What a proposal has to establish
Templates vary between departments but the questions a panel asks rarely do. A proposal that answers these convincingly tends to be approved regardless of format.
- A research question specific enough to be answered, not explored
- Why the question matters, and what gap in the literature it fills
- What is already known, and where your study sits against it
- How you will answer it, and why that method over the alternatives
- What data you need, and realistic confirmation you can get it
- A timeline with milestones that fits the period you have
- Ethical considerations, limitations and foreseeable risks