SSHRC Research Proposal Guidelines

Detailed Description

Write your proposal in clear, plain language. Not all committee members will have an intimate knowledge of the subject matter of all proposals, so avoid jargon and highly-technical writing. Doing a first draft and then coming back to it might help you see flaws you may have overlooked the first time. Try to anticipate and answer any questions that assessors or adjudication committee members could raise. If possible, ask a colleague, department head, or someone in the university research office for suggestions on how to strengthen your proposal.

Program of Research

Using the following headings, describe the program in enough detail, without reference to supporting documents, to allow informed assessment by qualified assessors. A program of research may include the creation of a research tool. Adjudication committees may recommend support for research tools if they think the tools are a priority for advancing research in the field and that they will be widely used in the research community. For further details, refer to "Eligibility of Research Tools" in the Standard Research Grants program description. Applicants may want to address the comments they received from the adjudication committee or assessors on a previous grant application. However, the current 8 committee will not be sent the earlier application and they are not bound by the comments and recommendations of another committee.

Objectives

Briefly state the explicit objectives of your proposed research program.

Context

Situate the proposed research in context of the relevant scholarly literature. Explain the relationship/relevance of the proposed research to your ongoing research. If the proposal represents a significant change of direction from your previous research, describe how it relates to experiences and insights gained from earlier research achievements. Explain the importance, originality and anticipated contribution to knowledge of the proposed research. Describe the theoretical approach or framework (if applicable).

Methodology

Describe the proposed research strategies/key activities, including methodological approaches and procedures for data collection and analysis, that will be used to achieve the stated objectives.

Justify the choice of methodology and explain the specific instruments or procedures to be used. For example, if you plan to conduct interviews, specify the type of interview to be conducted, the nature of the questions, etc. It is equally important to explain how the data will be analyzed (i.e. techniques to be used and why these techniques are appropriate) so that the committee can clearly understand what real contribution will be made to the advancement of knowledge and is not left with the impression that the proposal is essentially a data-gathering exercise.

Communication of Results

Outline plans for communicating research results: within the academic community (peers, through refereed journals and other appropriate channels); and outside the academic community (practitioners, policy makers, etc.).

3. List of Bibliographical Notices

Attach a list of all references consulted in your review of relevant literature.