Research proposal is a document which offers people the opportunity to present and plan their proposed research ideas. It is prepared before embarking on the actual research project. Writing a research proposal serves three functions which are communication, plan, and contract. In general, research proposals can be categorized into three categories: academic research proposal, solicited research proposal, and unsolicited proposal. Each of those three categories serves distinct aims and purposes.
To compose a good research proposal, researchers are expected to answer seven key questions. These questions exist to help researchers know what crucial elements to incorporate within their research proposal. Furthermore, the seven key questions can be transformed to a structured template, facilitating researchers in organizing the contents of their research proposal.
Final Project Reports consist of four chapters, namely Introduction, Research Methods, Results and Findings, and Conclusion. Meanwhile, the proposal should consist of two chapters only: Introduction and Research Methods. The proposal and reports must be completed with other parts including cover, table of contents, list of figures, abstracts, references, and appendices.