PROPOSAL COMPONENTS:
I. Title The title should provide a specific summary of the proposed work with enough, but not too much, detail.
The names of the Principle Investigator (that is you!) and your advisor should follow the title. Example 1: NO (too much detail): A three-year study of population decline in the spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculata) following logging, road building and wetland mitigation near vernal pools in a hardwood forest of northeastern Connecticut YES: A study of population decline in the spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculata) following logging in northeastern Connecticut Example 2: NO (not enough detail): Habitat models for use in rivers YES: Validation of in-stream habitat models for the Fenton River, Storrs, Connecticut
II. Statement of the Problem (~1 page, approx. 250-350 words) This is a brief description of the “problem”…the
reason you are proposing this particular research. For example, is there a knowledge gap that needs to be addressed, or conflicting results in the literature? The SoP includes a concise introduction to the logic that supports your experimental question (i.e. your experimental framework), a statement of your goal/purpose, and a brief explanation of the intellectual merit and broader impacts of the proposed research. Unlike an abstract, this section should include literature citations and you will not include a summary of how you intend to address the research (methods), but only set the stage for additional elaboration that you will provide in the sections that follow. Like an abstract, this statement should peak the curiosity of the reader and leave them with a clear understanding of the problem your research will address.
III.Introduction This section provides background information of your research topic by reviewing the current state of knowledge and existing literature. It should start with broad information and then narrow the focus to those details that are especially pertinent to the proposed work. At the end of your introduction section you will present your primary objective/goal for the research (What are you trying to do and why?), so the reader is clear about what your research is going to address. This is the place to show what is interesting and cutting-edge in the field that led to your research idea. Be sure to clearly connect ideas so the reader can follow your thought process. You are laying the groundwork for your proposal with the material that you present. If you get to the point where you state your objective and the reader does not see a direct line of reasoning based upon the background information, then you have not done your job in the introduction. Use an abundance of sources, especially primary journal articles. Textbooks and web sites (with great caution) can also be useful sources, within reason. Make sure to cite appropriately in the text (more to follow on citation). This is the heart of your assignment and may be the lengthiest piece of it…it will also likely serve as the foundation of the Introduction to your senior thesis paper.
IV. Research Questions & Objectives In Experimental Design for Biologists, David Glass defines an experimental
framework as “a philosophical construct; it is the approach used to address the project, the filter used to interpret the data…” and explains how a proper framework “forces the scientist to perform the experiments necessary to determine ‘the truth’.” In this section, you will frame your research project around a single “framework question”, preferably an open-ended question (not a binary “yes/no” question). You will then follow up the framework question with more specific “experimental sub-questions” (which can be binary) that address the intricacies of the framework question. Each experimental sub-question needs to include one or more specific objectives (i.e. things you can achieve) that will help the scientist keep track of what is necessary to answer the question. You are not required to include hypotheses or predictions. The answers to experimental sub-questions help provide the information necessary to answer the original open-ended framework question.
FORMAT: In this section, you will clearly state your framework question, sub-questions, and specific objectives
in a bulleted format. Be sure that the information in this section directly relates to what you have already explained in the introduction. A reader should be able to read your research question and think “Oh, this is a logical question to ask, based on what I learned about this topic in the introduction!” If necessary, you may include a brief paragraph
explaining your questions, especially if your sub-questions only address a small portion of the framework question (such as a necessary system validation study). Every proposed research project must meet a THRESHOLD OF ACCEPTABLE SCIENTIFIC RIGOR as determined by the Biology Department faculty. This means that your project must be framed around a reasonably relevant question and propose the use of collegiate-level research methods capable of answering the question. We will not approve projects that do not meet this standard. **Ask your instructor if you aren’t sure.
V. Methods Describe your proposed experiment in some depth, with enough detail to explain your plan, but not
explaining “common knowledge” that an educated scientist should be aware of (e.g. how to make a serial dilution). For this course, the methods section will need to be sufficiently detailed for the instructors to
thoroughly evaluate your experimental design. Here are some topics to include: What organisms or processes
are you going to use in your research? What kind of equipment and supplies will be necessary for the project?
How long will the research take? What are your treatments and why? What will you use for a positive and/or
negative control? What will be your level of replication and number of replicates? What type of statistical
analysis will be used to analyze results? Be thorough, but not excessive, and be sure to cite references for your
methods! Don’t try to reinvent the wheel when coming up with methods, but utilize AND CITE past literature to
provide sources of valid methodology that relates to your experiment. Proposals do not get funded if the author
can’t convince the reader that their methods will allow them to successfully answer their research question!
FORMAT: Write this section in paragraph form (not a bulleted list!), but it can be helpful to break it into
sub-sections with sub-headings. Methods should be organized in a coherent way, likely chronological, and
should reflect/correspond to your proposed timeline (see item VIII below). Inclusion of figures or diagrams (with
proper captioning and text reference) is encouraged when relevant. This may be especially helpful when
describing your experimental design. Planning preliminary trials of your methods can be especially helpful!
VI. Justification (probably ~300-500 words) Your introduction will have already helped your reader understand
the background information pertinent to your topic and present your main objective, your research question
section clearly presents your research question and objectives, and your methods have explained how you will
achieve those objectives and answer your question. This section is where you will explicitly state the Intellectual
Merit and Broader Impacts of your proposed research. Essentially, why does your research deserve funding?
This will take place in two subsections (with subheadings):
1. Intellectual Merit: This subsection will address the potential effects of your research on the academic
“body of knowledge”. Does your research have the potential to alter this field of research? How will it
change the way people think about a concept or interpret data? How will it significantly help advance other research in the field? Will it expand our basic understanding of some relevant topic? It is very
important to support your claims with primary literature, statistical data, etc.
2. Broader Impacts: This subsection will address the potential effects of your research on broader society,
industry, the environment, etc. Could the study potentially change social or political policies? Is there
clear application to medical practices, industry, or environmental management? Will the research greatly
benefit a particular group of people, animals, or environment? It is very important to support your
claims with primary literature, statistical data, etc.
Although there may be some similar ideas as in your introduction, do not just repeat your introductory
material…that is boring and ineffective. This is a “big picture” sort of section. You do NOT have to claim that your
research will save the world if it won’t actually save the world (FYI, it won’t), but you should provide a reasonable
explanation of why it matters. For example: If you seek to find a natural substance with antimicrobial properties,
don’t claim that it will eliminate all drug-resistant bacteria. However, it would be reasonable to claim that this
may reduce the rate at which bacteria develop resistance to drugs by adding to the arsenal of potential
treatments. This section should include relevant citations of primary literature, statistics, etc. to support your
claims!!
VII. Bibliography (Not included in proposal word limit) There is a minimum of 10 peer reviewed primary
literature citations required for this proposal, however, you will likely need more to properly propose your
research. Include all the resources that were used in the writing of the proposal. Follow the “How to Write:
References” guidelines for formatting, which will resemble the styles that you would find in a biology journal.
Reviews are a good source for this type of work and can lead you to the primary literature, however, they are not
technically primary literature. Reviews do not have new data and are often labeled “review”. It is ok to cite
review papers, but be sure to look up the original primary literature and utilize that directly. Never cite a primary
literature article directly from another article! Always look up the paper, read it, interpret it, and determine if
you want to cite it and how/why. **NOTE: SAVE THE PDF DOCUMENTS FOR ALL YOUR SOURCES. IF THE
INSTRUCTOR OR ADVISOR REQUESTS THIS ENTIRE RECORD, YOU MUST BE ABLE TO PROVIDE IT IMMEDIATELY
UPON REQUEST. Using Zotero or Mendeley to organize your literature will help with this!
Any standard scientific citation style can be used; talk to your advisor! Example reference formatting:
Caspar T, Huber SC, Somerville C (1985) Alternation in growth, photosynthesis, and respiration in astarchless
mutant of Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) deficient in chloroplast phyosphoglucomutase activity. Plant Physiol 79: 11-17
VIII. Timeline of your research (Not included in proposal word limit) On a separate page (no more than 1 pg),
provide an organized list or table that outlines your proposed timeline for achieving the goals of your research.
This will give you an idea of what should be occurring when, and if your goals are attainable in the available time.
It also serves as a great resource to refer back to and keep on track while doing your research. The timeline
should include time for any preliminary studies or tests of protocols, time for ordering and delivering materials,
time to execute the study, and time to analyze the data. Do not underestimate how much time the research will
take…your advisor should be a great resource for helping you understand the time commitment required for
your research project.
FORMAT: List or Table format. Reference actual dates in your timeline, including years, semesters, months, and
days (as relevant). For example: “Jan 11-Jan 22 2021 – Order all materials through Prof. Niebuhr”. Don’t just say “Two weeks for preparation, two weeks to do the experiment, and two weeks to analyze data.” Your timeline
MUST also indicate the following information:
●The current semester and your planned semester of graduation – Which semester(s) you plan to register
for Bio 496 units and conduct your research. (The 2 units of Bio 496 can be registered for in 0.5-2 unit
increments)
●Which semester you plan to register for Bio 499 Senior Thesis.
●If and when you plan to apply this research towards a President’s Academic Showcase entry.
IX. Budget and Materials List (Not included in proposal word limit) Provide a detailed account of all foreseen
costs and materials associated with your proposed research. You must include two sections:
●Budgetary needs- An itemized list of all materials that are not already available at CUI, their individual
costs, the quantity you require, whether they are consumable or reusable, and where to get them (your
advisor may be able to help with this). It is helpful to group them items under broader categories, in
table format. This section should include a sum of the total cost. Each student can budget up to $300 of
supplies without requiring faculty approval. Any budgets exceeding $300 need to be brought to the
instructor’s attention and the Biology Department faculty will decide whether to provide the
additional funds. Students may not fund their own research (although they can make small purchases
and be reimbursed), but are welcome to apply for small research grants (Note that there is a Student
Research Grant at CUI – science students have applied for and received funding every semester it has
been offered!)
●Materials needs- An itemized list of all materials that are already available at CUI, their location
(lab/faculty), the quantity you require, and whether they are consumable or reusable. Permission to
utilize these materials should be obtained prior to submitting the proposal, and equipment that may
need to be used by other people should be noted and scheduled as necessary. General categories for
standard materials, such as “glassware” or “pipettes”, do not need to be itemized individually.
