• 2021-04-14
    Youareaskedtoreadthepassageaboutproposalwritingandthedotheexercisesgivenbelow.WritingyourproposalWhetheryouarelimitedtoonepage(aspartofaUniversityapplicationformoranenquiryform)orarerequiredtoproducesomethingmoresubstantialforanexternalfunder,therulesaboutwritingagoodresearchproposalarethesame.Youwanttostandoutfromthecrowdandhavethebestchanceofbeingselected.Thisguidehighlightsthe“GoldenRules”andprovidestipsonhowtowriteagoodresearchapplication.Prospectiveresearchstudentsmayfinditusefulwhenaskedtoprovidearesearchstatementaspartoftheiruniversityapplicationoraninformalenquiryform.UniversityapplicationsSecuringfundingdoesnotalwaysguaranteeanofferofaplaceattheuniversityyouareapplyingto.Whetheryouareapplyingtoconductyourownresearchortoundertakeanadvertisedproject,youwillneedtoapplyforaplaceattheuniversityofyourchoicebeforeoratthesametimeasyourapplicationforfunding.Auniversityapplicationforpostgraduatestudyismostlikelytoincludearesearchproposaland/orapersonalstatement,evenifyouareapplyingforafundedprojectdefinedbytheprospectivesupervisor.GoldenrulesforpostgraduateresearchproposalsContents:•Beclear,objective,succinctandrealisticinyourobjectives•Askyourselfwhythisresearchshouldbefundedand/orwhyyouarethebestpersontoundertakethisproject•Askyourselfwhythisresearchisimportantand/ortimely•Stateandjustifyyourobjectivesclearly(“becauseitisinteresting”isnotenough!)•Makesureyouanswerthequestions:howwilltheresearchbenefitthewidersocietyorcontributetotheresearchcommunity?Style:•Ifspaceallows,provideaclearprojecttitle•Structureyourtext–ifallowedusesectionheadings•Presenttheinformationinshortparagraphsratherthanasolidblockoftext•Writeshortsentences•Ifallowed,provideimages/charts/diagramstohelpbreakupthetextTheprocess:•Identifyprospectivesupervisorsanddiscussyourideawiththem•Avoidblanketgenerale-mailstoseveralprospectivesupervisors•Allowplentyoftime–arushedproposalwillshow•Getfeedbackfromyourprospectivesupervisorandbepreparedtotaketheircommentsonboard•Ifapplyingtoanexternalfundingagency,rememberthatthereviewermaynotbeanexpertinyourfieldofresearch•SticktotheguidelinesandrememberthedeadlineWhattoputinyourproposal?ApplicationprocessesaredifferentforeachUniversitysomakesuretofollowtherelevantguidelinesprovidedbytheinstitutionyouareapplyingto.However,ifyouarenotgivenanyguidelinesonhowtoformatyourresearchproposal,youcouldadoptthesuggestedstructurebelow.Thisisalsorelevantifyouareapplyingforexternalfundingoraskingyouremployertosponsoryoutoundertakearesearchdegree.Suggestedstructureforaresearchproposal:•Titleandabstract•Backgroundinformation/briefsummaryofexistingliterature•Thehypothesisandtheobjectives•Methodology•Howtheresearchwillbecommunicatedtothewidercommunity•Thesupervisoryprovisionaswellasspecialistandtransferableskillstraining•Ethicalconsiderations•SummaryandconclusionsWritingtheproposalWhenwritingyourproposal,bearinmindthatindividualsreviewingyourapplicationwilloftenhavetoreadalargenumberofproposals/applications.So,well-presentedandclearlywrittenproposalsaremorelikelytostickinthereviewer’smind.Avoidlongandconvolutedtitles.Youwillgetanopportunitytogivemoredetailinyourintroduction.Adoptedfrom:https://www.ed.ac.uk/files/imports/fileManager/HowToWriteProposal090415.pdfNowfinishthefollowingsentencewiththeinformationfromtheabovepassagea)Whetheryouareapplyingtoconductyourownresearchortoundertakeanadvertisedproject,youwillneedto______beforeoratthesametimeasyourapplicationforfunding.
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