Kerryen.

Hi, Am happy for your service and effort to help students and researchers, Please, i have been given an assignment on research for strategic development, the task one is to formulate a research proposal to support the strategic development of a business area, my issue here is how to go about it, especially the topic or title and introduction. Please, i would like to know if you could help me and how much is the charge.

This content is practical, valuable, and just great!

Thank you very much!

Hi Derek, Thank you for the valuable presentation. It is very helpful especially for beginners like me. I am just starting my PhD.

This is quite instructive and research proposal made simple. Can I have a research proposal template?

Great! Thanks for rescuing me, because I had no former knowledge in this topic. But with this piece of information, I am now secured. Thank you once more.

I enjoyed listening to your video on how to write a proposal. I think I will be able to write a winning proposal with your advice. I wish you were to be my supervisor.

Dear Derek Jansen,

Thank you for your great content. I couldn’t learn these topics in MBA, but now I learned from GradCoach. Really appreciate your efforts….

From Afghanistan!

I have got very essential inputs for startup of my dissertation proposal. Well organized properly communicated with video presentation. Thank you for the presentation.

Wow, this is absolutely amazing guys. Thank you so much for the fruitful presentation, you’ve made my research much easier.

this helps me a lot. thank you all so much for impacting in us. may god richly bless you all

How I wish I’d learn about Grad Coach earlier. I’ve been stumbling around writing and rewriting! Now I have concise clear directions on how to put this thing together. Thank you!

Fantastic!! Thank You for this very concise yet comprehensive guidance.

Even if I am poor in English I would like to thank you very much.

Thank you very much, this is very insightful.

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How to write a research proposal

What is a research proposal?

What is the purpose of a research proposal , how long should a research proposal be, what should be included in a research proposal, 1. the title page, 2. introduction, 3. literature review, 4. research design, 5. implications, 6. reference list, frequently asked questions about writing a research proposal, related articles.

If you’re in higher education, the term “research proposal” is something you’re likely to be familiar with. But what is it, exactly? You’ll normally come across the need to prepare a research proposal when you’re looking to secure Ph.D. funding.

When you’re trying to find someone to fund your Ph.D. research, a research proposal is essentially your “pitch.”

A research proposal is a concise and coherent summary of your proposed research.

You’ll need to set out the issues that are central to the topic area and how you intend to address them with your research. To do this, you’ll need to give the following:

• an outline of the general area of study within which your research falls
• an overview of how much is currently known about the topic
• a literature review that covers the recent scholarly debate or conversation around the topic

➡️  What is a literature review? Learn more in our guide.

Essentially, you are trying to persuade your institution that you and your project are worth investing their time and money into.

It is the opportunity for you to demonstrate that you have the aptitude for this level of research by showing that you can articulate complex ideas:

It also helps you to find the right supervisor to oversee your research. When you’re writing your research proposal, you should always have this in the back of your mind.

This is the document that potential supervisors will use in determining the legitimacy of your research and, consequently, whether they will invest in you or not. It is therefore incredibly important that you spend some time on getting it right.

Tip: While there may not always be length requirements for research proposals, you should strive to cover everything you need to in a concise way.

If your research proposal is for a bachelor’s or master’s degree, it may only be a few pages long. For a Ph.D., a proposal could be a pretty long document that spans a few dozen pages.

➡️ Research proposals are similar to grant proposals. Learn how to write a grant proposal in our guide.

When you’re writing your proposal, keep in mind its purpose and why you’re writing it. It, therefore, needs to clearly explain the relevance of your research and its context with other discussions on the topic. You need to then explain what approach you will take and why it is feasible.

Generally, your structure should look something like this:

• Introduction
• Literature Review
• Research Design
• Implications

If you follow this structure, you’ll have a comprehensive and coherent proposal that looks and feels professional, without missing out on anything important. We’ll take a deep dive into each of these areas one by one next.

The title page might vary slightly per your area of study but, as a general point, your title page should contain the following:

• The proposed title of your project
• Your supervisor’s name
• The name of your institution and your particular department

Tip: Keep in mind any departmental or institutional guidelines for a research proposal title page. Also, your supervisor may ask for specific details to be added to the page.

The introduction is crucial   to your research proposal as it is your first opportunity to hook the reader in. A good introduction section will introduce your project and its relevance to the field of study.

You’ll want to use this space to demonstrate that you have carefully thought about how to present your project as interesting, original, and important research. A good place to start is by introducing the context of your research problem.

Think about answering these questions:

• What is it you want to research and why?
• How does this research relate to the respective field?
• How much is already known about this area?
• Who might find this research interesting?
• What are the key questions you aim to answer with your research?
• What will the findings of this project add to the topic area?

Your introduction aims to set yourself off on a great footing and illustrate to the reader that you are an expert in your field and that your project has a solid foundation in existing knowledge and theory.

The literature review section answers the question who else is talking about your proposed research topic.

You want to demonstrate that your research will contribute to conversations around the topic and that it will sit happily amongst experts in the field.

➡️ Read more about how to write a literature review .

There are lots of ways you can find relevant information for your literature review, including:

• Research relevant academic sources such as books and journals to find similar conversations around the topic.
• Read through abstracts and bibliographies of your academic sources to look for relevance and further additional resources without delving too deep into articles that are possibly not relevant to you.
• Watch out for heavily-cited works . This should help you to identify authoritative work that you need to read and document.
• Look for any research gaps , trends and patterns, common themes, debates, and contradictions.
• Consider any seminal studies on the topic area as it is likely anticipated that you will address these in your research proposal.

This is where you get down to the real meat of your research proposal. It should be a discussion about the overall approach you plan on taking, and the practical steps you’ll follow in answering the research questions you’ve posed.

So what should you discuss here? Some of the key things you will need to discuss at this point are:

• What form will your research take? Is it qualitative/quantitative/mixed? Will your research be primary or secondary?
• What sources will you use? Who or what will you be studying as part of your research.
• Document your research method. How are you practically going to carry out your research? What tools will you need? What procedures will you use?
• Any practicality issues you foresee. Do you think there will be any obstacles to your anticipated timescale? What resources will you require in carrying out your research?

Your research design should also discuss the potential implications of your research. For example, are you looking to confirm an existing theory or develop a new one?

If you intend to create a basis for further research, you should describe this here.

It is important to explain fully what you want the outcome of your research to look like and what you want to achieve by it. This will help those reading your research proposal to decide if it’s something the field  needs  and  wants,  and ultimately whether they will support you with it.

When you reach the end of your research proposal, you’ll have to compile a list of references for everything you’ve cited above. Ideally, you should keep track of everything from the beginning. Otherwise, this could be a mammoth and pretty laborious task to do.

Consider using a reference manager like Paperpile to format and organize your citations. Paperpile allows you to organize and save your citations for later use and cite them in thousands of citation styles directly in Google Docs, Microsoft Word, or LaTeX.

Your project may also require you to have a timeline, depending on the budget you are requesting. If you need one, you should include it here and explain both the timeline and the budget you need, documenting what should be done at each stage of the research and how much of the budget this will use.

This is the final step, but not one to be missed. You should make sure that you edit and proofread your document so that you can be sure there are no mistakes.

A good idea is to have another person proofread the document for you so that you get a fresh pair of eyes on it. You can even have a professional proofreader do this for you.

This is an important document and you don’t want spelling or grammatical mistakes to get in the way of you and your reader.

➡️ Working on a research proposal for a thesis? Take a look at our guide on how to come up with a topic for your thesis .

A research proposal is a concise and coherent summary of your proposed research. Generally, your research proposal will have a title page, introduction, literature review section, a section about research design and explaining the implications of your research, and a reference list.

A good research proposal is concise and coherent. It has a clear purpose, clearly explains the relevance of your research and its context with other discussions on the topic. A good research proposal explains what approach you will take and why it is feasible.

You need a research proposal to persuade your institution that you and your project are worth investing their time and money into. It is your opportunity to demonstrate your aptitude for this level or research by showing that you can articulate complex ideas clearly, concisely, and critically.

A research proposal is essentially your "pitch" when you're trying to find someone to fund your PhD. It is a clear and concise summary of your proposed research. It gives an outline of the general area of study within which your research falls, it elaborates how much is currently known about the topic, and it highlights any recent debate or conversation around the topic by other academics.

The general answer is: as long as it needs to be to cover everything. The length of your research proposal depends on the requirements from the institution that you are applying to. Make sure to carefully read all the instructions given, and if this specific information is not provided, you can always ask.

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• Indian J Anaesth
• v.60(9); 2016 Sep

How to write a research proposal?

Department of Anaesthesiology, Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Devika Rani Duggappa

Writing the proposal of a research work in the present era is a challenging task due to the constantly evolving trends in the qualitative research design and the need to incorporate medical advances into the methodology. The proposal is a detailed plan or ‘blueprint’ for the intended study, and once it is completed, the research project should flow smoothly. Even today, many of the proposals at post-graduate evaluation committees and application proposals for funding are substandard. A search was conducted with keywords such as research proposal, writing proposal and qualitative using search engines, namely, PubMed and Google Scholar, and an attempt has been made to provide broad guidelines for writing a scientifically appropriate research proposal.

INTRODUCTION

A clean, well-thought-out proposal forms the backbone for the research itself and hence becomes the most important step in the process of conduct of research.[ 1 ] The objective of preparing a research proposal would be to obtain approvals from various committees including ethics committee [details under ‘Research methodology II’ section [ Table 1 ] in this issue of IJA) and to request for grants. However, there are very few universally accepted guidelines for preparation of a good quality research proposal. A search was performed with keywords such as research proposal, funding, qualitative and writing proposals using search engines, namely, PubMed, Google Scholar and Scopus.

Five ‘C’s while writing a literature review

BASIC REQUIREMENTS OF A RESEARCH PROPOSAL

A proposal needs to show how your work fits into what is already known about the topic and what new paradigm will it add to the literature, while specifying the question that the research will answer, establishing its significance, and the implications of the answer.[ 2 ] The proposal must be capable of convincing the evaluation committee about the credibility, achievability, practicality and reproducibility (repeatability) of the research design.[ 3 ] Four categories of audience with different expectations may be present in the evaluation committees, namely academic colleagues, policy-makers, practitioners and lay audiences who evaluate the research proposal. Tips for preparation of a good research proposal include; ‘be practical, be persuasive, make broader links, aim for crystal clarity and plan before you write’. A researcher must be balanced, with a realistic understanding of what can be achieved. Being persuasive implies that researcher must be able to convince other researchers, research funding agencies, educational institutions and supervisors that the research is worth getting approval. The aim of the researcher should be clearly stated in simple language that describes the research in a way that non-specialists can comprehend, without use of jargons. The proposal must not only demonstrate that it is based on an intelligent understanding of the existing literature but also show that the writer has thought about the time needed to conduct each stage of the research.[ 4 , 5 ]

CONTENTS OF A RESEARCH PROPOSAL

The contents or formats of a research proposal vary depending on the requirements of evaluation committee and are generally provided by the evaluation committee or the institution.

In general, a cover page should contain the (i) title of the proposal, (ii) name and affiliation of the researcher (principal investigator) and co-investigators, (iii) institutional affiliation (degree of the investigator and the name of institution where the study will be performed), details of contact such as phone numbers, E-mail id's and lines for signatures of investigators.

The main contents of the proposal may be presented under the following headings: (i) introduction, (ii) review of literature, (iii) aims and objectives, (iv) research design and methods, (v) ethical considerations, (vi) budget, (vii) appendices and (viii) citations.[ 4 ]

Introduction

It is also sometimes termed as ‘need for study’ or ‘abstract’. Introduction is an initial pitch of an idea; it sets the scene and puts the research in context.[ 6 ] The introduction should be designed to create interest in the reader about the topic and proposal. It should convey to the reader, what you want to do, what necessitates the study and your passion for the topic.[ 7 ] Some questions that can be used to assess the significance of the study are: (i) Who has an interest in the domain of inquiry? (ii) What do we already know about the topic? (iii) What has not been answered adequately in previous research and practice? (iv) How will this research add to knowledge, practice and policy in this area? Some of the evaluation committees, expect the last two questions, elaborated under a separate heading of ‘background and significance’.[ 8 ] Introduction should also contain the hypothesis behind the research design. If hypothesis cannot be constructed, the line of inquiry to be used in the research must be indicated.

Review of literature

It refers to all sources of scientific evidence pertaining to the topic in interest. In the present era of digitalisation and easy accessibility, there is an enormous amount of relevant data available, making it a challenge for the researcher to include all of it in his/her review.[ 9 ] It is crucial to structure this section intelligently so that the reader can grasp the argument related to your study in relation to that of other researchers, while still demonstrating to your readers that your work is original and innovative. It is preferable to summarise each article in a paragraph, highlighting the details pertinent to the topic of interest. The progression of review can move from the more general to the more focused studies, or a historical progression can be used to develop the story, without making it exhaustive.[ 1 ] Literature should include supporting data, disagreements and controversies. Five ‘C's may be kept in mind while writing a literature review[ 10 ] [ Table 1 ].

Aims and objectives

The research purpose (or goal or aim) gives a broad indication of what the researcher wishes to achieve in the research. The hypothesis to be tested can be the aim of the study. The objectives related to parameters or tools used to achieve the aim are generally categorised as primary and secondary objectives.

Research design and method

The objective here is to convince the reader that the overall research design and methods of analysis will correctly address the research problem and to impress upon the reader that the methodology/sources chosen are appropriate for the specific topic. It should be unmistakably tied to the specific aims of your study.

In this section, the methods and sources used to conduct the research must be discussed, including specific references to sites, databases, key texts or authors that will be indispensable to the project. There should be specific mention about the methodological approaches to be undertaken to gather information, about the techniques to be used to analyse it and about the tests of external validity to which researcher is committed.[ 10 , 11 ]

The components of this section include the following:[ 4 ]

Population and sample

Population refers to all the elements (individuals, objects or substances) that meet certain criteria for inclusion in a given universe,[ 12 ] and sample refers to subset of population which meets the inclusion criteria for enrolment into the study. The inclusion and exclusion criteria should be clearly defined. The details pertaining to sample size are discussed in the article “Sample size calculation: Basic priniciples” published in this issue of IJA.

Data collection

The researcher is expected to give a detailed account of the methodology adopted for collection of data, which include the time frame required for the research. The methodology should be tested for its validity and ensure that, in pursuit of achieving the results, the participant's life is not jeopardised. The author should anticipate and acknowledge any potential barrier and pitfall in carrying out the research design and explain plans to address them, thereby avoiding lacunae due to incomplete data collection. If the researcher is planning to acquire data through interviews or questionnaires, copy of the questions used for the same should be attached as an annexure with the proposal.

Rigor (soundness of the research)

This addresses the strength of the research with respect to its neutrality, consistency and applicability. Rigor must be reflected throughout the proposal.

It refers to the robustness of a research method against bias. The author should convey the measures taken to avoid bias, viz. blinding and randomisation, in an elaborate way, thus ensuring that the result obtained from the adopted method is purely as chance and not influenced by other confounding variables.

Consistency

Consistency considers whether the findings will be consistent if the inquiry was replicated with the same participants and in a similar context. This can be achieved by adopting standard and universally accepted methods and scales.

Applicability

Applicability refers to the degree to which the findings can be applied to different contexts and groups.[ 13 ]

Data analysis

This section deals with the reduction and reconstruction of data and its analysis including sample size calculation. The researcher is expected to explain the steps adopted for coding and sorting the data obtained. Various tests to be used to analyse the data for its robustness, significance should be clearly stated. Author should also mention the names of statistician and suitable software which will be used in due course of data analysis and their contribution to data analysis and sample calculation.[ 9 ]

Ethical considerations

Medical research introduces special moral and ethical problems that are not usually encountered by other researchers during data collection, and hence, the researcher should take special care in ensuring that ethical standards are met. Ethical considerations refer to the protection of the participants' rights (right to self-determination, right to privacy, right to autonomy and confidentiality, right to fair treatment and right to protection from discomfort and harm), obtaining informed consent and the institutional review process (ethical approval). The researcher needs to provide adequate information on each of these aspects.

Informed consent needs to be obtained from the participants (details discussed in further chapters), as well as the research site and the relevant authorities.

When the researcher prepares a research budget, he/she should predict and cost all aspects of the research and then add an additional allowance for unpredictable disasters, delays and rising costs. All items in the budget should be justified.

Appendices are documents that support the proposal and application. The appendices will be specific for each proposal but documents that are usually required include informed consent form, supporting documents, questionnaires, measurement tools and patient information of the study in layman's language.

As with any scholarly research paper, you must cite the sources you used in composing your proposal. Although the words ‘references and bibliography’ are different, they are used interchangeably. It refers to all references cited in the research proposal.

Successful, qualitative research proposals should communicate the researcher's knowledge of the field and method and convey the emergent nature of the qualitative design. The proposal should follow a discernible logic from the introduction to presentation of the appendices.

Financial support and sponsorship

Conflicts of interest.

There are no conflicts of interest.

• 301 Academic Skills Centre
• Study skills online

How to write a research proposal

Advice and guidance on writing a proposal for a student research project.

Purpose of a Research Proposal

A research proposal should describe what you will investigate, why it is important to the discipline and how you will conduct your research.

Simply put, it is your plan for the research you intend to conduct. All research proposals are designed to persuade someone about how and why your intended project is worthwhile. 

In your proposal you will need to explain and defend your choices. Always think about the exact reasons why you are making specific choices and why they are the best options available to you and your project. 

Your research proposal aims should be centred on: 

• Relevance - You want to convince the reader how and why your research is relevant and significant to your field and how it is original. This is typically done in parts of the introduction and the literature review.
• Context - You should demonstrate that you are familiar with the field, you understand the current state of research on the topic and your ideas have a strong academic basis (i.e., not simply based on your instincts or personal views). This will be the focus of your introduction and literature review. 
• Approach - You need to make a case for your methodology, showing that you have carefully thought about the data, tools and procedures you will need to conduct the research. You need to explicitly defend all of your choices. This will be presented in the research design section. 
• Feasibility - You need to demonstrate clearly that your project is both reasonable and feasible within the practical constraints of the course, timescales, institution or funding. You need to make sure you have the time and access to resources to complete the project in a reasonable period. 

301 Recommends:

Our Research Writing workshop will look at some of the main writing challenges associated with writing a large-scale research project and look at strategies to manage your writing on a day-to-day basis. It will identify ways to plan, organise and map out the structure of your writing to allow you to develop an effective writing schedule and make continuous progress on your dissertation project.

Proposal format

The format of a research proposal varies between fields and levels of study but most proposals should contain at least these elements: introduction, literature review, research design and reference list.

Generally, research proposals can range from 500-1500 words or one to a few pages long. Typically, proposals for larger projects such as a PhD dissertation or funding requests, are longer and much more detailed.

Remember, the goal of your research proposal is to outline clearly and concisely exactly what your research will entail and accomplish, how it will do so and why it is important. If you are writing to a strictly enforced word count, a research proposal can be a great test of your ability to express yourself concisely!

Introduction

The first part of your proposal is the initial pitch for your project, so make sure it succinctly explains what you want to do and why. In other words, this is where you answer the reader’s “so what?” It should typically include: introducing the topic , outlining your problem statement and research question(s) and giving background and context. Some important questions to shape your introduction include: 

• Who has an interest in the topic (e.g. scientists, practitioners, policymakers, particular members of society)?
• How much is already known about the problem and why is it important?
• What is missing from current knowledge and why?
• What new insights will your research contribute?
• Why is this research worth doing?

If your proposal is very long, you might include separate sections with more detailed information on the background and context, problem statement, aims and objectives, and importance of the research.

Literature Review 

It’s important to show that you’re familiar with the most important research on your topic. A strong literature review convinces the reader that your project has a solid foundation in existing knowledge or theory (i.e. how it relates to established research in the field).

Your literature review will also show that you’re not simply repeating what other people have already done or said. This is also where you explain why your research is necessary. You might want to consider some of the following prompts:

• Comparing and contrasting: what are the main theories, methods, debates and controversies?
• Being critical: what are the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches?
• Showing how your research fits in: how will you build on, challenge or synthesise the work of others? 
• Filling a gap in the existing body of research: why is your idea innovative? 

Research design and methods

Following the literature review, it is a good idea to restate your main objectives, bringing the focus back to your own project. The research design/ methodology section should describe the overall approach and practical steps you will take to answer your research questions. You also need to demonstrate the feasibility of the project keeping in mind time and other constraints. 

You should definitely include:

• Qualitative vs quantitative research? Combination? 
• Will you collect original data or work with primary/secondary sources? 
• Is your research design descriptive, correlational or experimental? Something completely different?
• If you are undertaking your own study, when and where will you collect the data? How will you select subjects or sources? Ethics review? Exactly what or who will you study?
• What tools and procedures will you use (e.g. systematic reviews, surveys, interviews, observation, experiments, bibliographic data) to collect your data? 
• What tools/methods will you use to analyse your data? 
• Why are these the best methods to answer your research question(s)? This is where you should justify your choices. 
• How much time will you need to collect the data? 
• How will you gain access to participants and sources?
• Do you foresee any potential obstacles and if so, how will you address them?

Make sure you are not simply compiling a list of methods. Instead, aim to make an argument for why this is the most appropriate, valid and reliable way to approach answering your question. Remember you should always be defending your choices! 

Implications and Contributions to Knowledge

To ensure you finish your proposal on a strong note, it is a good idea to explore and/or emphasise the potential implications of the research. This means: what do you intend to contribute to existing knowledge on the topic?

Although you cannot know the results of your research until you have actually done the work, you should be going into the project with a clear idea of how your work will contribute to your field. This section might even be considered the most critical to your research proposal’s argument because it expresses exactly why your research is necessary. 

You should consider covering at least some of the following topics:

• Ways in which your work can challenge existing theories and assumptions in your field. 
• How your work will create the foundation for future research and theory. 
• The practical value your findings will provide to practitioners, educators and other academics in your field. 
• The problems or issues your work can potentially help to resolve. 
• Policies that could be impacted by your findings. 
• How your findings can be implemented in academia or other settings and how this will improve or otherwise transform these settings. 

This part is not about stating the specific results that you expect to obtain but rather, this is the section where you explicitly state how your findings will be valuable. 

This section is where you want to wrap it all up in a nice pretty bow. It is just like the concluding paragraph that you would structure and craft for a typical essay, see our essay planning template  for guidance. You should briefly summarise your research proposal and reinforce your research purpose. 

Reference List or Bibliography

Your research proposal MUST include proper citations for every source you have used and full references. Please consult your departmental referencing styles to ensure you are citing and referencing in an appropriate way. 

Common mistakes to avoid 

Try and avoid these common pitfalls when you are writing your research proposal: 

• Being too wordy: Remember formal does not mean flowery or pretentious. In fact, you should really aim to keep your writing as concise and accessible as possible. The more economically you can express your goals and ideas, the better. 
• Failing to cite relevant information/sources: You are adding to the existing body of knowledge on the subject you are covering. Therefore, your research proposal should reference the main research pieces in your field (while referencing them correctly!) and connect your proposal to these works in some way. This does not mean just communicating the relevance of your work, it should explicitly demonstrate your familiarity with the field. 
• Focusing too much on minor issues: Your research is most likely important for so many great reasons. However, they do not all need to be listed in your research proposal. Generally, including too many questions and issues in your research proposal can serve as a red flag and detract from your main purpose(s). This will in turn weaken your proposal. Only involve the main/key issues you plan to address. 
• Failing to make a strong argument for your research: This is the simplest way to undermine your proposal. Your proposal is a piece of persuasive and critical writing . This means that, although you are presenting your proposal in an academic and hopefully objective manner, the goal is to get the reader to say ‘yes’ to your work. 
• Not polishing your writing : If your proposal has spelling or grammatical errors, an inconsistent or inappropriate tone or even just awkward phrasing it can undermine your credibility. Check out some of these resources to help guide you in the right direction: Manchester Academic Phrasebank , Proofreading Guide , Essay Checklist and Grammar Guide . Remember to double and triple check your work. 

Links and Resources

You might also need to include a schedule and/or a budget depending on your requirements. Some tools to help include: 

• Guidance for candidates
• Manchester University Academic Phrasebank
• Leeds Beckett Assignment Calculator
• Calendarpedia

For guidance regarding specific research proposals (including templates), please check with your specific departments.

Related information

Dissertation planning

Writing a literature review

Research methods

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Blog Business How to Write a Research Proposal: A Step-by-Step

How to Write a Research Proposal: A Step-by-Step

Written by: Danesh Ramuthi Nov 29, 2023

A research proposal is a structured outline for a planned study on a specific topic. It serves as a roadmap, guiding researchers through the process of converting their research idea into a feasible project. 

The aim of a research proposal is multifold: it articulates the research problem, establishes a theoretical framework, outlines the research methodology and highlights the potential significance of the study. Importantly, it’s a critical tool for scholars seeking grant funding or approval for their research projects.

Crafting a good research proposal requires not only understanding your research topic and methodological approaches but also the ability to present your ideas clearly and persuasively. Explore Venngage’s Proposal Maker and Research Proposals Templates to begin your journey in writing a compelling research proposal.

What to include in a research proposal?

In a research proposal, include a clear statement of your research question or problem, along with an explanation of its significance. This should be followed by a literature review that situates your proposed study within the context of existing research. 

Your proposal should also outline the research methodology, detailing how you plan to conduct your study, including data collection and analysis methods.

Additionally, include a theoretical framework that guides your research approach, a timeline or research schedule, and a budget if applicable. It’s important to also address the anticipated outcomes and potential implications of your study. A well-structured research proposal will clearly communicate your research objectives, methods and significance to the readers.

How to format a research proposal?

Formatting a research proposal involves adhering to a structured outline to ensure clarity and coherence. While specific requirements may vary, a standard research proposal typically includes the following elements:

• Title Page: Must include the title of your research proposal, your name and affiliations. The title should be concise and descriptive of your proposed research.
• Abstract: A brief summary of your proposal, usually not exceeding 250 words. It should highlight the research question, methodology and the potential impact of the study.
• Introduction: Introduces your research question or problem, explains its significance, and states the objectives of your study.
• Literature review: Here, you contextualize your research within existing scholarship, demonstrating your knowledge of the field and how your research will contribute to it.
• Methodology: Outline your research methods, including how you will collect and analyze data. This section should be detailed enough to show the feasibility and thoughtfulness of your approach.
• Timeline: Provide an estimated schedule for your research, breaking down the process into stages with a realistic timeline for each.
• Budget (if applicable): If your research requires funding, include a detailed budget outlining expected cost.
• References/Bibliography: List all sources referenced in your proposal in a consistent citation style.

How to write a research proposal in 11 steps?

Writing a research proposal template in structured steps ensures a comprehensive and coherent presentation of your research project. Let’s look at the explanation for each of the steps here:  

Step 1: Title and Abstract Step 2: Introduction Step 3: Research objectives Step 4: Literature review Step 5: Methodology Step 6: Timeline Step 7: Resources Step 8: Ethical considerations Step 9: Expected outcomes and significance Step 10: References Step 11: Appendices

Step 1: title and abstract.

Select a concise, descriptive title and write an abstract summarizing your research question, objectives, methodology and expected outcomes​​. The abstract should include your research question, the objectives you aim to achieve, the methodology you plan to employ and the anticipated outcomes. 

Step 2: Introduction

In this section, introduce the topic of your research, emphasizing its significance and relevance to the field. Articulate the research problem or question in clear terms and provide background context, which should include an overview of previous research in the field.

Step 3: Research objectives

Here, you’ll need to outline specific, clear and achievable objectives that align with your research problem. These objectives should be well-defined, focused and measurable, serving as the guiding pillars for your study. They help in establishing what you intend to accomplish through your research and provide a clear direction for your investigation.

Step 4: Literature review

In this part, conduct a thorough review of existing literature related to your research topic. This involves a detailed summary of key findings and major contributions from previous research. Identify existing gaps in the literature and articulate how your research aims to fill these gaps. The literature review not only shows your grasp of the subject matter but also how your research will contribute new insights or perspectives to the field.

Step 5: Methodology

Describe the design of your research and the methodologies you will employ. This should include detailed information on data collection methods, instruments to be used and analysis techniques. Justify the appropriateness of these methods for your research​​.

Step 6: Timeline

Construct a detailed timeline that maps out the major milestones and activities of your research project. Break the entire research process into smaller, manageable tasks and assign realistic time frames to each. This timeline should cover everything from the initial research phase to the final submission, including periods for data collection, analysis and report writing. 

It helps in ensuring your project stays on track and demonstrates to reviewers that you have a well-thought-out plan for completing your research efficiently.

Step 7: Resources

Identify all the resources that will be required for your research, such as specific databases, laboratory equipment, software or funding. Provide details on how these resources will be accessed or acquired. 

If your research requires funding, explain how it will be utilized effectively to support various aspects of the project. 

Step 8: Ethical considerations

Address any ethical issues that may arise during your research. This is particularly important for research involving human subjects. Describe the measures you will take to ensure ethical standards are maintained, such as obtaining informed consent, ensuring participant privacy, and adhering to data protection regulations. 

Here, in this section you should reassure reviewers that you are committed to conducting your research responsibly and ethically.

Step 9: Expected outcomes and significance

Articulate the expected outcomes or results of your research. Explain the potential impact and significance of these outcomes, whether in advancing academic knowledge, influencing policy or addressing specific societal or practical issues. 

Step 10: References

Compile a comprehensive list of all the references cited in your proposal. Adhere to a consistent citation style (like APA or MLA) throughout your document. The reference section not only gives credit to the original authors of your sourced information but also strengthens the credibility of your proposal.

Step 11: Appendices

Include additional supporting materials that are pertinent to your research proposal. This can be survey questionnaires, interview guides, detailed data analysis plans or any supplementary information that supports the main text. 

Appendices provide further depth to your proposal, showcasing the thoroughness of your preparation.

Research proposal FAQs

1. how long should a research proposal be.

The length of a research proposal can vary depending on the requirements of the academic institution, funding body or specific guidelines provided. Generally, research proposals range from 500 to 1500 words or about one to a few pages long. It’s important to provide enough detail to clearly convey your research idea, objectives and methodology, while being concise. Always check

2. Why is the research plan pivotal to a research project?

The research plan is pivotal to a research project because it acts as a blueprint, guiding every phase of the study. It outlines the objectives, methodology, timeline and expected outcomes, providing a structured approach and ensuring that the research is systematically conducted. 

A well-crafted plan helps in identifying potential challenges, allocating resources efficiently and maintaining focus on the research goals. It is also essential for communicating the project’s feasibility and importance to stakeholders, such as funding bodies or academic supervisors.

Mastering how to write a research proposal is an essential skill for any scholar, whether in social and behavioral sciences, academic writing or any field requiring scholarly research. From this article, you have learned key components, from the literature review to the research design, helping you develop a persuasive and well-structured proposal.

Remember, a good research proposal not only highlights your proposed research and methodology but also demonstrates its relevance and potential impact.

For additional support, consider utilizing Venngage’s Proposal Maker and Research Proposals Templates , valuable tools in crafting a compelling proposal that stands out.

Whether it’s for grant funding, a research paper or a dissertation proposal, these resources can assist in transforming your research idea into a successful submission.

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Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper: Writing a Research Proposal

• Purpose of Guide
• Writing a Research Proposal
• Design Flaws to Avoid
• Independent and Dependent Variables
• Narrowing a Topic Idea
• Broadening a Topic Idea
• The Research Problem/Question
• Academic Writing Style
• Choosing a Title
• Making an Outline
• Paragraph Development
• The C.A.R.S. Model
• Background Information
• Theoretical Framework
• Citation Tracking
• Evaluating Sources
• Reading Research Effectively
• Primary Sources
• Secondary Sources
• What Is Scholarly vs. Popular?
• Is it Peer-Reviewed?
• Qualitative Methods
• Quantitative Methods
• Common Grammar Mistakes
• Writing Concisely
• Avoiding Plagiarism [linked guide]
• Annotated Bibliography
• Grading Someone Else's Paper

The goal of a research proposal is to present and justify the need to study a research problem and to present the practical ways in which the proposed study should be conducted. The design elements and procedures for conducting the research are governed by standards within the predominant discipline in which the problem resides, so guidelines for research proposals are more exacting and less formal than a general project proposal. Research proposals contain extensive literature reviews. They must provide persuasive evidence that a need exists for the proposed study. In addition to providing a rationale, a proposal describes detailed methodology for conducting the research consistent with requirements of the professional or academic field and a statement on anticipated outcomes and/or benefits derived from the study's completion.

Krathwohl, David R. How to Prepare a Dissertation Proposal: Suggestions for Students in Education and the Social and Behavioral Sciences . Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2005.

How to Approach Writing a Research Proposal

Your professor may assign the task of writing a research proposal for the following reasons:

• Develop your skills in thinking about and designing a comprehensive research study;
• Learn how to conduct a comprehensive review of the literature to ensure a research problem has not already been answered [or you may determine the problem has been answered ineffectively] and, in so doing, become better at locating scholarship related to your topic;
• Improve your general research and writing skills;
• Practice identifying the logical steps that must be taken to accomplish one's research goals;
• Critically review, examine, and consider the use of different methods for gathering and analyzing data related to the research problem; and,
• Nurture a sense of inquisitiveness within yourself and to help see yourself as an active participant in the process of doing scholarly research.

A proposal should contain all the key elements involved in designing a completed research study, with sufficient information that allows readers to assess the validity and usefulness of your proposed study. The only elements missing from a research proposal are the findings of the study and your analysis of those results. Finally, an effective proposal is judged on the quality of your writing and, therefore, it is important that your writing is coherent, clear, and compelling.

Regardless of the research problem you are investigating and the methodology you choose, all research proposals must address the following questions:

• What do you plan to accomplish? Be clear and succinct in defining the research problem and what it is you are proposing to research.
• Why do you want to do it? In addition to detailing your research design, you also must conduct a thorough review of the literature and provide convincing evidence that it is a topic worthy of study. Be sure to answer the "So What?" question.
• How are you going to do it? Be sure that what you propose is doable. If you're having trouble formulating a research problem to propose investigating, go here .

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Failure to be concise; being "all over the map" without a clear sense of purpose.
• Failure to cite landmark works in your literature review.
• Failure to delimit the contextual boundaries of your research [e.g., time, place, people, etc.].
• Failure to develop a coherent and persuasive argument for the proposed research.
• Failure to stay focused on the research problem; going off on unrelated tangents.
• Sloppy or imprecise writing, or poor grammar.
• Too much detail on minor issues, but not enough detail on major issues.

Procter, Margaret. The Academic Proposal .  The Lab Report. University College Writing Centre. University of Toronto; Sanford, Keith. Information for Students: Writing a Research Proposal . Baylor University; Wong, Paul T. P. How to Write a Research Proposal . International Network on Personal Meaning. Trinity Western University; Writing Academic Proposals: Conferences, Articles, and Books . The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Writing a Research Proposal . University Library. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Structure and Writing Style

Beginning the Proposal Process

As with writing a regular academic paper, research proposals are generally organized the same way throughout most social science disciplines. Proposals vary between ten and twenty-five pages in length. However, before you begin, read the assignment carefully and, if anything seems unclear, ask your professor whether there are any specific requirements for organizing and writing the proposal.

A good place to begin is to ask yourself a series of questions:

• What do I want to study?
• Why is the topic important?
• How is it significant within the subject areas covered in my class?
• What problems will it help solve?
• How does it build upon [and hopefully go beyond] research already conducted on the topic?
• What exactly should I plan to do, and can I get it done in the time available?

In general, a compelling research proposal should document your knowledge of the topic and demonstrate your enthusiasm for conducting the study. Approach it with the intention of leaving your readers feeling like--"Wow, that's an exciting idea and I can’t wait to see how it turns out!"

In general your proposal should include the following sections:

I.  Introduction

In the real world of higher education, a research proposal is most often written by scholars seeking grant funding for a research project or it's the first step in getting approval to write a doctoral dissertation. Even if this is just a course assignment, treat your introduction as the initial pitch of an idea or a thorough examination of the significance of a research problem. After reading the introduction, your readers should not only have an understanding of what you want to do, but they should also be able to gain a sense of your passion for the topic and be excited about the study's possible outcomes. Note that most proposals do not include an abstract [summary] before the introduction.

Think about your introduction as a narrative written in one to three paragraphs that succinctly answers the following four questions :

• What is the central research problem?
• What is the topic of study related to that problem?
• What methods should be used to analyze the research problem?
• Why is this important research, what is its significance, and why should someone reading the proposal care about the outcomes of the proposed study?

II.  Background and Significance

This section can be melded into your introduction or you can create a separate section to help with the organization and narrative flow of your proposal. This is where you explain the context of your proposal and describe in detail why it's important. Approach writing this section with the thought that you can’t assume your readers will know as much about the research problem as you do. Note that this section is not an essay going over everything you have learned about the topic; instead, you must choose what is relevant to help explain the goals for your study.

To that end, while there are no hard and fast rules, you should attempt to address some or all of the following key points:

• State the research problem and give a more detailed explanation about the purpose of the study than what you stated in the introduction. This is particularly important if the problem is complex or multifaceted .
• Present the rationale of your proposed study and clearly indicate why it is worth doing. Answer the "So What? question [i.e., why should anyone care].
• Describe the major issues or problems to be addressed by your research. Be sure to note how your proposed study builds on previous assumptions about the research problem.
• Explain how you plan to go about conducting your research. Clearly identify the key sources you intend to use and explain how they will contribute to your analysis of the topic.
• Set the boundaries of your proposed research in order to provide a clear focus. Where appropriate, state not only what you will study, but what is excluded from the study.
• If necessary, provide definitions of key concepts or terms.

III.  Literature Review

Connected to the background and significance of your study is a section of your proposal devoted to a more deliberate review and synthesis of prior studies related to the research problem under investigation . The purpose here is to place your project within the larger whole of what is currently being explored, while demonstrating to your readers that your work is original and innovative. Think about what questions other researchers have asked, what methods they have used, and what is your understanding of their findings and, where stated, their recommendations. Do not be afraid to challenge the conclusions of prior research. Assess what you believe is missing and state how previous research has failed to adequately examine the issue that your study addresses. For more information on writing literature reviews, GO HERE .

Since a literature review is information dense, it is crucial that this section is intelligently structured to enable a reader to grasp the key arguments underpinning your study in relation to that of other researchers. A good strategy is to break the literature into "conceptual categories" [themes] rather than systematically describing groups of materials one at a time. Note that conceptual categories generally reveal themselves after you have read most of the pertinent literature on your topic so adding new categories is an on-going process of discovery as you read more studies. How do you know you've covered the key conceptual categories underlying the research literature? Generally, you can have confidence that all of the significant conceptual categories have been identified if you start to see repetition in the conclusions or recommendations that are being made.

To help frame your proposal's literature review, here are the "five C’s" of writing a literature review:

• Cite , so as to keep the primary focus on the literature pertinent to your research problem.
• Compare the various arguments, theories, methodologies, and findings expressed in the literature: what do the authors agree on? Who applies similar approaches to analyzing the research problem?
• Contrast the various arguments, themes, methodologies, approaches, and controversies expressed in the literature: what are the major areas of disagreement, controversy, or debate?
• Critique the literature: Which arguments are more persuasive, and why? Which approaches, findings, methodologies seem most reliable, valid, or appropriate, and why? Pay attention to the verbs you use to describe what an author says/does [e.g., asserts, demonstrates, argues, etc.] .
• Connect the literature to your own area of research and investigation: how does your own work draw upon, depart from, synthesize, or add a new perspective to what has been said in the literature?

IV.  Research Design and Methods

This section must be well-written and logically organized because you are not actually doing the research, yet, your reader must have confidence that it is worth pursuing . The reader will never have a study outcome from which to evaluate whether your methodological choices were the correct ones. Thus, the objective here is to convince the reader that your overall research design and methods of analysis will correctly address the problem and that the methods will provide the means to effectively interpret the potential results. Your design and methods should be unmistakably tied to the specific aims of your study.

Describe the overall research design by building upon and drawing examples from your review of the literature. Consider not only methods that other researchers have used but methods of data gathering that have not been used but perhaps could be. Be specific about the methodological approaches you plan to undertake to obtain information, the techniques you would use to analyze the data, and the tests of external validity to which you commit yourself [i.e., the trustworthiness by which you can generalize from your study to other people, places, events, and/or periods of time].

When describing the methods you will use, be sure to cover the following:

• Specify the research operations you will undertake and the way you will interpret the results of these operations in relation to the research problem. Don't just describe what you intend to achieve from applying the methods you choose, but state how you will spend your time while applying these methods [e.g., coding text from interviews to find statements about the need to change school curriculum; running a regression to determine if there is a relationship between campaign advertising on social media sites and election outcomes in Europe ].
• Keep in mind that a methodology is not just a list of tasks; it is an argument as to why these tasks add up to the best way to investigate the research problem. This is an important point because the mere listing of tasks to be performed does not demonstrate that, collectively, they effectively address the research problem. Be sure you explain this.
• Anticipate and acknowledge any potential barriers and pitfalls in carrying out your research design and explain how you plan to address them. No method is perfect so you need to describe where you believe challenges may exist in obtaining data or accessing information. It's always better to acknowledge this than to have it brought up by your reader.

Develop a Research Proposal: Writing the Proposal . Office of Library Information Services. Baltimore County Public Schools; Heath, M. Teresa Pereira and Caroline Tynan. “Crafting a Research Proposal.” The Marketing Review 10 (Summer 2010): 147-168; Jones, Mark. “Writing a Research Proposal.” In MasterClass in Geography Education: Transforming Teaching and Learning . Graham Butt, editor. (New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2015), pp. 113-127; Juni, Muhamad Hanafiah. “Writing a Research Proposal.” International Journal of Public Health and Clinical Sciences 1 (September/October 2014): 229-240; Krathwohl, David R. How to Prepare a Dissertation Proposal: Suggestions for Students in Education and the Social and Behavioral Sciences . Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2005; Procter, Margaret. The Academic Proposal . The Lab Report. University College Writing Centre. University of Toronto; Punch, Keith and Wayne McGowan. "Developing and Writing a Research Proposal." In From Postgraduate to Social Scientist: A Guide to Key Skills . Nigel Gilbert, ed. (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2006), 59-81; Wong, Paul T. P. How to Write a Research Proposal . International Network on Personal Meaning. Trinity Western University; Writing Academic Proposals: Conferences, Articles, and Books . The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Writing a Research Proposal . University Library. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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• Last Updated: Sep 8, 2023 12:19 PM
• URL: https://guides.library.txstate.edu/socialscienceresearch

• How to Write a Research Proposal

How to Write a Research Proposal - Structure and Guidelines

To obtain any higher degree of education, you will be required to write a research paper as a part of your final project. A research proposal is written before you write your research paper. It is a description of your research topic and the details of your paper. There is a particular format for writing a research proposal. To learn more about what a research proposal is, go through this article.

Table of Contents

What is the purpose of a research proposal, abstract and table of contents, introduction, aims and objectives, background significance, literature review, research design and methodology, research questions, suppositions and implications, bibliography, tips to write a research proposal, frequently asked questions on writing a research proposal.

The purpose of writing a research proposal is to present the plan for the research. It can also be written as a proposal for the research project’s funding. First, a research proposal is sent to the guide or mentor for approval. Only after their approval can you proceed with the research.

No matter what your reasons are for drafting a research proposal, the format remains the same. The researcher portrays how and why the research topic is relevant to the field. They explain the research gap and the ways to fill up the research gap. A research proposal also proves that the author can conduct the research and make a significant contribution to the field’s current status. To do this, your research proposal must detail your academic history and credentials and also establish the academic worth of your proposed ideas.

Listed below are the important things to be covered in a research proposal.

• The research methodology
• The research tools and procedures to be used by the researcher to collect and analyse the data
• Explanation of how the research can fit the budget and other restrictions imposed by the institution, department, or academic program

Structure of a Research Proposal

A research proposal must include the following.

An abstract and table of contents are added at the beginning of the research proposal, just before the introduction. An abstract talks about the research in brief. It can also include keywords used in the proposal towards the end.

Like in any other academic writing, the introduction of a research proposal introduces your research idea. It covers the research problem and the questions it raises. The introduction provides the context for your research. It must be precise and must cover all the relevant information. Be careful not to make it look like all the information is crammed into one paragraph.

This is an important section of a research proposal. This is where you explain your objectives for conducting the research and what you intend to achieve through it. This will help the reader understand your point of view more clearly. Mention the objectives in bullet points.

This is the section where you explain why the research is essential and how it is related to the field. You have to also explain the research problems and why you have to work on them here.

The literature review plays a vital role in a research proposal. In this section, you will explain information related to the study from books, articles and other sources. The main objective here is to establish the research gap.

After the literature review, the important thing to discuss in the research proposal is the research methodology and the design of your research. In this section, you will mention about,

• The type of research to be conducted – qualitative or quantitative. You will have to mention if the data is collected originally by you or if you are analysing other researchers’ works.
• You will also have to explain if you are conducting an experimental, correlational, or descriptive type of research.
• Discuss the data you are working with. If you are conducting social science research, for example, you will have to describe the demographic you are looking at. You must also explain how you will choose your subjects and collect data from them.
• Also, explain the tools to be used while conducting the research. It can be surveys, interviews, videos, etc.

After looking at your research and the type of research, you can also add information regarding the budget, time frame, and obstacles.

Research questions direct you to stick to the research and not deviate from it at any point. It can be two to four or five questions that you seek to find answers to with your research.

Although you will not know the findings of your research until you’ve completed it, you should have a clear sense of how your work will benefit your field before you begin. This section of your research proposal is likely the most important because it expresses why your research is vital. You can explain the below-given points in this section.

• How your research will create the foundation for future research.
• How it can be challenging to the already existing theories.
• How it adds practical value to the practitioners, researchers, teachers, etc.
• The problems that you may have to work on and fix.
• Policies that can be impacted by your findings.
• How your findings can be implemented in academics, and how they can transform the system.

Primarily this section talks about the value that your research can add. Rather than talking about the exact result or exact answer, you can discuss the expected outcomes.

The conclusion contains the overall summary of the proposal. Make sure you do not end it abruptly.

A bibliography plays a crucial role in a research paper as well as a research proposal. It is the list of sources you have referred to and cited to avoid plagiarism and copyright issues. At times, the full list of the bibliography is not needed. In such a case, we can just add the reference list. You can seek help from your guide or supervisor for the correct format.

• Include all the information regarding the final research paper to make it understandable to the supervisor, guide, etc.
• Citations play a major role. Cite every source you have referred to and used.
• Follow one format of writing, e.g. MLA format, APA format, etc. Consult with your guide and find out which format you have to follow to write your research proposal.
• Establish a strong argument for your research proposal because your objective is to make your reader say “Yes” to your proposal.
• Proofread and edit it to avoid any possible errors.

What are the essential components of a research proposal?

The essential components of a research proposal are the introduction, literature review, research questions, aims and objectives, and the research methodology.

Why is a research proposal written?

A research proposal is written to seek approval from the research guide, to get financial support, or to prepare a representation of your research plan and strategies.

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Frequently asked questions

What should i include in a research paper introduction.

The introduction of a research paper includes several key elements:

• A hook to catch the reader’s interest
• Relevant background on the topic
• Details of your research problem

and your problem statement

• A thesis statement or research question
• Sometimes an overview of the paper

Frequently asked questions: Writing a research paper

A research project is an academic, scientific, or professional undertaking to answer a research question . Research projects can take many forms, such as qualitative or quantitative , descriptive , longitudinal , experimental , or correlational . What kind of research approach you choose will depend on your topic.

The best way to remember the difference between a research plan and a research proposal is that they have fundamentally different audiences. A research plan helps you, the researcher, organize your thoughts. On the other hand, a dissertation proposal or research proposal aims to convince others (e.g., a supervisor, a funding body, or a dissertation committee) that your research topic is relevant and worthy of being conducted.

Formulating a main research question can be a difficult task. Overall, your question should contribute to solving the problem that you have defined in your problem statement .

However, it should also fulfill criteria in three main areas:

• Researchability
• Feasibility and specificity
• Relevance and originality

Research questions anchor your whole project, so it’s important to spend some time refining them.

In general, they should be:

• Focused and researchable
• Answerable using credible sources
• Complex and arguable
• Feasible and specific
• Relevant and original

All research questions should be:

• Focused on a single problem or issue
• Researchable using primary and/or secondary sources
• Feasible to answer within the timeframe and practical constraints
• Specific enough to answer thoroughly
• Complex enough to develop the answer over the space of a paper or thesis
• Relevant to your field of study and/or society more broadly

A research aim is a broad statement indicating the general purpose of your research project. It should appear in your introduction at the end of your problem statement , before your research objectives.

Research objectives are more specific than your research aim. They indicate the specific ways you’ll address the overarching aim.

Once you’ve decided on your research objectives , you need to explain them in your paper, at the end of your problem statement .

Keep your research objectives clear and concise, and use appropriate verbs to accurately convey the work that you will carry out for each one.

I will compare …

Your research objectives indicate how you’ll try to address your research problem and should be specific:

Research objectives describe what you intend your research project to accomplish.

They summarize the approach and purpose of the project and help to focus your research.

Your objectives should appear in the introduction of your research paper , at the end of your problem statement .

The main guidelines for formatting a paper in Chicago style are to:

• Use a standard font like 12 pt Times New Roman
• Use 1 inch margins or larger
• Apply double line spacing
• Indent every new paragraph ½ inch
• Include a title page
• Place page numbers in the top right or bottom center
• Cite your sources with author-date citations or Chicago footnotes
• Include a bibliography or reference list

To automatically generate accurate Chicago references, you can use Scribbr’s free Chicago reference generator .

The main guidelines for formatting a paper in MLA style are as follows:

• Use an easily readable font like 12 pt Times New Roman
• Set 1 inch page margins
• Include a four-line MLA heading on the first page
• Center the paper’s title
• Use title case capitalization for headings
• Cite your sources with MLA in-text citations
• List all sources cited on a Works Cited page at the end

To format a paper in APA Style , follow these guidelines:

• Use a standard font like 12 pt Times New Roman or 11 pt Arial
• If submitting for publication, insert a running head on every page
• Apply APA heading styles
• Cite your sources with APA in-text citations
• List all sources cited on a reference page at the end

No, it’s not appropriate to present new arguments or evidence in the conclusion . While you might be tempted to save a striking argument for last, research papers follow a more formal structure than this.

All your findings and arguments should be presented in the body of the text (more specifically in the results and discussion sections if you are following a scientific structure). The conclusion is meant to summarize and reflect on the evidence and arguments you have already presented, not introduce new ones.

The conclusion of a research paper has several key elements you should make sure to include:

• A restatement of the research problem
• A summary of your key arguments and/or findings
• A short discussion of the implications of your research

Don’t feel that you have to write the introduction first. The introduction is often one of the last parts of the research paper you’ll write, along with the conclusion.

This is because it can be easier to introduce your paper once you’ve already written the body ; you may not have the clearest idea of your arguments until you’ve written them, and things can change during the writing process .

The way you present your research problem in your introduction varies depending on the nature of your research paper . A research paper that presents a sustained argument will usually encapsulate this argument in a thesis statement .

A research paper designed to present the results of empirical research tends to present a research question that it seeks to answer. It may also include a hypothesis —a prediction that will be confirmed or disproved by your research.

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Home » Research Proposal – Types, Template and Example

Research Proposal – Types, Template and Example

Table of Contents

Research Proposal

Research proposal is a document that outlines a proposed research project . It is typically written by researchers, scholars, or students who intend to conduct research to address a specific research question or problem.

Types of Research Proposal

Research proposals can vary depending on the nature of the research project and the specific requirements of the funding agency, academic institution, or research program. Here are some common types of research proposals:

Academic Research Proposal

This is the most common type of research proposal, which is prepared by students, scholars, or researchers to seek approval and funding for an academic research project. It includes all the essential components mentioned earlier, such as the introduction, literature review , methodology , and expected outcomes.

Grant Proposal

A grant proposal is specifically designed to secure funding from external sources, such as government agencies, foundations, or private organizations. It typically includes additional sections, such as a detailed budget, project timeline, evaluation plan, and a description of the project’s alignment with the funding agency’s priorities and objectives.

Dissertation or Thesis Proposal

Students pursuing a master’s or doctoral degree often need to submit a proposal outlining their intended research for their dissertation or thesis. These proposals are usually more extensive and comprehensive, including an in-depth literature review, theoretical framework, research questions or hypotheses, and a detailed methodology.

Research Project Proposal

This type of proposal is often prepared by researchers or research teams within an organization or institution. It outlines a specific research project that aims to address a particular problem, explore a specific area of interest, or provide insights for decision-making. Research project proposals may include sections on project management, collaboration, and dissemination of results.

Research Fellowship Proposal

Researchers or scholars applying for research fellowships may be required to submit a proposal outlining their proposed research project. These proposals often emphasize the novelty and significance of the research and its alignment with the goals and objectives of the fellowship program.

Collaborative Research Proposal

In cases where researchers from multiple institutions or disciplines collaborate on a research project, a collaborative research proposal is prepared. This proposal highlights the objectives, responsibilities, and contributions of each collaborator, as well as the overall research plan and coordination mechanisms.

Research Proposal Outline

A research proposal typically follows a standard outline that helps structure the document and ensure all essential components are included. While the specific headings and subheadings may vary slightly depending on the requirements of your institution or funding agency, the following outline provides a general structure for a research proposal:

• Title of the research proposal
• Name of the researcher(s) or principal investigator(s)
• Affiliation or institution
• Date of submission
• A concise summary of the research proposal, typically limited to 200-300 words.
• Briefly introduce the research problem or question, state the objectives, summarize the methodology, and highlight the expected outcomes or significance of the research.
• Provide an overview of the subject area and the specific research problem or question.
• Present relevant background information, theories, or concepts to establish the need for the research.
• Clearly state the research objectives or research questions that the study aims to address.
• Indicate the significance or potential contributions of the research.
• Summarize and analyze relevant studies, theories, or scholarly works.
• Identify research gaps or unresolved issues that your study intends to address.
• Highlight the novelty or uniqueness of your research.
• Describe the overall approach or research design that will be used (e.g., experimental, qualitative, quantitative).
• Justify the chosen approach based on the research objectives and question.
• Explain how data will be collected (e.g., surveys, interviews, experiments).
• Describe the sampling strategy and sample size, if applicable.
• Address any ethical considerations related to data collection.
• Outline the data analysis techniques or statistical methods that will be applied.
• Explain how the data will be interpreted and analyzed to answer the research question(s).
• Provide a detailed schedule or timeline that outlines the various stages of the research project.
• Specify the estimated duration for each stage, including data collection, analysis, and report writing.
• State the potential outcomes or results of the research.
• Discuss the potential significance or contributions of the study to the field.
• Address any potential limitations or challenges that may be encountered.
• Identify the resources required to conduct the research, such as funding, equipment, or access to data.
• Specify any collaborations or partnerships necessary for the successful completion of the study.
• Include a list of cited references in the appropriate citation style (e.g., APA, MLA).

———————————————————————————————–

Research Proposal Example Template

Here’s an example of a research proposal to give you an idea of how it can be structured:

Title: The Impact of Social Media on Adolescent Well-being: A Mixed-Methods Study

This research proposal aims to investigate the impact of social media on the well-being of adolescents. The study will employ a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews to gather comprehensive data. The research objectives include examining the relationship between social media use and mental health, exploring the role of peer influence in shaping online behaviors, and identifying strategies for promoting healthy social media use among adolescents. The findings of this study will contribute to the understanding of the effects of social media on adolescent well-being and inform the development of targeted interventions.

1. Introduction

1.1 Background and Context:

Adolescents today are immersed in social media platforms, which have become integral to their daily lives. However, concerns have been raised about the potential negative impact of social media on their well-being, including increased rates of depression, anxiety, and body dissatisfaction. It is crucial to investigate this phenomenon further and understand the underlying mechanisms to develop effective strategies for promoting healthy social media use among adolescents.

1.2 Research Objectives:

The main objectives of this study are:

• To examine the association between social media use and mental health outcomes among adolescents.
• To explore the influence of peer relationships and social comparison on online behaviors.
• To identify strategies and interventions to foster positive social media use and enhance adolescent well-being.

2. Literature Review

Extensive research has been conducted on the impact of social media on adolescents. Existing literature suggests that excessive social media use can contribute to negative outcomes, such as low self-esteem, cyberbullying, and addictive behaviors. However, some studies have also highlighted the positive aspects of social media, such as providing opportunities for self-expression and social support. This study will build upon this literature by incorporating both quantitative and qualitative approaches to gain a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between social media and adolescent well-being.

3. Methodology

3.1 Research Design:

This study will adopt a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews. The quantitative phase will involve administering standardized questionnaires to a representative sample of adolescents to assess their social media use, mental health indicators, and perceived social support. The qualitative phase will include in-depth interviews with a subset of participants to explore their experiences, motivations, and perceptions related to social media use.

3.2 Data Collection Methods:

Quantitative data will be collected through an online survey distributed to schools in the target region. The survey will include validated scales to measure social media use, mental health outcomes, and perceived social support. Qualitative data will be collected through semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of participants. The interviews will be audio-recorded and transcribed for thematic analysis.

3.3 Data Analysis:

Quantitative data will be analyzed using descriptive statistics and regression analysis to examine the relationships between variables. Qualitative data will be analyzed thematically to identify common themes and patterns within participants’ narratives. Integration of quantitative and qualitative findings will provide a comprehensive understanding of the research questions.

4. Timeline

The research project will be conducted over a period of 12 months, divided into specific phases, including literature review, study design, data collection, analysis, and report writing. A detailed timeline outlining the key milestones and activities is provided in Appendix A.

5. Expected Outcomes and Significance

This study aims to contribute to the existing literature on the impact of social media on adolescent well-being by employing a mixed-methods approach. The findings will inform the development of evidence-based interventions and guidelines to promote healthy social media use among adolescents. This research has the potential to benefit adolescents, parents, educators, and policymakers by providing insights into the complex relationship between social media and well-being and offering strategies for fostering positive online experiences.

6. Resources

The resources required for this research include access to a representative sample of adolescents, research assistants for data collection, statistical software for data analysis, and funding to cover survey administration and participant incentives. Ethical considerations will be taken into account, ensuring participant confidentiality and obtaining informed consent.

7. References

Research Proposal Writing Guide

Writing a research proposal can be a complex task, but with proper guidance and organization, you can create a compelling and well-structured proposal. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you through the process:

• Understand the requirements: Familiarize yourself with the guidelines and requirements provided by your institution, funding agency, or program. Pay attention to formatting, page limits, specific sections or headings, and any other instructions.
• Identify your research topic: Choose a research topic that aligns with your interests, expertise, and the goals of your program or funding opportunity. Ensure that your topic is specific, focused, and relevant to the field of study.
• Conduct a literature review : Review existing literature and research relevant to your topic. Identify key theories, concepts, methodologies, and findings related to your research question. This will help you establish the context, identify research gaps, and demonstrate the significance of your proposed study.
• Define your research objectives and research question(s): Clearly state the objectives you aim to achieve with your research. Formulate research questions that address the gaps identified in the literature review. Your research objectives and questions should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART).
• Develop a research methodology: Determine the most appropriate research design and methodology for your study. Consider whether quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-methods approaches will best address your research question(s). Describe the data collection methods, sampling strategy, data analysis techniques, and any ethical considerations associated with your research.
• Create a research plan and timeline: Outline the various stages of your research project, including tasks, milestones, and deadlines. Develop a realistic timeline that considers factors such as data collection, analysis, and report writing. This plan will help you stay organized and manage your time effectively throughout the research process.
• A. Introduction: Provide background information on the research problem, highlight its significance, and introduce your research objectives and questions.
• B. Literature review: Summarize relevant literature, identify gaps, and justify the need for your proposed research.
• C . Methodology: Describe your research design, data collection methods, sampling strategy, data analysis techniques, and any ethical considerations.
• D . Expected outcomes and significance: Explain the potential outcomes, contributions, and implications of your research.
• E. Resources: Identify the resources required to conduct your research, such as funding, equipment, or access to data.
• F . References: Include a list of cited references in the appropriate citation style.
• Revise and proofread: Review your proposal for clarity, coherence, and logical flow. Check for grammar and spelling errors. Seek feedback from mentors, colleagues, or advisors to refine and improve your proposal.
• Finalize and submit: Make any necessary revisions based on feedback and finalize your research proposal. Ensure that you have met all the requirements and formatting guidelines. Submit your proposal within the specified deadline.

Research Proposal Length

The length of a research proposal can vary depending on the specific guidelines provided by your institution or funding agency. However, research proposals typically range from 1,500 to 3,000 words, excluding references and any additional supporting documents.

Purpose of Research Proposal

The purpose of a research proposal is to outline and communicate your research project to others, such as academic institutions, funding agencies, or potential collaborators. It serves several important purposes:

• Demonstrate the significance of the research: A research proposal explains the importance and relevance of your research project. It outlines the research problem or question, highlights the gaps in existing knowledge, and explains how your study will contribute to the field. By clearly articulating the significance of your research, you can convince others of its value and potential impact.
• Provide a clear research plan: A research proposal outlines the methodology, design, and approach you will use to conduct your study. It describes the research objectives, data collection methods, data analysis techniques, and potential outcomes. By presenting a clear research plan, you demonstrate that your study is well-thought-out, feasible, and likely to produce meaningful results.
• Secure funding or support: For researchers seeking funding or support for their projects, a research proposal is essential. It allows you to make a persuasive case for why your research is deserving of financial resources or institutional backing. The proposal explains the budgetary requirements, resources needed, and potential benefits of the research, helping you secure the necessary funding or support.
• Seek feedback and guidance: Presenting a research proposal provides an opportunity to receive feedback and guidance from experts in your field. It allows you to engage in discussions and receive suggestions for refining your research plan, improving the methodology, or addressing any potential limitations. This feedback can enhance the quality of your study and increase its chances of success.
• Establish ethical considerations: A research proposal also addresses ethical considerations associated with your study. It outlines how you will ensure participant confidentiality, obtain informed consent, and adhere to ethical guidelines and regulations. By demonstrating your awareness and commitment to ethical research practices, you build trust and credibility in your proposed study.

Importance of Research Proposal

The research proposal holds significant importance in the research process. Here are some key reasons why research proposals are important:

• Planning and organization: A research proposal requires careful planning and organization of your research project. It forces you to think through the research objectives, research questions, methodology, and potential outcomes before embarking on the actual study. This planning phase helps you establish a clear direction and framework for your research, ensuring that your efforts are focused and purposeful.
• Demonstrating the significance of the research: A research proposal allows you to articulate the significance and relevance of your study. By providing a thorough literature review and clearly defining the research problem or question, you can showcase the gaps in existing knowledge that your research aims to address. This demonstrates to others, such as funding agencies or academic institutions, why your research is important and deserving of support.
• Obtaining funding and resources: Research proposals are often required to secure funding for your research project. Funding agencies and organizations need to evaluate the feasibility and potential impact of the proposed research before allocating resources. A well-crafted research proposal helps convince funders of the value of your research and increases the likelihood of securing financial support, grants, or scholarships.
• Receiving feedback and guidance: Presenting a research proposal provides an opportunity to seek feedback and guidance from experts in your field. By sharing your research plan and objectives with others, you can benefit from their insights and suggestions. This feedback can help refine your research design, strengthen your methodology, and ensure that your study is rigorous and well-informed.
• Ethical considerations: A research proposal addresses ethical considerations associated with your study. It outlines how you will protect the rights and welfare of participants, maintain confidentiality, obtain informed consent, and adhere to ethical guidelines and regulations. This emphasis on ethical practices ensures that your research is conducted responsibly and with integrity.
• Enhancing collaboration and partnerships: A research proposal can facilitate collaborations and partnerships with other researchers, institutions, or organizations. When presenting your research plan, you may attract the interest of potential collaborators who share similar research interests or possess complementary expertise. Collaborative partnerships can enrich your study, expand your resources, and foster knowledge exchange.
• Establishing a research trajectory: A research proposal serves as a foundation for your research project. Once approved, it becomes a roadmap that guides your study’s implementation, data collection, analysis, and reporting. It helps maintain focus and ensures that your research stays on track and aligned with the initial objectives.

When to Write Research Proposal

The timing of when to write a research proposal can vary depending on the specific requirements and circumstances. However, here are a few common situations when it is appropriate to write a research proposal:

• Academic research: If you are a student pursuing a research degree, such as a Ph.D. or Master’s by research, you will typically be required to write a research proposal as part of the application process. This is usually done before starting the research program to outline your proposed study and seek approval from the academic institution.
• Funding applications: When applying for research grants, scholarships, or funding from organizations or institutions, you will often need to submit a research proposal. Funding agencies require a detailed description of your research project, including its objectives, methodology, and expected outcomes. Writing a research proposal in this context is necessary to secure financial support for your study.
• Research collaborations: When collaborating with other researchers, institutions, or organizations on a research project, it is common to prepare a research proposal. This helps outline the research objectives, roles and responsibilities, and expected contributions from each party. Writing a research proposal in this case allows all collaborators to align their efforts and ensure a shared understanding of the project.
• Research project within an organization: If you are conducting research within an organization, such as a company or government agency, you may be required to write a research proposal to gain approval and support for your study. This proposal outlines the research objectives, methodology, resources needed, and expected outcomes, ensuring that the project aligns with the organization’s goals and objectives.
• Independent research projects: Even if you are not required to write a research proposal, it can still be beneficial to develop one for your independent research projects. Writing a research proposal helps you plan and structure your study, clarify your research objectives, and anticipate potential challenges or limitations. It also allows you to communicate your research plans effectively to supervisors, mentors, or collaborators.

About the author

Muhammad Hassan

Researcher, Academic Writer, Web developer

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Introduction to Virginia Tech's Proposal Submission Process

In this sesssion, pre-award associates from the Office of Sponsored Programs will provide information about Virginia Tech’s process and requirements for funded research proposals.

A wide range of audiences will benefit from the session, including experienced researchers new to the university, new faculty members, post docs, and staff members who assist with proposals. The pre-award associates will review the full proposal process, including proposal components, budgets, submission methods and deadlines, award transfer, individuals’ roles and responsibilities, and the university’s online platform — Summit .

Attendees may submit their questions in advance to [email protected] .

Introduction to Virginia Tech's Proposal Submission Process

Sept. 23 | 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Gilbert Place, RM 3003, Virginia Tech  220 Gilbert St, Blacksburg, VA 24060

Senior Associate, Pre-Award

Laura Lawson

Carol Volker

Associate, Pre-Award

Title Page Setup

A title page is required for all APA Style papers. There are both student and professional versions of the title page. Students should use the student version of the title page unless their instructor or institution has requested they use the professional version. APA provides a student title page guide (PDF, 199KB) to assist students in creating their title pages.

Student title page

The student title page includes the paper title, author names (the byline), author affiliation, course number and name for which the paper is being submitted, instructor name, assignment due date, and page number, as shown in this example.

Title page setup is covered in the seventh edition APA Style manuals in the Publication Manual Section 2.3 and the Concise Guide Section 1.6

Related handouts

• Student Title Page Guide (PDF, 263KB)
• Student Paper Setup Guide (PDF, 3MB)

Student papers do not include a running head unless requested by the instructor or institution.

Follow the guidelines described next to format each element of the student title page.

Professional title page

The professional title page includes the paper title, author names (the byline), author affiliation(s), author note, running head, and page number, as shown in the following example.

Follow the guidelines described next to format each element of the professional title page.

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Archived funding opportunity

Nsf 23-538: partnerships for innovation (pfi), program solicitation, document information, document history.

• Posted: December 28, 2022
• Replaces: NSF 19-506

Program Solicitation NSF 23-538

Full Proposal Deadline(s) (due by 5 p.m. submitter's local time):

     May 02, 2023

     First Tuesday in May, Annually Thereafter

     September 05, 2023

     First Tuesday in September, Annually Thereafter

     January 02, 2024

     First Tuesday in January, Annually Thereafter

Important Information And Revision Notes

• PFI- Technology Translation (PFI-TT) projects will be funded for up to $550,000 for 18-24 months per award; approximately 15-35 awards are anticipated. PFI-Research Partnerships (PFI-RP) projects will be funded for up to $1,000,000 for 36 months; approximately 10-20 awards are anticipated.
• NSF Innovation Corps (I-Corps TM )   Teams awards no longer convey the lineage required to submit a PFI proposal.

Any proposal submitted in response to this solicitation should be submitted in accordance with the  NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide  (PAPPG) that is in effect for the relevant due date to which the proposal is being submitted. The NSF PAPPG is regularly revised and it is the responsibility of the proposer to ensure that the proposal meets the requirements specified in this solicitation and the applicable version of the PAPPG. Submitting a proposal prior to a specified deadline does not negate this requirement.

Summary Of Program Requirements

General information.

Program Title:

Partnerships for Innovation (PFI)

The Partnerships for Innovation (PFI) Program within the Division of Translational Impacts (TI) offers researchers from all disciplines of science and engineering funded by NSF the opportunity to perform translational research and technology development, catalyze partnerships and accelerate the transition of discoveries from the laboratory to the marketplace for societal benefit. PFI has five broad goals, as set forth by the American Innovation and Competitiveness Act of 2017 (“the Act”, S.3084 — 114th Congress ; Sec. 602. Translational Research Grants ): (1) identifying and supporting NSF-sponsored research and technologies that have the potential for accelerated commercialization; (2) supporting prior or current NSF-sponsored investigators, institutions of higher education, and non-profit organizations that partner with an institution of higher education in undertaking proof-of-concept work, including the development of technology prototypes that are derived from NSF-sponsored research and have potential market value; (3) promoting sustainable partnerships between NSF-funded institutions, industry, and other organizations within academia and the private sector with the purpose of accelerating the transfer of technology; (4) developing multi-disciplinary innovation ecosystems which involve and are responsive to the specific needs of academia and industry; (5) providing professional development, mentoring, and advice in entrepreneurship, project management, and technology and business development to innovators. In addition, PFI responds to the mandate set by Congress in Section 601(c)(3) of the Act (Follow-on Grants) , to support prototype or proof-of-concept development work by participants with innovations that because of the early stage of development are not eligible to participate in a Small Business Innovation Research Program or a Small Business Technology Transfer Program. Finally, PFI seeks to implement the mandate set by Congress in Section 102(c)(a) of the Act (Broader Impacts Review Criterion Update) by enhancing partnerships between academia and industry in the United States, and expanding the participation of women and individuals from underrepresented groups in innovation, technology translation, and entrepreneurship.  This solicitation offers two broad tracks for proposals in pursuit of the aforementioned goals: The Technology Translation (PFI-TT) track offers the opportunity to translate prior NSF-funded research results in any field of science or engineering into technological innovations with promising commercial potential and societal impact. PFI-TT supports commercial potential demonstration projects for academic research outputs in any NSF-funded science and engineering discipline. This demonstration is achieved through proof-of-concept, prototyping, technology development and/or scale-up work. Concurrently, students and postdoctoral researchers who participate in PFI-TT projects receive education and leadership training in innovation and entrepreneurship. Successful PFI-TT projects generate technology-driven commercialization outcomes that address societal needs. The Research Partnerships (PFI-RP) track seeks to achieve the same goals as the PFI-TT track by supporting instead complex, multi-faceted technology development projects that are typically beyond the scope of a single researcher or institution and require a multi-organizational, interdisciplinary, synergistic collaboration. A PFI-RP project requires the creation of partnerships between academic researchers and third-party organizations such as industry, non-academic research organizations, federal laboratories, public or non-profit technology transfer organizations or other universities. Such partnerships are needed to conduct use-inspired research on a stand-alone larger project toward commercialization and societal impact. In the absence of such synergistic partnership, the project’s likelihood for success would be minimal. The intended outcomes of both PFI-TT and PFI-RP tracks are: a) the commercialization of new intellectual property derived from NSF-funded research outputs; b) the creation of new or broader collaborations with industry (including increased corporate sponsored research); c) the licensing of NSF-funded research outputs to third party corporations or to start-up companies funded by a PFI team; and d) the training of future innovation and entrepreneurship leaders. WEBINARS: Webinars will be held to answer questions about the solicitation. Registration will be available on the NSF Partnerships for Innovation website ( https://www.nsf.gov/PFI ). Potential proposers and their partners are encouraged to attend.

Cognizant Program Officer(s):

Please note that the following information is current at the time of publishing. See program website for any updates to the points of contact.

Samir M. Iqbal, telephone: (703) 292-7529, email: [email protected]

Jesus V. Soriano, telephone: (703) 292-7795, email: [email protected]

Debora Rodrigues, telephone: (703) 292-4767, email: [email protected]

• 47.041 --- Engineering
• 47.049 --- Mathematical and Physical Sciences
• 47.050 --- Geosciences
• 47.070 --- Computer and Information Science and Engineering
• 47.074 --- Biological Sciences
• 47.075 --- Social Behavioral and Economic Sciences
• 47.076 --- STEM Education
• 47.079 --- Office of International Science and Engineering
• 47.083 --- Office of Integrative Activities (OIA)
• 47.084 --- NSF Technology, Innovation and Partnerships

Award Information

Anticipated Type of Award: Standard Grant or Continuing Grant

Estimated Number of Awards: 25 to 55

PFI-TT projects will be funded for up to $550,000 for 18-24 months per award; approximately 15-35 awards are anticipated. PFI-RP projects will be funded for up to $1,000,000 for 36 months; approximately 10-20 awards are anticipated.

Anticipated Funding Amount: $30,000,000

Anticipated Funding Amount is subject to the availability of funds and the quality of proposals received.

Eligibility Information

Who May Submit Proposals:

Proposals may only be submitted by the following: Academic / Research U.S. institutions; includes universities and two- and four-year colleges (including community colleges) accredited in, and having a campus located in the United States, acting on behalf of their faculty members; Public or Non-profit, Non-academic U.S. organizations located in the United States that are directly associated with technology transfer activities (“Technology Transfer Organizations”); Non-profit U.S. organizations located in the United States that partner with an institution of higher education; or A U.S. consortium of 2 or more of the organizations described above. Technology Transfer Organizations interested in submitting proposals to PFI are strongly encouraged to partner with an Academic / Research U.S. institution to strengthen the technical component of their projects.  

Who May Serve as PI:

The PI must have the technical skills required to lead and execute the proposed research project. In addition to the PI, PFI-TT proposals must include a Senior Personnel or co-PI who brings technology commercialization experience in the targeted fields of application or industry sector. The technology commercialization expert must have an active role in the project. PFI-RP proposals must include, without exception, a co-PI who is a member or employee of the required Industrial Partner organization. PFI-RP proposals without an Industrial Partner co-PI may be returned without review. The technology commercialization expert cannot use NSF-funded time and effort to perform any “Objectives Not Responsive to this Solicitation” listed in Section II.E of this solicitation. However, the expert may participate in any mandatory I-Corps training that will be provided during the term of the PFI award. Additional collaborators or organizations that bring needed multidisciplinary expertise or commercialization experience may be involved as co-PI, Senior Personnel, Other Professional, subawardee, consultant, etc. NSF Lineage Requirement: All proposals submitted to the PFI program must meet a lineage requirement by having NSF-supported research results. Please refer to "Additional Eligibility Information" under Section IV  of this solicitation for details.

Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization:

There is no limit on the number of PFI-TT proposals an organization may submit to the deadlines of this solicitation. However, an organization may not submit more than one (1) new or resubmitted PFI-RP proposal to a deadline of this solicitation. This eligibility constraint will be strictly enforced. If an organization exceeds this limit, the first PFI-RP proposal received will be accepted, and the remainder will be returned without review. An organization may not receive more than two (2) awards from a submission deadline of this solicitation.

Limit on Number of Proposals per PI or co-PI: 2

A PI or co-PI may submit up to two (2) proposals to the solicitation deadlines. These could be two (2) proposals to PFI-TT or one (1) proposal each to PFI-TT and PFI-RP, subject to the organizational limits described above. A PI or co-PI will not receive more than one (1) award per solicitation deadline. PIs with currently active PFI awards are requested to complete their then-current project before submitting a new PFI proposal. Any duplicate, substantially similar or equivalent proposal submitted concurrently for review to the solicitation will be returned without review. A PI or co-PI may resubmit a proposal that was previously declined under a previous PFI solicitation deadline; however, the new proposal must be significantly improved and be responsive to the major comments or concerns resulting from the prior NSF review. A resubmission must include a supplemental document that includes the previous proposal number, a summary of the NSF reviewers’ comments and the PI's response to those comments (see Section V.A.J. below). The revised proposal will be subject to a new NSF merit review.

Proposal Preparation and Submission Instructions

A. proposal preparation instructions.

• Letters of Intent: Not required
• Preliminary Proposal Submission: Not required

Full Proposals:

• Full Proposals submitted via Research.gov:  NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide  (PAPPG) guidelines apply. The complete text of the PAPPG is available electronically on the NSF website at:  https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=pappg .
• Full Proposals submitted via Grants.gov:  NSF Grants.gov Application Guide: A Guide for the Preparation and Submission of NSF Applications via Grants.gov  guidelines apply (Note: The  NSF Grants.gov Application Guide  is available on the Grants.gov website and on the NSF website at:  https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=grantsgovguide ).

B. Budgetary Information

Cost Sharing Requirements:

Inclusion of voluntary committed cost sharing is prohibited.

Indirect Cost (F&A) Limitations:

Not Applicable

Other Budgetary Limitations:

Other budgetary limitations apply. Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information.

C. Due Dates

Proposal review information criteria.

Merit Review Criteria:

National Science Board approved criteria. Additional merit review criteria apply. Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information.

Award Administration Information

Award Conditions:

Additional award conditions apply. Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information.

Reporting Requirements:

Additional reporting requirements apply. Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information.

I. Introduction

The National Science Foundation (NSF) supports fundamental research and education in all fields of science and engineering to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; and to secure the national defense; and for other purposes. NSF-funded research supports discoveries in science and engineering that lay the foundation of knowledge for technological innovation.

To further increase the societal impact of fundamental research funded by NSF, the Division of Translational Impacts supports use-inspired research that accelerates the translation of basic research results into marketable innovations - thus allowing research outcomes to benefit society through the commercialization of products, processes and services. In addition to PFI, other programs within TIP and NSF contribute to this mission:  Innovation Corps ( I-Corps ) and the Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer ( SBIR/STTR ) program, Convergence Accelerator ( CA ), Regional Innovation Engines ( RIEs ), Entrepreneurial Fellowships and Pathways to Enable Open-Source Ecosystems ( POSE ).

II. Program Description

A. GOALS OF THE PFI PROGRAM

PFI has five broad goals, as set forth by the American Innovation and Competitiveness Act of 2017 (“the Act”, S.3084 — 114th Congress ; Sec. 602. Translational Research Grants ): (1) identifying and supporting NSF-sponsored research and technologies that have the potential for accelerated commercialization; (2) supporting prior or current NSF-sponsored investigators, institutions of higher education, and non-profit organizations that partner with an institution of higher education in undertaking proof-of-concept work, including the development of technology prototypes that are derived from NSF-sponsored research and have potential market value; (3) promoting sustainable partnerships between NSF-funded institutions, industry, and other organizations within academia and the private sector with the purpose of accelerating the transfer of technology; (4) developing multi-disciplinary innovation ecosystems which involve and are responsive to the specific needs of academia and industry; (5) providing professional development, mentoring, and advice in entrepreneurship, project management, and technology and business development to innovators.

In addition, PFI responds to the mandate set by Congress in Section 601(c)(3) of the Act (Follow-on Grants) , to support prototype or proof-of-concept development work by participants with innovations that because of the early stage of development are not eligible to participate in a Small Business Innovation Research Program or a Small Business Technology Transfer Program.

Finally, PFI seeks to implement the mandate set by Congress in Section 102(c)(a) of the Act (Broader Impacts Review Criterion Update) by enhancing partnerships between academia and industry in the United States, and expanding the participation of women and individuals from underrepresented groups in innovation, technology translation, and entrepreneurship. 

B. AVAILABLE TRACKS FOR SUBMISSION OF PFI PROPOSALS

This solicitation offers two broad tracks for proposals in pursuit of the aforementioned goals:

The Technology Translation (PFI-TT) track offers an NSF-funded researcher the opportunity to translate her or his prior NSF-funded research results in any field of science or engineering into technological innovations with promising commercial potential and societal impact. PFI-TT supports commercial potential demonstration projects for academic research outputs in any NSF-funded science and engineering discipline. This demonstration is achieved through proof-of-concept, prototyping, technology development and/or scale-up work. Concurrently, students and postdoctoral researchers who participate in PFI-TT projects receive education and leadership training in innovation and entrepreneurship. Successful PFI-TT projects generate technology-driven commercialization outcomes that address societal needs.

The Research Partnerships (PFI-RP) track seeks to achieve the same goals as the PFI-TT track by supporting instead complex, multi-faceted technology development projects that are typically beyond the scope of a single researcher or institution and require a multi-organizational, interdisciplinary, synergistic collaboration. A PFI-RP project requires the creation of partnerships between academic researchers and third-party organizations such as industry, non-academic research organizations, federal laboratories, public or non-profit technology transfer organizations or other universities. Such partnerships are needed to conduct use-inspired research on a stand-alone, larger project towards commercialization and societal impact. In the absence of such synergistic partnership the project’s likelihood for success would be minimal.

The intended outcomes of both PFI-TT and PFI-RP tracks are: a) the development and commercialization of new intellectual property derived from NSF-funded research outputs; b) the creation of new or broader collaborations with industry (including increased corporate sponsored research); c) the licensing of NSF-funded research outputs to third party corporations or to start-up companies founded by a PFI team; and d) the training of future leaders in innovation and entrepreneurship.

C. ELEMENTS OF A PFI PROJECT

All PFI proposals must address the following five elements:

1. Technology Development

The translation of basic research outputs into products, services and new jobs that benefit people’s lives is often depicted as a sequence of phases that range from basic research to proof-of-concept, prototype iteration and product development to commercialization. While this sequence of phases may not always occur in a linear fashion and each phase presents a unique set of challenges, the knowledge gained in each phase is necessary to move discoveries out of the lab and into the market. The PFI program is designed to advance knowledge along this continuum for NSF-funded basic research outputs in any field of science or engineering. The proposed use-inspired research project should identify knowledge gap(s) that must be addressed to advance the technology toward commercialization. A successful PFI project will generate measurable outcomes such as a proof-of-concept or an early prototype to meet an identified market need and inform the next phase towards commercialization. At the end of the project, there should be new knowledge (Intellectual Merit) to solve a significant technical challenge and move the technology closer toward commercialization and societal benefit (Broader Impact).

2. Demonstration of Commercialization Potential

A successful PFI proposal will demonstrate an initial understanding of the commercial aspects of translating the innovation toward a market application, such as: market need, target industry sector, product-market fit, value proposition, the target customer, sales and distribution channels, supply-chain, preliminary intellectual property strategy (freedom to operate, patentability, copyright, trade secret, etc. as applicable), regulatory hurdles, etc. It is important to note that a successful proposal must demonstrate both initial research results and an initial understanding of the target market segment. The proposal must present evidence of prior NSF-funded research or customer discovery results and discuss how these prior results inform the proposed technology translation project, and how the use-inspired research plan supports the ultimate commercialization goals. The Industrial Partner’s co-PI (in PFI-RP projects) and the technology commercialization expert (in PFI-TT projects) play a critical role in the demonstration of the commercial potential during proposal preparation and award execution. 

NSF I-Corps Customer Discovery:

To foster an iterative customer discovery/technology development process, all PIs/Co-PIs that have not previously participated in the  NSF I-Corps Teams program will participate as part of their PFI award, and the budget must allocate $50,000 to this effort. Please refer to Budget instructions in section V.A.G for more details.

Letters of Support:

Evidence of market potential must be substantiated by at least one, but not more than three, Letter(s) of Support from a potential commercialization partner (an entity interested in potentially partnering in the development, scale-up, manufacturing or sale of the future product or service) who is not a funded partner on the proposed project. The Letter(s) of Support must provide a specific discussion of the commercial potential and societal value of the proposed technology in a particular market segment and serves to provide a measure of external market validation of the proposed project. The Letter(s) of Support could also come from potential users (customers) of the proposed process, product or service.

3. Partnerships

Partnerships with third parties are a critical component of the PFI program and are intended to accelerate the proposed technology development towards its commercialization in the anticipated market segment, and the entrepreneurial education goals of the program. Collaborations with industrial partners are mandatory for PFI-RP projects and strongly encouraged for PFI-TT proposals; collaborations with academic or non-profit research partners, public or non-profit, non-academic organizations directly associated with technology transfer activities are strongly encouraged for both PFI-RP and PFI-TT proposals. Collaborators may include individuals/entities internal and/or external to the proposing organizations and may or may not be included in the budget.

Any substantial collaboration with individuals/entities not included in the budget should be described in the Facilities, Equipment and Other Resources section of the proposal (see PAPPG ). In either case, whether or not the collaborator is included in the budget, a letter of collaboration from each named participating entity must be provided at the time of submission of the proposal (see Supplementary Documents). PFI-RP proposals that lack an Industry Partner may be returned without review.  

4. Education and Leadership Development in Innovation and Entrepreneurship

The PFI program seeks to become a platform for education and leadership development in innovation and entrepreneurship of promising students and postdoctoral researchers who are committed to the commercialization of NSF-funded research in all disciplines of science and engineering. Students and postdoctoral researchers with great developmental potential should be selected to participate in the PFI program. They will receive training to become future leaders in innovation and entrepreneurship. It is expected that by the end of the project they should demonstrate an understanding of innovation, technology translation, commercialization and/or entrepreneurship, and be prepared to play a leadership role in a future NSF SBIR/STTR-funded company ( https://seedfund.nsf.gov/ ); to effectively engage representatives from industry, investors, funding agencies or key opinion leaders; and/or to stand out as an innovator among peers during her/his future tenure track academic career.

Therefore, an educational/leadership development plan for PFI students/postdoctoral researchers must be proposed and contain learning objectives, outcomes and an assessment plan. It should integrate the mandatory I-Corps training described above where the student/postdoctoral researcher will act as the Entrepreneurial Lead. Partnerships with Industrial Partners must be leveraged to support the innovation and entrepreneurial education goals of students and postdoctoral researchers. The Industrial Partner’s co-PI (in PFI-RP projects) or the technology commercialization expert (in PFI-TT projects) are expected to serve as business mentors to the graduate students involved in the project. 

To attract and retain the most promising entrepreneurial students and postdoctoral researchers, the research efforts of masters and PhD students must be fully dedicated to the PFI award, and postdoctoral researchers must dedicate at least one half of their non-teaching time to PFI.  Personnel expenses for students and postdoctoral researchers should be allocated accordingly in the budget submitted to NSF.

5. Broadening Participation

PFI proposals should elaborate how the project will contribute to the broadening participation goals set forth by Section 102(c)(a) of the American Innovation and Competitiveness Act of 2017 (“expanding the participation of women and individuals from underrepresented groups in innovation, technology translation, and entrepreneurship”). 

D. SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS FOR PFI-RP PROPOSALS

PFI-RP proposals consist of use-inspired research and commercialization projects that specifically depend on highly collaborative partnerships between academic researchers and industrial partners. The proposed project should further scientific and engineering foundational outcomes to enable breakthrough technologies with the potential to address critical industrial and societal needs. Industry involvement assures that the technology development endeavor is industry-relevant. With input from their Industrial Partner(s), Principal Investigators are expected to design their applied research objectives to respond to the unmet market/societal needs. Interdisciplinary projects that enable researchers from different academic and non-academic organizations to interact with one or more industrial partners in industry-university groups or networks are encouraged. Proposals may include the participation of a non-profit organization that has research and technology translation experience. NSF funding can be used for university research/education activities and may support activities of faculty and their students and research associates in the industrial setting.

PFI-RP proposals should include one or more of the following partners:

Industrial Partner:

PFI-RP proposals require a minimum of one (1) Industrial Partner. This partner (i.e., either a for-profit or not- for-profit entity that fulfills the minimum requirement) must be U.S.-based and have an established record of commercial revenues that include sales, services, or licensing. Organizations that meet the definitions of Foreign Public Entity in 2 CFR § 200.46 or Foreign Organization in 2 CFR § 200.47 may not serve as an Industrial Partner. Grants and government contracts may contribute to its revenues but may not constitute the entirety of its revenues. It is essential that the minimally qualifying industrial partner has experience in bringing a product, process, or service to the marketplace in the industry sector of the proposed technology application to ensure that the proposal team incorporates a meaningful commercial and industrial perspective. Non-profit organizations involved in technology transfer may serve as primary industrial partners if they meet the commercial revenues requirement above. A PFI project may propose more than one Industrial Partner.

Note: With regard to industrial partners, subawards can only be allocated to businesses that meet the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program eligibility requirements: ( https://www.sbir.gov/faqs/eligibility-requirements ) and in which the submitting organization or the participants in the proposed project hold no financial, ownership or controlling interest. Subawards are not intended to complement, circumvent or replace awards to small businesses under the SBIR/STTR program. An ideal Industrial Partner demonstrates a strategic commercial interest in the PFI-funded technology, is not expected to serve as a service provider in the project or, in the case of SBIR/STTR businesses, to receive a substantial subaward.  PFI-RP proposals without an Industry Partner may be returned without review.

Research Partner:

Once a PFI-RP proposal meets the requirement of a minimum of one (1) Industrial Partner, other partners such as academic institutions, non-profit organizations including foundations, public sector organizations may be included as research partners. Research partners should be carefully chosen to expand the technical expertise of the lead academic team. The purpose of the research partner is to add a complementary skill set to the proposing organization so that technologies (which neither party could independently develop as well or as rapidly) are accelerated towards commercialization by the Industrial Partner. The proposal must clearly describe the role of the research partner(s), the skill set they add to the proposing organization and how this will help accelerate technology development and scale-up. A research partner may receive a subaward from the lead organization. Technology Transfer Organizations (as defined in the Eligibility section) are strongly encouraged to partner with an academic research partner.

Partners in a PFI-RP proposal must agree to the management of any intellectual property (IP) rights underlying or generated by the proposed work. An executed cooperative research agreement (CRA) between the submitting organization and each collaborating partner (or among all partners) must be provided to NSF before the proposal is awarded. An example of a potential CRA is available. The letters of collaboration should state that the CRA will be provided prior to award.

Guidance for NSF-funded centers: PFI proposers are strongly encouraged to leverage the research and education capabilities of NSF-funded centers or large, multi-year, multi-faculty alliances. However, the PFI is not intended to extend work that is currently funded, for instance, by NSF or Industry-University Collaborative Research Centers. Instead, centers and alliances can avoid any overlap or duplication of effort by using PFI to generate early proof-of-concept that will attract future corporate sponsorship, to spin-off technologies graduated from NSF centers, or to enable postdoctoral researchers, and students to conduct research and gain experience in an industrial setting.

E. OBJECTIVES NOT RESPONSIVE TO THIS SOLICITATION

Proposals that pursue the following activities are not responsive to this solicitation and may be returned without review: basic research projects that do not involve technology translation and development activity; clinical trials, clinical efficacy or safety studies, development or validation of pre-clinical or clinical-stage drug candidates, medical devices or information technologies, or activities performed for regulatory purposes; commercial activities such as marketing, sales, corporate or business development, fundraising, intellectual property or regulatory work; straightforward engineering work; incremental development of existing products; or evolutionary modifications to broaden the scope of existing products or applications.

III. Award Information

Anticipated Type of Award:  Continuing Grant or Standard Grant

Estimated Number of Awards: PFI-TT projects will be funded for up to $550,000 for 18-24 months per award; approximately 15-35 awards are anticipated. PFI-RP projects will be funded for up to $1,000,000 for 36 months; approximately 10-20 awards are anticipated.

IV. Eligibility Information

Proposals may only be submitted by the following: Academic / Research U.S. institutions; includes universities and two- and four-year colleges (including community colleges) accredited in, and having a campus located in the United States, acting on behalf of their faculty members; Public or Non-profit, Non-academic U.S. organizations located in the United States that are directly associated with technology transfer activities (“Technology Transfer Organizations”); Non-profit U.S. organizations located in the United States that partner with an institution of higher education; or A U.S. consortium of 2 or more of the organizations described above. Technology Transfer Organizations interested in submitting proposals to PFI are strongly encouraged to partner with an Academic / Research U.S. institution to strengthen the technical component of their projects.

Additional Eligibility Info:

NSF Lineage Requirement: All proposals submitted to the PFI program must meet a lineage requirement by having NSF-supported research results. NSF-supported research results in all fields of science and engineering : Principal Investigator (PI) or a co-PI must have had an NSF award that ended no more than seven (7) years prior to the full proposal deadline date or be a current NSF award recipient. The proposed technology development project must be derived from the research results and/or discoveries from this underlying NSF award. The following programs do not meet the NSF Lineage Requirement: I-Corps Team award ,  I-Corps Nodes  award, training at an NSF  I-Corps Site , any I-Corps-related training imparted by federal agencies or organizations other than NSF, Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU), Research Experiences for Teachers (RET), the Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP), SBIR/STTR, and any prior PFI award. NSF 10 Big Ideas. In 2016, NSF unveiled a set of "Big Ideas" -- 10 bold, long-term research and process ideas that identify areas for future investment at the frontiers of science and engineering ( https://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/big_ideas/ ). The Big Ideas represent unique opportunities to position our Nation at the cutting edge -- indeed to define that cutting edge -- of global science and engineering leadership, and this will require collaborations among academe, industry, and public and private institutions. The PFI program strongly encourages projects with NSF Lineage aligned with one or more of the 10 Big Ideas. No collaborative proposals (defined as simultaneous proposal submissions for a joint project from different organizations, with each organization requesting a separate award) will be accepted.

V. Proposal Preparation And Submission Instructions

Full Proposal Preparation Instructions : Proposers may opt to submit proposals in response to this Program Solicitation via Research.gov or Grants.gov.

• Full Proposals submitted via Research.gov: Proposals submitted in response to this program solicitation should be prepared and submitted in accordance with the general guidelines contained in the NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG). The complete text of the PAPPG is available electronically on the NSF website at: https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=pappg . Paper copies of the PAPPG may be obtained from the NSF Publications Clearinghouse, telephone (703) 292-8134 or by e-mail from [email protected] . The Prepare New Proposal setup will prompt you for the program solicitation number.
• Full proposals submitted via Grants.gov: Proposals submitted in response to this program solicitation via Grants.gov should be prepared and submitted in accordance with the NSF Grants.gov Application Guide: A Guide for the Preparation and Submission of NSF Applications via Grants.gov . The complete text of the NSF Grants.gov Application Guide is available on the Grants.gov website and on the NSF website at: ( https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=grantsgovguide ). To obtain copies of the Application Guide and Application Forms Package, click on the Apply tab on the Grants.gov site, then click on the Apply Step 1: Download a Grant Application Package and Application Instructions link and enter the funding opportunity number, (the program solicitation number without the NSF prefix) and press the Download Package button. Paper copies of the Grants.gov Application Guide also may be obtained from the NSF Publications Clearinghouse, telephone (703) 292-8134 or by e-mail from [email protected] .

See PAPPG Chapter II.D.2 for guidance on the required sections of a full research proposal submitted to NSF. Please note that the proposal preparation instructions provided in this program solicitation may deviate from the PAPPG instructions.

PFI proposals must address how the project will accomplish the goals described under the 5 Elements of a PFI Project described in Section II.C of this solicitation (Program Description):

The following instructions deviate from or supplement the requirements contained within the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) r NSF Grants.gov Application Guide.  Where the solicitation specifications differ from the PAPPG, the guidance in the solicitation take precedence. 

A. Project Summary (one-page limit)

The Project Summary should be written in the third person and consists of an overview, a statement on the intellectual merit of the proposed activity, a statement on the broader impacts of the proposed activity and shall begin as follows: "This PFI-TT project ..." or “This PFI-RP project…”. Do not include proprietary information in the summary.

The summary MUST clearly address the following items:

Overview: A summary paragraph that briefly discusses the societal need for the proposed technology, the areas of application, the key technological hurdles that need to be overcome, and the potential outcomes of the proposed activity. There should be information presented to help identify the areas of technical expertise in science and engineering that are to be considered in reviewing the proposal and the areas of application that are the initial target markets of the technologies to be developed . Provide here the NSF award number and title that satisfies the lineage requirement. This must be an NSF research award  as described in the lineage requirements.

Intellectual Merit: A summary paragraph addressing the intellectual merits of the proposed activity; e.g., areas where the project will advance knowledge, goals of the proposed use-inspired research, technical hurdles that will be addressed by the proposed research (which should be crucial for the success of the project).

Broader Impacts: A summary paragraph describes the expected broader societal, commercial and educational outcomes of the proposed project. 

B. Project Description (cannot exceed 15 pages)

The project description must include the following sections in the order specified. The bullet points in each section are suggestions for the information to be discussed and are provided as a guide. Adjustments in exact content and length of each section (with the exception of the Executive Summary) are allowable as necessary for the PI to clearly present her/his ideas. Please note that the instructions for this section of the proposal deviate from, and take precedence over, the guidance in the PAPPG.

1. Executive Summary (no more than one page)

The executive summary should provide a brief overview of the entire project.

• The Societal Need and the Customer. Describe the societal need to be addressed through commercialization. Describe the expected customer for the innovation. What customer needs and market pain points are you addressing?
• The Value Proposition. Define the value proposition in 50 words or less: What is the potential societal value of your innovation? What are the benefits to the customer of your proposed innovation? What is the key differentiator of your organization or technology?
• The Innovation: Succinctly describe your innovation. This section can contain proprietary information that could not be discussed in the Project Summary. What aspects are original, unusual, novel, disruptive or transformative compared to the current state of the art?
• The Partnership (mandatory in PFI-RP proposals; not mandatory but highly recommended in PFI-TT proposals). Describe the nature and merits of the collaboration with your industrial and research partners.
• Training and Leadership Development in Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Briefly describe the educational plan designed for the graduate student(s) and/or postdoctoral researcher(s) who will participate in the PFI project.

2. From NSF Basic Research to Addressing a Market Opportunity (suggested length: 4 -5 pages)

• NSF Lineage: Describe the relevant data/results from the prior fundamental research results or customer discovery and how they derived from prior NSF research funding. Summarize the intellectual merit and broader impact of the prior NSF-funded research results. These results should provide the reviewers with evidence that the technology is ready to move beyond the fundamental research/discovery phase and that the translational research proposed has potential to be developed into technology and commercialized. 
• Document the NSF Lineage by including the NSF number(s) and title(s) of your NSF awards that meet the NSF Lineage Requirement described in the solicitation.
• Describe the Intellectual Merit of the proposed product, process or service.  Describe its broader impacts in terms of societal, economic and commercial benefit.
• What is the target market segment addressed by the proposed innovation?  How is it informed by any preliminary market research or customer discovery? How will the innovation address the unmet market need?
• What are the existing competitive technologies, and what are their shortcomings? What are the key differentiators of the proposed technology vs. the current state of the art and other competing technologies? What proposed features will make it competitive? How is this beneficial to a potential customer / end user? What proposed features might keep potential competitors from circumventing the technology?
• Intellectual Property (IP). Discuss the IP landscape. Include elements such as results of a preliminary patent search, IP status (e.g., invention disclosure, preliminary patent application, patent granted, etc.), and the feasibility of obtaining needed licenses and/or sufficient protection for the IP developed. Discuss to the extent possible freedom to operate and blocking IP issues.

3. Technical Challenges and Use-Inspired Research Plan (suggested length: 5-7 pages)

• Describe the knowledge gaps and technical barriers that must be overcome to translate your technology into a product, process or service. What are the most challenging hurdles and why? Describe the envisioned next steps for successful development of the technology toward commercialization and societal use.
• Describe the applied research plan to address the knowledge gaps and technical barriers. What are the specific R&D objectives and tasks/activities that will need to be undertaken to close the knowledge and technical barriers gaps so that the proof-of-concept, prototype or technology scale-up can be demonstrated?
• Who will be assigned to the identified research tasks?
• Define the success metrics needed to assess the progress of the proposed project. Include a discussion of the choice and appropriateness of the stated success metrics.
• Provide a risk assessment and mitigation plan to address the failure of any of your R&D objectives, tasks or success metrics.
• Provide a milestone chart that identifies the critical milestones to be reached along a technology/product development timeline.

4. Achieving Societal Impact through the Realization of Commercial Potential (2-4 pages)

• Describe the overall future commercialization strategy and plans envisioned going beyond the duration of the proposed project. These will guide the sustainability of the commercialization efforts during, and especially after, the implementation of the research activities. The strategic plan should be aimed at identifying and securing strategic commercialization partners, investors, licensees, the creation and funding of spin-out companies, etc.
• Propose an assessment plan that will help gauge the success of the research partnership(s) and third-party collaboration(s) in more rapidly translating academic research and technologies into commercial use.

5. Project Team (suggested length: 1-2 pages)

• Describe the team members and the qualifications they bring to the project. Are there partners and/or collaborators outside of the proposing organization? If so, describe their role and the value they add to the project in the Partnerships section.
• Describe the qualifications and motivation of the masters, PhD student(s) or postdoctoral researchers selected for the project. If a student or postdoctoral researcher has not been identified, describe the selection process you will use to recruit her/him.
• Describe the role of the technology commercialization expert (in PFI-TT proposals) or the co-PI who is a member or employee of the Industrial Partner (for PFI-RP proposals). How will she/he help the team achieve the goals of the project?

6. Partnerships (suggested length: 1-2 pages)

This section is mandatory for PFI-RP proposals and may be applicable to PFI-TT proposals.

• Describe the partnership that is being assembled to pursue the use-inspired research project. Discuss the capabilities of each of the partners and their roles in the project.
• How will the proposed partnership achieve the goals of the PFI project to a) catalyze and accelerate technology development toward commercialization; and b) contribute to the educational goals of the program?
• Provide an assessment plan that will help gauge the success of the research partnership(s) and third-party collaboration(s). Discuss your choice of the stated success metrics.
• If applicable, discuss the rationale for selecting a SBIR/STTR company as an Industrial Partner. 

7. Training Future Leaders in Innovation and Entrepreneurship (suggested length: 1-2 pages)

• Describe the learning objectives and expected learning outcomes of the educational and leadership development plan for the graduate students and/or postdoctoral researcher participating in the project.
• Discuss intellectual merit and broader impacts of the educational plan. How will the proposed project activities enhance the knowledge and readiness of the student/postdoctoral researcher for innovation and technology commercialization beyond the usual research experience?
• Provide an assessment plan to evaluate the outcomes and impact of your training program.

8. Broadening Participation (suggested length: up to 1 page)

• Describe your plans to broaden participation of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities in the proposed activities.

9. Broader Impacts  

• Pursuant to PAPPG Chapter II.D.2.d, the Project Description also must contain, as a separate section within the narrative, a section labeled "Broader Impacts". In PFI proposals, the Broader Impacts section should include only the following statement: “The Broader Impacts of this proposed PFI project are detailed in prior sections of the Project Description.”

Marking Proprietary Information

Patentable ideas, trade secrets, privileged or confidential commercial or financial information, disclosure of which may harm the proposer, should be included in proposals only when such information is necessary to convey an understanding of the proposed project. Such information must be clearly marked in the proposal and be appropriately labeled with a legend such as, "The following is (proprietary or confidential) information that (name of proposing organization) requests not be released to persons outside the Government, except for purposes of review and evaluation." Typically, proprietary information is marked in the text either with an asterisk at the beginning and end of the proprietary paragraph, underlining the proprietary sections, or choosing a different font type. An entire proposal should not be marked proprietary. The box for "Proprietary or Privileged Information" must be checked on the Cover Sheet when the proposal contains such information.

C.  References Cited

Provide a list of relevant reference sources, including patent citations and publications of relevant NSF-funded research results. If there are no references cited in the proposal, include a statement to that effect in this module.

D. Budgets and Subaward Budgets

Enter a Proposal Budget for each year of the proposed project. The system will automatically generate a cumulative budget for the entire project. A budget justification is required for each non-zero item in the budget; it should explicitly state why the funds are needed as well as how and where the requested funds will be spent.

• Subawards are allowed. The purpose of the proposed subaward(s) is to increase the technical capabilities of the submitting organization. In regard to subawards to industrial partners, subawards can only be allocated to businesses that meet the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) / Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program eligibility requirements: ( https://www.sbir.gov/faqs/eligibility-requirements ) and in which the submitting organization or the participants in the proposed project hold no financial, ownership or controlling interest. Subawards are not intended to complement, circumvent or replace awards to small businesses under the SBIR/STTR program. Subawards are not intended for SBIR/STTR -funded companies or organizations that have already executed a license, or an option to license, the subject PFI technology from the awardee organization. An ideal Industrial Partner demonstrates a strategic commercial interest in the PFI-funded technology, is not expected to serve as a service provider in the project or, in the case of SBIR/STTR businesses, to receive a substantial subaward. 
• If there is a subaward to an organization with which a PI or co-PI has a Conflict of Interest, the PI's Organization must submit the Conflict of Interest plan for that individual covering the proposed work before NSF funding will be released. Please refer to Chapter IX.A of the NSF PAPPG for Conflict of Interest Policies. (The Conflict of Interest plan is not required at the proposal stage, only as a condition for award.)
• Grantee Meeting: NSF may organize a PI grantee meeting, a reverse site visit, or a convening between PFI teams, investors and industry representatives. Proposers should budget travel for the PI and one student or postdoctoral researcher to attend (approximately $2,500 per person). Additional travel costs can be budgeted for a collaborators/partners on the project to travel for this same purpose.
• Participation in NSF I- Corps Teams training. The budget should include $50,000 for mandatory I-Corps Teams training if the PI/Co-PI has not previously participated in NSF I-Corps Teams.  The I-Corps budget must cover customer discovery and Kick-Off and Lessons Learned meetings (for additional information, please visit https://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/i-corps/teams.jsp ) and review the PFI Frequently Asked Questions ( https://www.nsf.gov/PFI ).
• Master and PhD students must fully dedicate their research efforts to the PFI award, and postdoctoral researchers must dedicate at least one half of their research efforts to PFI. Personnel expenses for students and postdoctoral researchers should be allocated accordingly.
• The following costs are non-allowable: clinical trials, clinical efficacy or safety studies, development or validation of pre-clinical or clinical-stage drug candidates, medical devices or information technologies, or activities performed for regulatory purposes; commercial activities such as marketing, sales, corporate or business development, fundraising, intellectual property or regulatory work.

Funding requests will be evaluated relative to the scope and balance of the planned research.

E.   Facilities, Equipment, and Other Resources

Describe the availability of facilities, equipment, and other resources required for the proposed project. Describe the measures that will be taken to ensure compliance with applicable Environmental Health and Safety laws in the execution of the proposed work if awarded. This section of the proposal is used to assess the adequacy of the resources available to perform the effort proposed to satisfy the Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts review criteria. Proposers should describe only those resources that are directly applicable. Proposers should include an aggregated description of the internal and external resources (both physical and personnel) that the organization and its collaborators will provide to the project, should it be funded. Such information must be provided in this section, in lieu of other parts of the proposal (e.g., Budget Justification, Project Description). The description should be narrative in nature and must not include any quantifiable financial information. Reviewers will evaluate the information during the merit review process and the cognizant NSF Program Officer will review it for programmatic and technical sufficiency. Although these resources are not considered voluntary committed cost sharing as defined in 2 CFR § 200.306, the Foundation does expect that the resources identified in the Facilities, Equipment and Other Resources section will be provided, or made available, should the proposal be funded.

F.  Supplementary Documents

Proposals missing any of these supplementary documents may be returned without review.

F1: Letters of Support (No more than three letters): Letters of support act as an indication of preliminary third-party market validation for the proposed innovation and add significant credibility to the proposed effort. The letter should state the problem the technology will address and the need for/impact of that solution. The letter should be from third parties not funded in this proposal, such as potential customers or a potential manufacturing/development partner, who would be interested in a future partnership if the PFI project is successful. The letter(s) must contain affiliation and contact information for the signatory stakeholder. Letters and supporting documents from consultants and subcontractors (or any personnel identified in the Budget Justification) are NOT considered letters of support. 

F2: Letters of Collaboration & Commitment for Cooperative Research Agreement: Collaborators are individuals or entities that work with the PI and her/his team to provide additional value to the project and may be paid or unpaid. Whether or not the collaborator is included in the budget, a letter of collaboration from each named participating entity must be provided at the time of submission of the proposal. Such letters must appear on the entity's letterhead and be signed by the appropriate representative of the entity/organization. The letter(s) must describe the nature of the collaboration and how the collaboration brings additional value to the project. It is the responsibility of the submitting organization to discuss the appropriate intellectual property policies, including patent disclosures and filings, with research partners. NSF is not responsible for the type of agreement reached between grantees and industrial/research partners. If applicable, include a statement that an executed cooperative research agreement (CRA)  will be provided as a condition for recommendation of the proposal for award.

F3: Resubmission Change Description (if applicable;1-2-page maximum): A declined proposal may be resubmitted, but only after it has undergone substantial revision. A resubmitted proposal that has not clearly considered the major comments or concerns resulting from the prior NSF review may be returned without review. A resubmission must include a 1-2 page supplemental document that includes the previous proposal number, a summary of the NSF reviewers’ comments and the PI's response to those comments. The revised proposal will be subject to a new NSF merit review.

F4. Human Subjects Documentation (if applicable): Projects involving research with human subjects must ensure that subjects are protected from research risks in conformance with the relevant Federal policy known as the Common Rule (Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects, 45 CFR 690). All projects involving human subjects must either (1) have approval from an Institutional Review Board (IRB) before issuance of an NSF award; or, (2) must affirm that the IRB has declared the research exempt from IRB review, in accordance with the applicable subsection, as established in section 101(b) of the Common Rule. If certification of exemption is provided after submission of the proposal and before the award is issued, the exemption number corresponding to one or more of the exemption categories also must be included in the documentation provided to NSF. Please refer to the PAPPG for additional guidance ( https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=pappg .

F5. Vertebrate Animals Documentation (if applicable): Any project proposing use of vertebrate animals for research or education shall comply with the Animal Welfare Act (7 USC 2131, et seq.) and the regulations promulgated thereunder by the Secretary of Agriculture (9 CFR 1.1-4.11) pertaining to the humane care, handling, and treatment of vertebrate animals held or used for research, teaching or other activities supported by Federal awards. In accordance with these requirements, proposed projects involving use of any vertebrate animal for research or education must be approved by the submitting organization's Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) before an award can be made. For this approval to be accepted by NSF, the organization must have a current Public Health Service (PHS) Approved Assurance. See the relevant PAPPG section ( https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=pappg ods_key=pappg ) for more information.

G. Single Copy Documents

Proposers are encouraged to supply an annotated list of suggested reviewers complete with contact information. 

Comparative Requirements of PFI-TT and PFI-RP Proposals

Cost Sharing:

NSF will not provide salary support for personnel employed by Federal Agencies or Federally Funded Research and Development Centers.

D. Research.gov/Grants.gov Requirements

For Proposals Submitted Via Research.gov:

To prepare and submit a proposal via Research.gov, see detailed technical instructions available at:  https://www.research.gov/research-portal/appmanager/base/desktop?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=research_node_display&_nodePath=/researchGov/Service/Desktop/ProposalPreparationandSubmission.html . For Research.gov user support, call the Research.gov Help Desk at 1-800-673-6188 or e-mail  [email protected] . The Research.gov Help Desk answers general technical questions related to the use of the Research.gov system. Specific questions related to this program solicitation should be referred to the NSF program staff contact(s) listed in Section VIII of this funding opportunity.

For Proposals Submitted Via Grants.gov:

Before using Grants.gov for the first time, each organization must register to create an institutional profile. Once registered, the applicant's organization can then apply for any federal grant on the Grants.gov website. Comprehensive information about using Grants.gov is available on the Grants.gov Applicant Resources webpage:  https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants.html . In addition, the NSF Grants.gov Application Guide (see link in Section V.A) provides instructions regarding the technical preparation of proposals via Grants.gov. For Grants.gov user support, contact the Grants.gov Contact Center at 1-800-518-4726 or by email:  [email protected] . The Grants.gov Contact Center answers general technical questions related to the use of Grants.gov. Specific questions related to this program solicitation should be referred to the NSF program staff contact(s) listed in Section VIII of this solicitation.

Submitting the Proposal:  Once all documents have been completed, the Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) must submit the application to Grants.gov and verify the desired funding opportunity and agency to which the application is submitted. The AOR must then sign and submit the application to Grants.gov. The completed application will be transferred to Research.gov for further processing.

Proposers that submitted via Research.gov may use Research.gov to verify the status of their submission to NSF. For proposers that submitted via Grants.gov, until an application has been received and validated by NSF, the Authorized Organizational Representative may check the status of an application on Grants.gov. After proposers have received an e-mail notification from NSF, Research.gov should be used to check the status of an application.

VI. NSF Proposal Processing And Review Procedures

Proposals received by NSF are assigned to the appropriate NSF program for acknowledgement and, if they meet NSF requirements, for review. All proposals are carefully reviewed by a scientist, engineer, or educator serving as an NSF Program Officer, and usually by three to ten other persons outside NSF either as ad hoc reviewers, panelists, or both, who are experts in the particular fields represented by the proposal. These reviewers are selected by Program Officers charged with oversight of the review process. Proposers are invited to suggest names of persons they believe are especially well qualified to review the proposal and/or persons they would prefer not review the proposal. These suggestions may serve as one source in the reviewer selection process at the Program Officer's discretion. Submission of such names, however, is optional. Care is taken to ensure that reviewers have no conflicts of interest with the proposal. In addition, Program Officers may obtain comments from site visits before recommending final action on proposals. Senior NSF staff further review recommendations for awards. A flowchart that depicts the entire NSF proposal and award process (and associated timeline) is included in PAPPG Exhibit III-1.

A comprehensive description of the Foundation's merit review process is available on the NSF website at: https://www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/merit_review/ .

Proposers should also be aware of core strategies that are essential to the fulfillment of NSF's mission, as articulated in Leading the World in Discovery and Innovation, STEM Talent Development and the Delivery of Benefits from Research - NSF Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years (FY) 2022 - 2026 . These strategies are integrated in the program planning and implementation process, of which proposal review is one part. NSF's mission is particularly well-implemented through the integration of research and education and broadening participation in NSF programs, projects, and activities.

One of the strategic objectives in support of NSF's mission is to foster integration of research and education through the programs, projects, and activities it supports at academic and research institutions. These institutions must recruit, train, and prepare a diverse STEM workforce to advance the frontiers of science and participate in the U.S. technology-based economy. NSF's contribution to the national innovation ecosystem is to provide cutting-edge research under the guidance of the Nation's most creative scientists and engineers. NSF also supports development of a strong science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce by investing in building the knowledge that informs improvements in STEM teaching and learning.

NSF's mission calls for the broadening of opportunities and expanding participation of groups, institutions, and geographic regions that are underrepresented in STEM disciplines, which is essential to the health and vitality of science and engineering. NSF is committed to this principle of diversity and deems it central to the programs, projects, and activities it considers and supports.

A. Merit Review Principles and Criteria

The National Science Foundation strives to invest in a robust and diverse portfolio of projects that creates new knowledge and enables breakthroughs in understanding across all areas of science and engineering research and education. To identify which projects to support, NSF relies on a merit review process that incorporates consideration of both the technical aspects of a proposed project and its potential to contribute more broadly to advancing NSF's mission "to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense; and for other purposes." NSF makes every effort to conduct a fair, competitive, transparent merit review process for the selection of projects.

1. Merit Review Principles

These principles are to be given due diligence by PIs and organizations when preparing proposals and managing projects, by reviewers when reading and evaluating proposals, and by NSF program staff when determining whether or not to recommend proposals for funding and while overseeing awards. Given that NSF is the primary federal agency charged with nurturing and supporting excellence in basic research and education, the following three principles apply:

• All NSF projects should be of the highest quality and have the potential to advance, if not transform, the frontiers of knowledge.
• NSF projects, in the aggregate, should contribute more broadly to achieving societal goals. These "Broader Impacts" may be accomplished through the research itself, through activities that are directly related to specific research projects, or through activities that are supported by, but are complementary to, the project. The project activities may be based on previously established and/or innovative methods and approaches, but in either case must be well justified.
• Meaningful assessment and evaluation of NSF funded projects should be based on appropriate metrics, keeping in mind the likely correlation between the effect of broader impacts and the resources provided to implement projects. If the size of the activity is limited, evaluation of that activity in isolation is not likely to be meaningful. Thus, assessing the effectiveness of these activities may best be done at a higher, more aggregated, level than the individual project.

With respect to the third principle, even if assessment of Broader Impacts outcomes for particular projects is done at an aggregated level, PIs are expected to be accountable for carrying out the activities described in the funded project. Thus, individual projects should include clearly stated goals, specific descriptions of the activities that the PI intends to do, and a plan in place to document the outputs of those activities.

These three merit review principles provide the basis for the merit review criteria, as well as a context within which the users of the criteria can better understand their intent.

2. Merit Review Criteria

All NSF proposals are evaluated through use of the two National Science Board approved merit review criteria. In some instances, however, NSF will employ additional criteria as required to highlight the specific objectives of certain programs and activities.

The two merit review criteria are listed below. Both criteria are to be given full consideration during the review and decision-making processes; each criterion is necessary but neither, by itself, is sufficient. Therefore, proposers must fully address both criteria. (PAPPG Chapter II.D.2.d(i). contains additional information for use by proposers in development of the Project Description section of the proposal). Reviewers are strongly encouraged to review the criteria, including PAPPG Chapter II.D.2.d(i), prior to the review of a proposal.

When evaluating NSF proposals, reviewers will be asked to consider what the proposers want to do, why they want to do it, how they plan to do it, how they will know if they succeed, and what benefits could accrue if the project is successful. These issues apply both to the technical aspects of the proposal and the way in which the project may make broader contributions. To that end, reviewers will be asked to evaluate all proposals against two criteria:

• Intellectual Merit: The Intellectual Merit criterion encompasses the potential to advance knowledge; and
• Broader Impacts: The Broader Impacts criterion encompasses the potential to benefit society and contribute to the achievement of specific, desired societal outcomes.

The following elements should be considered in the review for both criteria:

• Advance knowledge and understanding within its own field or across different fields (Intellectual Merit); and
• Benefit society or advance desired societal outcomes (Broader Impacts)?
• To what extent do the proposed activities suggest and explore creative, original, or potentially transformative concepts?
• Is the plan for carrying out the proposed activities well-reasoned, well-organized, and based on a sound rationale? Does the plan incorporate a mechanism to assess success?
• How well qualified is the individual, team, or organization to conduct the proposed activities?
• Are there adequate resources available to the PI (either at the home organization or through collaborations) to carry out the proposed activities?

Broader impacts may be accomplished through the research itself, through the activities that are directly related to specific research projects, or through activities that are supported by, but are complementary to, the project. NSF values the advancement of scientific knowledge and activities that contribute to achievement of societally relevant outcomes. Such outcomes include, but are not limited to: full participation of women, persons with disabilities, and other underrepresented groups in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM); improved STEM education and educator development at any level; increased public scientific literacy and public engagement with science and technology; improved well-being of individuals in society; development of a diverse, globally competitive STEM workforce; increased partnerships between academia, industry, and others; improved national security; increased economic competitiveness of the United States; and enhanced infrastructure for research and education.

Proposers are reminded that reviewers will also be asked to review the Data Management Plan and the Postdoctoral Researcher Mentoring Plan, as appropriate.

Additional Solicitation Specific Review Criteria

In making the final award decisions, NSF also may consider the following:

• Geographic distribution and diversity of academic institutions.
• Distribution of technology or industry sectors served.

Additional Review Criteria:

NSF Lineage Requirement: The merits of the prior research. To what extent do they support the assertion that the technology is ready to move beyond the basic research phase, and that the translational research proposed has the potential to be successful?

The strength of the discussion of the market/societal need and how the innovation has the potential to offer a competitive solution or competitive advantage. (Note: strong Letter(s) of Support can help substantiate this). The quality of the discussion about the Intellectual Property landscape.

The demonstrated understanding of the technology barriers or knowledge gaps.

The merits of the proposed translational research to overcome the identified technological hurdles and knowledge gaps.

The quality of the strategy for a path toward commercialization.

The team’s capabilities to successfully complete the project, including the qualifications of the students/postdoctoral researchers and the technology commercialization expert.

The intellectual merit and broader impacts of the education and leadership development plan for graduate students and/or postdoctoral researchers (evaluate the merits of the stated learning objectives and outcomes).

The effectiveness of the assessment plan and the relevance of the proposer's metrics to the anticipated results.

The reasonableness of the budget and budget justification that indicate how and where the requested funds will be spent. Note, if there is an insignificant research component (i.e., most of the work is to generate a business plan or to understand market need), the proposal may be returned without review.

The merits of the broadening participation plan to foster the inclusion of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities in the proposed technology translation and in future commercialization endeavors.

Additional Review Criteria for Evaluating Partnerships:

• The merits and appropriateness of the proposed partnership, and its role in catalyzing the technical, commercialization and educational objectives of the project.
• The commitment of the proposed partners in reaching the stated goals of the proposal.
• The commitment of the Industrial Partner to the commercialization of the technology beyond the term of the PFI award.

B. Review and Selection Process

Proposals submitted in response to this program solicitation will be reviewed by Ad hoc Review and/or Panel Review.

Reviewers will be asked to evaluate proposals using two National Science Board approved merit review criteria and, if applicable, additional program specific criteria. A summary rating and accompanying narrative will generally be completed and submitted by each reviewer and/or panel. The Program Officer assigned to manage the proposal's review will consider the advice of reviewers and will formulate a recommendation.

After scientific, technical and programmatic review and consideration of appropriate factors, the NSF Program Officer recommends to the cognizant Division Director whether the proposal should be declined or recommended for award. NSF strives to be able to tell applicants whether their proposals have been declined or recommended for funding within six months. Large or particularly complex proposals or proposals from new awardees may require additional review and processing time. The time interval begins on the deadline or target date, or receipt date, whichever is later. The interval ends when the Division Director acts upon the Program Officer's recommendation.

After programmatic approval has been obtained, the proposals recommended for funding will be forwarded to the Division of Grants and Agreements or the Division of Acquisition and Cooperative Support  for review of business, financial, and policy implications. After an administrative review has occurred, Grants and Agreements Officers perform the processing and issuance of a grant or other agreement. Proposers are cautioned that only a Grants and Agreements Officer may make commitments, obligations or awards on behalf of NSF or authorize the expenditure of funds. No commitment on the part of NSF should be inferred from technical or budgetary discussions with a NSF Program Officer. A Principal Investigator or organization that makes financial or personnel commitments in the absence of a grant or cooperative agreement signed by the NSF Grants and Agreements Officer does so at their own risk.

Once an award or declination decision has been made, Principal Investigators are provided feedback about their proposals. In all cases, reviews are treated as confidential documents. Verbatim copies of reviews, excluding the names of the reviewers or any reviewer-identifying information, are sent to the Principal Investigator/Project Director by the Program Officer. In addition, the proposer will receive an explanation of the decision to award or decline funding.

VII. Award Administration Information

A. notification of the award.

Notification of the award is made to the submitting organization by an NSF Grants and Agreements Officer. Organizations whose proposals are declined will be advised as promptly as possible by the cognizant NSF Program administering the program. Verbatim copies of reviews, not including the identity of the reviewer, will be provided automatically to the Principal Investigator. (See Section VI.B. for additional information on the review process.)

B. Award Conditions

An NSF award consists of: (1) the award notice, which includes any special provisions applicable to the award and any numbered amendments thereto; (2) the budget, which indicates the amounts, by categories of expense, on which NSF has based its support (or otherwise communicates any specific approvals or disapprovals of proposed expenditures); (3) the proposal referenced in the award notice; (4) the applicable award conditions, such as Grant General Conditions (GC-1)*; or Research Terms and Conditions* and (5) any announcement or other NSF issuance that may be incorporated by reference in the award notice. Cooperative agreements also are administered in accordance with NSF Cooperative Agreement Financial and Administrative Terms and Conditions (CA-FATC) and the applicable Programmatic Terms and Conditions. NSF awards are electronically signed by an NSF Grants and Agreements Officer and transmitted electronically to the organization via e-mail.

*These documents may be accessed electronically on NSF's Website at https://www.nsf.gov/awards/managing/award_conditions.jsp?org=NSF . Paper copies may be obtained from the NSF Publications Clearinghouse, telephone (703) 292-8134 or by e-mail from [email protected] .

More comprehensive information on NSF Award Conditions and other important information on the administration of NSF awards is contained in the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) Chapter VII, available electronically on the NSF Website at https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=pappg .

Administrative and National Policy Requirements

Build America, Buy America

As expressed in Executive Order 14005, Ensuring the Future is Made in All of America by All of America’s Workers (86 FR 7475), it is the policy of the executive branch to use terms and conditions of Federal financial assistance awards to maximize, consistent with law, the use of goods, products, and materials produced in, and services offered in, the United States.

Consistent with the requirements of the Build America, Buy America Act (Pub. L. 117-58, Division G, Title IX, Subtitle A, November 15, 2021), no funding  made available through this funding opportunity  may be obligated for an award unless all iron, steel, manufactured products, and construction materials used in the project are produced in the United States.  For additional information, visit NSF’s Build America, Buy America webpage.

Special Award Conditions:

• During the course of the award, NSF may organize a PI grantee meeting, reverse site visits, or a convening between PFI teams, investors and industry representatives. Proposers should budget travel for the PI and one student or postdoctoral researcher to attend (approximately $2,500 per person).
• Based on project progress, grantees in the PFI-RP track may be requested to present a project status update via a webinar format to the NSF program officer and other NSF staff between 12 and 18 months after the start of the award. Details would be provided after award.
• To attract and retain the most promising entrepreneurial students and postdoctoral researchers, the research efforts of master and PhD students must be fully dedicated to the PFI award, and postdoctoral researchers must dedicate at least one half of their research efforts to PFI.
• To foster an iterative customer discovery/technology development process, all teams that have not taken NSF I-Corps Teams previously will participate in the I-Corps Teams program (and the budget must allocate $50,000 to this effort).
• Executed Collaborative Research Agreement(s) with an Industrial Partner and subawardee Research Partners must be provided to NSF as a condition for award.
• In order for NSF to comply with Federal environmental statutes, the proposer may be requested to submit supplemental post-proposal submission information to NSF in order that a reasonable and accurate assessment of environmental impacts by NSF may be made. In addition, if an award is made, Principal Investigators must comply with all applicable statutory and regulatory requirements, including those related to Environment, Safety, and Health.

C. Reporting Requirements

For all multi-year grants (including both standard and continuing grants), the Principal Investigator must submit an annual project report to the cognizant Program Officer no later than 90 days prior to the end of the current budget period. (Some programs or awards require submission of more frequent project reports). No later than 120 days following expiration of a grant, the PI also is required to submit a final project report, and a project outcomes report for the general public.

Failure to provide the required annual or final project reports, or the project outcomes report, will delay NSF review and processing of any future funding increments as well as any pending proposals for all identified PIs and co-PIs on a given award. PIs should examine the formats of the required reports in advance to assure availability of required data.

PIs are required to use NSF's electronic project-reporting system, available through Research.gov, for preparation and submission of annual and final project reports. Such reports provide information on accomplishments, project participants (individual and organizational), publications, and other specific products and impacts of the project. Submission of the report via Research.gov constitutes certification by the PI that the contents of the report are accurate and complete. The project outcomes report also must be prepared and submitted using Research.gov. This report serves as a brief summary, prepared specifically for the public, of the nature and outcomes of the project. This report will be posted on the NSF website exactly as it is submitted by the PI.

More comprehensive information on NSF Reporting Requirements and other important information on the administration of NSF awards is contained in the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) Chapter VII, available electronically on the NSF Website at https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=pappg .

Additional Reporting Requirements for PFI: The annual and final reports must describe the concrete efforts made, and results obtained towards realizing the commercialization potential of the funded technology. The final report must describe progress in the following areas:

• Patent applications
• Patents granted and derived or both
• Licensing agreements
• Company formation
• Royalties realized
• SBIR/STTR proposal submission (with agency name and date submitted)
• For PFI-RP awards, outcomes of collaboration with Industrial Partners
• Third party financing
• Learning outcomes of entrepreneurial education training of students and postdoctoral researchers
• Enhancing career trajectories of team members
• Work conducted under the I-Corps Teams program, the progress and learning made by the team in the reporting period, the outcomes of the work, and the project's vision. It should articulate the customer segments explored, what pivots were made and how the team sees their value proposition and the rest of the business model.

VIII. Agency Contacts

Please note that the program contact information is current at the time of publishing. See program website for any updates to the points of contact.

General inquiries regarding this program should be made to:

For questions related to the use of NSF systems contact, contact:

• NSF Help Desk: 1-800-673-6188
• Research.gov Help Desk e-mail: [email protected]

For questions relating to Grants.gov contact:

• Grants.gov Contact Center: If the Authorized Organizational Representatives (AOR) has not received a confirmation message from Grants.gov within 48 hours of submission of application, please contact via telephone: 1-800-518-4726; e-mail: [email protected] .

IX. Other Information

The NSF website provides the most comprehensive source of information on NSF Directorates (including contact information), programs and funding opportunities. Use of this website by potential proposers is strongly encouraged. In addition, "NSF Update" is an information-delivery system designed to keep potential proposers and other interested parties apprised of new NSF funding opportunities and publications, important changes in proposal and award policies and procedures, and upcoming NSF Grants Conferences . Subscribers are informed through e-mail or the user's Web browser each time new publications are issued that match their identified interests. "NSF Update" also is available on NSF's website .

Grants.gov provides an additional electronic capability to search for Federal government-wide grant opportunities. NSF funding opportunities may be accessed via this mechanism. Further information on Grants.gov may be obtained at https://www.grants.gov .

About The National Science Foundation

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent Federal agency created by the National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as amended (42 USC 1861-75). The Act states the purpose of the NSF is "to promote the progress of science; [and] to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare by supporting research and education in all fields of science and engineering."

NSF funds research and education in most fields of science and engineering. It does this through grants and cooperative agreements to more than 2,000 colleges, universities, K-12 school systems, businesses, informal science organizations and other research organizations throughout the US. The Foundation accounts for about one-fourth of Federal support to academic institutions for basic research.

NSF receives approximately 55,000 proposals each year for research, education and training projects, of which approximately 11,000 are funded. In addition, the Foundation receives several thousand applications for graduate and postdoctoral fellowships. The agency operates no laboratories itself but does support National Research Centers, user facilities, certain oceanographic vessels and Arctic and Antarctic research stations. The Foundation also supports cooperative research between universities and industry, US participation in international scientific and engineering efforts, and educational activities at every academic level.

Facilitation Awards for Scientists and Engineers with Disabilities  (FASED) provide funding for special assistance or equipment to enable persons with disabilities to work on NSF-supported projects. See the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide Chapter II.F.7 for instructions regarding preparation of these types of proposals.

The National Science Foundation has Telephonic Device for the Deaf (TDD) and Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) capabilities that enable individuals with hearing impairments to communicate with the Foundation about NSF programs, employment or general information. TDD may be accessed at (703) 292-5090 and (800) 281-8749, FIRS at (800) 877-8339.

The National Science Foundation Information Center may be reached at (703) 292-5111.

The National Science Foundation promotes and advances scientific progress in the United States by competitively awarding grants and cooperative agreements for research and education in the sciences, mathematics, and engineering. To get the latest information about program deadlines, to download copies of NSF publications, and to access abstracts of awards, visit the NSF Website at 2415 Eisenhower Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22314 (NSF Information Center) (703) 292-5111 (703) 292-5090   Send an e-mail to: or telephone: (703) 292-8143 (703) 292-5111 Privacy Act And Public Burden Statements The information requested on proposal forms and project reports is solicited under the authority of the National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as amended. The information on proposal forms will be used in connection with the selection of qualified proposals; and project reports submitted by awardees will be used for program evaluation and reporting within the Executive Branch and to Congress. The information requested may be disclosed to qualified reviewers and staff assistants as part of the proposal review process; to proposer institutions/grantees to provide or obtain data regarding the proposal review process, award decisions, or the administration of awards; to government contractors, experts, volunteers and researchers and educators as necessary to complete assigned work; to other government agencies or other entities needing information regarding applicants or nominees as part of a joint application review process, or in order to coordinate programs or policy; and to another Federal agency, court, or party in a court or Federal administrative proceeding if the government is a party. Information about Principal Investigators may be added to the Reviewer file and used to select potential candidates to serve as peer reviewers or advisory committee members. See System of Record Notices , NSF-50, "Principal Investigator/Proposal File and Associated Records," and NSF-51, "Reviewer/Proposal File and Associated Records.” Submission of the information is voluntary. Failure to provide full and complete information, however, may reduce the possibility of receiving an award. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, an information collection unless it displays a valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. The OMB control number for this collection is 3145-0058. Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 120 hours per response, including the time for reviewing instructions. Send comments regarding the burden estimate and any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to: Suzanne H. Plimpton Reports Clearance Officer Policy Office, Division of Institution and Award Support Office of Budget, Finance, and Award Management National Science Foundation Arlington, VA 22230 KPMG Personalization Exploring Botnets: Understanding the Threat Landscape and Building Ethical Awareness Botnet research for cybersecurity professionals Home › Insights › This article is for security and botnet enthusiasts, aiming to answer questions such as "What are the typical uses of botnets?" and "How can researchers build their own botnet for legitimate research purposes?" Uncover the practical applications of botnets and explore the methodology for constructing your own, all within an ethical and controlled framework. Introduction Cybercriminals are increasingly using botnets to launch devastating attacks, making them a major threat in today's digital landscape. Recent reports highlight the scale and sophistication of these attacks. For instance, Cloudflare's Q1 2024 data shows that 37% of all DDoS attacks were HTTP-based and frequently driven by botnets. Meanwhile, the emergence of advanced threats like the Jenkins Flood has surged by an astonishing 826% quarter-over-quarter. The situation is further exacerbated by findings from CrowdStrike’s 2024 Global Threat Report, which notes a 75% spike in cloud intrusions. Adversaries are utilizing botnets to execute stealthier and more effective attacks, leveraging these networks to exploit vulnerabilities across various sectors. Given this alarming trend, understanding and countering botnets is crucial. In this blog post, we investigate what botnets are used for and guide you on how security researchers can construct their own for legitimate research purposes. By creating controlled botnets, researchers can dissect the mechanics of these malicious networks, gaining insights that are pivotal for developing stronger defenses. It's essential to emphasize that our approach to building botnets is strictly for educational and research purposes, conducted within ethical boundaries and secure environments. This hands-on experience is invaluable for enhancing our understanding of botnet behavior and improving our cybersecurity strategies.  What are botnets? A botnet is a network of computers infected by malware and controlled remotely by a command-and-control center (C2 servers or CnC). The concept of botnets dates to the early 2000s. In 2001, a worm called "MafiaBoy" infected thousands of computers, creating a network of compromised machines under remote control. This incident showcased the formidable power of botnets and their capacity to execute large-scale attacks. Over the years, botnets have grown significantly in sophistication and scale, continuing to pose a substantial threat to cybersecurity. Use cases of botnets In the realm of cybersecurity threats, botnets play a significant role in carrying out various malicious activities. These networks of compromised devices, controlled by a Command and Control Center (CnC), exhibit a range of offensive capabilities despite variations in their names and techniques. Here are a few scenarios that explore the threat surface and the roles of botnets, along with the corresponding attack vectors: Launching DDoS Attacks Botnets are notorious for orchestrating Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. By leveraging a vast network of compromised devices, they can overwhelm Internet Service Providers (ISPs), websites, APIs, and other internet-connected components. This results in disrupting services and causing significant downtime.  Attack Vectors: Botnets utilize various attack vectors such as amplification attacks, SYN floods, or DNS reflection attacks to generate massive volumes of traffic, exhausting the target's resources and causing service disruptions. One of the notable botnets is Mirai, which is known for leveraging IoT devices to launch powerful DDoS attacks. Reputation Manipulation for Spam and Phishing campaigns : Botnets are a critical tool in the arsenal of cybercriminals, particularly in manipulating the reputation of newly created malicious domains to bypass spam filters and send out large volumes of spam emails. By artificially boosting the reputation of these domains, botnets can evade detection mechanisms and deliver unwanted and potentially harmful messages to unsuspecting recipients. Attack Vectors : Botnets, through the coordinated efforts of compromised devices, engage in automated activities that generate artificial reputation scores. This tactic tricks anti-spam systems, significantly increasing the chances of successful email delivery. A notable example is the 3ve botnet, notorious for manipulating domain reputations to facilitate extensive spam and phishing campaigns. These sophisticated phishing campaigns often aim to steal sensitive information by luring recipients into clicking malicious links or opening harmful attachments. By understanding and mitigating these attack vectors, security professionals can better protect their networks from the pervasive threat of botnets. Solving CAPTCHA Challenges Botnets possess the sophisticated capability to solve weak CAPTCHA challenges on websites, effectively mimicking human behavior during login attempts. By bypassing these security measures, botnets can gain unauthorized access to user accounts. Once inside, they can carry out further malicious activities, such as data theft, account takeovers, and launching additional attacks, all while evading detection. Attack Vectors: Botnets employ sophisticated algorithms or machine learning techniques to analyze and solve CAPTCHA challenges, effectively deceiving systems that rely on these challenges as a defense mechanism. Most notable examples include Satori, Necurs and eve, utilized advanced algorithms or machine learning capabilities for this attack vector. Credit Card Information Theft Botnets are formidable tools in the arsenal of cybercriminals, capable of stealing credit card information from unsuspecting users. By infecting devices with keyloggers and other malicious software, botnets can capture and transmit sensitive data, including credit card numbers, CVV codes, and personal information. This stolen data is then used for fraudulent transactions, sold on the dark web, or utilized for identity theft, leading to significant financial and personal harm to the victims. The financial impact of such stolen data is substantial. For example, basic credit card details can sell for an average of $17.36 on the dark web. The price can increase significantly if the card includes additional information, such as a higher credit limit or a PIN, with cloned physical cards fetching up to $171 each​ (PrivacySharks)​​ (Comparitech)​.  Attack Vectors : Botnets leverage keyloggers or similar techniques to intercept and exfiltrate keystrokes, enabling the theft of credit card details and potentially leading to fraudulent transactions. One of the notable botnets is Trickbot Trojan, which is often involved in banking trojans and credential theft, including credit card information. Unauthorized Network Access and Persistence Some botnets are also used for targeting corporate networks to gain unauthorized access and establish persistence within compromised systems. These botnets exploit vulnerabilities in network infrastructure, operating systems, or software applications to infiltrate the target environment. Attack Vectors : Once inside the network, the New Sysrv Botnet utilizes advanced techniques to establish persistence, ensuring its ongoing presence and control over the compromised systems. It deploys persistence attack payloads, such as rootkits, backdoors, or other stealthy malware, to evade detection and maintain a foothold within the network environment. One of the notable botnets is The New Sysrv Botnet which has the ability to gain unauthorized network access and establish persistence highlights the importance of robust network security measures, including regular patching, vulnerability management, strong authentication, and network segmentation. Cryptojacking Botnets can be used to mine cryptocurrencies using the processing power of compromised devices without the owner's consent. This drains the resources of infected systems, causing slower performance and increased electricity costs for the victims. Attack Vectors : Botnets deploy mining software on compromised devices, often using sophisticated methods to remain undetected while continuously generating cryptocurrency for the attackers. A notable example is the Smominru botnet, which has infected hundreds of thousands of devices to mine Monero, a privacy-focused cryptocurrency. Ad Fraud Botnets can generate fake clicks on online advertisements, defrauding advertisers and skewing analytics. This type of fraud not only causes financial losses but also affects the integrity of online advertising metrics. Attack Vectors : Botnets use compromised devices to simulate human behavior, clicking on ads and generating fraudulent traffic. The Methbot botnet, for example, was responsible for generating millions of dollars in fraudulent ad revenue by creating fake video views and clicks on advertisements. The global financial impact of botnets is staggering, with cybercrime linked to botnets costing the global economy approximately $600 billion annually (Council on Foreign Relations). These covert networks pose significant threats to individuals, organizations, and the digital ecosystem through various attack vectors such as crypto miners, keyloggers, and other malicious tools. The critical need for comprehensive cybersecurity strategies to mitigate these threats effectively cannot be overstated. Build your own botnet, for fun and research As a next step, we are going to explore various botnet frameworks available and demonstrate how to use these botnets in controlled environments to test an organization’s readiness and resiliency. This approach not only helps security researchers and developers deepen their understanding of botnet operations but also enhances practical skills in mitigating such threats. Creating a self-controlled botnet can serve multiple purposes. For instance, it allows you to perform DDoS Resiliency Exercises, where organizations can simulate attacks to measure their defenses against distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. These simulations help identify potential vulnerabilities and put compensatory controls in place to bolster infrastructure security. Additionally, these exercises are valuable for monitoring and recording response times during simulated attacks. This practice enables IT and security teams to refine their incident response strategies, ensuring they are well-prepared for real-world scenarios. By testing in a controlled environment, organizations can enhance their cybersecurity posture and ensure that they are ready to face actual botnet threats effectively. Engage further to uncover the best practices for building and utilizing your own botnet in a safe and ethical manner, ultimately strengthening your cybersecurity defenses and resilience.  Caveats of building your own botnet Building a self-controlled botnet for research purposes comes with unique characteristics that distinguish it from malicious botnets. For instance, a self-built botnet does not involve compromising devices from various organizations or multiple households. Consequently, achieving a diverse set of IP addresses, which is common in malicious botnets, is much more challenging with an ethically built botnet. In a typical malicious botnet, the bots are compromised devices from numerous sources, providing a wide range of IP addresses. This diversity helps attackers evade detection, as the malicious activities appear to originate from different sources, complicating efforts to trace them back to a single origin. The distributed nature of these botnets allows for more effective obfuscation of the attackers' activities, making it harder for defenders to identify and block the malicious traffic. Conversely, a self-built botnet, created for ethical or research purposes, operates under a controlled framework. The participating bots in an ethical botnet are typically owned and managed by the researcher or the organization conducting the study. This means the IP addresses associated with these bots are not diverse, usually originating from a single source or a limited set of controlled devices. The limited diversity of IP addresses in a self-built botnet is intentional and serves specific research or ethical purposes. It allows researchers to study botnet behaviors, evaluate detection techniques, simulate attack scenarios, and develop defensive measures. By having a controlled set of devices, researchers can closely monitor and analyze the botnet's activities without risking harm or compromising other systems.  While a self-built botnet may not exhibit the same distributed characteristics as a malicious botnet, it provides valuable insights into botnet operations. Researchers can study communication patterns, propagation mechanisms, command and control protocols, and the impact of botnet activities on network resources. These insights are crucial for developing effective defensive strategies and enhancing overall cybersecurity measures. How to build your own botnet Okay, enough of the talking now. Let’s try our hands on a real botnet framework. For this project, we have specifically chosen BYOB – Bring your own Botnet, which is an easy-to-use botnet framework and gives a glimpse of how easy these attacks and techniques have become. Bring Your Own Botnet (BYOB) is a simple tool which can be setup and executed in just 4 simple steps: Step 1: Clone the Github repository of BYOB and run the startup.sh script located in the webgui directory. Step 2: Generate a payload for any type of following machines – Windows, or Linux Step 3: Execute the payload on target machines (in this case your own resources). Step 4: Have fun with the Command & Control Center (on GUI). This GUI will list the bots that called back to the C2 Center. From here you can run different Post-Exploitation Modules to make the bots do what you want. Exploring various botnet frameworks BYOB is not the only botnet framework available; there are many similar frameworks that are equally easy to set up. Attackers have started to create their own custom, more sophisticated payloads to run on these readily available C2 servers, often modifying the Python code to alter post-exploitation modules. Some other relevant frameworks include: Covenant: It is a .NET command and control framework and supports .NET Core – which is multi-platform and due to this Covenant can run natively on Windows, Linux, and MacOS platforms. FactionC2 : Though Faction only supports .NET payloads and modules, but it provides more features than your average C2 framework. Data management is easy with this one, as you can even extract your data through SQL queries! Merlin : This is the shadiest post exploitation HTTP/2 C2 Server and agent written in Golang since it helps red teamers to evade network detection by using a protocol that the security solutions don’t understand or detect. Merlin is also one of the few C2 frameworks which supports Android.  The list can go on but a few honorable mentions have to be iBombshell, FudgeC2, Callidus (uses Outlook, OneNote and MS Teams for command & control), APfell, Sliver and Dali (works on bring-your-own-implant concept with a MySQL backend).  Recommendations Understanding botnets and building controlled botnets for research purposes contribute significantly to developing effective defense strategies and proactive cybersecurity measures. By exploring the threat landscape, studying attack vectors, and responsibly conducting research, we can better protect ourselves, organizations, and the digital ecosystem from the threats posed by botnets and other cyber-attacks. By understanding these attack vectors and studying the behavior of different botnets, researchers can enhance their knowledge of cybersecurity threats and develop effective countermeasures. It is crucial, however, to approach the building of a botnet ethically and responsibly. Self-built botnets, intended for research purposes, differ from malicious botnets in terms of IP address diversity. While a malicious botnet comprises compromised devices from various sources, an ethical botnet consists of controlled devices owned by the researcher or organization conducting the research. If you are facing a botnet attack, need assistance in testing your organization's resiliency against such attacks, or want to strengthen your overall cybersecurity, we are here to help. Contact our team of cybersecurity experts today for personalized guidance, robust support, and tailored solutions designed to safeguard your systems and data. Cybersecurity is an ongoing battle and staying vigilant is crucial. By staying informed, implementing best practices, and working together, we can create a safer and more secure digital environment for everyone. Take the first step towards strengthening your cybersecurity defenses—reach out to us now! When you’re interested in more information, please feel free to reach out to us. We’re also happy to help you by setting up ‘white hat’ botnets and assess configured defensive capabilities within your organisation. Important Notice 1 : This article is for educational purposes only. Do not use these techniques against targets without explicit permission of the system owner.  Important Notice 2 : This article suggests use of open-source software from public repositories. Please be aware that these projects come without warranty, and disclaiming liability for damages resulting from using the projects. Discover more SAP S/4HANA: the moment is there to elevate security and controls to a higher level​ Explore modern software engineering, focusing on supply chain security and licensing Frank Wiersma Senior Tech Consultant, Cyber Offensive Security KPMG in the Netherlands  Ishan Chandra Manager, Cyber Offensive Security KPMG in the Netherlands Discover our vacancies We will keep you informed by email. Enter your preferences here. 409 COMMENTS Writing a Research Paper Introduction Table of contents. Step 1: Introduce your topic. Step 2: Describe the background. Step 3: Establish your research problem. Step 4: Specify your objective (s) Step 5: Map out your paper. Research paper introduction examples. Frequently asked questions about the research paper introduction. How to Write a Research Proposal Research proposal examples. Writing a research proposal can be quite challenging, but a good starting point could be to look at some examples. We've included a few for you below. Example research proposal #1: "A Conceptual Framework for Scheduling Constraint Management". How to Write a Research Paper Introduction (with Examples) Define your specific research problem and problem statement. Highlight the novelty and contributions of the study. Give an overview of the paper's structure. The research paper introduction can vary in size and structure depending on whether your paper presents the results of original empirical research or is a review paper. How To Write A Research Proposal Research Proposal Sample. Title: The Impact of Online Education on Student Learning Outcomes: A Comparative Study. 1. Introduction. Online education has gained significant prominence in recent years, especially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. How to Write a Research Proposal Research proposals, like all other kinds of academic writing, are written in a formal, objective tone. Keep in mind that being concise is a key component of academic writing; formal does not mean flowery. Adhere to the structure outlined above. Your reader knows how a research proposal is supposed to read and expects it to fit this template. Key Components of a Research Proposal: What You Need to Know In summary, writing a research proposal involves several key components that together create a solid plan for your study. These components include the title, introduction, objectives, methodology, literature review, timeline, and budget. Each part plays a crucial role in explaining your research idea, its importance, and how you plan to carry ... What Is A Research Proposal? Examples + Template While the exact structure and format required for a research proposal differs from university to university, there are four "essential ingredients" that commonly make up the structure of a research proposal: A rich introduction and background to the proposed research; An initial literature review covering the existing research How To Write A Proposal Develop an Outline. Create a clear and logical structure: Divide your proposal into sections or headings that will guide your readers through the content. Consider the typical structure of a proposal: Introduction: Provide a concise overview of the problem, its significance, and the proposed solution. Background/Context: Offer relevant ... How To Write A Research Proposal (With Examples) Make sure you can ask the critical what, who, and how questions of your research before you put pen to paper. Your research proposal should include (at least) 5 essential components : Title - provides the first taste of your research, in broad terms. Introduction - explains what you'll be researching in more detail. How to write a research proposal A research proposal is a concise and coherent summary of your proposed research. Generally, your research proposal will have a title page, introduction, literature review section, a section about research design and explaining the implications of your research, and a reference list. How to write a research proposal? INTRODUCTION. A clean, well-thought-out proposal forms the backbone for the research itself and hence becomes the most important step in the process of conduct of research.[] The objective of preparing a research proposal would be to obtain approvals from various committees including ethics committee [details under 'Research methodology II' section [Table 1] in this issue of IJA) and to ... How to write a research proposal Proposal format. The format of a research proposal varies between fields and levels of study but most proposals should contain at least these elements: introduction, literature review, research design and reference list. Generally, research proposals can range from 500-1500 words or one to a few pages long. How to Write a Research Proposal A research proposal is a short piece of academic writing that outlines the research a graduate student intends to carry out. It starts by explaining why the research will be helpful or necessary, then describes the steps of the potential research and how the research project would add further knowledge to the field of study. (PDF) How to Write an Introduction for Research The key thing is. to guide the reader into your topic and situate your ideas. Step 2: Describe the background. This part of the introduction differs depending on what approach your paper is ... Proposal Proposal. Definition: Proposal is a formal document or presentation that outlines a plan, idea, or project and seeks to persuade others to support or adopt it. Proposals are commonly used in business, academia, and various other fields to propose new initiatives, solutions to problems, research studies, or business ventures. How to Write a Research Proposal: A Step-by-Step Writing a research proposal template in structured steps ensures a comprehensive and coherent presentation of your research project. Let's look at the explanation for each of the steps here: Step 1: Title and Abstract. Step 2: Introduction. Step 3: Research objectives. Step 4: Literature review. How to Write a Research Proposal in 2024: Structure, Examples & Common A. Introduction. A research proposal is commonly written by scholars seeking grant funding for a research project when enrolling for a research-based postgraduate degree. Graduate and post-graduate students also embark on a university dissertation to obtain a degree or get that Ph.D. Although it is just a course assignment, a student must treat ... Research Proposal Definition, Components & Examples Your proposal should include each of the components of the research proposal (title, abstract, table of contents, introduction, literature review, method, discussion, budget). What is a research ... Writing a Research Proposal In general your proposal should include the following sections: I. Introduction. In the real world of higher education, a research proposal is most often written by scholars seeking grant funding for a research project or it's the first step in getting approval to write a doctoral dissertation. What Is a Research Proposal? (Plus How To Write One) A research proposal is a formal document expressing the details of a research project, which is usually for science or academic purposes, and it's typically four to seven pages long. Research proposals often include a title page, an abstract, an introduction, background information, research questions, a literature review and a bibliography. How to Write a Research Proposal First, a research proposal is sent to the guide or mentor for approval. Only after their approval can you proceed with the research. No matter what your reasons are for drafting a research proposal, the format remains the same. The researcher portrays how and why the research topic is relevant to the field. They explain the research gap and the ... PDF Writing a Research Proposal the Research Proposal (e.g. Introduction, Methodology, Conclusion) and draw boxes around these headings so they look like pages of a book. Now, add anything you think you will need in these boxes (e.g. figures, graphs, references, topic sentences) and use What should I include in a research paper introduction? The introduction of a research paper includes several key elements: A hook to catch the reader's interest. Relevant background on the topic. Details of your research problem. and your problem statement. A thesis statement or research question. Sometimes an overview of the paper. Frequently asked questions: Writing a research paper. Research Proposal Academic Research Proposal. This is the most common type of research proposal, which is prepared by students, scholars, or researchers to seek approval and funding for an academic research project. It includes all the essential components mentioned earlier, such as the introduction, literature review, methodology, and expected outcomes. Research proposal A research proposal is a document proposing a research project, generally in the sciences or academia, and generally constitutes a request for sponsorship of that research. [1] Proposals are evaluated on the cost and potential impact of the proposed research, and on the soundness of the proposed plan for carrying it out. [2] Research proposals generally address several key points: [3] Introduction to Virginia Tech's Proposal Submission Process The pre-award associates will review the full proposal process, including proposal components, budgets, submission methods and deadlines, award transfer, individuals' roles and responsibilities, and the university's online platform — Summit. Attendees may submit their questions in advance to [email protected]. Title page setup PSY 201: Introduction to Psychology. Instructor name. ... For a professional paper, the affiliation is the institution at which the research was conducted. Include both the name of any department and the name of the college, university, or other institution, separated by a comma. Center the affiliation on the next double-spaced line after the ... NSF 23-538: Partnerships for Innovation (PFI) I. Introduction. The National Science Foundation (NSF) supports fundamental research and education in all fields of science and engineering to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; and to secure the national defense; and for other purposes. ... To prepare and submit a proposal via Research.gov Promoting Inclusive and Equitable Research (PIER) Plans Promoting Inclusive and Equitable Research (PIER) Plans. Beginning in FY 2023, all Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) and DOE National Lab Announcements and other funding solicitations will require applicants to submit a Promoting Inclusive and Equitable Research (PIER) Plan as an appendix to their proposal narrative. Exploring Botnets: Understanding the Threat Landscape Understanding botnets and building controlled botnets for research purposes contribute significantly to developing effective defense strategies and proactive cybersecurity measures. By exploring the threat landscape, studying attack vectors, and responsibly conducting research, we can better protect ourselves, organizations, and the digital ... essay homework paper phd project resume review study thesis