A research proposal is a formal document that outlines what you are researching, your justification for why you are researching it and how you plan to manage the project. It can also communicate to a funder or sponsor the potential impact of the proposed project or research endeavor.

Successful research proposals often require a great deal forethought and preliminary work including conducting a literature review, writing a data management plan and researching potential funders and their application process and timeline.

Need Help?

The Library provides resources and assistance for students and those with limited experience in writing a research proposal for scientific research. We can assist you with:

• developing a research strategy - Your subject specialist can help guide your literature review plan including helping you determine applicable keywords, search strings and research journals and databases for your study. 
• finding funding opportunities -There are a number government and non-governmental agencies that provide research and grant funding. Librarians can guide you in using specialized library grantmaking databases such as Pivot (Funding Discovery) to find the best funding opportunities.

Contact your subject specialist to schedule a research consultation or visit the curated list of resources for further information.