A research proposal is a document a research project, generally in the sciences or academia, and generally constitutes a request for sponsorship of that research. 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. Research proposals generally address several key points:
How the research will benefit the sponsoring organization and other parties
Types
Research proposals may be solicited, meaning that they are submitted in response to a request with specified requirements, such as a request for proposal, or they may be unsolicited, meaning they are submitted without prior request. Other types of proposals include "preproposals", where a letter of intent or briefabstract is submitted for review prior to submission of a full proposal; continuation proposals, which re-iterate an original proposal and its funding requirements in order to ensure continued funding; and renewal proposals, which seek continued sponsorship of a project which would otherwise be terminated. Academic research proposals are generally written as part of the initial requirements of writing a thesis, research paper, or dissertation. They generally follow the same format as a research paper, with an introduction, a literature review, a discussion of research methodology and goals, and a conclusion. This basic structure may vary between projects and between fields, each of which may have its own requirements.
There are certain factors which come into play when one needs to write a research proposal for a specific purpose i.e. for proposing an academic research project in a school, college, university or for the purpose of pitching a project idea to obtain grant/funding from an institute or for convincing a company to kick start a scientific study or scientific project. The writer has to first focus on the main idea and purpose of the proposal that needs to be written and then based on this preliminary information a plot for composing different sections of the research proposal may be constructed. Following are the complete set of section headings that a generalized research proposal includes but one may include or exclude any of the below-listed sections based on their specific required: Following are the 13 Elements of the Research Proposal:
