Graduate Program in Nutrition

Guidelines for Research Proposal

A research proposal should be prepared and typed by each graduate student for review by their research committee. The proposal should be largely the work of the graduate student and will not be written by the advisor. This proposal should be distributed to the student's graduate committee, and the proposal should document the reason(s) why the work is important, how the work is novel, and should demonstrate that the proposed research can be accomplished within the time frame of the degree. Students are encouraged to state a hypothesis in the proposal. In addition to the proposal for the committee, some students will prepare an additional research proposal for the Student Competitive Research Awards.

Cover page

Research Plan

Organize Sections A-D of the Research Plan to answer these questions. (A) What do you intend to do? (B) Why is the work important? (C) What has already been done? (D) How are you going to do the work?

  1. Specific Aims: State the broad, long-term objectives and describe concisely and realistically what the specific research described in this application is intended to accomplish and any hypothesis to be tested. No more than one page is recommended.
  2. Background and Significance: Briefly sketch the background to the present proposal, critically evaluate existing knowledge, and specifically identify the gaps which the project is intended to fill. State concisely the importance of the research described in this application by relating the specific aims to the broad, long-term objectives. No more than two pages are recommended.
  3. Research Design and Methods: Outline the research design and the procedures to be used to accomplish the specific aims of the project. Include the means by which the data will be collected, analyzed, and interpreted. Describe any new methodology and its advantage over existing methodologies. Although no specific number of pages is recommended for this section of the application, the total for Sections 2 A-D and 3 may not exceed 6 pages for prposals submitted for the Student Competitive Research Award.
  4. Timetable: Provide a tentative sequence or timetable for the investigations, including starting and completion dates.

References

Use citations from sections 2 a, b, and c according to format of either the Journal of Nutrition or the Journal of Nutrition Education.

* Budget

Identify the most critical items and provide a short justification for any requested equipment in excess of $100 (See award note on cover page).

Budget Categories:

1. Wages
2. Equipment
3. Supplies
4. Data Collection
5. Travel (related to conduct of the project)
6. Telephone (related to conduct of the project)
7. Other costs related to conduct of the project

* Consultants/Collaborators

Attach an approporiate letter from each individual not affiliated with Penn State University to confirm his or her role in the project.

* (Items apply only to proposals prepared for Student Competitive Research Awards.)