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[文书写作] 关于RP (reseasrch proposal )的简介 [复制链接]

月色
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楼主

发表于 2002-11-2 23:53:39 |只看该作者

文科学生看过来：如何写research proposal

How to write a research proposal

摘自：http://www.eastchance.com/howto/res_prop.asp

When you are applying for a research degree, like the PhD, you will very probably have to write a research proposal as a part of your application file. A PhD is awarded mainly as the result of your making a genuine contribution to the state of knowledge in a field of your choice. Even though this is not the Nobel Prize yet, getting the degree means you have added something to what has previously been known on the subject you have researched. But first you have to prove you are capable of making such a contribution, and therefore write a research proposal that meets certain standards. The goal of a research proposal (RP) is to present and justify a research idea you have and to present the practical ways in which you think this research should be conducted.

When you are writing a RP, keep in mind that it will enter a competition, being read in line with quite a few other RPs. You have to come up with a document that has an impact upon the reader: write clearly and well structured so that your message gets across easily. Basically, your RP has to answer three big questions: what research project will you undertake, why is important to know that thing and how will you proceed to make that research.

In order to draw the researcher's attention upon your paper, write an introduction with impact, and that leads to the formulation of your hypothesis. The research hypothesis has to be specific, concise (one phrase) and to lead to the advancement of the knowledge in the field in some way. Writing the hypothesis in a concise manner and, first, coming up with a good hypothesis is a difficult mission. This is actually the core of your application: you're going to a university to do this very piece of research. Compared to this, the rest of the application is background scenery. Take your time to think of it. When you have an idea, be careful at the formulation. A well-written hypothesis is something of an essay's thesis: it provides a statement that can be tested (argues ahead one of the possible answers to a problem), it is an idea, a concept, and not a mere fact, and is summed up in one phrase. In some cases, you will have no idea what the possible answer to a problem worth being researched is, but you will be able to think of a way to solve that problem, and find out the answer in the meantime. It's ok in this case, to formulate a research question, rather than a hypothesis. Let those cases be rare, in any way.

Another piece of advice when writing your hypothesis, regarding the trendy research fields: chances are great that they're trendy because somebody has already made that exciting discovery, or wrote that splendid paper that awoke everybody's interest in the first place. If you're in one of these fields, try to get a fresh point of view upon the subject; make new connections, don't be 100% mainstream. This will make the project even more stimulating for the reader. Imagine that you are writing about the trendiest subject, with absolutely no change in the point of view, and you are given the chance to make the research. Trends come and go, fast; what are the chances that, in four years' time, when your research is done and you are ready to publish your results, one of those well-known professors who dispose of huge research grants has already said whatever you had to say?

Remember how, in a structured essay, right after the thesis you would present the organisation of your essay, by enumerating the main arguments you were going to present? Same thing should happen in a RP. After stating your thesis, you should give a short account of your answers to those three questions mention earlier. State, in a few phrases, what will be learned from your research, that your project will make a difference, and why is that important to be known. You will have to elaborate on both of these later in the paper.

The next step in writing your proposal is to prove that that particular piece of research has not been done yet. This section is usually called Literature Review. Inside it, you have to enumerate and critically analyze an impressive list of boring bibliography. The conclusion you should - objectively! - reach is that your idea of research has not been undertaken yet. Even more, you use this opportunity to prove solid theoretical knowledge in the field, and build the theoretical bases of your project. One tip: don't review all the articles and books in the fields even if you mention them in the bibliography list; pay attention in your analysis to those you will build on. Another one: avoid jargon when writing your RP. The chances are great that the person(s) who will read your and another 1000 research proposals are not specialists in that very field - niche you are examining. If you are applying for a grant with or foundation or something similar, it might happen that those reading your paper are not even professors, but recruiters, donors, etc. And even if they actually are professors, one of the reasons busy people like them agree to undertake a huge, and sometimes voluntary, work, is the desire to meet some diversity, some change from their work - so maybe they'll read applications for another specialisation. The capacity to get your message across in clear, easy-to-grasp concepts and phrases is one of the winning papers' most important advantages.

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 knowledge that anybody will need? Maybe nobody knows for sure how the shoelaces were being tied in the XIXth century, but who cares, beyond two lace-tying specialists? Find arguments to convince the reader that s/he should give you money for that research: practical use, accelerating the development of knowledge in your or other fields, opening new research possibilities, a better understanding of facts that will allow a more appropriate 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 James Bond succeeds that only towards the end of the movie.

We approach now one of the most difficult parts of writing a research proposal: 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, for now, valid? Those tests and the way you are supposed to handle them to give rigor to your research is what is understood under methods. Methods divide in qualitative (interviews, questionnaires) and quantitative (statistics, stuff that deals intensively with numbers). For some projects 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 complicated thing to be explained here. And this is why it's so tough: not much attention is given to teaching it in Eastern Europe. Try, before writing your RP, to read a bit more about methodology - on the Internet you will find for sure some articles - and decide which methods suit your project best. Don't forget: reading theoretical pieces of your work and providing a critical analysis of those is also a kind of research. It's fine to provide a rough schedule of your research; some grant programs will also require a detailed budget, even though for scholarships this is unlikely.

Conclusions: After working your way through the difficult methodological part, you only have to write your conclusions. Shortly recap why your hypothesis 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. Overall, 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, and you have just increased you chances for having a successful application.

One last word: how big should your RP be? In most cases, this is specified in the application form. If it is not, we suggest that you keep it at about 1500 words (that's 3 pages, single-spaced, with 12 size Times New Roman). In fewer words it can be really tough to write a good RP. With more you might bore your readers. Which we hope will not happen.

Good luck!

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月色
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沙发

发表于 2002-11-2 23:58:35 |只看该作者

RP的格式：
摘自http://www.onr.navy.mil/sci_tech/personnel/proposal2.htm

RESEARCH PROPOSAL FORMAT INSTRUCTIONS
(Prepare using at least 10 point type, at least 1.5 line spacing, and 1" margins throughout.)
A. Title Page: (See Attachment 1 - for Academic Institutions and Commercial Firms)
(See Attachment 2 - for Federal Laboratories)

B. Table of Contents

C. Statement of Objective(s) ( 100 words: What questions will you address?)

D. Statement of Hypotheses and Specific Research Aims (1 page)

E. Statement of the Approach ( 100 words: How will you address the questions experimentally?)

F. Statement of Significance ( 100 words: Why are your ideas interesting to others?)

G. Key Word/Phrase Listing (4-10 items)

H. Body of Proposal (12 pages for new proposals; 17 pages for competitive renewals; Page limit may be increased by your Program Officer. Please contact him/her if you wish to exceed limit.)

Your idea
Introduction and Background Information (3 pages. Help the reviewers understand why the problem you are attempting to solve is important, and how your ideas relate to existing knowledge that has been generated by others in the field and by you. Preliminary data, manuscripts, and reprints that are relevant to this section should be compiled as an appendix in Section P).
Progress Report (5 pages; this section should only be included for renewal proposals)
Technical Approach (be specific or provide references)
Reference List (complete citations--the Reference List in not included in the page count)
I. Facilities available, especially unique facilities or capabilities

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jysavior
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板凳

发表于 2002-12-27 09:25:40 |只看该作者

[分享]关于RP[重要]

看了家园里的转贴，根据自己所知的说两句，仅供参考
以香港科技大学为例，这个学校只对humanity and social science的RP有极为详细和BT的要求（PHD要15页）我看到的paisley的帖子就和科大的要求很相似
至于其他专业，则没有
Applicants for programs by research are invited to include in this Part a statement of their major academic interest in the proposed area(s) of research and an outline of the research proposal(s) they have in mind.

当然，如果学校有要求，则应该严格照办。欢迎大家批评指正

有些鸟儿是关不住的。

他们的羽翼太光辉了。

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goldenbin
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地板

发表于 2002-12-27 20:52:24 |只看该作者

靠！RP真难写，原想申请OXFORD的，它要两篇WRITING SAMPLE 2000字的，靠！4000字我都写不出，不可能吧。。。现在放弃了。。。专业也不很喜欢，不如申请其它专业。。。

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paisley
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5楼

发表于 2002-12-28 00:17:56 |只看该作者

本想帖一个港大对于RP的要求，无奈是PDF文档复制不了，大家去http://www.hku.hk/rss/pp2002/form/formI.htm
自己点击倒数第二行，然后点击“APPLICATRION FORM”这里吧，看第三页的中间部分。

UA
我说人生哪，如果赏过一回痛哭淋漓的风景，写一篇杜鹃啼血的文章，与一个赏心悦目的人错肩，也就够了。不要收藏美、钤印美，让美随风而逝。生命最清醉的时候，是将万里长江视为一匹白绢，裂帛。(简桢)

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jysavior
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6楼

发表于 2002-12-28 09:24:30 |只看该作者

RP恐怕不同专业也有不同要求吧
没想到科大的那么变态
凭我的水平，经济学，根本写不到15页，偶PS第一高才2500字，还有不少非学术的东东，因为我本硕专业不同，所以要写换专业的动机
现在就卡在这个RP上，出去了14所的材料，两所香港的还不知到什么时候能甩出呢sigh
还是帅斑竹好，全盘美化

有些鸟儿是关不住的。

他们的羽翼太光辉了。

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sear
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7楼

发表于 2002-12-28 19:01:53 |只看该作者

其他专业的RP不知能否用PS代替？
比如chemistry？

个人小站－麦兜化学吧
欢迎光临:)

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paisley
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8楼

发表于 2002-12-28 21:19:07 |只看该作者

如果学校要求RP，那肯定是不能用PS代替。但是我们已经反复说了，要RP的大多是香港和英国的学校，米国很少要的。不用给自己找麻烦。

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paisley
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9楼

发表于 2002-12-28 21:20:12 |只看该作者

再帖一个新加坡国立大学的RP要求

Proposed Research Area/Topic:

Please tell us about a Research area/topic that interests you. In your explanation, tell us:
(i) why the topic interests you
(ii) what you know about the topic
(iii) what & how you would like to investigate and
(iv) what your objectives are in pursuing this research degree.

Please attach a separate sheet if necessary.