One of the most practical research proposal templates I’ve ever seen is Developing Research Proposals, a handout written by Prof. Ted Zorn at the Waikato Management School of the University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand.

Even if it’s not very objective to say that there is such a thing as a “best research proposal template”, this one definitely deserves a distinction.
Why? Because it’s short, simple, understandable and easy to adapt to your personal needs in any research topic, within any scientific field.

Please note: you don’t have to “reinvent the wheel” in order to write a successful research proposal that gets accepted in the first round.
A good research proposal has to be 1) concise, 2) objective and 3) straight-to-the-point. Any reader should be able to understand what you describe in it, after the first reading.

Whoever you are addressing with your research proposal (a PhD application jury, a dissertation committee, a science grant foundation or “simply” your future thesis advisor), you need to respect your reader’s time. Keep in mind that the same person reading your proposal most probably has to go through several other research proposals at the same time, hence her/his attention must be limited. If you don’t focus, you lose.

This might sound harsh to you; but any senior PhD student would give you the same advice: you rather take the proposal writing process seriously if you want to be taken seriously and avoid troublesome re-writing or complete rejection.

According to Prof. Zorn, the suggested structure of a research proposal should look something like this:

Proposed research topic: if you are not clear on the subject, you lose the reader’s attention right away.
Purpose: what’s your goal with the proposed research activity?
Background: give the reader more information about the context of your research activity, will you work in a team or alone, what are the factors that enable you to finish this research project successfully.
Scope: Describe the practical aspects of your research. What exactly will you do in the field? Be short and focused.
Theoretical framework: Which theoretical frameworks will you use for your investigation? What are the possible implications for the research methods you intend to use.
Method: Which methods will you use? Literature review, focus groups, interviews, surveys, data analysis, reporting tools? Which steps will lead you to prove your hypothesis and answer your research question?
Timetable: WHEN will you do WHAT? Keep it just as detailed as necessary. Not more, not less.
Limitations: as the author says, “describe conditions beyond your control that place; restrictions on what you can do and the conclusions you may be able to draw.”
Delimitations: What are the possible boundaries of your proposed research activity? (It’s even more important to clarify this to yourself, than to your reader!)
References: list all sources that you intend to use or relate to the subject, in advance. This list might change significantly over time as you “dig deeper”, anyway.

Download this research proposal template as a .doc

Research proposal definition

According to wikipedia, a research proposal is “a document written by a researcher that provides a detailed description of the proposed program. It is like an outline of the entire research process that gives a reader a summary of the information discussed in a project.”

Types of research proposals

Research proposals can serve a wide range of purposes. Just a couple of examples:

- PhD application proposal – if you apply for a PhD, you usually have to outline what you are up to and what your research would be about.

- PhD research proposal – once you are accepted to a doctoral program, you have to make a detailed plan of your proposed research activities, at least for the first year, if not for the entire length of your scholarship.

- Science project proposal – In most scientific fields, a projects can be started only if there is a proper project proposal which all participants agreed upon.

- Project funding proposals and grant proposals – Projects need funding, because the humans who do them, need funding; and funding doesn’t come without a proper proposal.

- Dissertation proposal – once you get to the point of writing a dissertation (also called ‘thesis’ in some countries), you will already have written a couple of research proposals, so it won’t be the problem to write one more, even though it might be for a much bigger research project than all previous ones. This is probably true if you do a PhD by coursework.

If you do a PhD by research, the dissertation proposal is most probably the same as the research proposal you initially had to submit along with your application.

There is no single best research proposal format or research proposal example that would work for everyone, because each research project is different. However, you can always recognize similarities and patterns among successful research proposals.

Check out the research proposal writing section for a couple of research proposal writing tips.

Every PhD student or young researcher faces the challenge of writing a research proposal at least once in his/her life.

Keep a couple of things in mind before you submit your research proposal.

1. Define the goal of your research proposal first. What exactly do you write it for? Will you apply for a PhD? Do you want to get some funding for your next science project? Is it for your dissertation research project?

2. Check out a couple of research proposal examples written by other students and make notes of them.

3. Try to list the top 3 mistakes that other authors made (and avoid them when writing your own research proposal).

4. List the top 3 things that you like in other research proposals and try to apply them in your own document.

5. After analyzing other people’s research proposals, decide which research proposal format you would like to use. Just choose the one that looks like it would fit your needs, and adapt it. Don’t be shy.

6. Write a first version of your research proposal.

7. Send it to 3 people (fellow students, friends, family, colleagues, co-workers) whose opinion you trust because they can judge your work objectively, and get their feedback. If they are the right people to judge your work, they will be able to spot a couple of things that you could improve. (so if one of them says that your proposal is perfect, ask someone else for his feedback.)

8. Make the necessary changes based on your friends’ feedback.

9. Send the final version to your future advisor / committee / whoever will read it and hope for the best!

10. If your research proposal gets rejected, rewrite it, and submit it again. If you can’t submit it at the same university, submit it somewhere else. Life at academia is a rollercoaster. Enjoy the ride!

Good luck, and don’t give up!