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How to Write a Research Proposal | Examples & Templates

Published on October 12, 2022 by Shona McCombes and Tegan George. Revised on November 21, 2023.

Structure of a research proposal

A research proposal describes what you will investigate, why it’s important, and how you will conduct your research.

The format of a research proposal varies between fields, but most proposals will contain at least these elements:

Introduction

Literature review.

  • Research design

Reference list

While the sections may vary, the overall objective is always the same. A research proposal serves as a blueprint and guide for your research plan, helping you get organized and feel confident in the path forward you choose to take.

Table of contents

Research proposal purpose, research proposal examples, research design and methods, contribution to knowledge, research schedule, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about research proposals.

Academics often have to write research proposals to get funding for their projects. As a student, you might have to write a research proposal as part of a grad school application , or prior to starting your thesis or dissertation .

In addition to helping you figure out what your research can look like, a proposal can also serve to demonstrate why your project is worth pursuing to a funder, educational institution, or supervisor.

Research proposal length

The length of a research proposal can vary quite a bit. A bachelor’s or master’s thesis proposal can be just a few pages, while proposals for PhD dissertations or research funding are usually much longer and more detailed. Your supervisor can help you determine the best length for your work.

One trick to get started is to think of your proposal’s structure as a shorter version of your thesis or dissertation , only without the results , conclusion and discussion sections.

Download our research proposal template

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overview of a research proposal

Writing a research proposal can be quite challenging, but a good starting point could be to look at some examples. We’ve included a few for you below.

  • Example research proposal #1: “A Conceptual Framework for Scheduling Constraint Management”
  • Example research proposal #2: “Medical Students as Mediators of Change in Tobacco Use”

Like your dissertation or thesis, the proposal will usually have a title page that includes:

  • The proposed title of your project
  • Your supervisor’s name
  • Your institution and department

The first part of your proposal is the initial pitch for your project. Make sure it succinctly explains what you want to do and why.

Your introduction should:

  • Introduce your topic
  • Give necessary background and context
  • Outline your  problem statement  and research questions

To guide your introduction , include information about:

  • Who could have an interest in the topic (e.g., scientists, policymakers)
  • How much is already known about the topic
  • What is missing from this current knowledge
  • What new insights your research will contribute
  • Why you believe this research is worth doing

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As you get started, it’s important to demonstrate that you’re familiar with the most important research on your topic. A strong literature review  shows your reader that your project has a solid foundation in existing knowledge or theory. It also shows that you’re not simply repeating what other people have already done or said, but rather using existing research as a jumping-off point for your own.

In this section, share exactly how your project will contribute to ongoing conversations in the field by:

  • Comparing and contrasting the main theories, methods, and debates
  • Examining the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches
  • Explaining how will you build on, challenge, or synthesize prior scholarship

Following the literature review, restate your main  objectives . This brings the focus back to your own project. Next, your research design or methodology section will describe your overall approach, and the practical steps you will take to answer your research questions.

To finish your proposal on a strong note, explore the potential implications of your research for your field. Emphasize again what you aim to contribute and why it matters.

For example, your results might have implications for:

  • Improving best practices
  • Informing policymaking decisions
  • Strengthening a theory or model
  • Challenging popular or scientific beliefs
  • Creating a basis for future research

Last but not least, your research proposal must include correct citations for every source you have used, compiled in a reference list . To create citations quickly and easily, you can use our free APA citation generator .

Some institutions or funders require a detailed timeline of the project, asking you to forecast what you will do at each stage and how long it may take. While not always required, be sure to check the requirements of your project.

Here’s an example schedule to help you get started. You can also download a template at the button below.

Download our research schedule template

If you are applying for research funding, chances are you will have to include a detailed budget. This shows your estimates of how much each part of your project will cost.

Make sure to check what type of costs the funding body will agree to cover. For each item, include:

  • Cost : exactly how much money do you need?
  • Justification : why is this cost necessary to complete the research?
  • Source : how did you calculate the amount?

To determine your budget, think about:

  • Travel costs : do you need to go somewhere to collect your data? How will you get there, and how much time will you need? What will you do there (e.g., interviews, archival research)?
  • Materials : do you need access to any tools or technologies?
  • Help : do you need to hire any research assistants for the project? What will they do, and how much will you pay them?

If you want to know more about the research process , methodology , research bias , or statistics , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

Methodology

  • Sampling methods
  • Simple random sampling
  • Stratified sampling
  • Cluster sampling
  • Likert scales
  • Reproducibility

 Statistics

  • Null hypothesis
  • Statistical power
  • Probability distribution
  • Effect size
  • Poisson distribution

Research bias

  • Optimism bias
  • Cognitive bias
  • Implicit bias
  • Hawthorne effect
  • Anchoring bias
  • Explicit bias

Once you’ve decided on your research objectives , you need to explain them in your paper, at the end of your problem statement .

Keep your research objectives clear and concise, and use appropriate verbs to accurately convey the work that you will carry out for each one.

I will compare …

A research aim is a broad statement indicating the general purpose of your research project. It should appear in your introduction at the end of your problem statement , before your research objectives.

Research objectives are more specific than your research aim. They indicate the specific ways you’ll address the overarching aim.

A PhD, which is short for philosophiae doctor (doctor of philosophy in Latin), is the highest university degree that can be obtained. In a PhD, students spend 3–5 years writing a dissertation , which aims to make a significant, original contribution to current knowledge.

A PhD is intended to prepare students for a career as a researcher, whether that be in academia, the public sector, or the private sector.

A master’s is a 1- or 2-year graduate degree that can prepare you for a variety of careers.

All master’s involve graduate-level coursework. Some are research-intensive and intend to prepare students for further study in a PhD; these usually require their students to write a master’s thesis . Others focus on professional training for a specific career.

Critical thinking refers to the ability to evaluate information and to be aware of biases or assumptions, including your own.

Like information literacy , it involves evaluating arguments, identifying and solving problems in an objective and systematic way, and clearly communicating your ideas.

The best way to remember the difference between a research plan and a research proposal is that they have fundamentally different audiences. A research plan helps you, the researcher, organize your thoughts. On the other hand, a dissertation proposal or research proposal aims to convince others (e.g., a supervisor, a funding body, or a dissertation committee) that your research topic is relevant and worthy of being conducted.

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Home » How To Write A Research Proposal – Step-by-Step [Template]

How To Write A Research Proposal – Step-by-Step [Template]

Table of Contents

How To Write a Research Proposal

How To Write a Research Proposal

Writing a Research proposal involves several steps to ensure a well-structured and comprehensive document. Here is an explanation of each step:

1. Title and Abstract

  • Choose a concise and descriptive title that reflects the essence of your research.
  • Write an abstract summarizing your research question, objectives, methodology, and expected outcomes. It should provide a brief overview of your proposal.

2. Introduction:

  • Provide an introduction to your research topic, highlighting its significance and relevance.
  • Clearly state the research problem or question you aim to address.
  • Discuss the background and context of the study, including previous research in the field.

3. Research Objectives

  • Outline the specific objectives or aims of your research. These objectives should be clear, achievable, and aligned with the research problem.

4. Literature Review:

  • Conduct a comprehensive review of relevant literature and studies related to your research topic.
  • Summarize key findings, identify gaps, and highlight how your research will contribute to the existing knowledge.

5. Methodology:

  • Describe the research design and methodology you plan to employ to address your research objectives.
  • Explain the data collection methods, instruments, and analysis techniques you will use.
  • Justify why the chosen methods are appropriate and suitable for your research.

6. Timeline:

  • Create a timeline or schedule that outlines the major milestones and activities of your research project.
  • Break down the research process into smaller tasks and estimate the time required for each task.

7. Resources:

  • Identify the resources needed for your research, such as access to specific databases, equipment, or funding.
  • Explain how you will acquire or utilize these resources to carry out your research effectively.

8. Ethical Considerations:

  • Discuss any ethical issues that may arise during your research and explain how you plan to address them.
  • If your research involves human subjects, explain how you will ensure their informed consent and privacy.

9. Expected Outcomes and Significance:

  • Clearly state the expected outcomes or results of your research.
  • Highlight the potential impact and significance of your research in advancing knowledge or addressing practical issues.

10. References:

  • Provide a list of all the references cited in your proposal, following a consistent citation style (e.g., APA, MLA).

11. Appendices:

  • Include any additional supporting materials, such as survey questionnaires, interview guides, or data analysis plans.

Research Proposal Format

The format of a research proposal may vary depending on the specific requirements of the institution or funding agency. However, the following is a commonly used format for a research proposal:

1. Title Page:

  • Include the title of your research proposal, your name, your affiliation or institution, and the date.

2. Abstract:

  • Provide a brief summary of your research proposal, highlighting the research problem, objectives, methodology, and expected outcomes.

3. Introduction:

  • Introduce the research topic and provide background information.
  • State the research problem or question you aim to address.
  • Explain the significance and relevance of the research.
  • Review relevant literature and studies related to your research topic.
  • Summarize key findings and identify gaps in the existing knowledge.
  • Explain how your research will contribute to filling those gaps.

5. Research Objectives:

  • Clearly state the specific objectives or aims of your research.
  • Ensure that the objectives are clear, focused, and aligned with the research problem.

6. Methodology:

  • Describe the research design and methodology you plan to use.
  • Explain the data collection methods, instruments, and analysis techniques.
  • Justify why the chosen methods are appropriate for your research.

7. Timeline:

8. Resources:

  • Explain how you will acquire or utilize these resources effectively.

9. Ethical Considerations:

  • If applicable, explain how you will ensure informed consent and protect the privacy of research participants.

10. Expected Outcomes and Significance:

11. References:

12. Appendices:

Research Proposal Template

Here’s a template for a research proposal:

1. Introduction:

2. Literature Review:

3. Research Objectives:

4. Methodology:

5. Timeline:

6. Resources:

7. Ethical Considerations:

8. Expected Outcomes and Significance:

9. References:

10. Appendices:

Research Proposal Sample

Title: The Impact of Online Education on Student Learning Outcomes: A Comparative Study

1. Introduction

Online education has gained significant prominence in recent years, especially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This research proposal aims to investigate the impact of online education on student learning outcomes by comparing them with traditional face-to-face instruction. The study will explore various aspects of online education, such as instructional methods, student engagement, and academic performance, to provide insights into the effectiveness of online learning.

2. Objectives

The main objectives of this research are as follows:

  • To compare student learning outcomes between online and traditional face-to-face education.
  • To examine the factors influencing student engagement in online learning environments.
  • To assess the effectiveness of different instructional methods employed in online education.
  • To identify challenges and opportunities associated with online education and suggest recommendations for improvement.

3. Methodology

3.1 Study Design

This research will utilize a mixed-methods approach to gather both quantitative and qualitative data. The study will include the following components:

3.2 Participants

The research will involve undergraduate students from two universities, one offering online education and the other providing face-to-face instruction. A total of 500 students (250 from each university) will be selected randomly to participate in the study.

3.3 Data Collection

The research will employ the following data collection methods:

  • Quantitative: Pre- and post-assessments will be conducted to measure students’ learning outcomes. Data on student demographics and academic performance will also be collected from university records.
  • Qualitative: Focus group discussions and individual interviews will be conducted with students to gather their perceptions and experiences regarding online education.

3.4 Data Analysis

Quantitative data will be analyzed using statistical software, employing descriptive statistics, t-tests, and regression analysis. Qualitative data will be transcribed, coded, and analyzed thematically to identify recurring patterns and themes.

4. Ethical Considerations

The study will adhere to ethical guidelines, ensuring the privacy and confidentiality of participants. Informed consent will be obtained, and participants will have the right to withdraw from the study at any time.

5. Significance and Expected Outcomes

This research will contribute to the existing literature by providing empirical evidence on the impact of online education on student learning outcomes. The findings will help educational institutions and policymakers make informed decisions about incorporating online learning methods and improving the quality of online education. Moreover, the study will identify potential challenges and opportunities related to online education and offer recommendations for enhancing student engagement and overall learning outcomes.

6. Timeline

The proposed research will be conducted over a period of 12 months, including data collection, analysis, and report writing.

The estimated budget for this research includes expenses related to data collection, software licenses, participant compensation, and research assistance. A detailed budget breakdown will be provided in the final research plan.

8. Conclusion

This research proposal aims to investigate the impact of online education on student learning outcomes through a comparative study with traditional face-to-face instruction. By exploring various dimensions of online education, this research will provide valuable insights into the effectiveness and challenges associated with online learning. The findings will contribute to the ongoing discourse on educational practices and help shape future strategies for maximizing student learning outcomes in online education settings.

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How to Write a Research Proposal

Lindsay Kramer

Once you’re in college and really getting into  academic writing , you may not recognize all the kinds of assignments you’re asked to complete. You know what an essay is, and you know how to respond to readings—but when you hear your professor mention a research proposal or a literature review, your mind might do a double take. 

Don’t worry; we’ve got you. Boiled down to its core, a research proposal is simply a short piece of  writing that details exactly what you’ll be covering in a larger research project. You’ll likely be required to write one for your  thesis , and if you choose to continue in academia after earning your bachelor’s degree, you’ll be writing research proposals for your master’s thesis, your dissertation , and all other research you conduct. By then, you’ll be a research proposal pro. But for now, we’ll answer all your questions and help you confidently write your first one. 

Here’s a tip: Want to make sure your writing shines? Grammarly can check your spelling and save you from grammar and punctuation mistakes. It even proofreads your text, so your work is extra polished wherever you write.

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What is the goal of a research proposal?

In a research proposal, the goal is to present the author’s plan for the research they intend to conduct. In some cases, part of this goal is to secure funding for said research. In others, it’s to have the research approved by the author’s supervisor or department so they can move forward with it. In some cases, a research proposal is a required part of a graduate school application. In every one of these circumstances, research proposals follow the same structure.

In a research proposal, the author demonstrates how and why their research is relevant to their field. They demonstrate that the work is necessary to the following:

  • Filling a gap in the existing body of research on their subject
  • Underscoring existing research on their subject, and/or
  • Adding new, original knowledge to the academic community’s existing understanding of their subject

A research proposal also demonstrates that the author is capable of conducting this research and contributing to the current state of their field in a meaningful way. To do this, your research proposal needs to discuss your academic background and credentials as well as demonstrate that your proposed ideas have academic merit. 

But demonstrating your research’s validity and your personal capability to carry it out isn’t enough to get your research proposal approved. Your research proposal also has to cover these things:

  • The research methodology you plan to use
  • The tools and procedures you will use to collect, analyze, and interpret the data you collect
  • An explanation of how your research fits the budget and other constraints that come with conducting it through your institution, department, or academic program

If you’ve already read our post on literature reviews , you may be thinking that a research proposal sounds pretty similar. They’re more than just similar, though—a literature review is part of a research proposal. It’s the section that covers which sources you’re using, how you’re using them, and why they’re relevant. Think of a literature review as a mini-research proposal that fits into your larger, main proposal. 

How long should a research proposal be?

Generally, research proposals for bachelor’s and master’s theses are a few pages long. Research proposals for meatier projects, like Ph.D. dissertations and funding requests, are often longer and far more detailed. A research proposal’s goal is to clearly outline exactly what your research will entail and accomplish, so including the proposal’s word count or page count isn’t nearly as important as it is to ensure that all the necessary elements and content are present. 

Research proposal structure

A research proposal follows a fairly straightforward structure. In order to achieve the goals described in the previous section, nearly all research proposals include the following sections:

Introduction

Your introduction achieves a few goals:

  • Introduces your topic
  • States your problem statement and the questions your research aims to answer
  • Provides context for your research

In a research proposal, an introduction can be a few paragraphs long. It should be concise, but don’t feel like you need to cram all of your information into one paragraph. 

In some cases, you need to include an abstract and/or a table of contents in your research proposal. These are included just before the introduction. 

Background significance

This is where you explain why your research is necessary and how it relates to established research in your field. Your work might complement existing research, strengthen it, or even challenge it—no matter how your work will “play with” other researchers’ work, you need to express it in detail in your research proposal.  

This is also the section where you clearly define the existing problems your research will address. By doing this, you’re explaining why your work is necessary—in other words, this is where you answer the reader’s “so what?” 

In your background significance section, you’ll also outline how you’ll conduct your research. If necessary, note which related questions and issues you won’t be covering in your research. 

Literature review

In your  literature review , you introduce all the sources you plan to use in your research. This includes landmark studies and their data, books, and scholarly articles. A literature review isn’t merely a list of sources (that’s what your bibliography is for); a literature review delves into the collection of sources you chose and explains how you’re using them in your research. 

Research design, methods, and schedule

Following your research review, you’ll discuss your research plans. In this section, make sure you cover these aspects:

  • The type of research you will do. Are you conducting qualitative or quantitative research? Are you collecting original data or working with data collected by other researchers?
  • Whether you’re doing experimental, correlational, or descriptive research
  • The data you’re working with. For example, if you’re conducting research in the social sciences, you’ll need to describe the population you’re studying. You’ll also need to cover how you’ll select your subjects and how you’ll collect data from them. 
  • The tools you’ll use to collect data. Will you be running experiments? Conducting surveys? Observing phenomena? Note all data collection methods here along with why they’re effective methods for your specific research.

Beyond a comprehensive look at your research itself, you’ll also need to include:

  • Your research timeline
  • Your research budget
  • Any potential obstacles you foresee and your plan for handling them

Suppositions and implications

Although you can’t know your research’s results until you’ve actually done the work, you should be going into the project with a clear idea of how your work will contribute to your field. This section is perhaps the most critical to your research proposal’s argument because it expresses exactly why your research is necessary. 

In this section, make sure you cover the following:

  • Any ways your work can challenge existing theories and assumptions in your field
  • How your work will create the foundation for future research
  • The practical value your findings will provide to practitioners, educators, and other academics in your field
  • The problems your work can potentially help to fix
  • Policies that could be impacted by your findings
  • How your findings can be implemented in academia or other settings and how this will improve or otherwise transform these settings

In other words, this section isn’t about stating the specific results you expect. Rather, it’s where you state how your findings will be valuable. 

This is where you wrap it all up. Your conclusion section, just like your conclusion paragraph for an essay , briefly summarizes your research proposal and reinforces your research’s stated purpose. 

Bibliography

Yes, you need to write a bibliography in addition to your literature review. Unlike your literature review, where you explained the relevance of the sources you chose and in some cases, challenged them, your bibliography simply lists your sources and their authors.

The way you write a citation depends on the style guide you’re using. The three most common style guides for academics are MLA , APA , and Chicago , and each has its own particular rules and requirements. Keep in mind that each formatting style has specific guidelines for citing just about any kind of source, including photos , websites , speeches , and YouTube videos .

Sometimes, a full bibliography is not needed. When this is the case, you can include a references list, which is simply a scaled-down list of all the sources you cited in your work. If you’re not sure which to write, ask your supervisor. 

Here’s a tip: Grammarly’s  Citation Generator  ensures your essays have flawless citations and no plagiarism. Try it for citing journal articles in MLA , APA , and Chicago  styles.

How to write a research proposal

Research proposals, like all other kinds of academic writing, are written in a formal, objective tone. Keep in mind that being concise is a key component of academic writing; formal does not mean flowery. 

Adhere to the structure outlined above. Your reader knows how a research proposal is supposed to read and expects it to fit this template. It’s crucial that you present your research proposal in a clear, logical way. Every question the reader has while reading your proposal should be answered by the final section. 

Editing and proofreading a research proposal

When you’re writing a research proposal, follow the same six-step writing process you follow with every other kind of writing you do. 

After you’ve got a first draft written, take some time to let it “cool off” before you start proofreading . By doing this, you’re making it easier for yourself to catch mistakes and gaps in your writing. 

Common mistakes to avoid when writing a research proposal

When you’re writing a research proposal, avoid these common pitfalls: 

Being too wordy

As we said earlier, formal does not mean flowery. In fact, you should aim to keep your writing as brief and to-the-point as possible. The more economically you can express your purpose and goal, the better.   

Failing to cite relevant sources

When you’re conducting research, you’re adding to the existing body of knowledge on the subject you’re covering. Your research proposal should reference one or more of the landmark research pieces in your field and connect your work to these works in some way. This doesn’t just communicate your work’s relevance—it also demonstrates your familiarity with the field. 

Focusing too much on minor issues

There are probably a lot of great reasons why your research is necessary. These reasons don’t all need to be in your research proposal. In fact, including too many questions and issues in your research proposal can detract from your central purpose, weakening the proposal. Save the minor issues for your research paper itself and cover only the major, key issues you aim to tackle in your proposal. 

Failing to make a strong argument for your research

This is perhaps the easiest way to undermine your proposal because it’s far more subjective than the others. A research proposal is, in essence, a piece of persuasive writing . That means that although you’re presenting your proposal in an objective, academic way, the goal is to get the reader to say “yes” to your work. 

This is true in every case, whether your reader is your supervisor, your department head, a graduate school admissions board, a private or government-backed funding provider, or the editor at a journal in which you’d like to publish your work. 

Polish your writing into a stellar proposal

When you’re asking for approval to conduct research—especially when there’s funding involved—you need to be nothing less than 100 percent confident in your proposal. If your research proposal has spelling or grammatical mistakes, an inconsistent or inappropriate tone, or even just awkward phrasing, those will undermine your credibility. 

Make sure your research proposal shines by using Grammarly to catch all of those issues. Even if you think you caught all of them while you were editing, it’s critical to double-check your work. Your research deserves the best proposal possible, and Grammarly can help you make that happen. 

overview of a research proposal

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The goal of a research proposal is twofold: to present and justify the need to study a research problem and to present the practical ways in which the proposed study should be conducted. The design elements and procedures for conducting research are governed by standards of the predominant discipline in which the problem resides, therefore, the guidelines for research proposals are more exacting and less formal than a general project proposal. Research proposals contain extensive literature reviews. They must provide persuasive evidence that a need exists for the proposed study. In addition to providing a rationale, a proposal describes detailed methodology for conducting the research consistent with requirements of the professional or academic field and a statement on anticipated outcomes and benefits derived from the study's completion.

Krathwohl, David R. How to Prepare a Dissertation Proposal: Suggestions for Students in Education and the Social and Behavioral Sciences . Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2005.

How to Approach Writing a Research Proposal

Your professor may assign the task of writing a research proposal for the following reasons:

  • Develop your skills in thinking about and designing a comprehensive research study;
  • Learn how to conduct a comprehensive review of the literature to determine that the research problem has not been adequately addressed or has been answered ineffectively and, in so doing, become better at locating pertinent scholarship related to your topic;
  • Improve your general research and writing skills;
  • Practice identifying the logical steps that must be taken to accomplish one's research goals;
  • Critically review, examine, and consider the use of different methods for gathering and analyzing data related to the research problem; and,
  • Nurture a sense of inquisitiveness within yourself and to help see yourself as an active participant in the process of conducting scholarly research.

A proposal should contain all the key elements involved in designing a completed research study, with sufficient information that allows readers to assess the validity and usefulness of your proposed study. The only elements missing from a research proposal are the findings of the study and your analysis of those findings. Finally, an effective proposal is judged on the quality of your writing and, therefore, it is important that your proposal is coherent, clear, and compelling.

Regardless of the research problem you are investigating and the methodology you choose, all research proposals must address the following questions:

  • What do you plan to accomplish? Be clear and succinct in defining the research problem and what it is you are proposing to investigate.
  • Why do you want to do the research? In addition to detailing your research design, you also must conduct a thorough review of the literature and provide convincing evidence that it is a topic worthy of in-depth study. A successful research proposal must answer the "So What?" question.
  • How are you going to conduct the research? Be sure that what you propose is doable. If you're having difficulty formulating a research problem to propose investigating, go here for strategies in developing a problem to study.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Failure to be concise . A research proposal must be focused and not be "all over the map" or diverge into unrelated tangents without a clear sense of purpose.
  • Failure to cite landmark works in your literature review . Proposals should be grounded in foundational research that lays a foundation for understanding the development and scope of the the topic and its relevance.
  • Failure to delimit the contextual scope of your research [e.g., time, place, people, etc.]. As with any research paper, your proposed study must inform the reader how and in what ways the study will frame the problem.
  • Failure to develop a coherent and persuasive argument for the proposed research . This is critical. In many workplace settings, the research proposal is a formal document intended to argue for why a study should be funded.
  • Sloppy or imprecise writing, or poor grammar . Although a research proposal does not represent a completed research study, there is still an expectation that it is well-written and follows the style and rules of good academic writing.
  • Too much detail on minor issues, but not enough detail on major issues . Your proposal should focus on only a few key research questions in order to support the argument that the research needs to be conducted. Minor issues, even if valid, can be mentioned but they should not dominate the overall narrative.

Procter, Margaret. The Academic Proposal.  The Lab Report. University College Writing Centre. University of Toronto; Sanford, Keith. Information for Students: Writing a Research Proposal. Baylor University; Wong, Paul T. P. How to Write a Research Proposal. International Network on Personal Meaning. Trinity Western University; Writing Academic Proposals: Conferences, Articles, and Books. The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Writing a Research Proposal. University Library. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Structure and Writing Style

Beginning the Proposal Process

As with writing most college-level academic papers, research proposals are generally organized the same way throughout most social science disciplines. The text of proposals generally vary in length between ten and thirty-five pages, followed by the list of references. However, before you begin, read the assignment carefully and, if anything seems unclear, ask your professor whether there are any specific requirements for organizing and writing the proposal.

A good place to begin is to ask yourself a series of questions:

  • What do I want to study?
  • Why is the topic important?
  • How is it significant within the subject areas covered in my class?
  • What problems will it help solve?
  • How does it build upon [and hopefully go beyond] research already conducted on the topic?
  • What exactly should I plan to do, and can I get it done in the time available?

In general, a compelling research proposal should document your knowledge of the topic and demonstrate your enthusiasm for conducting the study. Approach it with the intention of leaving your readers feeling like, "Wow, that's an exciting idea and I can’t wait to see how it turns out!"

Most proposals should include the following sections:

I.  Introduction

In the real world of higher education, a research proposal is most often written by scholars seeking grant funding for a research project or it's the first step in getting approval to write a doctoral dissertation. Even if this is just a course assignment, treat your introduction as the initial pitch of an idea based on a thorough examination of the significance of a research problem. After reading the introduction, your readers should not only have an understanding of what you want to do, but they should also be able to gain a sense of your passion for the topic and to be excited about the study's possible outcomes. Note that most proposals do not include an abstract [summary] before the introduction.

Think about your introduction as a narrative written in two to four paragraphs that succinctly answers the following four questions :

  • What is the central research problem?
  • What is the topic of study related to that research problem?
  • What methods should be used to analyze the research problem?
  • Answer the "So What?" question by explaining why this is important research, what is its significance, and why should someone reading the proposal care about the outcomes of the proposed study?

II.  Background and Significance

This is where you explain the scope and context of your proposal and describe in detail why it's important. It can be melded into your introduction or you can create a separate section to help with the organization and narrative flow of your proposal. Approach writing this section with the thought that you can’t assume your readers will know as much about the research problem as you do. Note that this section is not an essay going over everything you have learned about the topic; instead, you must choose what is most relevant in explaining the aims of your research.

To that end, while there are no prescribed rules for establishing the significance of your proposed study, you should attempt to address some or all of the following:

  • State the research problem and give a more detailed explanation about the purpose of the study than what you stated in the introduction. This is particularly important if the problem is complex or multifaceted .
  • Present the rationale of your proposed study and clearly indicate why it is worth doing; be sure to answer the "So What? question [i.e., why should anyone care?].
  • Describe the major issues or problems examined by your research. This can be in the form of questions to be addressed. Be sure to note how your proposed study builds on previous assumptions about the research problem.
  • Explain the methods you plan to use for conducting your research. Clearly identify the key sources you intend to use and explain how they will contribute to your analysis of the topic.
  • Describe the boundaries of your proposed research in order to provide a clear focus. Where appropriate, state not only what you plan to study, but what aspects of the research problem will be excluded from the study.
  • If necessary, provide definitions of key concepts, theories, or terms.

III.  Literature Review

Connected to the background and significance of your study is a section of your proposal devoted to a more deliberate review and synthesis of prior studies related to the research problem under investigation . The purpose here is to place your project within the larger whole of what is currently being explored, while at the same time, demonstrating to your readers that your work is original and innovative. Think about what questions other researchers have asked, what methodological approaches they have used, and what is your understanding of their findings and, when stated, their recommendations. Also pay attention to any suggestions for further research.

Since a literature review is information dense, it is crucial that this section is intelligently structured to enable a reader to grasp the key arguments underpinning your proposed study in relation to the arguments put forth by other researchers. A good strategy is to break the literature into "conceptual categories" [themes] rather than systematically or chronologically describing groups of materials one at a time. Note that conceptual categories generally reveal themselves after you have read most of the pertinent literature on your topic so adding new categories is an on-going process of discovery as you review more studies. How do you know you've covered the key conceptual categories underlying the research literature? Generally, you can have confidence that all of the significant conceptual categories have been identified if you start to see repetition in the conclusions or recommendations that are being made.

NOTE: Do not shy away from challenging the conclusions made in prior research as a basis for supporting the need for your proposal. Assess what you believe is missing and state how previous research has failed to adequately examine the issue that your study addresses. Highlighting the problematic conclusions strengthens your proposal. For more information on writing literature reviews, GO HERE .

To help frame your proposal's review of prior research, consider the "five C’s" of writing a literature review:

  • Cite , so as to keep the primary focus on the literature pertinent to your research problem.
  • Compare the various arguments, theories, methodologies, and findings expressed in the literature: what do the authors agree on? Who applies similar approaches to analyzing the research problem?
  • Contrast the various arguments, themes, methodologies, approaches, and controversies expressed in the literature: describe what are the major areas of disagreement, controversy, or debate among scholars?
  • Critique the literature: Which arguments are more persuasive, and why? Which approaches, findings, and methodologies seem most reliable, valid, or appropriate, and why? Pay attention to the verbs you use to describe what an author says/does [e.g., asserts, demonstrates, argues, etc.].
  • Connect the literature to your own area of research and investigation: how does your own work draw upon, depart from, synthesize, or add a new perspective to what has been said in the literature?

IV.  Research Design and Methods

This section must be well-written and logically organized because you are not actually doing the research, yet, your reader must have confidence that you have a plan worth pursuing . The reader will never have a study outcome from which to evaluate whether your methodological choices were the correct ones. Thus, the objective here is to convince the reader that your overall research design and proposed methods of analysis will correctly address the problem and that the methods will provide the means to effectively interpret the potential results. Your design and methods should be unmistakably tied to the specific aims of your study.

Describe the overall research design by building upon and drawing examples from your review of the literature. Consider not only methods that other researchers have used, but methods of data gathering that have not been used but perhaps could be. Be specific about the methodological approaches you plan to undertake to obtain information, the techniques you would use to analyze the data, and the tests of external validity to which you commit yourself [i.e., the trustworthiness by which you can generalize from your study to other people, places, events, and/or periods of time].

When describing the methods you will use, be sure to cover the following:

  • Specify the research process you will undertake and the way you will interpret the results obtained in relation to the research problem. Don't just describe what you intend to achieve from applying the methods you choose, but state how you will spend your time while applying these methods [e.g., coding text from interviews to find statements about the need to change school curriculum; running a regression to determine if there is a relationship between campaign advertising on social media sites and election outcomes in Europe ].
  • Keep in mind that the methodology is not just a list of tasks; it is a deliberate argument as to why techniques for gathering information add up to the best way to investigate the research problem. This is an important point because the mere listing of tasks to be performed does not demonstrate that, collectively, they effectively address the research problem. Be sure you clearly explain this.
  • Anticipate and acknowledge any potential barriers and pitfalls in carrying out your research design and explain how you plan to address them. No method applied to research in the social and behavioral sciences is perfect, so you need to describe where you believe challenges may exist in obtaining data or accessing information. It's always better to acknowledge this than to have it brought up by your professor!

V.  Preliminary Suppositions and Implications

Just because you don't have to actually conduct the study and analyze the results, doesn't mean you can skip talking about the analytical process and potential implications . The purpose of this section is to argue how and in what ways you believe your research will refine, revise, or extend existing knowledge in the subject area under investigation. Depending on the aims and objectives of your study, describe how the anticipated results will impact future scholarly research, theory, practice, forms of interventions, or policy making. Note that such discussions may have either substantive [a potential new policy], theoretical [a potential new understanding], or methodological [a potential new way of analyzing] significance.   When thinking about the potential implications of your study, ask the following questions:

  • What might the results mean in regards to challenging the theoretical framework and underlying assumptions that support the study?
  • What suggestions for subsequent research could arise from the potential outcomes of the study?
  • What will the results mean to practitioners in the natural settings of their workplace, organization, or community?
  • Will the results influence programs, methods, and/or forms of intervention?
  • How might the results contribute to the solution of social, economic, or other types of problems?
  • Will the results influence policy decisions?
  • In what way do individuals or groups benefit should your study be pursued?
  • What will be improved or changed as a result of the proposed research?
  • How will the results of the study be implemented and what innovations or transformative insights could emerge from the process of implementation?

NOTE:   This section should not delve into idle speculation, opinion, or be formulated on the basis of unclear evidence . The purpose is to reflect upon gaps or understudied areas of the current literature and describe how your proposed research contributes to a new understanding of the research problem should the study be implemented as designed.

ANOTHER NOTE : This section is also where you describe any potential limitations to your proposed study. While it is impossible to highlight all potential limitations because the study has yet to be conducted, you still must tell the reader where and in what form impediments may arise and how you plan to address them.

VI.  Conclusion

The conclusion reiterates the importance or significance of your proposal and provides a brief summary of the entire study . This section should be only one or two paragraphs long, emphasizing why the research problem is worth investigating, why your research study is unique, and how it should advance existing knowledge.

Someone reading this section should come away with an understanding of:

  • Why the study should be done;
  • The specific purpose of the study and the research questions it attempts to answer;
  • The decision for why the research design and methods used where chosen over other options;
  • The potential implications emerging from your proposed study of the research problem; and
  • A sense of how your study fits within the broader scholarship about the research problem.

VII.  Citations

As with any scholarly research paper, you must cite the sources you used . In a standard research proposal, this section can take two forms, so consult with your professor about which one is preferred.

  • References -- a list of only the sources you actually used in creating your proposal.
  • Bibliography -- a list of everything you used in creating your proposal, along with additional citations to any key sources relevant to understanding the research problem.

In either case, this section should testify to the fact that you did enough preparatory work to ensure the project will complement and not just duplicate the efforts of other researchers. It demonstrates to the reader that you have a thorough understanding of prior research on the topic.

Most proposal formats have you start a new page and use the heading "References" or "Bibliography" centered at the top of the page. Cited works should always use a standard format that follows the writing style advised by the discipline of your course [e.g., education=APA; history=Chicago] or that is preferred by your professor. This section normally does not count towards the total page length of your research proposal.

Develop a Research Proposal: Writing the Proposal. Office of Library Information Services. Baltimore County Public Schools; Heath, M. Teresa Pereira and Caroline Tynan. “Crafting a Research Proposal.” The Marketing Review 10 (Summer 2010): 147-168; Jones, Mark. “Writing a Research Proposal.” In MasterClass in Geography Education: Transforming Teaching and Learning . Graham Butt, editor. (New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2015), pp. 113-127; Juni, Muhamad Hanafiah. “Writing a Research Proposal.” International Journal of Public Health and Clinical Sciences 1 (September/October 2014): 229-240; Krathwohl, David R. How to Prepare a Dissertation Proposal: Suggestions for Students in Education and the Social and Behavioral Sciences . Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2005; Procter, Margaret. The Academic Proposal. The Lab Report. University College Writing Centre. University of Toronto; Punch, Keith and Wayne McGowan. "Developing and Writing a Research Proposal." In From Postgraduate to Social Scientist: A Guide to Key Skills . Nigel Gilbert, ed. (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2006), 59-81; Wong, Paul T. P. How to Write a Research Proposal. International Network on Personal Meaning. Trinity Western University; Writing Academic Proposals: Conferences , Articles, and Books. The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Writing a Research Proposal. University Library. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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  • Research Process

Writing a Scientific Research Project Proposal

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The importance of a well-written research proposal cannot be underestimated. Your research really is only as good as your proposal. A poorly written, or poorly conceived research proposal will doom even an otherwise worthy project. On the other hand, a well-written, high-quality proposal will increase your chances for success.

In this article, we’ll outline the basics of writing an effective scientific research proposal, including the differences between research proposals, grants and cover letters. We’ll also touch on common mistakes made when submitting research proposals, as well as a simple example or template that you can follow.

What is a scientific research proposal?

The main purpose of a scientific research proposal is to convince your audience that your project is worthwhile, and that you have the expertise and wherewithal to complete it. The elements of an effective research proposal mirror those of the research process itself, which we’ll outline below. Essentially, the research proposal should include enough information for the reader to determine if your proposed study is worth pursuing.

It is not an uncommon misunderstanding to think that a research proposal and a cover letter are the same things. However, they are different. The main difference between a research proposal vs cover letter content is distinct. Whereas the research proposal summarizes the proposal for future research, the cover letter connects you to the research, and how you are the right person to complete the proposed research.

There is also sometimes confusion around a research proposal vs grant application. Whereas a research proposal is a statement of intent, related to answering a research question, a grant application is a specific request for funding to complete the research proposed. Of course, there are elements of overlap between the two documents; it’s the purpose of the document that defines one or the other.

Scientific Research Proposal Format

Although there is no one way to write a scientific research proposal, there are specific guidelines. A lot depends on which journal you’re submitting your research proposal to, so you may need to follow their scientific research proposal template.

In general, however, there are fairly universal sections to every scientific research proposal. These include:

  • Title: Make sure the title of your proposal is descriptive and concise. Make it catch and informative at the same time, avoiding dry phrases like, “An investigation…” Your title should pique the interest of the reader.
  • Abstract: This is a brief (300-500 words) summary that includes the research question, your rationale for the study, and any applicable hypothesis. You should also include a brief description of your methodology, including procedures, samples, instruments, etc.
  • Introduction: The opening paragraph of your research proposal is, perhaps, the most important. Here you want to introduce the research problem in a creative way, and demonstrate your understanding of the need for the research. You want the reader to think that your proposed research is current, important and relevant.
  • Background: Include a brief history of the topic and link it to a contemporary context to show its relevance for today. Identify key researchers and institutions also looking at the problem
  • Literature Review: This is the section that may take the longest amount of time to assemble. Here you want to synthesize prior research, and place your proposed research into the larger picture of what’s been studied in the past. You want to show your reader that your work is original, and adds to the current knowledge.
  • Research Design and Methodology: This section should be very clearly and logically written and organized. You are letting your reader know that you know what you are going to do, and how. The reader should feel confident that you have the skills and knowledge needed to get the project done.
  • Preliminary Implications: Here you’ll be outlining how you anticipate your research will extend current knowledge in your field. You might also want to discuss how your findings will impact future research needs.
  • Conclusion: This section reinforces the significance and importance of your proposed research, and summarizes the entire proposal.
  • References/Citations: Of course, you need to include a full and accurate list of any and all sources you used to write your research proposal.

Common Mistakes in Writing a Scientific Research Project Proposal

Remember, the best research proposal can be rejected if it’s not well written or is ill-conceived. The most common mistakes made include:

  • Not providing the proper context for your research question or the problem
  • Failing to reference landmark/key studies
  • Losing focus of the research question or problem
  • Not accurately presenting contributions by other researchers and institutions
  • Incompletely developing a persuasive argument for the research that is being proposed
  • Misplaced attention on minor points and/or not enough detail on major issues
  • Sloppy, low-quality writing without effective logic and flow
  • Incorrect or lapses in references and citations, and/or references not in proper format
  • The proposal is too long – or too short

Scientific Research Proposal Example

There are countless examples that you can find for successful research proposals. In addition, you can also find examples of unsuccessful research proposals. Search for successful research proposals in your field, and even for your target journal, to get a good idea on what specifically your audience may be looking for.

While there’s no one example that will show you everything you need to know, looking at a few will give you a good idea of what you need to include in your own research proposal. Talk, also, to colleagues in your field, especially if you are a student or a new researcher. We can often learn from the mistakes of others. The more prepared and knowledgeable you are prior to writing your research proposal, the more likely you are to succeed.

Language Editing Services

One of the top reasons scientific research proposals are rejected is due to poor logic and flow. Check out our Language Editing Services to ensure a great proposal , that’s clear and concise, and properly referenced. Check our video for more information, and get started today.

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11.2 Steps in Developing a Research Proposal

Learning objectives.

  • Identify the steps in developing a research proposal.
  • Choose a topic and formulate a research question and working thesis.
  • Develop a research proposal.

Writing a good research paper takes time, thought, and effort. Although this assignment is challenging, it is manageable. Focusing on one step at a time will help you develop a thoughtful, informative, well-supported research paper.

Your first step is to choose a topic and then to develop research questions, a working thesis, and a written research proposal. Set aside adequate time for this part of the process. Fully exploring ideas will help you build a solid foundation for your paper.

Choosing a Topic

When you choose a topic for a research paper, you are making a major commitment. Your choice will help determine whether you enjoy the lengthy process of research and writing—and whether your final paper fulfills the assignment requirements. If you choose your topic hastily, you may later find it difficult to work with your topic. By taking your time and choosing carefully, you can ensure that this assignment is not only challenging but also rewarding.

Writers understand the importance of choosing a topic that fulfills the assignment requirements and fits the assignment’s purpose and audience. (For more information about purpose and audience, see Chapter 6 “Writing Paragraphs: Separating Ideas and Shaping Content” .) Choosing a topic that interests you is also crucial. You instructor may provide a list of suggested topics or ask that you develop a topic on your own. In either case, try to identify topics that genuinely interest you.

After identifying potential topic ideas, you will need to evaluate your ideas and choose one topic to pursue. Will you be able to find enough information about the topic? Can you develop a paper about this topic that presents and supports your original ideas? Is the topic too broad or too narrow for the scope of the assignment? If so, can you modify it so it is more manageable? You will ask these questions during this preliminary phase of the research process.

Identifying Potential Topics

Sometimes, your instructor may provide a list of suggested topics. If so, you may benefit from identifying several possibilities before committing to one idea. It is important to know how to narrow down your ideas into a concise, manageable thesis. You may also use the list as a starting point to help you identify additional, related topics. Discussing your ideas with your instructor will help ensure that you choose a manageable topic that fits the requirements of the assignment.

In this chapter, you will follow a writer named Jorge, who is studying health care administration, as he prepares a research paper. You will also plan, research, and draft your own research paper.

Jorge was assigned to write a research paper on health and the media for an introductory course in health care. Although a general topic was selected for the students, Jorge had to decide which specific issues interested him. He brainstormed a list of possibilities.

If you are writing a research paper for a specialized course, look back through your notes and course activities. Identify reading assignments and class discussions that especially engaged you. Doing so can help you identify topics to pursue.

  • Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) in the news
  • Sexual education programs
  • Hollywood and eating disorders
  • Americans’ access to public health information
  • Media portrayal of health care reform bill
  • Depictions of drugs on television
  • The effect of the Internet on mental health
  • Popularized diets (such as low-carbohydrate diets)
  • Fear of pandemics (bird flu, HINI, SARS)
  • Electronic entertainment and obesity
  • Advertisements for prescription drugs
  • Public education and disease prevention

Set a timer for five minutes. Use brainstorming or idea mapping to create a list of topics you would be interested in researching for a paper about the influence of the Internet on social networking. Do you closely follow the media coverage of a particular website, such as Twitter? Would you like to learn more about a certain industry, such as online dating? Which social networking sites do you and your friends use? List as many ideas related to this topic as you can.

Narrowing Your Topic

Once you have a list of potential topics, you will need to choose one as the focus of your essay. You will also need to narrow your topic. Most writers find that the topics they listed during brainstorming or idea mapping are broad—too broad for the scope of the assignment. Working with an overly broad topic, such as sexual education programs or popularized diets, can be frustrating and overwhelming. Each topic has so many facets that it would be impossible to cover them all in a college research paper. However, more specific choices, such as the pros and cons of sexual education in kids’ television programs or the physical effects of the South Beach diet, are specific enough to write about without being too narrow to sustain an entire research paper.

A good research paper provides focused, in-depth information and analysis. If your topic is too broad, you will find it difficult to do more than skim the surface when you research it and write about it. Narrowing your focus is essential to making your topic manageable. To narrow your focus, explore your topic in writing, conduct preliminary research, and discuss both the topic and the research with others.

Exploring Your Topic in Writing

“How am I supposed to narrow my topic when I haven’t even begun researching yet?” In fact, you may already know more than you realize. Review your list and identify your top two or three topics. Set aside some time to explore each one through freewriting. (For more information about freewriting, see Chapter 8 “The Writing Process: How Do I Begin?” .) Simply taking the time to focus on your topic may yield fresh angles.

Jorge knew that he was especially interested in the topic of diet fads, but he also knew that it was much too broad for his assignment. He used freewriting to explore his thoughts so he could narrow his topic. Read Jorge’s ideas.

Conducting Preliminary Research

Another way writers may focus a topic is to conduct preliminary research . Like freewriting, exploratory reading can help you identify interesting angles. Surfing the web and browsing through newspaper and magazine articles are good ways to start. Find out what people are saying about your topic on blogs and online discussion groups. Discussing your topic with others can also inspire you. Talk about your ideas with your classmates, your friends, or your instructor.

Jorge’s freewriting exercise helped him realize that the assigned topic of health and the media intersected with a few of his interests—diet, nutrition, and obesity. Preliminary online research and discussions with his classmates strengthened his impression that many people are confused or misled by media coverage of these subjects.

Jorge decided to focus his paper on a topic that had garnered a great deal of media attention—low-carbohydrate diets. He wanted to find out whether low-carbohydrate diets were as effective as their proponents claimed.

Writing at Work

At work, you may need to research a topic quickly to find general information. This information can be useful in understanding trends in a given industry or generating competition. For example, a company may research a competitor’s prices and use the information when pricing their own product. You may find it useful to skim a variety of reliable sources and take notes on your findings.

The reliability of online sources varies greatly. In this exploratory phase of your research, you do not need to evaluate sources as closely as you will later. However, use common sense as you refine your paper topic. If you read a fascinating blog comment that gives you a new idea for your paper, be sure to check out other, more reliable sources as well to make sure the idea is worth pursuing.

Review the list of topics you created in Note 11.18 “Exercise 1” and identify two or three topics you would like to explore further. For each of these topics, spend five to ten minutes writing about the topic without stopping. Then review your writing to identify possible areas of focus.

Set aside time to conduct preliminary research about your potential topics. Then choose a topic to pursue for your research paper.

Collaboration

Please share your topic list with a classmate. Select one or two topics on his or her list that you would like to learn more about and return it to him or her. Discuss why you found the topics interesting, and learn which of your topics your classmate selected and why.

A Plan for Research

Your freewriting and preliminary research have helped you choose a focused, manageable topic for your research paper. To work with your topic successfully, you will need to determine what exactly you want to learn about it—and later, what you want to say about it. Before you begin conducting in-depth research, you will further define your focus by developing a research question , a working thesis, and a research proposal.

Formulating a Research Question

In forming a research question, you are setting a goal for your research. Your main research question should be substantial enough to form the guiding principle of your paper—but focused enough to guide your research. A strong research question requires you not only to find information but also to put together different pieces of information, interpret and analyze them, and figure out what you think. As you consider potential research questions, ask yourself whether they would be too hard or too easy to answer.

To determine your research question, review the freewriting you completed earlier. Skim through books, articles, and websites and list the questions you have. (You may wish to use the 5WH strategy to help you formulate questions. See Chapter 8 “The Writing Process: How Do I Begin?” for more information about 5WH questions.) Include simple, factual questions and more complex questions that would require analysis and interpretation. Determine your main question—the primary focus of your paper—and several subquestions that you will need to research to answer your main question.

Here are the research questions Jorge will use to focus his research. Notice that his main research question has no obvious, straightforward answer. Jorge will need to research his subquestions, which address narrower topics, to answer his main question.

Using the topic you selected in Note 11.24 “Exercise 2” , write your main research question and at least four to five subquestions. Check that your main research question is appropriately complex for your assignment.

Constructing a Working ThesIs

A working thesis concisely states a writer’s initial answer to the main research question. It does not merely state a fact or present a subjective opinion. Instead, it expresses a debatable idea or claim that you hope to prove through additional research. Your working thesis is called a working thesis for a reason—it is subject to change. As you learn more about your topic, you may change your thinking in light of your research findings. Let your working thesis serve as a guide to your research, but do not be afraid to modify it based on what you learn.

Jorge began his research with a strong point of view based on his preliminary writing and research. Read his working thesis statement, which presents the point he will argue. Notice how it states Jorge’s tentative answer to his research question.

One way to determine your working thesis is to consider how you would complete sentences such as I believe or My opinion is . However, keep in mind that academic writing generally does not use first-person pronouns. These statements are useful starting points, but formal research papers use an objective voice.

Write a working thesis statement that presents your preliminary answer to the research question you wrote in Note 11.27 “Exercise 3” . Check that your working thesis statement presents an idea or claim that could be supported or refuted by evidence from research.

Creating a Research Proposal

A research proposal is a brief document—no more than one typed page—that summarizes the preliminary work you have completed. Your purpose in writing it is to formalize your plan for research and present it to your instructor for feedback. In your research proposal, you will present your main research question, related subquestions, and working thesis. You will also briefly discuss the value of researching this topic and indicate how you plan to gather information.

When Jorge began drafting his research proposal, he realized that he had already created most of the pieces he needed. However, he knew he also had to explain how his research would be relevant to other future health care professionals. In addition, he wanted to form a general plan for doing the research and identifying potentially useful sources. Read Jorge’s research proposal.

Read Jorge's research proposal

Before you begin a new project at work, you may have to develop a project summary document that states the purpose of the project, explains why it would be a wise use of company resources, and briefly outlines the steps involved in completing the project. This type of document is similar to a research proposal. Both documents define and limit a project, explain its value, discuss how to proceed, and identify what resources you will use.

Writing Your Own Research Proposal

Now you may write your own research proposal, if you have not done so already. Follow the guidelines provided in this lesson.

Key Takeaways

  • Developing a research proposal involves the following preliminary steps: identifying potential ideas, choosing ideas to explore further, choosing and narrowing a topic, formulating a research question, and developing a working thesis.
  • A good topic for a research paper interests the writer and fulfills the requirements of the assignment.
  • Defining and narrowing a topic helps writers conduct focused, in-depth research.
  • Writers conduct preliminary research to identify possible topics and research questions and to develop a working thesis.
  • A good research question interests readers, is neither too broad nor too narrow, and has no obvious answer.
  • A good working thesis expresses a debatable idea or claim that can be supported with evidence from research.
  • Writers create a research proposal to present their topic, main research question, subquestions, and working thesis to an instructor for approval or feedback.

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Research Proposal Example/Sample

Detailed Walkthrough + Free Proposal Template

If you’re getting started crafting your research proposal and are looking for a few examples of research proposals , you’ve come to the right place.

In this video, we walk you through two successful (approved) research proposals , one for a Master’s-level project, and one for a PhD-level dissertation. We also start off by unpacking our free research proposal template and discussing the four core sections of a research proposal, so that you have a clear understanding of the basics before diving into the actual proposals.

  • Research proposal example/sample – Master’s-level (PDF/Word)
  • Research proposal example/sample – PhD-level (PDF/Word)
  • Proposal template (Fully editable) 

If you’re working on a research proposal for a dissertation or thesis, you may also find the following useful:

  • Research Proposal Bootcamp : Learn how to write a research proposal as efficiently and effectively as possible
  • 1:1 Proposal Coaching : Get hands-on help with your research proposal

Free Webinar: How To Write A Research Proposal

FAQ: Research Proposal Example

Research proposal example: frequently asked questions, are the sample proposals real.

Yes. The proposals are real and were approved by the respective universities.

Can I copy one of these proposals for my own research?

As we discuss in the video, every research proposal will be slightly different, depending on the university’s unique requirements, as well as the nature of the research itself. Therefore, you’ll need to tailor your research proposal to suit your specific context.

You can learn more about the basics of writing a research proposal here .

How do I get the research proposal template?

You can access our free proposal template here .

Is the proposal template really free?

Yes. There is no cost for the proposal template and you are free to use it as a foundation for your research proposal.

Where can I learn more about proposal writing?

For self-directed learners, our Research Proposal Bootcamp is a great starting point.

For students that want hands-on guidance, our private coaching service is recommended.

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Psst… there’s more!

This post is an extract from our bestselling Udemy Course, Research Proposal Bootcamp . If you want to work smart, you don't want to miss this .

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Chapter 14: The Research Proposal

14.3 Components of a Research Proposal

Krathwohl (2005) suggests and describes a variety of components to include in a research proposal. The following sections – Introductions, Background and significance, Literature Review; Research design and methods, Preliminary suppositions and implications; and Conclusion present these components in a suggested template for you to follow in the preparation of your research proposal.

Introduction

The introduction sets the tone for what follows in your research proposal – treat it as the initial pitch of your idea. After reading the introduction your reader should:

  • understand what it is you want to do;
  • have a sense of your passion for the topic; and
  • be excited about the study’s possible outcomes.

As you begin writing your research proposal, it is helpful to think of the introduction as a narrative of what it is you want to do, written in one to three paragraphs. Within those one to three paragraphs, it is important to briefly answer the following questions:

  • What is the central research problem?
  • How is the topic of your research proposal related to the problem?
  • What methods will you utilize to analyze the research problem?
  • Why is it important to undertake this research? What is the significance of your proposed research? Why are the outcomes of your proposed research important? Whom are they important?

Note : You may be asked by your instructor to include an abstract with your research proposal. In such cases, an abstract should provide an overview of what it is you plan to study, your main research question, a brief explanation of your methods to answer the research question, and your expected findings. All of this information must be carefully crafted in 150 to 250 words. A word of advice is to save the writing of your abstract until the very end of your research proposal preparation. If you are asked to provide an abstract, you should include 5 to 7 key words that are of most relevance to your study. List these in order of relevance.

Background and significance

The purpose of this section is to explain the context of your proposal and to describe, in detail, why it is important to undertake this research. Assume that the person or people who will read your research proposal know nothing or very little about the research problem. While you do not need to include all knowledge you have learned about your topic in this section, it is important to ensure that you include the most relevant material that will help to explain the goals of your research.

While there are no hard and fast rules, you should attempt to address some or all of the following key points:

  • State the research problem and provide a more thorough explanation about the purpose of the study than what you stated in the introduction.
  • Present the rationale for the proposed research study. Clearly indicate why this research is worth doing. Answer the “so what?” question.
  • Describe the major issues or problems to be addressed by your research. Do not forget to explain how and in what ways your proposed research builds upon previous related research.
  • Explain how you plan to go about conducting your research.
  • Clearly identify the key or most relevant sources of research you intend to use and explain how they will contribute to your analysis of the topic.
  • Set the boundaries of your proposed research, in order to provide a clear focus. Where appropriate, state not only what you will study, but what will be excluded from your study.
  • Provide clear definitions of key concepts and terms. Since key concepts and terms often have numerous definitions, make sure you state which definition you will be utilizing in your research.

Literature review

This key component of the research proposal is the most time-consuming aspect in the preparation of your research proposal. As described in Chapter 5 , the literature review provides the background to your study and demonstrates the significance of the proposed research. Specifically, it is a review and synthesis of prior research that is related to the problem you are setting forth to investigate. Essentially, your goal in the literature review is to place your research study within the larger whole of what has been studied in the past, while demonstrating to your reader that your work is original, innovative, and adds to the larger whole.

As the literature review is information dense, it is essential that this section be intelligently structured to enable your reader to grasp the key arguments underpinning your study. However, this can be easier to state and harder to do, simply due to the fact there is usually a plethora of related research to sift through. Consequently, a good strategy for writing the literature review is to break the literature into conceptual categories or themes, rather than attempting to describe various groups of literature you reviewed. Chapter 5   describes a variety of methods to help you organize the themes.

Here are some suggestions on how to approach the writing of your literature review:

  • Think about what questions other researchers have asked, what methods they used, what they found, and what they recommended based upon their findings.
  • Do not be afraid to challenge previous related research findings and/or conclusions.
  • Assess what you believe to be missing from previous research and explain how your research fills in this gap and/or extends previous research.

It is important to note that a significant challenge related to undertaking a literature review is knowing when to stop. As such, it is important to know when you have uncovered the key conceptual categories underlying your research topic. Generally, when you start to see repetition in the conclusions or recommendations, you can have confidence that you have covered all of the significant conceptual categories in your literature review. However, it is also important to acknowledge that researchers often find themselves returning to the literature as they collect and analyze their data. For example, an unexpected finding may develop as you collect and/or analyze the data; in this case, it is important to take the time to step back and review the literature again, to ensure that no other researchers have found a similar finding. This may include looking to research outside your field.

This situation occurred with one of this textbook’s authors’ research related to community resilience. During the interviews, the researchers heard many participants discuss individual resilience factors and how they believed these individual factors helped make the community more resilient, overall. Sheppard and Williams (2016) had not discovered these individual factors in their original literature review on community and environmental resilience. However, when they returned to the literature to search for individual resilience factors, they discovered a small body of literature in the child and youth psychology field. Consequently, Sheppard and Williams had to go back and add a new section to their literature review on individual resilience factors. Interestingly, their research appeared to be the first research to link individual resilience factors with community resilience factors.

Research design and methods

The objective of this section of the research proposal is to convince the reader that your overall research design and methods of analysis will enable you to solve the research problem you have identified and also enable you to accurately and effectively interpret the results of your research. Consequently, it is critical that the research design and methods section is well-written, clear, and logically organized. This demonstrates to your reader that you know what you are going to do and how you are going to do it. Overall, you want to leave your reader feeling confident that you have what it takes to get this research study completed in a timely fashion.

Essentially, this section of the research proposal should be clearly tied to the specific objectives of your study; however, it is also important to draw upon and include examples from the literature review that relate to your design and intended methods. In other words, you must clearly demonstrate how your study utilizes and builds upon past studies, as it relates to the research design and intended methods. For example, what methods have been used by other researchers in similar studies?

While it is important to consider the methods that other researchers have employed, it is equally, if not more, important to consider what methods have not been but could be employed. Remember, the methods section is not simply a list of tasks to be undertaken. It is also an argument as to why and how the tasks you have outlined will help you investigate the research problem and answer your research question(s).

Tips for writing the research design and methods section:

Specify the methodological approaches you intend to employ to obtain information and the techniques you will use to analyze the data.

Specify the research operations you will undertake and the way you will interpret the results of those operations in relation to the research problem.

Go beyond stating what you hope to achieve through the methods you have chosen. State how you will actually implement the methods (i.e., coding interview text, running regression analysis, etc.).

Anticipate and acknowledge any potential barriers you may encounter when undertaking your research, and describe how you will address these barriers.

Explain where you believe you will find challenges related to data collection, including access to participants and information.

Preliminary suppositions and implications

The purpose of this section is to argue how you anticipate that your research will refine, revise, or extend existing knowledge in the area of your study. Depending upon the aims and objectives of your study, you should also discuss how your anticipated findings may impact future research. For example, is it possible that your research may lead to a new policy, theoretical understanding, or method for analyzing data? How might your study influence future studies? What might your study mean for future practitioners working in the field? Who or what might benefit from your study? How might your study contribute to social, economic or environmental issues? While it is important to think about and discuss possibilities such as these, it is equally important to be realistic in stating your anticipated findings. In other words, you do not want to delve into idle speculation. Rather, the purpose here is to reflect upon gaps in the current body of literature and to describe how you anticipate your research will begin to fill in some or all of those gaps.

The conclusion reiterates the importance and significance of your research proposal, and provides a brief summary of the entire proposed study. Essentially, this section should only be one or two paragraphs in length. Here is a potential outline for your conclusion:

Discuss why the study should be done. Specifically discuss how you expect your study will advance existing knowledge and how your study is unique.

Explain the specific purpose of the study and the research questions that the study will answer.

Explain why the research design and methods chosen for this study are appropriate, and why other designs and methods were not chosen.

State the potential implications you expect to emerge from your proposed study,

Provide a sense of how your study fits within the broader scholarship currently in existence, related to the research problem.

Citations and references

As with any scholarly research paper, you must cite the sources you used in composing your research proposal. In a research proposal, this can take two forms: a reference list or a bibliography. A reference list lists the literature you referenced in the body of your research proposal. All references in the reference list must appear in the body of the research proposal. Remember, it is not acceptable to say “as cited in …” As a researcher you must always go to the original source and check it for yourself. Many errors are made in referencing, even by top researchers, and so it is important not to perpetuate an error made by someone else. While this can be time consuming, it is the proper way to undertake a literature review.

In contrast, a bibliography , is a list of everything you used or cited in your research proposal, with additional citations to any key sources relevant to understanding the research problem. In other words, sources cited in your bibliography may not necessarily appear in the body of your research proposal. Make sure you check with your instructor to see which of the two you are expected to produce.

Overall, your list of citations should be a testament to the fact that you have done a sufficient level of preliminary research to ensure that your project will complement, but not duplicate, previous research efforts. For social sciences, the reference list or bibliography should be prepared in American Psychological Association (APA) referencing format. Usually, the reference list (or bibliography) is not included in the word count of the research proposal. Again, make sure you check with your instructor to confirm.

Research Methods for the Social Sciences: An Introduction by Valerie Sheppard is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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How to prepare a Research Proposal

Health research, medical education and clinical practice form the three pillars of modern day medical practice. As one authority rightly put it: ‘Health research is not a luxury, but an essential need that no nation can afford to ignore’. Health research can and should be pursued by a broad range of people. Even if they do not conduct research themselves, they need to grasp the principles of the scientific method to understand the value and limitations of science and to be able to assess and evaluate results of research before applying them. This review paper aims to highlight the essential concepts to the students and beginning researchers and sensitize and motivate the readers to access the vast literature available on research methodologies.

Most students and beginning researchers do not fully understand what a research proposal means, nor do they understand its importance. 1 A research proposal is a detailed description of a proposed study designed to investigate a given problem. 2

A research proposal is intended to convince others that you have a worthwhile research project and that you have the competence and the work-plan to complete it. Broadly the research proposal must address the following questions regardless of your research area and the methodology you choose: What you plan to accomplish, why do you want to do it and how are you going to do it. 1 The aim of this article is to highlight the essential concepts and not to provide extensive details about this topic.

The elements of a research proposal are highlighted below:

1. Title: It should be concise and descriptive. It must be informative and catchy. An effective title not only prick’s the readers interest, but also predisposes him/her favorably towards the proposal. Often titles are stated in terms of a functional relationship, because such titles clearly indicate the independent and dependent variables. 1 The title may need to be revised after completion of writing of the protocol to reflect more closely the sense of the study. 3

2. Abstract: It is a brief summary of approximately 300 words. It should include the main research question, the rationale for the study, the hypothesis (if any) and the method. Descriptions of the method may include the design, procedures, the sample and any instruments that will be used. 1 It should stand on its own, and not refer the reader to points in the project description. 3

3. Introduction: The introduction provides the readers with the background information. Its purpose is to establish a framework for the research, so that readers can understand how it relates to other research. 4 It should answer the question of why the research needs to be done and what will be its relevance. It puts the proposal in context. 3

The introduction typically begins with a statement of the research problem in precise and clear terms. 1

The importance of the statement of the research problem 5 : The statement of the problem is the essential basis for the construction of a research proposal (research objectives, hypotheses, methodology, work plan and budget etc). It is an integral part of selecting a research topic. It will guide and put into sharper focus the research design being considered for solving the problem. It allows the investigator to describe the problem systematically, to reflect on its importance, its priority in the country and region and to point out why the proposed research on the problem should be undertaken. It also facilitates peer review of the research proposal by the funding agencies.

Then it is necessary to provide the context and set the stage for the research question in such a way as to show its necessity and importance. 1 This step is necessary for the investigators to familiarize themselves with existing knowledge about the research problem and to find out whether or not others have investigated the same or similar problems. This step is accomplished by a thorough and critical review of the literature and by personal communication with experts. 5 It helps further understanding of the problem proposed for research and may lead to refining the statement of the problem, to identify the study variables and conceptualize their relationships, and in formulation and selection of a research hypothesis. 5 It ensures that you are not "re-inventing the wheel" and demonstrates your understanding of the research problem. It gives due credit to those who have laid the groundwork for your proposed research. 1 In a proposal, the literature review is generally brief and to the point. The literature selected should be pertinent and relevant. 6

Against this background, you then present the rationale of the proposed study and clearly indicate why it is worth doing.

4. Objectives: Research objectives are the goals to be achieved by conducting the research. 5 They may be stated as ‘general’ and ‘specific’.

The general objective of the research is what is to be accomplished by the research project, for example, to determine whether or not a new vaccine should be incorporated in a public health program.

The specific objectives relate to the specific research questions the investigator wants to answer through the proposed study and may be presented as primary and secondary objectives, for example, primary: To determine the degree of protection that is attributable to the new vaccine in a study population by comparing the vaccinated and unvaccinated groups. 5 Secondary: To study the cost-effectiveness of this programme.

Young investigators are advised to resist the temptation to put too many objectives or over-ambitious objectives that cannot be adequately achieved by the implementation of the protocol. 3

5. Variables: During the planning stage, it is necessary to identify the key variables of the study and their method of measurement and unit of measurement must be clearly indicated. Four types of variables are important in research 5 :

a. Independent variables: variables that are manipulated or treated in a study in order to see what effect differences in them will have on those variables proposed as being dependent on them. The different synonyms for the term ‘independent variable’ which are used in literature are: cause, input, predisposing factor, risk factor, determinant, antecedent, characteristic and attribute.

b. Dependent variables: variables in which changes are results of the level or amount of the independent variable or variables.

Synonyms: effect, outcome, consequence, result, condition, disease.

c. Confounding or intervening variables: variables that should be studied because they may influence or ‘mix’ the effect of the independent variables. For instance, in a study of the effect of measles (independent variable) on child mortality (dependent variable), the nutritional status of the child may play an intervening (confounding) role.

d. Background variables: variables that are so often of relevance in investigations of groups or populations that they should be considered for possible inclusion in the study. For example sex, age, ethnic origin, education, marital status, social status etc.

The objective of research is usually to determine the effect of changes in one or more independent variables on one or more dependent variables. For example, a study may ask "Will alcohol intake (independent variable) have an effect on development of gastric ulcer (dependent variable)?"

Certain variables may not be easy to identify. The characteristics that define these variables must be clearly identified for the purpose of the study.

6. Questions and/ or hypotheses: If you as a researcher know enough to make prediction concerning what you are studying, then the hypothesis may be formulated. A hypothesis can be defined as a tentative prediction or explanation of the relationship between two or more variables. In other words, the hypothesis translates the problem statement into a precise, unambiguous prediction of expected outcomes. Hypotheses are not meant to be haphazard guesses, but should reflect the depth of knowledge, imagination and experience of the investigator. 5 In the process of formulating the hypotheses, all variables relevant to the study must be identified. For example: "Health education involving active participation by mothers will produce more positive changes in child feeding than health education based on lectures". Here the independent variable is types of health education and the dependent variable is changes in child feeding.

A research question poses a relationship between two or more variables but phrases the relationship as a question; a hypothesis represents a declarative statement of the relations between two or more variables. 7

For exploratory or phenomenological research, you may not have any hypothesis (please do not confuse the hypothesis with the statistical null hypothesis). 1 Questions are relevant to normative or census type research (How many of them are there? Is there a relationship between them?). Deciding whether to use questions or hypotheses depends on factors such as the purpose of the study, the nature of the design and methodology, and the audience of the research (at times even the outlook and preference of the committee members, particularly the Chair). 6

7. Methodology: The method section is very important because it tells your research Committee how you plan to tackle your research problem. The guiding principle for writing the Methods section is that it should contain sufficient information for the reader to determine whether the methodology is sound. Some even argue that a good proposal should contain sufficient details for another qualified researcher to implement the study. 1 Indicate the methodological steps you will take to answer every question or to test every hypothesis illustrated in the Questions/hypotheses section. 6 It is vital that you consult a biostatistician during the planning stage of your study, 8 to resolve the methodological issues before submitting the proposal.

This section should include:

Research design: The selection of the research strategy is the core of research design and is probably the single most important decision the investigator has to make. The choice of the strategy, whether descriptive, analytical, experimental, operational or a combination of these depend on a number of considerations, 5 but this choice must be explained in relation to the study objectives. 3

Research subjects or participants: Depending on the type of your study, the following questions should be answered 3 , 5

  • - What are the criteria for inclusion or selection?
  • - What are the criteria for exclusion?
  • - What is the sampling procedure you will use so as to ensure representativeness and reliability of the sample and to minimize sampling errors? The key reason for being concerned with sampling is the issue of validity-both internal and external of the study results. 9
  • - Will there be use of controls in your study? Controls or comparison groups are used in scientific research in order to increase the validity of the conclusions. Control groups are necessary in all analytical epidemiological studies, in experimental studies of drug trials, in research on effects of intervention programmes and disease control measures and in many other investigations. Some descriptive studies (studies of existing data, surveys) may not require control groups.
  • - What are the criteria for discontinuation?

Sample size: The proposal should provide information and justification (basis on which the sample size is calculated) about sample size in the methodology section. 3 A larger sample size than needed to test the research hypothesis increases the cost and duration of the study and will be unethical if it exposes human subjects to any potential unnecessary risk without additional benefit. A smaller sample size than needed can also be unethical as it exposes human subjects to risk with no benefit to scientific knowledge. Calculation of sample size has been made easy by computer software programmes, but the principles underlying the estimation should be well understood.

Interventions: If an intervention is introduced, a description must be given of the drugs or devices (proprietary names, manufacturer, chemical composition, dose, frequency of administration) if they are already commercially available. If they are in phases of experimentation or are already commercially available but used for other indications, information must be provided on available pre-clinical investigations in animals and/or results of studies already conducted in humans (in such cases, approval of the drug regulatory agency in the country is needed before the study). 3

Ethical issues 3 : Ethical considerations apply to all types of health research. Before the proposal is submitted to the Ethics Committee for approval, two important documents mentioned below (where appropriate) must be appended to the proposal. In additions, there is another vital issue of Conflict of Interest, wherein the researchers should furnish a statement regarding the same.

The Informed consent form (informed decision-making): A consent form, where appropriate, must be developed and attached to the proposal. It should be written in the prospective subjects’ mother tongue and in simple language which can be easily understood by the subject. The use of medical terminology should be avoided as far as possible. Special care is needed when subjects are illiterate. It should explain why the study is being done and why the subject has been asked to participate. It should describe, in sequence, what will happen in the course of the study, giving enough detail for the subject to gain a clear idea of what to expect. It should clarify whether or not the study procedures offer any benefits to the subject or to others, and explain the nature, likelihood and treatment of anticipated discomfort or adverse effects, including psychological and social risks, if any. Where relevant, a comparison with risks posed by standard drugs or treatment must be included. If the risks are unknown or a comparative risk cannot be given it should be so stated. It should indicate that the subject has the right to withdraw from the study at any time without, in any way, affecting his/her further medical care. It should assure the participant of confidentiality of the findings.

Ethics checklist: The proposal must describe the measures that will be undertaken to ensure that the proposed research is carried out in accordance with the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki on Ethical Principles for Medical research involving Human Subjects. 10 It must answer the following questions:

  • • Is the research design adequate to provide answers to the research question? It is unethical to expose subjects to research that will have no value.
  • • Is the method of selection of research subjects justified? The use of vulnerable subjects as research participants needs special justification. Vulnerable subjects include those in prison, minors and persons with mental disability. In international research it is important to mention that the population in which the study is conducted will benefit from any potential outcome of the research and the research is not being conducted solely for the benefit of some other population. Justification is needed for any inducement, financial or otherwise, for the participants to be enrolled in the study.
  • • Are the interventions justified, in terms of risk/benefit ratio? Risks are not limited to physical harm. Psychological and social risks must also be considered.
  • • For observations made, have measures been taken to ensure confidentiality?

Research setting 5 : The research setting includes all the pertinent facets of the study, such as the population to be studied (sampling frame), the place and time of study.

Study instruments 3 , 5 : Instruments are the tools by which the data are collected. For validated questionnaires/interview schedules, reference to published work should be given and the instrument appended to the proposal. For new a questionnaire which is being designed specifically for your study the details about preparing, precoding and pretesting of questionnaire should be furnished and the document appended to the proposal. Descriptions of other methods of observations like medical examination, laboratory tests and screening procedures is necessary- for established procedures, reference of published work cited but for new or modified procedure, an adequate description is necessary with justification for the same.

Collection of data: A short description of the protocol of data collection. For example, in a study on blood pressure measurement: time of participant arrival, rest for 5p. 10 minutes, which apparatus (standard calibrated) to be used, in which room to take measurement, measurement in sitting or lying down position, how many measurements, measurement in which arm first (whether this is going to be randomized), details of cuff and its placement, who will take the measurement. This minimizes the possibility of confusion, delays and errors.

Data analysis: The description should include the design of the analysis form, plans for processing and coding the data and the choice of the statistical method to be applied to each data. What will be the procedures for accounting for missing, unused or spurious data?

Monitoring, supervision and quality control: Detailed statement about the all logistical issues to satisfy the requirements of Good Clinical Practices (GCP), protocol procedures, responsibilities of each member of the research team, training of study investigators, steps taken to assure quality control (laboratory procedures, equipment calibration etc)

Gantt chart: A Gantt chart is an overview of tasks/proposed activities and a time frame for the same. You put weeks, days or months at one side, and the tasks at the other. You draw fat lines to indicate the period the task will be performed to give a timeline for your research study (take help of tutorial on youtube). 11

Significance of the study: Indicate how your research will refine, revise or extend existing knowledge in the area under investigation. How will it benefit the concerned stakeholders? What could be the larger implications of your research study?

Dissemination of the study results: How do you propose to share the findings of your study with professional peers, practitioners, participants and the funding agency?

Budget: A proposal budget with item wise/activity wise breakdown and justification for the same. Indicate how will the study be financed.

References: The proposal should end with relevant references on the subject. For web based search include the date of access for the cited website, for example: add the sentence "accessed on June 10, 2008".

Appendixes: Include the appropriate appendixes in the proposal. For example: Interview protocols, sample of informed consent forms, cover letters sent to appropriate stakeholders, official letters for permission to conduct research. Regarding original scales or questionnaires, if the instrument is copyrighted then permission in writing to reproduce the instrument from the copyright holder or proof of purchase of the instrument must be submitted.

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  • How to Write a Research Proposal | Examples & Templates

How to Write a Research Proposal | Examples & Templates

Published on 30 October 2022 by Shona McCombes and Tegan George. Revised on 13 June 2023.

Structure of a research proposal

A research proposal describes what you will investigate, why it’s important, and how you will conduct your research.

The format of a research proposal varies between fields, but most proposals will contain at least these elements:

Introduction

Literature review.

  • Research design

Reference list

While the sections may vary, the overall objective is always the same. A research proposal serves as a blueprint and guide for your research plan, helping you get organised and feel confident in the path forward you choose to take.

Table of contents

Research proposal purpose, research proposal examples, research design and methods, contribution to knowledge, research schedule, frequently asked questions.

Academics often have to write research proposals to get funding for their projects. As a student, you might have to write a research proposal as part of a grad school application , or prior to starting your thesis or dissertation .

In addition to helping you figure out what your research can look like, a proposal can also serve to demonstrate why your project is worth pursuing to a funder, educational institution, or supervisor.

Research proposal length

The length of a research proposal can vary quite a bit. A bachelor’s or master’s thesis proposal can be just a few pages, while proposals for PhD dissertations or research funding are usually much longer and more detailed. Your supervisor can help you determine the best length for your work.

One trick to get started is to think of your proposal’s structure as a shorter version of your thesis or dissertation , only without the results , conclusion and discussion sections.

Download our research proposal template

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Writing a research proposal can be quite challenging, but a good starting point could be to look at some examples. We’ve included a few for you below.

  • Example research proposal #1: ‘A Conceptual Framework for Scheduling Constraint Management’
  • Example research proposal #2: ‘ Medical Students as Mediators of Change in Tobacco Use’

Like your dissertation or thesis, the proposal will usually have a title page that includes:

  • The proposed title of your project
  • Your supervisor’s name
  • Your institution and department

The first part of your proposal is the initial pitch for your project. Make sure it succinctly explains what you want to do and why.

Your introduction should:

  • Introduce your topic
  • Give necessary background and context
  • Outline your  problem statement  and research questions

To guide your introduction , include information about:

  • Who could have an interest in the topic (e.g., scientists, policymakers)
  • How much is already known about the topic
  • What is missing from this current knowledge
  • What new insights your research will contribute
  • Why you believe this research is worth doing

As you get started, it’s important to demonstrate that you’re familiar with the most important research on your topic. A strong literature review  shows your reader that your project has a solid foundation in existing knowledge or theory. It also shows that you’re not simply repeating what other people have already done or said, but rather using existing research as a jumping-off point for your own.

In this section, share exactly how your project will contribute to ongoing conversations in the field by:

  • Comparing and contrasting the main theories, methods, and debates
  • Examining the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches
  • Explaining how will you build on, challenge, or synthesise prior scholarship

Following the literature review, restate your main  objectives . This brings the focus back to your own project. Next, your research design or methodology section will describe your overall approach, and the practical steps you will take to answer your research questions.

To finish your proposal on a strong note, explore the potential implications of your research for your field. Emphasise again what you aim to contribute and why it matters.

For example, your results might have implications for:

  • Improving best practices
  • Informing policymaking decisions
  • Strengthening a theory or model
  • Challenging popular or scientific beliefs
  • Creating a basis for future research

Last but not least, your research proposal must include correct citations for every source you have used, compiled in a reference list . To create citations quickly and easily, you can use our free APA citation generator .

Some institutions or funders require a detailed timeline of the project, asking you to forecast what you will do at each stage and how long it may take. While not always required, be sure to check the requirements of your project.

Here’s an example schedule to help you get started. You can also download a template at the button below.

Download our research schedule template

If you are applying for research funding, chances are you will have to include a detailed budget. This shows your estimates of how much each part of your project will cost.

Make sure to check what type of costs the funding body will agree to cover. For each item, include:

  • Cost : exactly how much money do you need?
  • Justification : why is this cost necessary to complete the research?
  • Source : how did you calculate the amount?

To determine your budget, think about:

  • Travel costs : do you need to go somewhere to collect your data? How will you get there, and how much time will you need? What will you do there (e.g., interviews, archival research)?
  • Materials : do you need access to any tools or technologies?
  • Help : do you need to hire any research assistants for the project? What will they do, and how much will you pay them?

Once you’ve decided on your research objectives , you need to explain them in your paper, at the end of your problem statement.

Keep your research objectives clear and concise, and use appropriate verbs to accurately convey the work that you will carry out for each one.

I will compare …

A research aim is a broad statement indicating the general purpose of your research project. It should appear in your introduction at the end of your problem statement , before your research objectives.

Research objectives are more specific than your research aim. They indicate the specific ways you’ll address the overarching aim.

A PhD, which is short for philosophiae doctor (doctor of philosophy in Latin), is the highest university degree that can be obtained. In a PhD, students spend 3–5 years writing a dissertation , which aims to make a significant, original contribution to current knowledge.

A PhD is intended to prepare students for a career as a researcher, whether that be in academia, the public sector, or the private sector.

A master’s is a 1- or 2-year graduate degree that can prepare you for a variety of careers.

All master’s involve graduate-level coursework. Some are research-intensive and intend to prepare students for further study in a PhD; these usually require their students to write a master’s thesis . Others focus on professional training for a specific career.

Critical thinking refers to the ability to evaluate information and to be aware of biases or assumptions, including your own.

Like information literacy , it involves evaluating arguments, identifying and solving problems in an objective and systematic way, and clearly communicating your ideas.

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How to Write a Research Proposal

As part of the application for admission onto our MJur, MPhil and PhD programmes, you must prepare a research proposal outlining your proposed area of study.

Student enjoying a seminar

What is a research proposal?

A research proposal is a concise and coherent summary of your proposed research. It sets out the central issues or questions that you intend to address. It outlines the general area of study within which your research falls, referring to the current state of knowledge and any recent debates on the topic. It also demonstrates the originality of your proposed research.

The proposal is the most important document that you submit as part of the application process. It gives you an opportunity to demonstrate that you have the aptitude for graduate level research, for example, by demonstrating that you have the ability to communicate complex ideas clearly, concisely and critically. The proposal also helps us to match your research interest with an appropriate supervisor.

What should you include in the proposal?

Regardless of whether you are applying for the MJur, MPhil or PhD programmes, your research proposal should normally include the following information:

This is just a tentative title for your intended research. You will be able to revise your title during the course of your research if you are accepted for admission.

Examples of the thesis titles of some of our current and recent research students can be seen on our Current Projects page .

2. Abstract

The proposal should include a concise statement of your intended research of no more than 100 words. This may be a couple of sentences setting out the problem that you want to examine or the central question that you wish to address.

3. Research Context

You should explain the broad background against which you will conduct your research. You should include a brief overview of the general area of study within which your proposed research falls, summarising the current state of knowledge and recent debates on the topic. This will allow you to demonstrate a familiarity with the relevant field as well as the ability to communicate clearly and concisely.

4. Research Questions

The proposal should set out the central aims and questions that will guide your research. Before writing your proposal, you should take time to reflect on the key questions that you are seeking to answer. Many research proposals are too broad, so reflecting on your key research questions is a good way to make sure that your project is sufficiently narrow and feasible (i.e. one that is likely to be completed with the normal period for a MJur, MPhil or PhD degree).

You might find it helpful to prioritize one or two main questions, from which you can then derive a number of secondary research questions. The proposal should also explain your intended approach to answering the questions: will your approach be empirical, doctrinal or theoretical etc?

5. Research Methods

The proposal should outline your research methods, explaining how you are going to conduct your research. Your methods may include visiting particular libraries or archives, field work or interviews.

Most research is library-based. If your proposed research is library-based, you should explain where your key resources (e.g. law reports, journal articles) are located (in the Law School’s library, Westlaw etc). If you plan to conduct field work or collect empirical data, you should provide details about this (e.g. if you plan interviews, who will you interview? How many interviews will you conduct? Will there be problems of access?). This section should also explain how you are going to analyse your research findings.

6. Significance of Research

The proposal should demonstrate the originality of your intended research. You should therefore explain why your research is important (for example, by explaining how your research builds on and adds to the current state of knowledge in the field or by setting out reasons why it is timely to research your proposed topic).

7. Bibliography

The proposal should include a short bibliography identifying the most relevant works for your topic.

How long should the proposal be?

The proposal should usually be around 2,500 words. It is important to bear in mind that specific funding bodies might have different word limits.

Can the School comment on my draft proposal?

We recognise that you are likely still developing your research topic. We therefore recommend that you contact a member of our staff with appropriate expertise to discuss your proposed research. If there is a good fit between your proposed research and our research strengths, we will give you advice on a draft of your research proposal before you make a formal application. For details of our staff and there areas of expertise please visit our staff pages . 

Read a sample proposal from a successful application  

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Overview of research process.

Research Process arrow example 1

The Research Process

Anything you write involves organization and a logical flow of ideas, so understanding the logic of the research process before beginning to write is essential. Simply put, you need to put your writing in the larger context—see the forest before you even attempt to see the trees.

In this brief introductory module, we’ll review the major steps in the research process, conceptualized here as a series of steps within a circle, with each step dependent on the previous one. The circle best depicts the recursive nature of the process; that is, once the process has been completed, the researcher may begin again by refining or expanding on the initial approach, or even pioneering a completely new approach to solving the problem.

Identify a Research Problem

You identify a research problem by first selecting a general topic that’s interesting to you and to the interests and specialties of your research advisor. Once identified, you’ll need to narrow it. For example, if teenage pregnancy is your general topic area, your specific topic could be a comparison of how teenage pregnancy affects young fathers and mothers differently.

Review the Literature

Find out what’s being asked or what’s already been done in the area by doing some exploratory reading. Discuss the topic with your advisor to gain additional insights, explore novel approaches, and begin to develop your research question, purpose statement, and hypothesis(es), if applicable.

Determine Research Question

A good research question is a question worth asking; one that poses a problem worth solving. A good question should:

  • Be clear . It must be understandable to you and to others.
  • Be researchable . It should be capable of developing into a manageable research design, so data may be collected in relation to it. Extremely abstract terms are unlikely to be suitable.
  • Connect with established theory and research . There should be a literature on which you can draw to illuminate how your research question(s) should be approached.
  • Be neither too broad nor too narrow. See Appendix A for a brief explanation of the narrowing process and how your research question, purpose statement, and hypothesis(es) are interconnected.

Appendix A Research Questions, Purpose Statement, Hypothesis(es)

Develop Research Methods

Once you’ve finalized your research question, purpose statement, and hypothesis(es), you’ll need to write your research proposal—a detailed management plan for your research project. The proposal is as essential to successful research as an architect’s plans are to the construction of a building.

See Appendix B to view the basic components of a research proposal.

Appendix B Components of a Research Proposal

Collect & Analyze Data

In Practical Research–Planning and Design (2005, 8th Edition), Leedy and Ormrod provide excellent advice for what the researcher does at this stage in the research process. The researcher now

  • collects data that potentially relate to the problem,
  • arranges the data into a logical organizational structure,
  • analyzes and interprets the data to determine their meaning, 
  • determines if the data resolve the research problem or not, and
  • determines if the data support the hypothesis or not.

Document the Work

Because research reports differ by discipline, the most effective way for you to understand formatting and citations is to examine reports from others in your department or field. The library’s electronic databases provide a wealth of examples illustrating how others in your field document their research.

Communicate Your Research

Talk with your advisor about potential local, regional, or national venues to present your findings. And don’t sell yourself short: Consider publishing your research in related books or journals.

Refine/Expand, Pioneer

Earlier, we emphasized the fact that the research process, rather than being linear, is recursive—the reason we conceptualized the process as a series of steps within a circle. At this stage, you may need to revisit your research problem in the context of your findings. You might also investigate the implications of your work and identify new problems or refine your previous approach.

The process then begins anew . . . and you’ll once again move through the series of steps in the circle.

Continue to Module Two

Appendix C - Key Research Terms

LYNN SANTELMANN Assistant Professor, Applied Linguistics Portland State University [email protected] Outline for Research Project Proposal (adapted from Course Materials for Psycholinguistics) When writing, please use section headings to indicate where the information can be found. Subheadings need not be used, though in long sections they may facilitate organization. 1. Introduction Explain the issue you are examining and why it is significant. Describe the general area to be studied Explain why this area is important to the general area under study (e.g., psychology of language, second language acquisition, teaching methods )
Summarize what is already known about the field. Include a summary of the basic background information on the topic gleaned from your literature review (you can include information from the book and class, but the bulk should be outside sources) Discuss several critical studies that have already been done in this area(cite according to APA style). Point out why these background studies are insufficient. In other words, what question(s) do they leave unresolved that you would like to study? Choose (at least) one of these questions you might like to pursue yourself. (Make sure you do not choose too many questions)
  • List the specific question(s) that you are exploring.
  • Explain how these research questions are related to the larger issues raised in the introduction.
  • Describe what specific claim, hypothesis, and/or model of psycholinguistics you will evaluate with these questions.
  • Explain what it will show about the psychology of language if your hypothesis is confirmed.
  • Explain what it will suggest about the psychology of language if your hypothesis is disconfirmed.
Describe the general methodology you choose for your study, in order to test your hypothesis(es). Explain why this method is the best for your purposes. Participants: Who would you test and why? Describe the sample you would test and explain why you have chosen this sample. Include age, and language background and socio-economic information, if relevant to the design. Are there any participants you would exclude? Why, why not?
Describe what kinds of manipulations/variations you would make or test for in order to test your hypothesis(es). Describe the factors you would vary if you were presenting a person with stimulus sentences. Explain how varying these factors would allow you to confirm or disconfirm your hypotheses. Explain what significant differences you would need to find to confirm or disconfirm your hypothesis(es). In particular, how could your hypothesis(es) be disconfirmed by your data? Controls: What kinds of factors would you need to control for in your study? Describe what types of effects would be likely to occur which would make your results appear to confirm, or to disconfirm your hypothesis(es). Describe how you can by your design rule out or control for apparent effects.
How are you going to present the stimuli? What is the participant in the experiment going to do?
How will you analyze the results? What kind of results would confirm your hypothesis? What kind of results would disconfirm your hypothesis
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How To Write A Research Summary

Deeptanshu D

It’s a common perception that writing a research summary is a quick and easy task. After all, how hard can jotting down 300 words be? But when you consider the weight those 300 words carry, writing a research summary as a part of your dissertation, essay or compelling draft for your paper instantly becomes daunting task.

A research summary requires you to synthesize a complex research paper into an informative, self-explanatory snapshot. It needs to portray what your article contains. Thus, writing it often comes at the end of the task list.

Regardless of when you’re planning to write, it is no less of a challenge, particularly if you’re doing it for the first time. This blog will take you through everything you need to know about research summary so that you have an easier time with it.

How to write a research summary

What is a Research Summary?

A research summary is the part of your research paper that describes its findings to the audience in a brief yet concise manner. A well-curated research summary represents you and your knowledge about the information written in the research paper.

While writing a quality research summary, you need to discover and identify the significant points in the research and condense it in a more straightforward form. A research summary is like a doorway that provides access to the structure of a research paper's sections.

Since the purpose of a summary is to give an overview of the topic, methodology, and conclusions employed in a paper, it requires an objective approach. No analysis or criticism.

Research summary or Abstract. What’s the Difference?

They’re both brief, concise, and give an overview of an aspect of the research paper. So, it’s easy to understand why many new researchers get the two confused. However, a research summary and abstract are two very different things with individual purpose. To start with, a research summary is written at the end while the abstract comes at the beginning of a research paper.

A research summary captures the essence of the paper at the end of your document. It focuses on your topic, methods, and findings. More like a TL;DR, if you will. An abstract, on the other hand, is a description of what your research paper is about. It tells your reader what your topic or hypothesis is, and sets a context around why you have embarked on your research.

Getting Started with a Research Summary

Before you start writing, you need to get insights into your research’s content, style, and organization. There are three fundamental areas of a research summary that you should focus on.

  • While deciding the contents of your research summary, you must include a section on its importance as a whole, the techniques, and the tools that were used to formulate the conclusion. Additionally, there needs to be a short but thorough explanation of how the findings of the research paper have a significance.
  • To keep the summary well-organized, try to cover the various sections of the research paper in separate paragraphs. Besides, how the idea of particular factual research came up first must be explained in a separate paragraph.
  • As a general practice worldwide, research summaries are restricted to 300-400 words. However, if you have chosen a lengthy research paper, try not to exceed the word limit of 10% of the entire research paper.

How to Structure Your Research Summary

The research summary is nothing but a concise form of the entire research paper. Therefore, the structure of a summary stays the same as the paper. So, include all the section titles and write a little about them. The structural elements that a research summary must consist of are:

It represents the topic of the research. Try to phrase it so that it includes the key findings or conclusion of the task.

The abstract gives a context of the research paper. Unlike the abstract at the beginning of a paper, the abstract here, should be very short since you’ll be working with a limited word count.

Introduction

This is the most crucial section of a research summary as it helps readers get familiarized with the topic. You should include the definition of your topic, the current state of the investigation, and practical relevance in this part. Additionally, you should present the problem statement, investigative measures, and any hypothesis in this section.

Methodology

This section provides details about the methodology and the methods adopted to conduct the study. You should write a brief description of the surveys, sampling, type of experiments, statistical analysis, and the rationality behind choosing those particular methods.

Create a list of evidence obtained from the various experiments with a primary analysis, conclusions, and interpretations made upon that. In the paper research paper, you will find the results section as the most detailed and lengthy part. Therefore, you must pick up the key elements and wisely decide which elements are worth including and which are worth skipping.

This is where you present the interpretation of results in the context of their application. Discussion usually covers results, inferences, and theoretical models explaining the obtained values, key strengths, and limitations. All of these are vital elements that you must include in the summary.

Most research papers merge conclusion with discussions. However, depending upon the instructions, you may have to prepare this as a separate section in your research summary. Usually, conclusion revisits the hypothesis and provides the details about the validation or denial about the arguments made in the research paper, based upon how convincing the results were obtained.

The structure of a research summary closely resembles the anatomy of a scholarly article . Additionally, you should keep your research and references limited to authentic and  scholarly sources only.

Tips for Writing a Research Summary

The core concept behind undertaking a research summary is to present a simple and clear understanding of your research paper to the reader. The biggest hurdle while doing that is the number of words you have at your disposal. So, follow the steps below to write a research summary that sticks.

1. Read the parent paper thoroughly

You should go through the research paper thoroughly multiple times to ensure that you have a complete understanding of its contents. A 3-stage reading process helps.

a. Scan: In the first read, go through it to get an understanding of its basic concept and methodologies.

b. Read: For the second step, read the article attentively by going through each section, highlighting the key elements, and subsequently listing the topics that you will include in your research summary.

c. Skim: Flip through the article a few more times to study the interpretation of various experimental results, statistical analysis, and application in different contexts.

Sincerely go through different headings and subheadings as it will allow you to understand the underlying concept of each section. You can try reading the introduction and conclusion simultaneously to understand the motive of the task and how obtained results stay fit to the expected outcome.

2. Identify the key elements in different sections

While exploring different sections of an article, you can try finding answers to simple what, why, and how. Below are a few pointers to give you an idea:

  • What is the research question and how is it addressed?
  • Is there a hypothesis in the introductory part?
  • What type of methods are being adopted?
  • What is the sample size for data collection and how is it being analyzed?
  • What are the most vital findings?
  • Do the results support the hypothesis?

Discussion/Conclusion

  • What is the final solution to the problem statement?
  • What is the explanation for the obtained results?
  • What is the drawn inference?
  • What are the various limitations of the study?

3. Prepare the first draft

Now that you’ve listed the key points that the paper tries to demonstrate, you can start writing the summary following the standard structure of a research summary. Just make sure you’re not writing statements from the parent research paper verbatim.

Instead, try writing down each section in your own words. This will not only help in avoiding plagiarism but will also show your complete understanding of the subject. Alternatively, you can use a summarizing tool (AI-based summary generators) to shorten the content or summarize the content without disrupting the actual meaning of the article.

SciSpace Copilot is one such helpful feature! You can easily upload your research paper and ask Copilot to summarize it. You will get an AI-generated, condensed research summary. SciSpace Copilot also enables you to highlight text, clip math and tables, and ask any question relevant to the research paper; it will give you instant answers with deeper context of the article..

4. Include visuals

One of the best ways to summarize and consolidate a research paper is to provide visuals like graphs, charts, pie diagrams, etc.. Visuals make getting across the facts, the past trends, and the probabilistic figures around a concept much more engaging.

5. Double check for plagiarism

It can be very tempting to copy-paste a few statements or the entire paragraphs depending upon the clarity of those sections. But it’s best to stay away from the practice. Even paraphrasing should be done with utmost care and attention.

Also: QuillBot vs SciSpace: Choose the best AI-paraphrasing tool

6. Religiously follow the word count limit

You need to have strict control while writing different sections of a research summary. In many cases, it has been observed that the research summary and the parent research paper become the same length. If that happens, it can lead to discrediting of your efforts and research summary itself. Whatever the standard word limit has been imposed, you must observe that carefully.

7. Proofread your research summary multiple times

The process of writing the research summary can be exhausting and tiring. However, you shouldn’t allow this to become a reason to skip checking your academic writing several times for mistakes like misspellings, grammar, wordiness, and formatting issues. Proofread and edit until you think your research summary can stand out from the others, provided it is drafted perfectly on both technicality and comprehension parameters. You can also seek assistance from editing and proofreading services , and other free tools that help you keep these annoying grammatical errors at bay.

8. Watch while you write

Keep a keen observation of your writing style. You should use the words very precisely, and in any situation, it should not represent your personal opinions on the topic. You should write the entire research summary in utmost impersonal, precise, factually correct, and evidence-based writing.

9. Ask a friend/colleague to help

Once you are done with the final copy of your research summary, you must ask a friend or colleague to read it. You must test whether your friend or colleague could grasp everything without referring to the parent paper. This will help you in ensuring the clarity of the article.

Once you become familiar with the research paper summary concept and understand how to apply the tips discussed above in your current task, summarizing a research summary won’t be that challenging. While traversing the different stages of your academic career, you will face different scenarios where you may have to create several research summaries.

In such cases, you just need to look for answers to simple questions like “Why this study is necessary,” “what were the methods,” “who were the participants,” “what conclusions were drawn from the research,” and “how it is relevant to the wider world.” Once you find out the answers to these questions, you can easily create a good research summary following the standard structure and a precise writing style.

overview of a research proposal

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How to design bibliometric research: an overview and a framework proposal

  • Original Paper
  • Open access
  • Published: 06 March 2024

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  • Oğuzhan Öztürk   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-7959-9535 1 ,
  • Rıdvan Kocaman   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-0008-7041 2 &
  • Dominik K. Kanbach   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-0956-8009 3  

Bibliometric analysis has recently become a popular and rigorous technique used for exploring and analyzing the literature in business and management. Prior studies principally focused on ‘how to do bibliometric analysis’, presenting an overview of the bibliometric methodology along with various techniques and step-by-step guidelines that can be relied on to rigorously conduct bibliometric analysis. However, the current body of evidence is limited in its ability to provide practical knowledge that can enhance the design and performance of bibliometric research. This claim is supported even by the fact that relevant studies refer to their work as ‘bibliometric analysis’ rather than ‘bibliometric research’. Accordingly, we endeavor to offer a more functional framework for researchers who wish to design/conduct bibliometric research on any field of research, especially business and management. To do this, we followed a twofold way. We first outlined the main stages and steps of typical bibliometric research. Then, we proposed a comprehensive framework for specifying how to design/conduct the research and under what headings the relevant stages (step-by-step) will be used and/or presented. Thus, the current paper is expected to be a useful source to gain insights into the available techniques and guide researchers in designing/conducting bibliometric research.

Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.

1 Introduction

Literature reviews play an important role in academic research to examine the general state of a research field, gather and categorize knowledge regarding that field, and identify gaps to be filled (Snyder 2019 ). Any research field’s body of knowledge becomes a “heap” if such review efforts are not performed at certain time intervals (Öztürk 2021 ). The remarkable growth in the production of scientific knowledge has raised the need for such investigations in any research field. With the rapid increase in the number of academic journals, congresses, and other publication outlets in recent years, papers (e.g., articles, reports, and conference papers) are published in quantities surpassing millions each year, and thus scientific knowledge is exponentially increasing (Kraus et al. 2022 ). Accordingly, it is crucial for a researcher to identify the papers through which the literature on the relevant topic will be examined. Many reviews leave it up to the reader to appraise why only certain articles, conference papers, or books are included (or excluded) by authors (Linnenluecke et al. 2020 ). Without necessarily considering a wider variety of evidence, authors often cite evidence from ‘high-quality’ journals (Tranfield et al. 2003 ). Therefore, it has become very difficult for researchers to follow the state, developments, and evolution, to identify gaps, and to categorize the body of knowledge in a given field using traditional literature review methods (e.g., narrative, critical, and meta-analysis). Accordingly, bibliometric analysis—which enables a review that considers all the literature relevant to any research field—has gained more attention.

Due to the benefits and conveniences it offers, bibliometric analysis has recently begun to be widely employed in the fields of business and management (e.g., López-Fernández et al. 2016 ; Merigo and Yang, 2017 ; Castillo-Vergara et al. 2018 ; Ardito et al. 2019 ; Mas-Tur et al. 2020 ; Nicolas et al. 2020 ; Forliano et al. 2021 ; Khan et al. 2022 ; Mukherjee et al. 2022a ; Bahuguna et al. 2023 ; Rao and Shukla 2023 ; Tigre et al. 2023 ) with the supporting infrastructural developments (i.e., data processing capacities of databases, increase in the number of package programs with various capabilities, different visualization tools, etc.). Accordingly, some scholars developed methodological guidelines for how to conduct bibliometric research (Koskinen et al. 2008 ; Andres, 2009 ; van Raan 2014 ; Donthu et al. 2021 ; Romanelli et al. 2021 ). They present an overview of bibliometric analysis and the procedures required to perform it to help business scholars learn about the bibliometric technique and use that knowledge to analyze specific topics in the body of current literature with vast bibliometric data. Additionally, they offer different techniques that can be used for bibliometric analysis and argue when they should be utilized, which helps widen the business scholars’ perspectives on the options and justifications for employing the different bibliometric analysis variations (e.g., Zupic and Cater, 2015 ; Linnenluecke et al. 2020 ; Donthu et al. 2021 ). However, there are still significant shortcomings/gaps in the business and management field regarding how to conduct and structure “bibliometric research”. In sum, several methodological publications have offered step-by-step guidelines for performing the bibliometric analysis, but their contributions tend to be more conceptual than practical. Hence, there is still a lack of knowledge regarding the best practices of bibliometric research and how to conduct and design it. Accordingly, the guideline offered by Sauer and Seuring ( 2023 ) for guiding how to conduct a systematic literature review inspired this paper to propose a comprehensive framework for bibliometric research.

In fact, it is obvious that there is significant variability in the type and standard of bibliometric research across all papers employing bibliometric analysis, including those that (i) are ‘wrongly’ treated as bibliometric research despite being narrative literature reviews, (ii) only present a general view of the field, (iii) employ bibliometric analysis techniques only “technically” (i.e., citation analysis, co-word analysis, co-author, etc.), but perform almost no evaluation, discussion, or identification about the resulting pictures/maps related to the relevant research field (Block and Fisch 2020 ). Therefore, there seems to be ambiguity on what bibliometric analysis/research is, what it should include, and what determines its quality. These are largely issues related to the “research design” (Punch 2014 ), and a well-structured design is one of the most significant indicators of the quality of bibliometric research (Fisch and Block 2018 ). However, to the best of our knowledge, there is no “clear framework” for how bibliometric research should be designed and what elements should be included in bibliometric research. Accordingly, this paper aims to provide a framework guiding the design of bibliometric research to help researchers perform high-quality research. We describe methodological stages and steps for how researchers can design bibliometric research and offer a comprehensive framework of typical article structure for bibliometric research. Unlike other papers in the current body of literature, the value of this paper lies in this framework that practically guides academics.

2 Bibliometric analysis as a literature review tool

Bibliometric analysis emerged to be a crucial tool for measuring the scientific outputs of different scientific items (e.g., papers, authors, keywords, journals, institutions, and countries) in any research field and examining how the intellectual, social, and conceptual structure of the relevant field has evolved over time based on the relationships and interactions between these items (Donthu et al. 2021 ). With this analysis, researchers primarily aim to recognize, evaluate, and comprehend the literature (or part of the literature) within a specific research field (Öztürk 2021 ). Bibliometric analysis is the process of obtaining various scientific outputs resulting from examining publications in a certain field or in a certain academic journal with the help of numerical analyses and statistics on some bibliometric indicators (e.g., number of articles per year, most studied topics, universities with the most publications, top journals in the field, authors with the most papers, number of citations and keywords) (Pritchard 1969 ; Ellegaard and Wallin 2015 ). In this regard, bibliometric analysis is a technique employed to map the intellectual structure of any research field and/or discipline, as well as the evolution of the field and the relationships between authors-topics-papers (Osareh 1996 ; Fernandez-Alles and Ramos-Rodríguez, 2009 ). To do this, it divides the items (e.g., papers, authors, journals, and words) into different groups. Then, it presents the visuals of the structure (classification) resulting from the analysis through the visualization process (Gutiérrez-Salcedo et al. 2018 ). Bibliometric analysis enables having a systematic and comprehensive understanding of the de facto structure in any field, evolutionary nuances of the field, identifying the research clusters that form the field, capturing emerging trends, and getting a broad perspective on the concepts that are the focus of the field and their relationships (Aria and Cuccurullo 2017 ; Mukherjee et al. 2022b ; Kraus et al. 2024 ).

Bibliometric analysis should not be treated as a substitute for other conventional methods of discussing developments in a field, such as meta-analysis or systematic literature review; rather, it is complementary in matters where they are lacking (Donthu et al. 2021 ). Bibliometric analysis, compared to other review methods, employs a macro-level approach and typically reveals the structure and dynamics of a research field (Öztürk 2021 ). Even though traditional approaches (e.g., systematic literature reviews) offer deep insights into a narrow of papers, they may likely leave out significant field-related papers (Lacey et al. 2011 ). This is because large volumes of bibliographic datasets have rendered them impractical and cumbersome (Ramos-Rodrígue and Ruíz-Navarro 2004 ). However, the bibliometric method enables the analysis of hundreds or even thousands of papers (Ariaa and Cuccurullo, 2017 ). With the emergence of scientific databases such as Scopus and Web of Science, researchers can acquire large bibliometric datasets relatively easily, and recently developed bibliometric software (e.g., Gephi, Leximancer, and VOSviewer) enables them to analyze such data conveniently (Moral-Muñoz et al. 2020 ). Thus, it is possible to examine the field’s structure, its dynamics and evolution, and the relationship between authors, papers, and word-concepts in the field from a broader perspective. Bibliometric analysis, if performed accurately, can also provide the objectivity offered by other methods (e.g., meta-analysis) (Zupic and Cater, 2015 ).

It is noteworthy to state that systematic literature reviews typically rely on qualitative techniques, which may be marred by interpretation bias from academics with diverse backgrounds (MacCoun 1998 ; Tranfield et al. 2003 ). On the other hand, both bibliometric analysis and meta-analysis can mitigate or avoid such bias since they rely upon quantitative techniques. Although these two analyses adopt quantitative approaches in nature and deal with large datasets, their use of quantitative methods is relatively different. In essence, meta-analysis summarizes the empirical evidence by examining the strengths and direction of effects, and relationships of variables with each other (Aguinis et al. 2011 ). Accordingly, Carney et al. ( 2011 ) suggest that it is useful in addressing clear research questions with datasets that are relatively more precise than those reported in any given primary study. Meta-analysis is often employed to shed light on mixed empirical evidence and boundary conditions and is thus treated as a theory extension tool (Combs et al. 2011 ). The statistical integration of study results through such analysis can build upon cumulative samples of several tens of thousands of data points, depending on the respective field under analysis (e.g. Hofmeister et al. 2023 ; Rieg and Vanini 2023 ). Unlike meta-analysis, bibliometric studies utilize quantitative methods to summarize the bibliometric capital of a field by analyzing the intellectual, social, and conceptual relationships between various scientific items (e.g., papers, authors, keywords, journals, institutions, and countries). In this way, it enables scholars to gain an overview of the relevant field, identify knowledge gaps, generate novel research ideas, and determine how they contribute to that field (Donthu et al. 2021 ). Thus, bibliometric research that is well done is significant for establishing robust groundwork for the advancement of a field in meaningful and novel ways (Mukherjee et al. 2022b ).

The main aim of all literature reviews discussed herein is much more than mapping any given field (Wright and Michailova 2023 ). The use of these review methods complementary to each other depends on why the review is conducted and what volume and nature the relevant literature has. Considering the points where it differs from other methods and the features it complements; bibliometric research offers various advantages to scholars who are interested in employing it. To conduct bibliometric research, scholars often employ four typical stages: definition of the research aim, data collection, analysis and visualization, and interpretation of findings and results.

3 Main stages in bibliometric research

In this section, we propose an applicable framework for the stages/steps and the hierarchy among them, which should be found in bibliometric research. In doing so, we primarily benefited from “methodological” papers (e.g., Glanzel, 2008 ; Cobo et al. 2011 ; Van Raan 2014 ; Zupic and Cater, 2015 ; Aria and Cuccurullo 2017 ; Gutierrez-Salcedo et al., 2018 ; Block and Fisch 2020 ; Linnenluecke et al. 2020 ; Donthu et al. 2021 ; Kraus et al. 2022 ; Sauer and Seuring 2023 ) and books (e.g., Andres, 2009 ; Glanzel et al., 2019 ) on bibliometric analysis, as well as “empirical research” employing bibliometric analysis in various research fields (e.g., Ferreira et al. 2013 ; Meyer et al. 2014 ; Khan and Wood 2015 ; Lopez-Fernandez et al., 2016 ; Leung et al. 2017 ; Hsu et al. 2018 ; Sanchez-Garcia et al., 2018 ; Aparicio et al. 2019 ; Baier-Fuentes et al. 2019 ; Block et al. 2020 ; Bahoo et al. 2020 ; Mishra et al. 2020 ; Alayo et al. 2021 ; Vogel et al. 2021 ; Deyanova et al. 2022 ; Perez-Vega et al. 2022 ; Bhardwaj et al. 2023 ; Lin et al. 2023 ) Footnote 1 . Table  1 displays the main stages (step by step) that were derived from the relevant papers and should be employed in bibliometric research.

3.1 Stage 1-Aim of the research

As in every research, the first stage of bibliometric research should begin with the statement of the research aim. It should continue with a thorough justification of its objectives and the reasons for employing bibliometric analysis to achieve those objectives. In other words, readers should be informed (satisfied) about the relationship and the methodological fit between the research aim and the bibliometric analysis.

The aim of the research and the justifications for employing bibliometric research to achieve it should be specified in the introduction (sometimes in the abstract) of the article. In this regard, the article’s introduction serves a crucial function to satisfy and motivate the readers typically scanning these parts before deciding whether to continue reading (Gastel and Day 2022 ). As in every paper, the introduction is a crucial component of bibliometric research and the research question(s) are potentially the most important part of the introduction, maybe of the entire paper (Fisch and Block 2018 ). The most concrete statement describing the research is the aim statement and the one(s) that best reflects the aim of the research is the research question(s). Therefore, it is suggested that the research questions should be developed in line with the aim of the research and stated explicitly in the introduction (Linnenluecke et al. 2020 ). Bibliometric analysis has a unique nature (Öztürk 2021 ). Therefore, research questions in bibliometric research should be specific to the nature of the analysis (Mishra et al. 2020 ). See Table  7 for typical research questions used in bibliometric research.

Research aims and questions determine the focus, scope, and direction of the research (Andres, 2009 ). The fact that those are explicit and unambiguous enables the scope and boundary of the research to be drawn more clearly. Thus, the type and scope of “data” and “analysis” may differ depending on the research aim and questions (Block and Fisch 2020 ). The fit between the research aims and questions with the respective analyses conducted is of utmost importance for a high-quality study. If this fit is not given, there is the danger of seemingly conducting random analysis disconnected from the respective research objective. To illustrate, for research that aims to “describe the subject clusters in a specific research field and reveal the conceptual development in the field in the historical process”, superficial bibliographic information such as “authors”, “authors’ institutions”, “countries”, “published journals” and/or “citation information” is quite inadequate and irrelevant (Waltman and van Eck 2012 ). With this information, only ‘performance analysis’ to get an overview of the field, citation analysis to identify influential papers (authors or journals) in the field, ‘co-author analysis’ to reveal networks of relationships between authors (institutions or countries), or ‘co-citation’ and/or ‘bibliographic coupling’ analyzes to reveal similarities and network in citations of papers can be performed. However, to achieve such an aim, ‘co-word analysis’ should be performed on data that includes details on “article titles”, “abstracts” and “keywords”. Therefore, a strong harmony is required between ‘the aim of the research and the research questions’ and ‘the data and the analyses’. The nature/scope of the data and information for the research may not be sufficient for some analysis. Hence, it is crucial to decide on the type and scope of the analyses to be performed as well as the data to be analyzed at the beginning. In this sense, it should be ensured that the data accurately represents the relevant research field (literature) and could address the research questions: i) the documents collected for analysis should completely cover the researched field, and ii) there should be no out-of-scope documents. The bibliometric studies by Vallaster et al. ( 2019 ), Kimpimäki et al. ( 2022 ), and Ammirato et al. ( 2023 ) serve as examples of clearly outlined research objectives.

3.2 Stage 2-Data collection

Having determined the aim of the research and the research questions, the next step is to decide on the literature (research field) to be examined and to create the dataset for the relevant literature. A systematic search process needs to be carried out to identify the relevant literature since bibliometric research must be replicable, which requires transparency regarding the steps performed within the scope of the research (Tranfield et al. 2003 ; Block and Fisch 2020 ). In other words, the processes in bibliometric research should be repeatable by other researchers (Linnenluecke et al. 2020 ) and hence, the whole process (especially regarding data) needs to be performed transparently (Zupic and Cater, 2015 ) Footnote 2 . In this sense, it should be ensured that each step of the procedure followed to get the dataset regarding the relevant literature determined in line with the research aim and research questions is explained transparently and explicitly (Andres, 2009 ). This indicates that all steps of the procedure for acquiring the required data should be specified in a way that readers can follow. Therefore, in bibliometric research, researchers cannot “randomly” include any paper in the review; instead, they are expected to demonstrate what steps have been taken in finding relevant papers to be added to the analysis (Linnenluecke et al. 2020 ). The study of Horvatinovic et al. ( 2023 ) serves as an example of a transparent outline of the data collection process. In bibliometric research, four steps are typically followed in identifying the relevant literature in a transparent and replicable manner:

3.2.1 Selecting the database

There are many databases that provide datasets for bibliometric research (e.g., WoS, Scopus, Google Scholar, PubMed, Microsoft Academic, Dimensions, EmBase and Springerlink) (Cobo et al. 2011 ; Moral-Muñoz et al. 2020 ). However, these databases have been developed for different purposes and have a variety of characteristics. To illustrate: WoS has long been the most comprehensive citation data source worldwide (Birkle et al. 2020 ). Scopus, on the other hand, is regarded as the second-largest comprehensive citation database (Zhu and Liu 2020 ). Despite having a wider range than either database (Vandagriff 2023 ), Google Scholar is typically not favored by researchers since it does not allow them to download data in a proper file format that can be utilized for bibliometric software tools, making it unable to provide a breakdown of the full dataset in a single file (Moral- Muñoz et al. 2020 ; Gürler 2021 ). Researchers should select one (or more, depending on the research’s objectives) of these databases based on bibliometric research criteria. There are some criteria that can be used in selecting any database in bibliometric research (Öztürk 2021 ):

Number of journals covered for the research field,

Accessibility to the database (e.g., free access, institutional memberships, etc.),

Journal impact factors and their field-leading potential,

The ability to download data in a format compatible with bibliometric analysis software,

The ability to filter data in compliance with the software that enables to address research questions,

Number of records that can be exported from the database.

Some scholars often ask whether they should use more than one database (e.g., WoS and Scopus) when designing bibliometric research for their respective fields of research. Moreover, reviewers recommend conducting searches on more than one database. However, it is not necessarily beneficial to employ multiple databases in bibliometric research. This may often cause some publications to overlap or become repetitious, which makes the results of the research questionable. Most of the journals are scanned simultaneously in both Scopus and WoS, especially in the field of Business and Management. Therefore, most of the publications found using the same search terms in the initial search overlap. Footnote 3 Furthermore, it is not technically viable to integrate the large amounts of datasets obtained from two distinct databases since the downloaded file formats are different from each other and the downloaded dataset file provides article information in a different sequence and format.

Given the discussions above, researchers must have clear information about the benefits and drawbacks of diverse databases. It should be decided how to determine the scope of the research and which papers will be included in the analysis after selecting the appropriate database to identify the relevant literature. Accordingly, researchers first determine which terms (keywords, concepts) will be used for the initial search process from the selected database to include the papers best representing the relevant field.

3.2.2 Identifying search terms

When employing bibliometric analysis to examine any research field, a “topic-based” search should be performed Footnote 4 (Dong et al. 2023 ). Hence, a search should be performed using “terms” that accurately describe the literature to be examined. Search terms might be (key) words or concepts used to access any form of publication (article, book, paper, report, etc.) related to the relevant literature (Gürler 2021 ). A researcher can obtain accurate and reliable results to the extent that these terms are directly related to the research questions (Synder, 2019 ). To get the desired results regarding the relevant literature, the codes to be utilized as well as the terms in the initial search are crucial. Code(s) are symbols (e.g., *, “…”, etc.) or short conjunctions (e.g., OR, AND, etc.) that will scope (constrict or expand) search results if more than one search term is used in the initial search (Zupic and Cater, 2015 ). In the initial search, even a slight change in search combinations (inserting/removing some words, symbols, or conjunctions) can lead the number of papers to vary enormously, which may adversely affect the ability of papers to represent the relevant literature (Linnenluecke et al. 2020 ). Such a representation problem might occur when papers are included in the analysis even though they are not within the research’s scope and/or when papers are excluded although they are within the research’s scope (Andres, 2009 ). This problem can substantially be addressed with the right combination of search terms. Nevertheless, the question of whether the dataset to be analyzed truly represents the relevant literature may still exist even if the correct search terms are used in the initial search. To minimize such doubts, filtering is typically employed on the papers that were available from the initial searching.

3.2.3 Filtering

In bibliometric research, researchers should specify how they will limit the research’s scope and which papers will be included in the dataset. Filtering should be employed on the search results even when the search terms are very carefully identified, as databases also find papers that are outside the scope of the scope (Tranfield et al. 2003 ), and these papers will affect the validity of the analysis as well as the results of the bibliometric analysis (Zupic and Cater, 2015 ) Footnote 5 . Accordingly, a set of inclusion/exclusion criteria is established and applied to relevant papers in accordance with the aim of the research and the research questions (Snyder 2019 ). These criteria have significant effects on the dataset (final sample) and thus the results of the analysis. Hence, the criteria to be applied need to be well justified (Block and Fisch 2020 ). These criteria may be determined using practical (e.g., database, publication language, etc.) and methodological (research field, document type, time, etc.) justifications, which strengthen the transparency of the research (Glanzel 2008 ; Fish and Block, 2018 ). Table  2 displays the typical inclusion or exclusion criteria applied in bibliometric research.

In the filtering process, a specified criterion requires the exclusion of others. For instance, selecting publications of certain document types or only articles within a certain year range means automatically excluding others (Linnenluecke et al. 2020 ). Researchers can identify document types as articles, early articles, and review articles. However, they should exclude review articles when they focus on peer-reviewed empirical research. This is because such publications often lead to biases due to their high citation numbers. Moreover, proceeding papers are generally excluded because they are considered as knowledge that is still being developed and they may duplicate or overlap when converted into articles. In addition, research fields (seen as categories in WoS) should be specified such as “business” “management”, and “business finance” depending on the research topic. All the filtering transactions can easily be carried out through both WOS and Scopus search engines.

Researchers are recommended to search manually to find papers related to the research topic that cannot be identified in the initial search although it is not widely applied in bibliometric research. Accordingly, progeny (citation) and ancestry (reference) searches on the top (best representative) papers can be performed to ensure comprehensiveness. Furthermore, databases can sometimes display studies unrelated to the research topic because they are unable to completely filter or exclude papers that do not meet predefined criteria. Therefore, it is necessary to eliminate papers that are found in the initial search results but are not actually related to the research topic. Researchers are recommended to peruse the titles and abstracts of all papers. In this way, irrelevant papers can be identified and excluded from the scope of the study. It is necessary to specify each of these procedures to ensure transparency and systematicity in bibliometric research. In bibliometric research, the “systematicity” logic which requires the identification of the research’s scope based on specified criteria provides a great deal of transparency but may lead to the representation problem regarding the relevant literature (Sauer and Seuring 2023 ). This can be expressed as a limitation of bibliometric research. The dataset obtained after the inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied accurately constitutes the final sample of the research. The next step is to download the dataset.

3.2.4 Downloading the dataset

Databases offer various file formats for saving the relevant files or transferring them to software programs (Andres, 2009 ). Having filtered the initial search results, the final sample should be downloaded in a file format compatible with the software tools that will be used for analysis. Furthermore, download options that the databases provide affect what information regarding the papers will be included (Mokhnacheva 2023 ). For instance, by selecting the “ author, title, source ” option from the WoS database, one can obtain a file that lists the titles, authors, and publication names for each study (e.g., article, proceeding, book, book chapter, etc.) in the downloaded file. On the other hand, one can access the file with more comprehensive information (e.g., titles, authors, publication names, institutions, keywords, abstracts, publication years, and references) for each paper by selecting the “ full record and references ” option (Vandagriff 2023 ). The researcher can select from various options to download the file including the data required during the analysis process (Dong et al. 2023 ).

3.3 Stage 3-Analysis and visualization

In bibliometric research, the analysis should start by applying a preprocessing on the data. Accordingly, data cleaning is required to get accurate and reliable results. For instance, (i) references listed in citations may occasionally refer to several editions of the same book (e.g., Pfeffer and Salancik’s “The External Control of Organizations: A Resource Dependence Perspective” published in two separate editions in 1978, and 2003), (ii) the names of the authors may be spelled in different ways (e.g., various combinations may be used to abbreviate the names of the author such as “Erdogan, B.“, “Erdogan, BZ”, “Erdogan B. Z.” or “Erdogan, B. Z.” for the abbreviation of the author named Erdogan, Bayram Zafer, iii) the names of the cited publications may also be given in different forms (e.g., Strategic Management Journal or SMJ). While it is up to the researcher to bring together different editions of the books, different spellings of author and journal names should be unified. This pre-process is crucial for the accuracy and reliability of the results from citation, co-citation (in terms of author and journal), and co-author analyses (Zupic and Cater, 2015 ).

Two main analysis procedures are applied in bibliometric research (Cobo et al. 2011 ; Gutierrez-Salcedo et al., 2018 ): Performance analysis (an overview of the field in terms of scientific outputs) and science mapping (relationship networks between authors-papers-concepts-citations). Depending on the aim of the research and the research questions, researchers can do one or both. Figure  1 displays the analysis procedure in bibliometric research. As outlined above, the selection of the respective bibliometric analyses must match the research aim and research questions.

figure 1

Source Drawn by utilizing from Cobo et al. ( 2011 ), Zupic and Cater ( 2015 ), Aria and Cuccurullo ( 2017 ), Gutierrez-Salcedo et al. ( 2018 ), Block and Fisch ( 2020 ), and Donthu et al. ( 2021 )

Analysis procedure in bibliometric research

3.3.1 Performance analysis procedure

With performance analysis, the performances of different scientific items are evaluated through a range of bibliometric indicators developed based on papers and citation data and thus, a general view of the field is presented (Cobo et al. 2011 ). This analysis aims to evaluate the “publication” and “citation” performances of researchers/authors, institutions/universities, countries, and journals (Öztürk and Dil 2022 ). In this regard, performance analysis is the assessment of scientific output in terms of quality and quantity indicators regarding the items (author, journal, country, institution/university) in the downloaded dataset related to the researched field. Moreover, within this analysis, citation analysis is also performed to see how effective the outputs of the items are in the relevant field. Table  3 shows the bibliometric indicators employed to assess the performance (or scientific output) of relevant items.

As is seen, the information obtained through performance analysis can be accessed from databases or the websites of journals without the need for software-based calculations or formulations. Therefore, this analysis procedure can be performed without requiring the use of software. It may be sufficient to classify the relevant items and compare the outputs/amounts of each with each other, and the results can be displayed through a set of tables (Block et al. 2020 ). At this step, only “citation analysis” of bibliometric analysis techniques is employed. Accordingly, it could be necessary to utilize a software program specifically for this analysis (Öztürk 2021 ).

The simplest way to begin bibliometric research is the descriptive analysis of the fundamental performance characteristics of scientific items in the relevant field (Cobo et al. 2011 ). Just as an empirical research paper typically begins with descriptive statistics on the analyses’ findings, bibliometric research should begin with an overview of the relevant literature. In this respect, performance analysis is fundamentally a critical part of bibliometric research; but research must go beyond this stage. Nevertheless, it is seen that bibliometric research papers perform “only” performance analysis (Block and Fisch 2020 ). The recent studies by Halder et al. ( 2021 ) and Tiberius and Weyland ( 2023 ) serve as examples of performance analyses in bibliometric studies.

3.3.2 Science mapping procedure

Science mapping reveals the literature’s (the research field’s) intellectual, social, conceptual structure, and evolutionary processes (Cobo et al. 2011 ; Aria and Cuccurullo 2017 ). Accordingly, it is not sufficient to classify the items in the downloaded dataset, simply measure their performance (scientific output), or perform a simple citation analysis, further analysis is required (Block and Fisch 2020 ). To reveal the intellectual structure and dynamics of a field, it is necessary to make more macro-level (with a greater level of abstraction) analyses of the relevant field. Performance analysis yields results about the performances of scientific actors. Such an analysis does not enable the reader to obtain information regarding the relationship/interaction/collaboration between these actors (Öztürk 2021 ). This analysis cannot alone provide a comprehensive view of the structure and fundamental dynamics of the relevant field. Hence, science mapping is employed to get the big picture of the interactions between scientific actors (authors, papers, journals, concepts/words, universities, countries, and citations) from multiple perspectives (van Eck and Waltman 2014 ). In other words, it is the visualization of the relationship/collaboration network between scientific items, which enables mapping the relevant literature. Thus, the analyses in the scientific mapping procedure can be noted to be a form of network creation/revealing process (Block and Fisch 2020 ). In brief, science mapping is a spatial representation of the relationship/interaction between authors, concepts (keywords), and citations (in terms of papers, journals, or authors) in any research field (Gutierrez-Salcedo et al., 2018 ). To reveal and examine the relationship networks between the scientific items, co-author, co-word, co-citation, and bibliographic coupling analyses should be used. Accordingly, Table  4 presents the goals for which bibliometric research is typically employed, the different types of networks revealed, and the bibliometric analysis techniques utilized to reach these networks.

The science mapping procedure is a combination of two basic processes: “analysis” and “visualization” (Boyack and Klavans 2014 ). As part of the analysis, similarity matrices and relationships between items (authors, words, papers, journals, etc.) are calculated. Then, the relationship/collaboration “networks” between the relevant items are visualized (Öztürk 2021 ). Although BibExcel, one of the first software programs, follows this principle (Persson et al. 2009 ), researchers typically lack the skills needed to manually compute the similarity matrices and relationship/collaboration between items. Thus, they commonly employ up-to-date software tools to perform bibliometric techniques and obtain relevant visuals (Pan et al. 2018 ). Some software programs (e.g., VOSviewer, Biblioshiny, and SciMAt) can directly display visuals related to bibliometric analysis techniques without the need for researchers to perform extra analysis due to the advanced coding embedded within them. Therefore, such programs provide significant convenience and advantages to researchers (Zupic and Cater, 2015 ): (i) Papers can be exported from databases as a file (dataset), saved in the appropriate file type and easily uploaded to software programs, (ii) similarity matrices between items can be calculated, without the need for manual processing/calculations, (iii) visuals of the relationship networks between items can be easily generated, and (iv) these visuals can be exported and saved in formats that can be used in the relevant research. The studies by Alayo et al. ( 2021 ) and Molina-Garcia et al. ( 2023 ) serve as examples of science mapping as part of bibliometric research.

3.4 Stage 4-Interpreting the findings and results

The last stage in bibliometric research is the interpretation of the findings and results within the research field (Zupic and Cater, 2015 ). The analysis is the fundamental part of bibliometric research, but it is not sufficient to only report the results of the analyses and related visuals (Block and Fisch 2020 ). Performing analyses and compiling multiple lists regarding the relevant literature ( performance analysis ), revealing the relationship between scientific items, and presenting related visuals ( science mapping ) are treated as only the beginning acts for bibliometric research (Cobo et al. 2011 ). Accordingly, bibliometric research should portray the current state of the literature examined, organize the body of existing knowledge, determine the general trend and direction of the literature, prepare the ground for discussions about what has already been known, show the gaps in the literature and develop an agenda and road map for future research (Block and Fisch 2020 ). To do this, it is required to discuss and interpret how well bibliometric research supports the intended research aim and how well it can address the research questions.

It is crucial to address a common problem with bibliometric research/analysis. Many bibliometric research results are not associated with the gap(s) in the literature and, as a result, are unlikely to yield conclusions that are significant for the topic(s) under research. Accordingly, we imply that this analysis is employed merely due to its widespread usage, disregarding the logic and intent behind the analysis. This leads research to begin without being based on an identification, curiosity, claim, or assumption. Thus, a gap emerges regarding the interpretation of the findings/visualization obtained through the analysis. Moreover, interpretations of the findings do not turn into a satisfactory output regarding the relevant field when the researchers lack in-depth knowledge about the field they examine. Thus, it requires expertise in the field (Öztürk 2021 ) and a field perspective (Fisch and Block 2018 ) to interpret the findings and results. Researchers who are well-versed in research field Footnote 6 can discuss a research field’s structure, fundamental dynamics, evolutionary past, or unfulfilled research gaps (Zupic and Cater, 2015 ).

The researchers’ focus of effort in their research affects how the results and findings are interpreted. Such focus refers to what researchers seek to “achieve” through bibliometric research: Will the research (i) present the overall structure of the relevant field, (ii) derive an integrative framework of the field’s current knowledge, (iii) reveal the field’s evolutionary growth, (vi) address only several questions based on a range of identified gaps in the relevant field, or (v) outline potential avenues for future research? Table  5 demonstrates ways to interpret the findings and results of bibliometric research, depending on what the research focuses on.

Many research relying on bibliometric analysis tend only to describe results, rather than interpret them (Lim and Kumar 2023 ). Thus, such reviews fall short of elucidating the unique nuances of the field and their theoretical and practical implications. Accordingly, Mukherjee et al. ( 2022b ) suggest that performance analysis and science mapping results help researchers advance theory and practice, serving as a springboard and complementary partner to other review techniques. The theoretical value of bibliometric research stems from science mapping’s usefulness and novelty in the objective identification of knowledge clusters (Alayo et al. 2021 ; Molina-Garcia et al. 2023 ). The research can yield such value by enabling the discovery of knowledge clusters objectively, elucidating nomological networks to show the current state of the field, mapping social patterns to comprehend the social processes enhancing the knowledge in the field, tracking evolutionary nuances of the field, and identifying critical knowledge gaps to create future research avenues (Mukherjee et al. 2022b ). On the other hand, the research’s practical value comes from performance analysis objectively evaluating the productivity and impact of the research (Halder et al. 2021 ; Tiberius and Weyland 2023 ). Accordingly, bibliometric results can enhance practice by enabling objective assessment and reporting of research productivity and impact, determining reach for coverage claims, recognizing social dominance or hidden biases for efforts to improve, identifying anomalies for additional examination, and assessing relative performance for equitable decision-making (Mukherjee et al. 2022b ).

To obtain valuable outputs from bibliometric research, Lim and Kumar ( 2023 ) propose a sensemaking approach requiring the transformation of raw information into informed insights. Through the application of sensemaking to bibliometric research, researchers may present a nuanced view of the literature and thus may provide a more thorough knowledge of the field’s current state, evolution, and future trajectories. This helps them mitigate the criticism raised against bibliometric research for either misinterpreting or underinterpreting the data. In fact, the value of sensemaking mainly lies in bridging the gap between quantitative data and qualitative interpretation. Accordingly, emphasizing the need for careful planning, strategic implementation, and mindful interpretation in the integration of sensemaking into bibliometric research, Lim and Kumar ( 2023 ) offer a step-by-step guide (scanning, sensing, and substantiating) that enables researchers to not only interpret but also make plausible sense of their bibliometric results (see Table  6 ).

Given the discussions above, we acknowledge that understanding the social, conceptual, and intellectual structure of a research field through bibliometric research is a challenging yet crucial procedure. Accordingly, we offered some ways to interpret the bibliometric results that will guide future research. Furthermore, we suggested Lim and Kumar’s ( 2023 ) robust framework including the application of the 3Ss of sensemaking to address the complexity of bibliometric research and provide insightful, practical knowledge about how a field of research is evolving. Thus, these efforts are expected to help researchers gain deeper insights, transforming raw data into narratives and action points (i.e. recommendations), revealing the hidden story behind data and significant implications.

4 Implications for academics: a comprehensive framework for bibliometric research

In the extant literature, especially with the widespread use of bibliometric analysis, many papers have discussed the stages of bibliometric analysis (e.g., Andres, 2009 ; van Raan 2014 ; Zupic and Cater, 2015 ; Aria and Cuccurullo 2017 ; Block and Fisch 2020 ; Linnenluecke et al. 2020 , Donthu et al. 2021 ; Romanelli et al. 2021 ). However, technically describing bibliometric analysis falls short of how bibliometric research should be performed. Thus, the current paper offers a framework on how and under which headings the stages in bibliometric research might be reported in an article to make all the above explanations regarding the design of bibliometric research more functional and useful for academics.

A research design guides the researcher on what to perform and how to do it (Punch 2014 ). It helps academics decide on research objectives and questions, gather, and analyze data, and interpret findings and results (Yin 2003 ). Accordingly, research design essentially refers to the coherent and justified description of any research’s stages, steps, and hierarchy (and linkages) between the stages. Following a “coherent article structure Footnote 7 ” provides great convenience to researchers for ensuring the hierarchy (and linkages) between the stages of research (Fisch and Block 2018 ). The coherence of the structure determines the level of success of the stages in bibliometric research and how these stages interrelate with one another (in communicating them to reviewers and readers). Thus, the article’s structure is crucial for both systematically presenting the study and helping readers and reviewers better comprehend the research. Accordingly, it relates to how and under what headings the transactions that occur in the article are presented and guides both researchers and readers. Table  7 provides a detailed framework of the stages (and steps) in typical bibliometric research, along with the headings under which they will be covered in the article.

As a result, each research design must include a well-designed construct. Accordingly, it is necessary to establish a logical connection (i) between the reasons why the research will be performed (i.e., problem, objectives, and research questions) and the method employed to accomplish it; and (ii) between the method employed and the results acquired. In bibliometric research, it is also crucial to establish a consistent connection between the research objectives, the research questions, and the reasons behind employing bibliometric analysis to accomplish those objectives. Considering the limitations of bibliometric analysis, it is crucial to identify the relationship between bibliometric analysis and the results and interpret the findings based on this relationship to ensure the integrity of the research.

This study was designed to provide researchers with practical guidance. One of the most crucial steps in this procedure is that scholars decide on which journal is the most suitable for their bibliometric research. Selecting the wrong journals might prevent the study from reaching its full potential. Also, scholars often experience fatigue when they are unable to select the best publication outlet for their research. The journals that mostly accept well-done bibliometric research in the field of business and management include Journal of Business Research, Review of Managerial Science, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Benchmarking: An International Journal , and Technology Analysis & Strategic Management. Also, some journals have just started to accept bibliometric papers, including Journal of Management, International Marketing Review, Administrative Sciences, Journal of Business Venturing, Journal of Business Ethics, Academy of Management Journal, Strategic Management Journal, European Management Review, Management Decision , and Research Policy. However, some highly ranked journals (e.g., Academy of Management Review ) have not published any bibliometric research yet.

5 Conclusion

The current paper showed that bibliometric research is a significant scientific approach for both experienced and emerging scholars looking to delve deeper into a retrospective of broad and rich fields. The paper also demonstrated how the widespread availability and usefulness of bibliometric databases and tools, which make it easier to collect and analyze vast amounts of scientific data for any research field, have contributed to the bibliometric methodology’s remarkable rise in popularity in recent years. With the rapid increase in the use of bibliometric analysis, some researchers offered step-by-step guidelines for how to perform the analysis. However, their contributions tend to be more conceptual than practical. Thus, little is still known about the best ways to perform bibliometric research and what its best practices are. To fill this gap, the paper first described methodological stages and steps for how researchers can design bibliometric research. In this way, it presented the four main stages (definition of the research aim, data collection, analysis and visualization, and interpretation of findings and results) to demonstrate the typical pathways to be followed and details what steps a researcher would pursue at each stage. Then, more importantly, the paper offered a comprehensive framework of typical article structure for bibliometric research. By doing this, it provides guidelines for every decision, including tasks that help with sound choices to complete the research process and make significant contributions. By following these guidelines, many review papers may become more robust and rigorous, which enhances their contribution to the current body of knowledge. Moreover, by the pursuit of a collegial and pragmatic endeavor, the paper also offers a few practical tips and best-practice examples on issues that emerging scholars often find difficult to address in a manuscript, which frustrates editors, reviewers, readers, and authors alike. Accordingly, the paper clearly states that the decisions regarding every stage of the bibliometric research process are crucial since they influence the obtained results and the interferences drawn from the analysis. Through this endeavor, this paper encourages scholars to overcome their fear of dealing with large volumes of scientific data and to examine the retrospectives of any research field.

Data availability

The authors confirm that there are no available datasets for this work.

To provide an applicable research design for bibliometric research, both “conceptual” papers describing the nature of bibliometric research and “empirical” papers revealing the structure of a research field using bibliometric analysis were considered. In identifying relevant papers, we considered how comprehensive they are. Hence, papers (i) that are “inaccurately” labeled as bibliometric research, (ii) that only provide an overview of the field, or (iii) that only “technically” carry out citation analysis and do not assess the relevant research field were excluded.

Traditional literature reviews (e.g., narrative, meta-analysis, and systematic review) have biases regarding whether they cover the entire research field (Tranfield et al. 2003 ). When examining any research field, bibliometric research has the potential to initiate a systematic, transparent, and repeatable review process in defining the relevant field and determining its scope, thereby raising the quality of reviews. Bibliometric research offers researchers the opportunity to map the relevant research field without subjective bias (Zupic and Cater, 2015 ).

Reviewing the studies using both the Resource-Based View and Resource Dependence Theory, Öztürk and Yıldırım ( 2023 ) found 106 studies in WoS and 103 studies in Scopus as a result of the initial search with the same search terms. They suggested that all the studies scanned in Scopus, except 2, were also obtained through the search in the WoS database.

Bibliometric analysis can sometimes be employed just to compile a bibliography of a journal or author. Therefore, a journal-based or author-based search will need to be performed to conduct analysis for such purposes. Also, there are many other criteria regarding where/how to search with the terms in databases (e.g., topic, author, title, source, publication year, publication name, funding agency, address, document type, editor, etc.).

A bibliometric search might provide very different responses to the same research questions and arrive at distinct results depending on which papers are included in the analysis (i.e., how the scope of the study is framed). For example, research can be conducted with a highly inappropriate sample, selecting only certain publications, years, or even search terms to limit the scope of the research. One may draw inaccurate inferences about gaps in the literature or, more seriously, provide false evidence for a given relationship or effect (Snyder 2019 ).

Researchers having prior knowledge of a topic are required not to attempt and shoehorn bibliometric research/analysis into their existing preconceptions. Instead, they should utilize their expertise and knowledge of the relevant topic to analyze and interpret the findings and results.

An article has typically the following headings: introduction, literature review, methodology including sampling, data, analysis, etc., findings, implications, limitations, and conclusion (Coşkun et al. 2019 ). The article structure in bibliometric research differs partially due to the unique nature of bibliometric analysis: (i) The heading of ‘literature review’ is not included in bibliometric research since bibliometric analysis is already a tool for analyzing the relevant literature. (ii) Bibliometric research does not include the heading of ‘sample and data’ as in the method section of empirical papers because the structure of any research field is examined in this research (i.e., the literature examined is also the sample of the research). Therefore, a bibliometric research paper typically includes the headings of introduction, method (data, analysis, results/findings), and conclusion/ discussion.

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    Research Proposal Format Example. Following is a general outline of the material that should be included in your project proposal. I. Title Page II. Introduction and Literature Review (Chapters 2 and 3) A. Identification of specific problem area (e.g., what is it, why it is important). B. Prevalence, scope of problem.

  11. PDF Introduction to Writing Research Proposals

    In many ways, the Project Summary is the most important part of any research proposal. The Project Summary has the longest shelf-life of any submitted report/proposal; in fact, the funding agencies will ... Research Proposals are partially in the present tense and part in the future tense. All of the introductory material (components 1 and 2 ...

  12. Research Proposal Example (PDF + Template)

    Proposal template (Fully editable) If you're working on a research proposal for a dissertation or thesis, you may also find the following useful: Research Proposal Bootcamp: Learn how to write a research proposal as efficiently and effectively as possible. 1:1 Proposal Coaching: Get hands-on help with your research proposal.

  13. 14.3 Components of a Research Proposal

    Literature review. This key component of the research proposal is the most time-consuming aspect in the preparation of your research proposal. As described in Chapter 5, the literature review provides the background to your study and demonstrates the significance of the proposed research.Specifically, it is a review and synthesis of prior research that is related to the problem you are setting ...

  14. How to prepare a Research Proposal

    It puts the proposal in context. 3. The introduction typically begins with a statement of the research problem in precise and clear terms. 1. The importance of the statement of the research problem 5: The statement of the problem is the essential basis for the construction of a research proposal (research objectives, hypotheses, methodology ...

  15. How to Write a Research Proposal in 2024: Structure, Examples & Common

    A quality example of a research proposal shows one's above-average analytical skills, including the ability to coherently synthesize ideas and integrate lateral and vertical thinking. Communication skills. The proposal also demonstrates your proficiency to communicate your thoughts in concise and precise language.

  16. How to Write a Research Proposal

    Research proposal examples. Writing a research proposal can be quite challenging, but a good starting point could be to look at some examples. We've included a few for you below. Example research proposal #1: 'A Conceptual Framework for Scheduling Constraint Management'.

  17. How to Write a Research Proposal

    A research proposal is a concise and coherent summary of your proposed research. It sets out the central issues or questions that you intend to address. It outlines the general area of study within which your research falls, referring to the current state of knowledge and any recent debates on the topic.

  18. PDF A Guide to Writing your PhD Proposal

    The appropriate length of a research proposal A good research proposal is as long as it takes, but a guide would be 1000‐2000 words. Remember that it is meant to be an accurate overview, not a thesis, so you need to provide enough detail for the reader to understand it.

  19. How to write the introduction of a research proposal?

    A well written introduction will help make a compelling case for your research proposal. To begin with, the introduction must set context for your research by mentioning what is known about the topic and what needs to be explored further. In the introduction, you can highlight how your research will contribute to the existing knowledge in your ...

  20. Overview of Research Process

    The proposal is as essential to successful research as an architect's plans are to the construction of a building. See Appendix B to view the basic components of a research proposal. Appendix B Components of a Research Proposal. Collect & Analyze Data. In Practical Research-Planning and Design (2005, 8th Edition), Leedy and Ormrod provide ...

  21. (PDF) Overview of a Research Proposal

    research proposal is a written document that provides an overview of the project, why it is important, and what is needed to get it done. Research proposals generally address several key points:

  22. Outline for Research Proposal

    Outline for Research Project Proposal. (adapted from Course Materials for Psycholinguistics) When writing, please use section headings to indicate where the information can be found. Subheadings need not be used, though in long sections they may facilitate organization. 1. Introduction Explain the issue you are examining and why it is significant.

  23. How To Write A Research Summary

    So, follow the steps below to write a research summary that sticks. 1. Read the parent paper thoroughly. You should go through the research paper thoroughly multiple times to ensure that you have a complete understanding of its contents. A 3-stage reading process helps.

  24. How to design bibliometric research: an overview and a framework proposal

    Bibliometric analysis has recently become a popular and rigorous technique used for exploring and analyzing the literature in business and management. Prior studies principally focused on 'how to do bibliometric analysis', presenting an overview of the bibliometric methodology along with various techniques and step-by-step guidelines that can be relied on to rigorously conduct bibliometric ...

  25. PDF 2024 REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS California Firearm Violence Research Center

    Proposals that do not adhere to content and formatting guidelines may not be reviewed. Proposals should be prepared using 11-pt Arial font with margins no smaller than 0.5" and no larger than 1" around and may use single or 1.5 line spacing. Proposal reviewers will have subject matter expertise in violence research, medicine,

  26. 2023 COM internal competition (RFA-23-ROSF-COM) » Office of Research

    Important Dates Award Overview The Research Opportunity Seed Fund (ROSF) targets multidisciplinary, faculty-initiated research projects with potential for extramural support. The program focuses on new projects and new collaborative partnerships. Projects must be innovative, have strong potential for garnering future funding from external sources, or have outstanding commercial potential.