Research Proposal Guidelines 1

RESEARCH PROPOSAL GUIDELINES

A primary objective of introductory biology labs is to introduce you to, or enrich your
understanding of, the scientific method. At various times throughout the semester, you
will be testing hypotheses by conducting experiments or studies of your own design.
These exercises give you a chance to be creative. At the same time, they require some
advanced planning on your part. Prior to conducting your own study, therefore, you will
be required to turn in a research proposal that justifies and describes your proposed
research. This writing exercise helps you “think through” your experiment, and the
proposal itself can be useful when writing your final lab report because you will have
already begun writing some sections that will be included in your final report. The
guidelines provided here are to help you prepare a research proposal.

PROPOSAL FORMAT
• All sections in your proposal, outlined below, should be identified with
corresponding headings.

• Use FUTURE TENSE consistently throughout the text when referring to your
proposed research, as you are writing about activities that you will conduct in the
future. Note that this is in contrast to your lab report, in which you will use the
PAST tense, because your research will be complete when you write the formal
report.

• If you are working in a group, use first person plural (we), otherwise use first
person singular (I). E.g. We/I will count the number of flowers produced at the end
of an eight week growing period. The passive voice may also be used. E.g. The
number of flowers produced will be counted at the end of an eight week growing
period.

• All text within your proposal, including the methods, should be written in concise,
but complete, sentences and organized into paragraphs.

• When providing the scientific name of a plant or animal for the first time,
remember to use upper case (capitalize) the first letter of the genus (the species
remains in lower case), and either underline or italicize both the genus and species.
After the first citation, you may simply refer to the common name, or the
abbreviated scientific name. For example, “We propose to examine floral
structures of cardinal flowers (Lobelia cardinalis)”. Thereafter you can just refer to
the organism as the cardinal flower, or as L. cardinalis.

• Number each page and staple or paper clip the pages together, before you hand
your proposal. Check with your instructor on their policy/preferences for line
spacing and printing on the blank side of used paper.
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• Refer to the Sample Research Proposal for an example that demonstrates the
desired format, writing style, and approximate text length.

• The format for research proposals outlined in the Student Survival Guide will not
be used in this course. Instead, follow the formatting we provide to you.

PROPOSAL CONTENT
The proposal does not have to be long, but it should be complete, and include all of the
following components: Title, Introduction, Hypotheses, Variables, Methods, Expected
Results, Literature Cited, Data Record Sheet.

Title The title should be brief but specific. For example: Flower production in
full sunlight- and shade-grown sunflowers (Helianthus spp.) You should
not include the title as a separate page (save the trees!), but it should head
the first page of your proposal. Also include your name, date and pledge
on the proposal.

Introduction For our purposes, a short paragraph (5 – 10 sentences) that provides a

theoretical context for the proposed research will suffice. This will include
background information to justify your hypotheses and proposed methods,
such as what is currently known about the topic. For example, you might
cite a textbook that discusses why sunlight is important for the production
of non-photosynthesizing plant organs such as flowers, or a study showing
that sunflowers require more exposure to sunlight than shade-tolerant
bluebells (Mertensia spp) for growth and development.

Hypotheses Hypotheses are possible explanations for observed phenomena. In your

proposal, you will state both a null (HO) and alternate (HA) hypothesis.
(Note that in formal lab reports, it is customary to state only HA). HO is
the hypothesis of “no difference”, while HA predicts that there will be a
difference or association within the data.

For example, in our sunflower experiment, we want to investigate whether

flower production is enhanced by exposure to sunlight. In this case, the
hypotheses might be stated as:

HO: Sunflowers grown in full sun produce flowers of equal number as

those grown in shade. Another way to say this might be "Light level
has no effect on flower production in sunflowers (Helianthus spp.)."

HA: Sunflowers grown in full sun produce more flowers than those
grown in shade.

One cannot “prove” HA, but data can be gathered and analyzed in an
attempt to disprove, or test, HO. If our experiment yields data that give us
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sufficient reason to reject Ho, then we accept HA. For example, suppose
we grow 10 potted sunflowers in full sun and 10 potted sunflowers in
shade, while keeping all other factors (e.g. sunflower variety, soil moisture
or fertility) the same. If, after statistical analysis, we find that the mean
number of flowers produced per plant is significantly higher for
sunflowers grown in full sun than those grown in shade, then we could
reject HO in favor of HA and conclude that sunlight enhances flower
production in sunflowers. Conversely, if we found that there was no
difference in mean flower production between sun- and shade-grown
plants, we would fail to reject HO. This does not mean that we are
disproving HA, only that we do not have the data to reject HO.

NOTE: While you will always be testing HO statistically, your proposed

hypothesis (and the one that you will write about in your final lab report)
is really HA.

Variables A variable is a characteristic that may differ from one entity to another. In
our experiments, we will be testing the effect of an independent variable
X on dependent variable Y. Technically speaking, the magnitude of the
dependent variable (Y) is assumed to be a function of, or affected by, the
independent variable (X). For this reason, the dependent variable is also
referred to as the response variable.

In the sunflower example, the dependent variable is flower production

(mean number of flowers produced per plant) and the independent variable
is light level, with the "treatments" within the independent variable being
exposure to full sun or shade.

Methods In this section, you will describe, in a logical order, exactly what you
propose to do.

Study site – If you are proposing a field study, you will begin the methods
section with a concise description of the study site. It may be appropriate
to mention approximately what time of year the study will take place.

Experimental Design – Here, you describe as clearly and concisely as

possible, the steps necessary to complete your procedure, and to collect
and analyze your data. Write this out in paragraph form, not as a list.

Your experimental design will outline your variables and treatments (e.g.
flower production, sun versus shade), as well as the number of replications
per treatment (e.g. 10), often referred to as “n” or “sample size”. As you
describe your methods, you will refer indirectly to the materials
(equipment, instruments, sample collection materials, etc); do not simply
list what you will use. Summarize all necessary equations in numerical
format. You do not need to explain details such as, “the data will be
Research Proposal Guidelines 4

compiled in an Excel spreadsheet”, because the reader assumes this. Also

you should not include unnecessary details that could vary from study to
study, but would not be expected to influence the outcome. Some
examples if unnecessary details:
• the color of flagging tape used to mark the plants in the field (just say
that plants were marked – someone else may use chalk, or a different
color tape and achieve the same result)
• the length of the measuring tape used to run a transect (here the
important detail is simply the length of the transect)
• the type of knot used to tie off a strip of dialysis tubing (just say that it
was tied off).

Statistical Analysis – Prior to data collection, it is important to determine

how you will analyze your data statistically. In this class, we will be using
either a t-test or linear regression as our primary means of analysis (you
will become more familiar with these as the semester progresses). Thus,
in your proposed methods, you will write a concise statement about the
specific statistical test(s) that will be performed on your data.

If using a t-test, you also need to indicate whether you will use a one- or
two-tailed test. When you conduct your analysis in Excel, it will give
you both test values, and it is up to you to specify which one you will use.
This will depend upon your alternate hypothesis (HA). Were we to state
HA as "Mean flower production will differ between full sun- and shade-
grown plants", but not specify which treatment we expect to have greater
production, we would use a two-tailed t-test, because we are testing for a
difference in mean flower number in either direction (sun > shade or shade
> sun). However, in our earlier example, we hypothesized that mean
flower production would be greater in full sun plants compared to shade-
grown, so we would use a one-tailed t-test, which is generally more
powerful.

Thus, our methods statement with regard to the statistical analysis might
be: “Mean flower number per plant will be analyzed using a one-tailed t-
test, assuming equal variances, to determine if significant differences in
flower number exist between sun- and shade-grown plants”.

In some cases we may use linear regression analysis. For example, if we had used
a range of light levels (e.g. 100%, 90%, 70%, 50% and 20% exposure to full sun) rather
than just two (sun and shade), then we could test whether flower number is related to the
amount of light that the plants receive. A regression analysis would test for this
relationship. Here, your methods statement with regard to the statistical analysis might
be: “Linear regression will be used to determine if flower production in sunflowers is a
linear function of light level exposure during growth".

(Also refer to your Survival Guide for a primer on statistics)

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Expected Results – In this section you will provide a concise written statement about
each predicted result, along with either a summary table or a summary
figure depicting the relative trends you expect from your data.

Statements about expected results should be concise but informative and

make reference to the appropriate table or figure. For example: "Mean
flower production will be significantly higher in sun-grown plants than in
shade-grown sunflower plants (t-test: p<0.05)".

Tables: In some cases, a data summary table will be more appropriate than
a figure, especially if the data are too complex to present graphically. The
table should always include a descriptive title above the table, as shown in
the example below. The type of summary data that will be inserted (e.g.
means ± standard errors or standard deviations) should be indicated. Since
you do not have any 'real data' yet, and therefore won't have actual values
for your mean, std err or P-value, your summary table will present the
trend you expect (e.g. Sun > Shade). Read Chapters 8 & 10 of the
Survival Guide for an explanation of means, standard errors and P-values.

Table 1. Mean (+ std err) number of flowers produced by sun- and shade-
grown sunflower (Helianthus spp) plants.
Light Level
Sun Shade n P-value
Flowers/plant Mean + std err > Mean + std err 10 < 0.05
Note: Tables are easily inserted into the text of a Microsoft Word
document using the “Table” menu. This allows you to control the format
much better than if you were to cut and paste from Microsoft Excel.

Figure – The figure below depicts the same results as the table above. In
this example, a figure is a more appropriate way to present the data
because the reader can quickly see the expected pattern in flower
production (sun > shade). The figure should have a descriptive title
caption located below the graph. The caption should concisely describe
what the figure represents and include statistics when appropriate. The X-
and Y-axes should be labeled with appropriate units. In this figure, the
columns have standard error bars, as noted in the figure caption.
Research Proposal Guidelines 6

Number of flowers/plant Sun Shade

Fig. 1. Mean (± 1 std err) flower production/plant in sun- and shade-grown sunflower
plants (P = ___, n = 10 plants/treatment).

In an example where you are testing the relationship between X and Y,

using linear regression, a figure would be more informative to the reader
than a table. For example, if we had grown the plants under a range of
different light levels, a figure would immediately show us the trend in the
data (see Fig. 2 below – flower production increased with increasing plant
exposure to light). A table with the same data would simply be a list of
numbers, and would be more difficult to interpret.

The expected results statement might read something like this: There will
be a significant positive linear relationship between the level of light
exposure plants receive and flower production per plant (R2 = ___, P <
0.05).
The accompanying figure might look like this:
produced/plant
No. Flowers

0 20 40 60 80 100
Light Level (%)

Fig. 2. Flower production per plant in the sunflower (Helianthus spp.) as a function of
plant exposure to different light levels (P = ____, R^2 = ___)

Literature Cited – Sources cited (by author, year) in the Introduction section of your
proposal will appear in the Literature Cited section as full bibliographic
citations (refer to the Survival Guide for proper formatting).

Data Record Sheet – Designing a data record sheet before you conduct your research
helps you better understand your experimental design and prepares you for
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more efficient data collection. This is a table where you will record your
raw data during the study and is different from a summary table of the
results. Your data record sheet should reflect the set up of the spreadsheet
that you will use to enter and analyze the data in Microsoft Excel.

Example of an abbreviated data record sheet (you should include an entire

data record sheet in your proposal)

Light Number
Plant number
treatment flowers/plant
1 sun
2 sun
3 sun
... sun
10 sun
1 shade
2 shade
3 shade
... shade
10 shade