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ahmed al-Shukaili, et al. 181
review article Oman medical Journal [2017], vol. 32, no. 3:180-188
Writing a Research Proposal to The Research
Council of Oman
1 2
Ahmed Al-Shukaili * and Abdullah Al-Maniri
1
Director of Health and Social Services Sector, The Research Council of Oman, Muscat, Oman
2
Research Department, Oman Medical Specialty Board, Muscat, Oman
ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT
Article history: Writing a research proposal can be a challenging task for young researchers. This article
Received: 24 April 2016 explains how to write a strong research proposal to apply for funding, specifically, a
Accepted: 23 October 2016 proposal for The Research Council (TRC) of Oman. Three different research proposal
Online: application forms are currently used in TRC, including Open Research Grant (ORG),
DOI 10.5001/omj.2017.35 Graduate Research Support Program (GRSP), and Faculty-mentored Undergraduate
Keywords: Research award Program (FURaP). The application forms are filled and submitted
Writing; Research; Research electronically on TRC website. each of the proposals submitted to TRC is selected
Design; Research Support. through a rigorous reviewing and screening process. novelty and originality of the
research idea is the most crucial element in writing a research proposal. Performing an
in-depth review of the literature will assist you to compose a good researchable question
and generate a strong hypothesis. The development of a good hypothesis will offer insight
into the specific objectives of a study. Research objectives should be focused, measurable,
and achievable by a specific time using the most appropriate methodology. moreover, it
is essential to select a proper study design in-line with the purpose of the study and the
hypothesis. Furthermore, social/economic impact and reasonable budget of proposed
research are important criteria in research proposal evaluation by TRC. Finally, ethical
principles should be observed before writing a research proposal involving human or
animal subjects.
riting a research proposal can be ■ Faculty-mentored Undergraduate Research
a challenging task, especially for award Program (FURaP), a small grant for
4
inexperienced researchers. This undergraduate students.
Warticle explains how to write a The differences in the contents and length of
research proposal to apply for funding, specifically, a these applications are attributed to the nature and
proposal for The Research Council (TRC) of Oman. requirements needed for each grant. The application
a research proposal is a concise and coherent forms are completed and submitted electronically
description of a planned research project.1 It should on TRC website. The contents of these applications
contain all of the information the evaluators will forms are summarized in Table 1. after submission,
need, such as the background information about the proposal passes through several stages [Figure 1].
the topic, the project’s significance and objectives,
and the methods you will employ to achieve the Before you start
objectives and budgetary details. Good research starts with a good idea. To identify a
The components of research proposals are similar good research idea, you should ask yourself several
worldwide, with small differences that depends on questions:
the funder’s requirements. In TRC, three research 1. What do you find intriguing in your field?
proposal application forms are used for three 2. What do you want to add to your field?
different research grants awarded to individual 3. Is this project a novel contribution? does it differ
researchers: from existing research?
■ Open Research Grant (ORG), awarded to
2
researchers holding a Ph.d. degree (or equivalent). 4. If your answer to question 3 is “no,” but you believe
■ Graduate Research Support Program (GRSP) that your approach to the problem is different
a small grant intended to support predoctoral from existing methods, why do you believe that
3 5
researchers. your approach will have a better outcome?
*Corresponding author: ashukaily@hotmail.com Oman med J, vOl 32, nO 3, may 2017
ahmed al-Shukaili, et al. 181
Table 1: Content of different research proposal applications forms at The Research Council.
Grant name Research Proposal contents Principal investigator Maximum fund in
qualifications Omani Rials
Open Research ■ Title Ph.d. holder or no cap
Grant (ORG) ■ Executive summary equivalent
■ Introduction and statement of the problem or project
■ Literature review and analysis of related work
(with references)
■ Description of the benefits to Oman
■ Outline of proposed activities and research methodology
■ Academic, scientific, and/or innovative significance
■ Expected economic impacts
■ Expected social, cultural, educational, and welfare
benefits
■ Cost analysis
■ Duration of the project
Graduate ■ Executive summary master/Bachelor degree 5 000
Research Support ■ Background holders
Program (GRSP) ■ Specific aims Postgraduate students
■ Significance and career goals
■ Research design and methods
■ Execution plan
■ References
■ Budget
Faculty-mentored ■ Project description (summary) Undergraduate students 2 400
Undergraduate ■ Project significant
Research ■ Methodology
award Program ■ Timeline
(FURaP)
■ Budget
Principal investigator (PI) fills and submits proposal via TRC after you answer the questions, you can begin
1 submission system formulating a research question. However, not
2 Research team notifications/approval having all of the answers to those questions indicates
Institutional focal point (IFP)approval that you are not ready and that you will need to
P
3 re
-
a perform an in-depth review of the literature on
w
Reviewers / grant committee evaluate the proposal a
4 rd your topic to compose researchable questions.
5 Budget committee approves/rejects the funding Composing an important question that you can
IFP/PI notification answer is a challenging task, because it is difficult
6 to find a research question that can be transformed
Signing agreement with TRC (if the proposal has been approved into a feasible and valid study plan.6 Formulating a
7 for funding).
Project commencement research question is discussed in more detail on a
8 6,7
separate section.
9 Annual progress report submission by PI through IFP P
Annual progress report approval by TRC ost-a Title of the proposal
10 w
ar
11 Final report submission by PI through IFP d The title of the research proposal is important
to evaluators. It piques the reader’s interest and,
12 Final report approval by TRC therefore, should be selected carefully. The title should
Closedown of the project not be too long but should be concise, descriptive,
13 and informative. Try to avoid unnecessary words,
Figure 1: General overview of the pre- and post- such as “investigation into…”, “study of…”, and do
7–9
award process of a research proposal submitted to not overstate expected outcomes in the title. Some
The Research Council (TRC). examples of good and bad titles are listed in Box 1.
*Corresponding author: ashukaily@hotmail.com Oman med J, vOl 32, nO 3, may 2017
182 ahmed al-Shukaili, et al. ahmed al-Shukaili, et al. 183
Box 1: Examples of good and bad research titles. Box 2: Examples of research questions.
“Anxiety, depression and diabetes” “Does smoking contribute to heart diseases in diabetic
(too brief, not informative). patients?”
“Study of the role of anxiety and depression in onset of diabetes (This research question has a weak scientific value because
in interior regions of Sultanate of Oman: A Prospective study” smoking is well known to be a risk factor for heart diseases
(not concise, contains unnecessary words). in normal individuals, so it does not add anything novel to
“A prospective study of the role of anxiety and depression in the topic).
onset of diabetes type II” “Do the diabetic patients with major depression are more likely
(informative, concise and not too long). to have higher cardiovascular risk factors?”
(This question is relevant, it has a value to the health care,
feasible, and clear).
Formulating research questions ■ Feasible: The feasibility of a research question is
Research questions differ from hypotheses and crucial when applying for a grant from a funder.
objectives. The research question is the question The question must be within your ability to handle
that the project sets out to answer; it guides and in terms of resources needed and project duration.
centers your proposed research, whereas a hypothesis It is good practice to put a contingency plan in
6,10
postulates a relationship between two or more place to anticipate possible problems.
variables. In other words, it translates the research Some examples of research questions are
question into a theory of expected outcomes. illustrated in Box 2.
Objectives are detailed descriptions of the project’s
10,11
purpose and expected achievements. Hypothesis
To develop a strong research question, you should The hypothesis is a fundamental component of
ask yourself the questions listed above. Choose a quantitative research; it predicts a relationship
topic of interest and conduct preliminary research. between two or more variables. like the research
Focus on recent publications to find out what question, a strong hypothesis should have several
research has already been performed on this topic. important features. It should be novel and original,
Good research questions have several features, measurable by the proposed methodology, fit the
including the following: research interests of the principal investigators, have
■ Novel and original: do not copy a research reasonable predictions of the relationship between
question that already has an answer. the variables, and relevant to the context of the
6,11
■ Significant merit: Research questions must research [Box 3]. you can include more than
have scientific value and should add significant one hypothesis in your research proposal, but pay
8
information to the literature on that particular attention to the adequacy of the sample size.
topic. The development of a good hypothesis will
■ Relevant to the context: in which the research is offer insight into the specific objectives of a study.
conducted. Strong research questions should offer Remember that if the research proposal is based on
a solution to a problem in the community. a weak hypothesis or unfeasible, it may be rejected.
■ Ethical: Before you start writing a research
proposal, ask yourself: What are the potential Executive summary
harms and benefits to the participants? Harm The executive summary is a brief overview of the
could be physical (such as that caused by medical research proposal. It should provide the reader
interventions) or mental (such as breaches with the main points and the conclusion of your
of confidentiality). all of these issues will be
assessed by an ethics committee (see “ethical Box 3: Research hypothesis examples.
Considerations” section).
■ Clear and reasonably short: Posing questions “Elevated level of inflammatory mediators is associated with
that are unclear or too long gives the reader the major depression in diabetic patients”
impression that you lack knowledge of the topic. (This is a good hypothesis, based on several evidences.
elevated circulating inflammatory markers:
If you have too long a question, you can break it (a) predict the development of type 2 diabetes,
and (b) may have a role in the biology of major depression).
down into multiple questions to make it simple any hypothesis not based on scientific evidences is
and understandable. considered a weak hypothesis.
Oman med J, vOl 32, nO 3, may 2017
182ahmed al-Shukaili, et al. ahmed al-Shukaili, et al. 183
proposal. The required length varies; it may be contributions, outline contradictions, and identify
between 200 and 400 words or be as long as one any lacunas or unresolved questions.
a4 page, depending on funder requirements. It is Researchers should invest significant effort in the
best to keep the summary short and clear. It should literature review because it exhibits your knowledge
include an introduction that provides the reader of the topic and allows you to develop new insights
with background information (such as the problem into your research. Stated simply, you should convince
and its significance, the research question, and the proposal’s evaluators that your project will make
the rationale for the study), objectives, the target a significant original contribution to the subject area.
population and study sample, a brief description The literature review should be well organized.
of your methodology (your approach to finding a To accomplish this, imagine that you are writing a
solution), and the study’s expected impact. It should story. The events of the story should take place in the
not contain references, abbreviations, citations, correct order; therefore, use subheadings to bring a
7–9, 12
tables or figures. clear sequence and coherence to your narrative. Start
with the main theme and break it down into smaller
Introduction and statement of the problem/ parts, avoid the repetition of words or sentences,
project cite any influential papers, read current papers to
The principal purpose of the introduction and keep up with recent developments on the research
statement of the problem are to explain the meaning topic, critically evaluate those papers and formulate
of your research, present the problem, and provide a framework showing the relationship between them.
a strong argument for why the study is necessary. It ensure that these papers are of sufficient value to merit
should be presented in a focused manner rather than citing; avoid irrelevant, trivial references or secondary
in a general context. Try to “enlarge” your research sources. Finally, include in your review all of the
6–11
question and pose it in a realistic way as a “hot” factors stated in the section on specific objectives.
topic. Frame the problem by giving recent numbers medical references can be obtained from many
or percentages of individuals affected globally and search engines, which offer a comprehensive resource
locally, and well as the incidence (rate of occurrence) to researchers and healthcare providers, such as the
and prevalence. Clearly describe the effects of a national library of medicine, OmnimedicalSearch,
health problem, for example, on individuals or Pubmed, and many others.
society (e.g., poor quality of life, health care or society
costs). Finally, it is advisable to select a problem that Aims and objectives
national or international organizations consider a The aim section is a broad statement describing the
research priority. goals of the project or the overall purpose of the
The introduction and statement of the problem research project, followed by specific objectives.
includes the following elements: Specific objectives are statements that define the
■ a brief introduction to the topic. measurable outcomes and detail the main aim or
■ a discussion of the problem’s significance. purpose of the project.9,10
■ novelty of the research (at least in a local context). Both the aims and objectives should be related
■ Reasons for conducting the study. to the study’s hypothesis. It should be measurable,
■ expected outcomes and benefits of the study. achievable, realistic, and time-constrained. It is
crucial that the aims and objectives have these
Literature review features because objectives provide reviewers with a
authors should realize that the literature review clear picture of what you want to accomplish, form
differs from the introduction to the problem and that the foundation for the rest of the proposal, and are
they should be separated from each other. essentially, used to assess the adequacy and appropriateness
a literature review is an extensive survey of the research of the proposed methods. moreover, a strong aim
that has already been conducted on the chosen topic. and objective statements should contain active
It is an essential component of a research proposal. It verbs, such as “examine”, “construct”, “classify”, and
7,9–11
allows you to discover what has been written about “develop”. If you have more than one objective,
the topic, state what each source contributes to the it is advisable to order them numerically. an example
topic, examine the relationship between various of an aim and specific objectives is given in Box 4.
Oman med J, vOl 32, nO 3, may 2017
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