Purpose of Research Proposal + Definition, Importance, & Writing Steps

The purpose of a research proposal is to convince the reader of your project’s significance. This is a piece where you must prove that:

1. You have a plan for your work.
2. There is a solid chance that your project will be successful.

Your reader has to be sure that it is a profound research work that has clear outcomes and practicality. K. Sudheesh et al. (2016) emphasize that a proposal must follow clear logic, from the introduction to the appendices, showing the author’s knowledge of the field and methods.

Yet, many students don’t fully understand why research proposals are significant. That is why the experts of Custom-Writing.org created this guide. Here, we thoroughly explain the importance of a research proposal and how to make it step-by-step.

🔤 What Is Research Proposal?

A research proposal is a document that proposes a particular research project, usually in academia or sciences, intending to get funding from an institution. A typical research proposal addresses a range of points:

• A research question(s) that the proposed research seeks to answer
• The data & methods that will be used to answer the questions
• The time and financial costs for the research
• The prior research in the field
• Potential benefits for the sponsoring institution

Research proposals are usually required when one plans to write a thesis, dissertation, or research paper. The format is similar to that of a research paper, with an introduction, a literature review, a methods section, and a conclusion.

🎯 Purpose of Research Proposal

The primary goal of any research proposal is to convince a sponsoring institution that a particular research project is worthwhile. The document usually aims to cover the aspects below.

✔️	Relevance	Convince the reader that your project is original, interesting, and essential for a research field you’re working in.
✔️	Context	Demonstrate your familiarity with the research field. Show that you know its current state and have a deep understanding of the literature.
✔️	Approach	Explain your methodology. Show that your data and methods are thought about well.
✔️	Feasibility	Talk about the practical side of your project. Confirm that you’re able to complete the research within the limits of the program or the institution you’re applying to.

In other words, the purpose of a research proposal is to answer the following questions about your research project:

• What do you want to achieve? Try to be as clear as possible in defining the research problem and what aspect of it you intend to investigate.
• Why do you want to do it? You must thoroughly analyze the literature and present compelling evidence that the topic is worth researching.
• How are you going to do it? Make sure you have the time, finances, and competence to complete what you want to accomplish.

❗ Importance of Research Proposal

A research proposal is important for several reasons:

• It helps identify the research focus. A research proposal defines the topic, outlines methods, and clarifies your research objectives.
• It assists in research planning. You can use a research proposal as an overview of the work to be done, making the research process smoother and easier.
• It allows researchers to secure funding. Research proposals are essential for getting money to fund research projects. These documents help persuade internal and external agencies of the project’s significance and feasibility.
• It demonstrates the student’s communication skills. The way a proposal is worded and structured shows the student’s ability to organize their thoughts and communicate complex ideas.
• It shows the researcher’s competence. The research proposal demonstrates a scholar’s ability to select appropriate methods, justify the choice of topic and methodology, conduct a literature review, and address ethical and budget considerations.

👣 Making a Research Plan in 10 Steps

STEP #1: Determine your area	The first and probably the easiest thing to do is to identify a general study topic or subject area to investigate.
STEP #2: Study literature	On the second stage, you need to read as much literature on the general topic as possible. Make notes and summarize each study’s purpose and findings.
STEP #3: Find the gap in the literature	The purpose of the previous step is to determine what studies have already been done on the subject of your research proposal and then identify any obvious gaps in the literature. Find where you can add to the existing body of knowledge.
STEP #4: Make a purpose statement	The purpose of the research proposal is to sell your idea to the funding agency. On this stage, the task is to explain why you are investigating this topic, what you propose to do, and why others should be interested in your research. This is called a purpose statement.
STEP #5: Formulate a question & hypotheses	Next, you should craft a research question & hypotheses for your study. Research hypotheses determine what you will investigate and what you expect to find in your study. They are your supposed answers to the research question.
STEP #6: Write an introduction	The research proposal’s introduction should include the components that you created on the previous stages: a problem statement, a summary of the literature (you can use a summary maker for that), a concise description of the gap in the literature, a purpose statement, & a research question.
STEP #7: Describe your methods	In your methods section, you should outline the procedures you plan to follow to complete the proposed study. The section generally includes: an explanation of the research design and some information on the data collection process.
STEP #8: Describe your research design	Outline the research design of your academic research proposal. You should describe two or three possible alternatives for each part of the design.
STEP #9: Describe your data collection procedures	In this section, describe how you are going to collect your data. Explain the scheme of analyzing the collected data and reporting the results.
STEP #10: Provide a timeline and budget	On the final stage, you need to give some information on the estimated budget and schedule of your research.

Research Proposal Topics

1. A research proposal on staff attitudes to physician orders for life-sustaining treatment (POLST).
2. Research the aspects of corporate social responsibility integration for multinational companies.
3. Explore the efficacy of speaker recognition technology for the crime rate reduction.
4. Analyze the peculiarities of Nigeria’s healthcare system and the problems it faced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
5. Marketing research proposal: study the skill deficiencies of the students of the current occupational training programs and their influence on the job perspectives.
6. Write a research proposal on the examination of asthma risk factors for African immigrants.
7. Research proposal on the connection between hypertension and chronic kidney disease.
8. Conduct research on cyber terrorism as a political weapon.
9. Explore the effective programs for asthma education among adolescents.
10. Research proposal on the controversy of the second amendment.
11. Examine the impact of Nokia’s marketing strategy on its product popularity and the company’s share price.
12. Analyze the current situation of VEGA medical center and the necessity to implement sustainable change.
13. Formulate a research proposal on the sustainable innovation strategy implementation methods for logistics companies.
14. Research proposal on homeland security in the United States.
15. Study the most efficient ways to implement a harm reduction approach in healthcare practice.
16. Research the efficacy of current procedures of early ventilator-associated pneumonia diagnostics.
17. Explore and compare the consumer behavior of generation Y in the USA and China.
18. Research proposal on the usefulness of the mobile app English at Hands implementation in educational establishments’ curricula.
19. Justice in healthcare: a research proposal.
20. Analyze whether watching movies can be considered an effective method of foreign language practice.
21. Examine the most widespread reasons for medical personnel shortage in low-income countries.
22. Research proposal on the current state of McDonald’s company.
23. Study the effect of lowering high-calorie food consumption on human health and life quality.
24. Write a research proposal on the effect of technology on human health and living conditions.
25. Explore the connection between congestive heart failure and air travel.
26. Study the role of government in enhancing the sustainable innovation strategy implementation rates.
27. Research the use of BMP in improving e-government security.
28. Analyze the necessity of health teaching to middle-aged women.
29. Research proposal on the online buying site ViaBela.
30. Examine the current methods of suicide prevention among geriatric patients.
31. Write a research proposal on the investigation of the COVID-19 lockdown on people with mental health issues.
32. Explore and compare consumers’ corporate social responsibility awareness in different countries.
33. Study the use of the national DNA database for law enforcement.
34. Research the specifics and the ways to eliminate narcoterrorism in Mexico.
35. Examine the contemporary ways to prevent Clostridium difficile infection.
36. Research proposal on the advantages and disadvantages of skin-to-skin contact after labor.
37. Explore the reasons for inadequate nurse staffing and its impact on the level of healthcare service.
38. Anasarca and acute renal failure: a research proposal.
39. Analyze whether telephone follow-ups will help to improve the satisfaction and life quality of diabetic patients.
40. Write a research proposal on the safety and efficiency of fad diets.
41. Research proposal on capital punishment application.
42. Examine the benefits and drawbacks of wireless technologies for modern business organizations.
43. Research the reasons that influence the participation rates of African Americans in clinical trials.
44. Study how motivational interviews can reduce childhood obesity rates.
45. Research proposal on the role of e-marketing strategies in business development.
46. Analyze the connection between critical thinking and mass media literacy.
47. Explore the benefits of medicine computerization.
48. Research proposal on green supply chain management.
49. Examine the impact of computer technology development on criminology.
50. Conduct intersectionality research on prejudices against Asian American women.

🔗 References

1. Writing a Research Proposal (USC Library Guides)
2. Writing a research proposal – Research & Learning Online
3. How to write a research proposal? – NCBI
4. How to Write a Research Proposal – University of Birmingham
5. How To Write an Academic Research Proposal
6. How to write a research proposal (Yale College)
7. How to write a research proposal for a strong PhD application (University of Sydney)