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