
EMU Research
Application Guidelines
Anatomy of a Typical Proposal:
The sponsor's guidelines always provide detailed information about what should go into the proposal. Adhere to the guidelines stringently. Refer to them often to make sure you are including what the sponsor desires. Typically, proposals contain the elements described below. If the proposal is relatively simple, some of the sections may be subsumed under others.
- Title (Cover, Application) Page
- Table of Contents
- Abstract (Summary)
- Introduction
- Problem Statement (Needs Statement)
- Literature Review
- Goals (General Objectives)
- Objectives (Hypotheses)
- Research Design and Procedures (Methodology)
- Evaluation (Assessment)
- Future Funding (Institutionalization, Continuation)
- Dissemination of Results
- Timeline
- Personnel
- Facilities and Resources
- Budget (Projection of Costs, Itemized Costs)
- Appendices (Attachments)
Sequence for Proposal Development:
The section above describes what goes into a usual proposal, taking the aspects as they normally appear in the finished product. Usually, however, project directors compose the elements in an order that more naturally follows the thinking process. Here is the general sequence in which the elements are typically prepared:
- Problem statement
- Goals and objectives
- Research design and procedures (methodology).
- Evaluation
- Future funding
- Dissemination
- Budget, time table, personnel
- Introduction
- Title (cover) page
- Abstract
- Appendices
- Table of contents