Introduction to Developing Research Proposals in Anesthesia at MUN

Why a research proposal?

A solid research proposal allows you to have a clear view of the path ahead, the ‘hows, whys, wheres, whens and whos’ of research.  The more time, thought and effort you put into research planning pays dividends in the longterm.  Draft documents of the proposal-in-progress are also essential when seeking feedback from research assistants, peers and supervisors.  Having a well- crafted research proposal, where everything is clear, consistent, coherent, fits together, and is logical, also enables grant applications and greatly facilitates ethics approval submission.

Key Resources

While there are many resources out there on how to develop research proposals – see the online

Anesthesia Research Guide – I highly recommend you buy or borrow a copy of Keith Punch’s,

‘Developing Effective Research Proposals”, 2nd Edition, Sage, 2006.  While there are many other texts out there, this is the one that I have found to be the most helpful to novice researchers.

The Forms

Form 1 - Developing Effective Research Questions is intended to immediately get you started thinking about a research project.  Form 1 initiates the research process by helping you clearly identify your Research Area, Topic, Purpose and Research Questions.

Form 2 -Tips on Developing a Proposal Literature Review will orient you to how to conduct a literature review in a research proposal.

Form 3- Checklist of Headings for Research Proposals offers a template of all items that could be included in a Research Proposal.