Research Proposal Bootcamp: Fast-Track Your Proposal

Everything you need to craft a convincing, approval-worthy research proposal - including templates, tools and more.

What you'll learn

Understand what a research proposal is and what function it serves.

Know what you need to get in place prior to even attempting to craft a proposal.

Understand what markers/assessors are typically looking for in a proposal.

Understand the four core components of a research proposal and how to create these.

Be able to craft a research proposal that presents a convincing case and has the strongest chance of approval.

Requirements

This course is designed for first-time researchers, so you don't need any prior research experience.

We'll unpack each concept from the ground up using straightforward language and practical examples.

Description

Whether you’re a first-time researcher, just starting out and feeling a little overwhelmed by the proposal writing process - or you’re already knee-deep in the writing process but need a little guidance to ensure you’re on the right path - this course is for you.Designed by the award-winning team of research specialists at Grad Coach, and presented by one of our dedicated private coaches, Dr Kerryn Warren, this course provides you with a step-by-step practical guide to help develop your research proposal. Together, we’ll work through loads of practical examples to illustrate each point and review actual successful proposals so that you can see exactly what it takes to get your proposal approved. Along the way, you can test your understanding with interactive pop quizzes and ask questions about each lesson as you work through the course. This course is specifically designed for both undergrad and postgrad students who are new to the academic research process. You don’t need to have any prior experience, as we unpack each concept from the ground up. While this course is geared towards research proposals within the sciences (especially the social sciences), the principles and concepts we’ll cover are applicable to the vast majority of research areas.Within the course, you can use the carefully designed practical exercises to build your actual proposal as you work through the course. In other words, by the end of the course, you won’t just have a certificate (although that’s pretty cool itself) - you’ll have an actual proposal! All that said, if you’d prefer to just focus on specific lessons, you’re most welcome to do so, as each lesson works perfectly well on a standalone basis.But it doesn’t stop there. By joining the course, you’ll get full, unrestricted access to our meaty collection of additional resources. This includes a comprehensive template for your proposal, hours upon hours of additional video lessons and webinars, as well as practical tools and resources, including project plans, budgets and more.In short, this course gives you everything you need to craft a successful proposal. Best of all, you can easily work through it over a weekend or even a few weeknights - so you’re not signing up for a huge commitment. We get it - you’re already really busy!

Overview

Section 1: Introduction

Lecture 1 Welcome to the course

Lecture 2 How to navigate this course

Lecture 3 Suggested learning paths

Lecture 4 Exercise

Section 2: Proposal Basics

Lecture 5 Section overview

Lecture 6 What (exactly) is a research proposal?

Lecture 7 The key purpose of a proposal

Lecture 8 How a proposal is (typically) structured

Lecture 9 Let's look at an actual proposal

Lecture 10 What reviewers want

Lecture 11 Exercise

Lecture 12 Resources

Section 3: Before You Start

Lecture 13 Section overview

Lecture 14 General research requirements

Lecture 15 Proposal-specific research requirements

Lecture 16 Ethics-related requirements

Lecture 17 Let's look at some proposal templates/briefs

Lecture 18 The research topic

Lecture 19 Exercise

Lecture 20 Resources

Section 4: The Introduction Section

Lecture 21 Section overview: The introduction

Lecture 22 Sample research topic

Lecture 23 Research context or background

Lecture 24 Research problem or problem statement

Lecture 25 Research rationale

Lecture 26 Research aims, objectives and questions (golden thread)

Lecture 27 Other potential inclusions in the introduction

Lecture 28 What reviewers look for in the in the introduction section

Lecture 29 Exercise

Lecture 30 Resources

Section 5: The Literature Review Section

Lecture 31 Section overview: Literature review

Lecture 32 Before you start the literature review

Lecture 33 The theoretical framework

Lecture 34 The empirical research

Lecture 35 The research gap

Lecture 36 Sources in your literature review

Lecture 37 Tips to optimise your approach

Lecture 38 What reviewers look for in the literature review

Lecture 39 Exercise

Lecture 40 Resources

Section 6: The Methodology Section

Lecture 41 Section overview: Methodology

Lecture 42 Methodology 101

Lecture 43 The key ingredients of the methodology section

Lecture 44 Data collection

Lecture 45 Sampling

Lecture 46 Data analysis

Lecture 47 Other potential inclusions

Lecture 48 Supporting and justifying your methodological choices

Lecture 49 What reviewers look for in the methodology section

Lecture 50 Exercise

Lecture 51 Resources

Section 7: Practicalities

Lecture 52 Section overview: Practical matters

Lecture 53 Dissertation/thesis structure or outline

Lecture 54 Project plan

Lecture 55 Timelines

Lecture 56 Budgets

Lecture 57 Other potential inclusions

Lecture 58 Exercise

Lecture 59 Resources

Section 8: Final Considerations

Lecture 60 Section overview

Lecture 61 Tailoring the proposal to your audience

Lecture 62 Misconceptions and mistakes to avoid

Lecture 63 How to use your proposal after submission

Lecture 64 Conclusion

First-time researchers at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels.,Students undertaking research within the sciences (e.g., business, psychology, education, nursing, etc.).