SSHRC Proposal Example 4

This proposal is a submission from a master of psychology student, researching student-teacher relationships to understand how to deal with behavioural problems in the classroom. The overreaching theme seemed to be that everything they have done (volunteer work, past education, past research) and will do (continue with a dissertation) connects back to this research. To me, it was this dedication to the project that makes this proposal very convincing.

The proposal is divided into three main sections. 

1. Personal Qualification and Background Information; approximately half a page in length, this section spoke briefly of the root of their research interest and the various experiences that 'reinforced' their interest. Spoken in the past-tense, each experience also cited their role and the general benefit of each experience.

2. Relevant Course Work; at only a single paragraph, the smallest section, the author quickly describes their program and what courses they will be taking this year to help prepare for this research. A variety of course types was stressed (theory, practical, research) and connected back to how this will help conduct research.

3. Proposed Master’s Research; the bulk of the proposal, just over a page, the author subdivides this section into three main areas:

3A. Previous findings; as this research is an extension of previous work, there is a discussion of what has already been done (with citations of author and date) and the gaps in the research they wish to fill in.

3B. Methodology; a two paragraph overview of the approach of the research. Most of the sentences are action oriented (‘Participants will complete’, ‘I will use direct observation’, etc).

3C. Importance of research; as one of the closing paragraphs, this section reinstates the relevance of the research project and also mentions their intentions of furthering this research into a dissertation.   

Finally, a few sentences explicitly stating that her preparation makes them a strong SSHRC candidate close the proposal.