| Part ofa series on |
| Research |
|---|
 |
Research strategy |
| Philosophy portal |
Aresearch proposal is a documentproposing aresearch project, generally in thesciences oracademia, and generally constitutes a request forsponsorship of that research.[1] Proposals are evaluated on the cost and potential impact of the proposed research, and on the soundness of the proposed plan for carrying it out.[2] Research proposals generally address several key points:[3]
Research proposals may besolicited, meaning that they are submitted in response to a request with specified requirements, such as arequest for proposal, or they may beunsolicited, meaning they are submitted without prior request. Other types of proposals include "preproposals", where aletter of intent or briefabstract is submitted for review prior to submission of a full proposal; continuation proposals, which re-iterate an original proposal and its funding requirements in order to ensure continued funding; and renewal proposals, which seek continued sponsorship of a project which would otherwise be terminated.[4]
Academic research proposals are generally written as part of the initial requirements of writing athesis,research paper, or dissertation.[5] They generally follow the same format as a research paper, with an introduction, aliterature review, a discussion of researchmethodology and goals, and a conclusion. This basic structure may vary between projects and between fields, each of which may have its own requirements.