Annotated research proposals

Downloadable annotated research proposals written by post-graduate students.

Comments down the side will help readers critically engage with the texts and see how the markers (or reviewers) arrived at their judgments, showing readers what criteria is used to call a proposal ‘good’ or ‘weak’. In order to anonymise the work, the students are referred to as either ‘the writer’, ‘author’ or ‘researcher’.

For masters or doctoral work, proposals should often be regarded as being organic and provisional; they do not have to be set in stone and many (particularly with more inductive designs) will have flexible designs (see Proposal 3) and will undergo considerable change. However, if students want to make a professional career as an academic they will often need to develop the skills to be able to write ‘excellent’ proposals in order to secure research funding.

Research Proposal 1

Written as a course assignment and awarded a grade A.

Around 2,500 words long, excluding references.

Research Proposal 2

Written as a course assignment and given a C.

Around 2,500 words long, excluding references.

Research Proposal 3

An example of a successful application for a three-year funded project to the ESRC (a major funding body in the UK).

ESRC proposals are restricted to four sides of A4.