🔬 Research
Research Proposal Prompt: Aims, Methods, and Timeline Plan
Plan a research proposal from your own topic notes and sources: sharper questions, a gap map, aligned methods, an ethics list, a timeline, and a word budget.
0Reviews
Prompt
Act as a research methods advisor who helps a student build a research proposal plan from their own topic notes, the sources they have actually read, and their program's requirements, and coaches the writing instead of ghostwriting it. Inputs: - Topic and why it matters to me: [Topic] - Program requirements (degree, word limit, required sections): [ProgramRequirements] - Sources I have read, each with my one-line note: [SourcesRead] - Method ideas I have so far: [MethodIdeas] - Time, access, and budget I have: [Resources] - Participants or data and any ethics review I expect: [EthicsContext] - Proposal deadline and research period: [Deadline] Generate: 1. Research questions: tighten my topic into one main question and two sub-questions, each answerable with my Resources, and say why. 2. Gap map: what each source in SourcesRead covers and does not cover, and the gap my questions fill. Mark anything that needs more reading as "verify". 3. Methods alignment table: each research question with the design, sample or data, collection method, and analysis that answers it. 4. Feasibility check: risks to access, time, and sample size, with a fallback for each. 5. Ethics checklist from EthicsContext: approvals, consent, recording, storage, and anonymity. 6. Timeline in phases from approval to final write-up within the research period in Deadline. 7. Section outline with a word budget for each required section that adds up to the word limit. 8. Questions to bring to my supervisor. Rules: - Never invent sources, citations, findings, or statistics; refer to my sources only by the labels I give them. - Do not write the proposal prose; give structure, questions, and feedback, and follow my program's AI policy.
Instructions
Paste your own topic notes, the sources you have read with your notes, and your program's rules. Works on ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini. Write the proposal in your own words, check every source yourself, and follow your program's policy on AI use. Coaching only: never submit AI-written text as your own. Check every citation in the original source and never use one you have not read. Follow your school's academic integrity rules and disclose AI use as required.
Generated Output
This image was generated using the prompt above.
Examples
Example Input
Topic: how community gardens shape food access for residents of two city neighborhoods; I volunteer at one of the gardens ProgramRequirements: MA in sociology; 2,500 words excluding references; sections: Introduction, Literature Review, Research Questions, Methods, Ethics, Timeline SourcesRead: S1 journal article on why residents join community gardens. My note: survey in one city, mostly long-term members. S2 city government report on food access by neighborhood. My note: lists distance to the nearest grocery store per neighborhood, no garden data. S3 book chapter on urban agriculture and gentrification. My note: argues gardens can raise nearby rents; case studies outside the US. MethodIdeas: interviews with gardeners at Garden A and Garden B; maybe a short survey Resources: no budget; I volunteer at Garden A; the Garden B coordinator agreed to introduce me to members EthicsContext: adult participants only; I want to audio record interviews; my university requires ethics board approval for human participants Deadline: proposal due to my supervisor November 20, 2026; research period December 2026 to June 2027
Example Output
1. RESEARCH QUESTIONS Main: How do members of Garden A and Garden B describe the role of the garden in how they get food? Sub 1: What do members say they grow, share, or stop buying because of the garden? Sub 2: How do members see the garden in relation to the distance to grocery stores in their neighborhood? Why: all three can be answered with interviews you can arrange through Garden A and the Garden B coordinator. 2. GAP MAP S1: why residents join; one city; mostly long-term members. Gap: newer members and food access itself. S2: grocery distance by neighborhood; no garden data. Use it as context for Sub 2, not as evidence about gardens. S3: gentrification and rents; cases outside the US. Gap: whether members in your neighborhoods raise rent or displacement concerns (verify with more US sources before claiming a gap). Your gap: how members in two neighborhoods connect garden use to food access, which none of S1 to S3 covers. 3. METHODS ALIGNMENT Main question: qualitative interview study; members of both gardens; semi-structured interviews; thematic analysis. Sub 1: same interviews, questions on growing, sharing, and buying; code by practice. Sub 2: interview questions on shopping trips plus S2's distance figures as context; compare themes across the two neighborhoods. Survey: optional; only if the supervisor wants breadth, since it adds ethics and time. 4. FEASIBILITY - Access at Garden B depends on one coordinator. Fallback: ask for a second contact or a members' meeting visit. - Sample size: a range such as 6 to 8 interviews per garden (12 to 16 total) to confirm with your supervisor. - Your role at Garden A may shape answers. Fallback: note it in the Methods section and use the same questions at both gardens. 5. ETHICS CHECKLIST University ethics board approval before any recruiting; information sheet and written consent; consent to audio recording, with the option to decline; pseudonyms for people and both gardens; secure storage of recordings and transcripts as your university requires; how participants can withdraw. 6. TIMELINE (December 2026 to June 2027) Phase 1, Dec to Jan: ethics application and approval. Phase 2, Feb to Mar: recruitment and interviews. Phase 3, Apr: transcription and coding. Phase 4, May: analysis and comparison across gardens. Phase 5, Jun: write-up. 7. WORD BUDGET (2,500) Introduction 300; Literature Review 700; Research Questions 150; Methods 800; Ethics 300; Timeline 250. Total: 300 + 700 + 150 + 800 + 300 + 250 = 2,500. 8. QUESTIONS FOR YOUR SUPERVISOR - Is 12 to 16 interviews enough for an MA project? - Should the optional survey be dropped to keep ethics simpler? - Which US sources on gardens and rents should I read before claiming the S3 gap? - How should I describe my volunteer role at Garden A?