vantages.
So far, you have proven you have a research idea, that you are familiar
with the field, and that your idea is new. Now, why should your project
be worth researching? Because it advances knowledge, ok. But is this kno
wledge that anybody will need? Maybe nobody knows for sure how the shoel
aces were being tied in the XIXth century, but who cares, beyond two lac
e-tying specialists? Find arguments to convince the reader that s/he sho
uld give you money for that research: practical use, accelerating the de
velopment of knowledge in your or other fields, opening new research pos
sibilities, a better understanding of facts that will allow a more appro
priate course of action are possible reasons. Be clear and specific. Don
''t promise to save the world, it might be too much to start with. Even J
ames Bond succeeds that only towards the end of the movie.
We approach now one of the most difficult parts of writing a research pr
oposal: the methodology. In short, what actions are you going to take in
order to answer the question? When will you know whether the hypothesis
has been proven wrong, or has survived enough tests to be considered, f
or now, valid? Those tests and the way you are supposed to handle them t
o give rigor to your research is what is understood under methods. Metho
ds divide in qualitative (interviews, questionnaires) and quantitative (
statistics, stuff that deals intensively with numbers). For some project
s qualitative methods are more appropriate, for some quantitative, while
for most a mixture of the two is adequate. You should pick your methods
and justify your choice. Research methodology, however, is too a compli
cated thing to be explained here. And this is why it''s so tough: not muc
h attention is given to teaching it in Eastern Europe. Try, before writi
ng your RP, to read a bit more about methodology - on the Internet you w
ill find for sure some articles - and decide which methods suit your pro
ject best. Don''t forget: reading theoretical pieces of your work and pro
viding a critical analysis of those is also a kind of research. It''s fin
e to provide a rough schedule of your research; some grant programs will
also require a detailed budget, even though for scholarships this is un
likely.
Conclusions: After working your way through the difficult methodological
part, you only have to write your conclusions. Shortly recap why your h
ypothesis is new, why it advances knowledge, why is it worth researching
and how, from a practical point of view, are you going to do that. Over
all, the capacity of your project to answer the research question should
come out crystal clear from the body of the paper, and especially from
the conclusions. If this happens, it means you have a well-written RP, a
nd you have just increased you chances for having a successful applicati
on.
One last word: how big should your RP be? In most cases, this is specifi
ed in the application form. If it is not, we suggest that you keep it at
about 1500 words (that''s 3 pages, single-s
