Research Proposal Instructions and Deadlines

RESEARCH PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS AND DEADLINES

You are required to write a scientific research proposal, such as one you might submit to a federal funding agency. Four weeks prior to the proposal due date, you will be required to submit a 1 page preproposal. Detailed instructions follow below.

PROPOSAL TOPIC AND SCOPE

The proposal should focus on some aspect of molecular plant-microbe interactions. It may concern topics discovered in class, or other topics, but must be distinct from your thesis or dissertation research. Your proposed project should be designed to test a specific hypothesis and should be possible for one graduate student and one postdoc to complete in three to four years. Your budget total should be between $300,000 and $500,000, and include salaries and benefits, materials and supplies, travel, publication costs, and indirect costs.

PROPOSAL FORMAT

A general format for the proposal is described below. The project summary should be no more than 400 words and the project description is strictly limited to 10 pages, single-spaced, using an 11 or 12 point standard font. Within the project description, there are several required elements for which we have provided suggested lengths.

I. Project Summary (400 words maximum). The project summary should a self-contained description of the activity that would result if the proposal were funded. The summary should be written in the third person and include a statement of objectives and methods to be employed. It must clearly address in separate statements (within the one-page summary): (1) the intellectual merit of the proposed activity; and (2) the broader impacts resulting from the proposed activity. It should be informative to other persons working in the same or related fields and, insofar as possible, understandable to a scientifically or technically literate lay reader.

II. Project Description

A. Introduction (2 pages). Summarize and critically evaluate what is known. Explain the gaps in the knowledge and why it is important to address these. Especially, explain how filling the gaps will mark a significant advance and/or remove a key roadblock in broader research questions. As a segue into the next section, include a paragraph describing your qualifications and the relation of the proposed work to your long-term research goals.

B. Hypothesis and objectives (1/2 page). State clearly and concisely your hypothesis and the specific objectives (2-4) you will pursue to test that hypothesis.

C. Rationale and Significance (1/2 page). Address why the proposed research is the best plan. Relate the specific aims to the broad, long-term objectives of the project. State concisely the importance of the research and the significance of the expected outcomes.

D. Experimental Approach (4-6 pages). Organize this section around your specific objectives. For each objective, restate the objective and state a working hypothesis that relates to that objective. Explain clearly and concisely the experiments you will perform to test the hypothesis. Describe the expected or possible results and include discussion on how you will interpret the results and their significance. For each objective discuss the potential difficulties and limitations of the proposed procedures and present alternative approaches where appropriate. Give a tentative timetable for each objective.

E. Future Directions (1/2 page). Briefly describe the related experiments that could be performed but are beyond the scope and/or timeframe of this proposal. If you had more time, money, and people, what else would you like to do or could be done? And where do you see your research heading?

F. Timeline (1 paragraph or a diagram). Provide a summary timetable for the entire project. Describe when each major set or broad category of experiments will commence, and how long it will take to achieve the desired ends.

III. References. List the literature cited in the text, including titles.

IV. Budget and Justification. You will receive an Excel spreadsheet that can be filled in with your estimated research costs. You should complete this and include a one page justification that lists the items in the budget and states in one or two sentences what is needed and why. Lab materials can be grouped together in the budget and listed more specifically in the justification. Salaries should be justified with an explanation of what each person will do. As stated above, your budget total should be between $300,000 and $500,000.

PREPROPOSAL

A one page synopsis of the proposal, providing a brief intro and statement of the knowledge gap to be addressed, the central hypothesis, the main objectives and approaches, and the significance of the proposed research.

DEADLINES:

September 29: Submit a one paragraph summary of your thesis/dissertation research, and clear your proposal topic with Adam or Steve.

October 13: Submit preproposal before noon to Steve (swhitham@iastate.edu), in hard copy and as a Word document, pdf, or RTF.

November 10: Submit your proposal before noon to Steve (swhitham@iastate.edu), in hard copy and as a Word document, pdf, or RTF.

NOTE: Guidelines for the peer review exercise will be distributed with the proposals to be reviewed during the week of November 10.

EVALUATION OF YOUR PROPOSAL

Your proposal will be evaluated by the instructor(s), and by your peers as described below. The instructor evaluation of your proposal may deviate from the evaluation by your peers. Your grade for the proposal will be determined by the instructors' evaluation.

INSTRUCTOR EVALUATION

Your proposal will be evaluated by the instructor(s) according to the following formula:

Format and clarity: 30%

Font size, number of pages (and page numbering!), and margins
English usage and spelling
Organization, section and paragraph headings
Bibliography

Content: 70%

Synthesis of published literature related to the proposed research;
Generation of a novel, testable hypothesis;
Development of 2 to 4 specific research objectives that test the hypothesis;
Description of the research proposed in each objective and expected outcomes;
Demonstration of feasibility of the methodology supported by the primary literature;
Probability of success of the project

EVALUATION BY PEERS

We will exchange proposals with students enrolled in a similar course at another institution for a mock review process under an imaginary federal funding program. At each institution, two to three students will prepare written comments for each proposal from the other institution, anonymously, then the whole class at each institution will meet and, using the written comments as a starting point, discuss all proposals from the other institution and rank them in priority order for funding. Given the limited federal appropriations made available to the imaginary program this year, it is expected that approximately thirty percent of the proposals will be funded. Proposals will be evaluated according to the following criteria.

Scientific merit, including:

Novelty, innovation, uniqueness, and originality;
Importance of the proposed activity to advancing knowledge and understanding within its own field or across different fields;
Conceptual adequacy of the research;
Clarity and delineation of objectives;
Adequacy of the description of the undertaking and suitability and feasibility of methodology;
Demonstration of feasibility by providing appropriate references for research methods;
Discussion of potential pitfalls and presentation of alternative approaches;
Probability of success of project.

Planning and administration of the proposed project, including:

Time allocated for systematic attainment of objectives;
For multi-institutional projects, planned administration of the proposed project and its maintenance, partnerships, collaborative efforts, evaluation and monitoring efforts, and the planned dissemination of information over the duration of the project.

Broader impacts of the proposed activity:

Plan for broadly disseminating the results to enhance scientific and technological understanding;
Anticipated benefits of the proposed activity to society.