How not to write a research proposal Richard Connor

Why research proposals? Spot the difference: –What to do in the 2 nd and 3 rd PhD years? –What the research councils will fund? Imperative for both: –A carefully thought out, well presented plan that is very likely to end in success A contribution to knowledge

What is research? Discovering something that nobody knew before, AND Telling the world about it! It is incremental, not revolutionary

What is science? A process of knowledge discovery Based on: –Observation –Hypothesis formation –Hypothesis testing –Where does technology fit? It doesn’t always…

Like many things in life… Much is learned from looking at bad examples –Much less from looking at good examples! The key points are obvious –So the majority overlook them Obvious but overlooked: –You are making a case to do something in return for something else –The structure of this doesn’t vary much with the topic

Key points What –You want to do; in research, what are you aiming to discover? How –Methodology; how will you discover the it? Why you –Why is it better for you to do it, rather than someone else?

Proposal 1 There is all this new technology in the world We will build something new –That hasn’t been built before –Maybe using it –Maybe like it A wee bit different The end

Proposal 2 Last time, we did a thing (X) This time, we will make some amendments to X –Which will make it better

Proposal 3 There is intense commercial pressure to produce X –It so far doesn’t exist –We will build something like it and then become fabulously rich

Proposal 4 Company Y wants Z to exist They would like us to develop Z They will collaborate with us to do so –And even give us some money

So – how to write one? What is it? –Contribution to knowledge Otherwise, it’s not research… What are the research questions? What are the proposed solution domains? –What do we already know? How will we do it –METHODOLOGY Who are we, anyway?! –Why us, not someone else?

The what Unfailing, rigorous format: Abstract –Para 1: context –Para 2: problem –Para 3: proposed solution Wrt the scientific method, the above represents the observation only

The real what: questions For us to believe the para 3 solution may be effective, what do we need to know? A list of –Things that are required for the solution to work –Things that are currently unknown

Proposed solution domains We do not invent new things –We incrementally improve and reapply old things A list of –Things that are required for the solution to work –Things that are currently known

The How This is research –We don’t know what will happen during the investigation And everyone knows it However…! –We do need an overall plan –Ideally, hypothesis-testing, ie an experiment –(And what happens if it fails, by the way?)

Why us? Because we know the domain well Because we are the first to have this significant new insight –ie thorough knowledge of the relevant literature and community –May also include previous stuff we have done

The competition Not other researchers! –If noone else is doing the same thing, it probably isn’t worth doing –There is lots of space for everyone The industry –Don’t try to do something that has significant short- term commercial benefit That would be completely unconvincing as research Those beneficiaries… –Often regarded as the toughest competition, but… –… if it’s worth doing, they exist!