Preparing a research proposal

Before you continue, reflect on your previous experience a writing research proposal, and the feedback you have received. How would you rate your ability in the following skills? Rate your confidence level from “very confident” to “not very confident”.

A research proposal is a structured document that outlines your planned research by explaining what you aim to investigate, why it is important, and how you will conduct the study. It serves as a persuasive text, demonstrating the significance of your research, the gap it addresses, and the feasibility of your approach. A well-written proposal provides a clear research question, justifies the need for the study, and details the methodology you will use

A research proposal is important because it helps clarify your plan by defining and organising your research process. It secures approval by demonstrating to decision-makers that your study is valid, feasible, and valuable. Additionally, a strong proposal can attract funding by highlighting the potential impact and significance of your work. Finally, it serves as a roadmap, guiding your research journey and keeping your study focused and structured.

A research proposal ensures that your study is both worthwhile and doable. It demonstrates worth by addressing a clear knowledge gap or practical problem, highlighting the potential impact on society or the field, and aligning with institutional or disciplinary priorities. At the same time, it ensures feasibility by setting realistic objectives that fit within the available timeframe and resources, outlining well-defined research methods, and considering ethical issues to ensure proper approval.

Your research proposal title will likely evolve as your project develops. It should clearly reflect the main topic, method, and scope of your study while remaining concise and informative. At CDU, titles must not exceed 20 words. Using key terms will enhance searchability, making your research more accessible. Aim for a balance between clarity and specificity. Avoid titles that are too vague or overly detailed.

Titles often include the following elements: the research topic, the sampling target, implied method (focus area), and the context within which the research is situated. 

Click on the hotspots to explore the elements of the title, then answer the questions on the following pages.

Begin the introduction with a broad overview to engage the reader and establish the relevance of the topic. Then, gradually narrow the focus by providing context, outlining the research problem, stating the general aim, and explaining its significance. This structured approach creates a logical flow, guiding the reader towards the purpose of the discussion. Since the introduction frames the entire piece, it is best to review and refine this section last, ensuring it aligns with the main content and effectively sets the stage for the rest of the work.

The rationale section of your proposal explains why your research is important and worth pursuing. It often includes the following elements:

A literature review serves as the backbone of any research project, ensuring that the study is well-informed, focused, and contributes value to the academic community. Using spreadsheets or matrices to keep track of your data points can help you efficiently track, compare, and visualise relationships between themes, sources, and emerging trends. For example, you can use the PICO framework to help you critically analyse the literature and identify gaps in a systematic way.

For more information on how to conduct and write a strong literature review, visit our “Writing a literature review” for HDR students on the Research Communication page and work through the activities. 

A well-defined research gap forms the foundation of a research proposal, as it directly shapes the study’s aims, questions, and methods. This gap should align with the researcher’s interests and offer meaningful benefits, ensuring sustained engagement over the project’s duration. 

When formulating research aims, clarity and specificity are critical: aims must explicitly state what the study seeks to achieve, avoiding vague or overly broad language. They should directly address the identified gap and use action-oriented verbs like “explore,” “investigate,” “examine,” or “evaluate.” 

Research questions must align tightly with these aims and guide methodological choices. For quantitative research, questions should be precise, with clearly defined and measurable variables to ensure testability. In contrast, qualitative research benefits from open-ended questions (e.g., “how,” “what,” or “why”) that encourage in-depth exploration. Regardless of approach, questions must remain realistic, addressing only what can feasibly be answered with available data and resources. 

Look at the research questions below, and then drag and drop the issues under each research question.

Research design

At the proposal stage, a fully detailed research design is not required, as it will evolve as the project progresses. Instead, the focus should be on providing a high-level overview of your methodological approach to allow the panel to assess its viability. This includes outlining the overarching strategy (e.g., qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods) and key practical steps, such as data collection methods, analytical frameworks, or participant recruitment plans, that will be used to address the research questions.

When crafting your research design consider:

Participant sampling

When planning your sampling strategy, you should ensure it aligns with your research objectives while balancing feasibility, representativeness, and ethical rigour. Start by defining your target population (e.g., university students, healthcare workers) and the criteria for inclusion (e.g., age, experience, diagnosis) to ensure relevance to your research questions. Choose a sampling method (e.g., purposive, stratified random, or convenience sampling) that suits your study’s design—for instance, purposive sampling for qualitative exploration or random sampling for quantitative generalisation.

Data gathering

When outlining how you will collect your data, remember to describe the project’s data collection procedures:

• Recruiting participation
• Obtaining consent
• Administration of the instrument
• Special precautions or procedures (e.g., language barriers)
• Data recording procedures
• Return of participant data

Data-gathering methods include:

Data analysis

When outlining your data analysis plan, you should align your approach with your research methodology to ensure coherence and rigour.

If working on a qualitative study, your analysis will likely involve thematic coding to identify patterns, categories, and themes within textual or visual data. Software tools like NVivo or Atlas.ti can streamline this process, but if you are unfamiliar with these, allocate sufficient time (e.g., several days or weeks) to learn their functions through tutorials or workshops. 

For quantitative studies, your analysis will likely focus on statistical techniques (e.g., regression, ANOVA, descriptive statistics) to test hypotheses or explore relationships between variables. Use software such as SPSS, R, or Excel—but if you lack experience, prioritise training early in your timeline. Ensure your analysis plan includes steps to check assumptions (e.g., normality, homogeneity of variance) and address missing data.

Some tools that can assist you with your data analysis include:

Every research project has its limitations, and it is important to acknowledge them. These limitations could include time, resources, or methodological constraints. Be thoughtful and honest about the limitations in your study and address the ways in which you can mitigate their impacts on the validity of findings/results.

Drag and drop each limitation to its relevant example. 

If your research involves human participants, this section is critical. Discuss any ethical issues related to your research and how you will address them. For example, how will you ensure informed consent, confident, and data security?

Such ethical considerations may include:

• Informed consent: Ensuring participants fully understand the research and voluntarily agree to participate.
• Confidentiality: Protecting participants' personal data and ensuring anonymity where required.
• Voluntary participation: allowing participants to join or withdraw from the study at any time without penalty.
• Avoiding harm: Minimising physical, emotional, or psychological harm to participants.
• Integrity and honesty: Accurately presenting findings and avoiding fabrication or falsification of data.
• Cultural sensitivity: Respecting the beliefs, values, and practices of diverse populations involved in the study.
• Avoiding conflicts of interest: Declaring and managing any personal or financial interests that may bias the research.
• Ethical approval: Securing clearance from an institutional ethics review board before starting the study.
• Fair participant selection: Ensuring no group is unfairly included or excluded based on bias.
• Responsible use of resources: Efficiently and ethically using funds, time, and other resources for the research.

In this section, you will summarise the resources needed to complete the research, including the people, services and equipment. You will also provide a timeline of key tasks and milestones for the research process, so it is important to realistic about what you do at each stage, how long it will take, and how much it will cost.

The referencing style for your proposal will vary depending on your research field. Remember that all academic sources in your proposal must match a refence in the bibliography list, and vice versa. 

For more information on referencing, please visit the CDU Library referencing guide.

The Manchester Academic Phrasebank is a free resource developed by the University of Manchester that offers useful language “chunks” that can suit nearly every component of your research proposal.

The CDU Research and Innovation page offers resources such as access to academic databases, workshops and information about conducting research.

You can also make an appoint to speak with a Language and Learning Advisor who can offer tailored feedback and advice.

To make an appointment, click here.

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