Writing a research proposal or a protocol What do I need to do?
What is a research proposal?
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A research proposal is a concise summary of your research – try to limit it to 1500 words.
It is an initial set of ideas for a research study which are supported by a literature review and /or a pilot study or a
feasibility study.
Proposals should be concise and must address what you plan to achieve, why you want to research this and how
you are going to do this.
To begin you should think about your research question – what do you really want to know more about? Your
research question should lead to the creation of new knowledge and understanding.
What is a research protocol?
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A research protocol is a detailed set of activities for the project you are proposing.
Activities in your protocol are supported by evidence from previous research but also show how the fill existing
gaps in knowledge.
The protocol is a time a timetable and guide to your research and shows what you are planning to achieve and
how.
Above all protocols demonstrate evidence of planning, including anticipation of potential problems and how you
plan to deal with these.
How do I tell if my research
idea is sound?
Does your proposal make a
strong argument and show the
importance of the research
from a health, societal and
economic viewpoint?
Have you shown where there
are gaps in the existing
knowledge and how your
research will address these?
Does the proposal frame the
issues in a way that makes
them amenable to research
using the methodologies and
design proposed?
Does the research address key
questions in the field?
Are your aims and objectives
clearly defined?
How will you tell if your
research
findings
are
significant?
Are my methods sound and
appropriate?
Is my study practical and
feasible?
Are the study design and
methods
fully
described,
explained and justified? Will
the design and methods of the
study deliver the aims and
objectives?
Have you describe the study
in enough detail for an
external person to be able
to determine the feasibility
of it?
Have you shows that the design
and methods of the proposed
research are the most efficient
what to deliver the aims and
objectives?
Is it possible to complete the
study to the timescale
given?
Is it possible to complete the
study with the resources
described in the proposal?
Does the proposed study
design take into account issues
of representativeness?
Are
recruitment
realistic?
Have you shown how you will
address bias?
Are travelling
realistic?
Does your study meet relevant
and legislative requirements?
Do you or does your study
team have all the relevant
knowledge and expertise to
complete the project?
Has your proposal addressed
the benefits of the study?
rates
estimates
How do I write a Research Proposal or a Research Protocol?
The following guide outlines a common structure of a protocol/proposal.
Title
The title should be concise and descriptive, many research studies
develop an acronym that can be used for easy identification, this is
included as part of the study title.
Investigators Details
Typically a research proposal will be made up of a team that may
include:
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Chief Investigator (CI) – the overall person in charge of the
research.
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Primary Investigators (PI) – individuals responsible for a study
centre (in multicentred studies). On single centre studies the CI
and PI are often the same person.
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Co-Investigators (Co-I) - these people make up the research
team providing different expertise such as statistics input.
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Research Assistants (RAs) or Trial Co-ordinators that you have
in place for your proposed research (optional).
All investigators should be named and contact details given, you may
wish to include the CVs of each of your investigators as an appendix.
Background and Rationale
Explain the background and context of your proposed research. Here
you will include details of the literature review you carried out,
showing where the gaps in current research are and making a case to
show how your proposed research will provide the knowledge to
bridge these gaps.
Research Questions
Your research questions should be formulated clearly and be
answerable. You should be able to answer your research question
through carrying out the study you describe. You may wish to bring
in a hypothesis at this stage.
Aims and Objectives
Outline concise and precise objectives that should follow on from
the hypothesis.
Study Design and Methods
Study Design What study design is most appropriate to answer your
particular research question?
Setting Where will the research take place? Will your research take
place over multiple sites? Will your research take place in a clinical,
care or home setting?
Participants/Patients Detailed information regarding your
participants should be given, this can include the population from
which your participants will be drawn – why did you decide to recruit
these people?
How will you identify participants and how will you recruit them?
What are you inclusion and exclusion criteria for the study?
How many people do you need to recruit onto your study – have you
used a sample size calculation to ascertain this – if not why not?
You may also wish to describe the criteria for participation or
completion of the study, whether you have any participant retention
strategies in place. If you have already developed consent forms and
participant information leaflets for your study, reference these here
and attach these as appendices.
Randomisation Methods Some research studies require a random
allocation of patients to the different experimental groups or
interventions. You will need to explain what randomisations
methods you will use.
Methods of Assessment or Measurement How will you collect data,
what instruments will be used to collect data – why are these
suitable?
Outcome Measures/Objectives The measurement outcomes used to
support or reject the hypotheses can be stated and separated into
primary and secondary outcomes.
Interventions (If applicable) A description of the study intervention
should be provided. If you are giving a treatment or investigation,
the dose, timing, method of providing, administering and receiving
the treatment should be detailed. All necessary safeguards and
potential risks should be made clear, including the methods by which
intervention will be monitored.
Ethical Considerations
You should familiarise yourself with all of NSFTs governance and
ethical approvals necessary for conducting research within the Trust
when you begin to design your study. Obtaining the correct
approvals can be time consuming and this should be taken into
account when developing the timescales of the study.
All ethical concerns should be outlined here. You should explain the
methods by which the participant’s interests will be safeguarded.
Examples of this include the process of risk limitation, how you will
maintain confidentiality or anonymise patient’s data and how you
will monitor any adverse side effects.
Timescales
You need to draw up a timeline for your research that takes into
account all processes from planning to dissemination. This timeline
will also serve as a monitoring tool, allowing you (and external
monitors) to see whether the research is progressing in line with
what
was
expected.
Remember here to take into account the fact that things may go
wrong, be realistic with time frames for recruitment, make sure you
factor in travel time (if necessary) – if you are carrying out research
across two counties you will spend a significant amount of time on
the move! If you are carrying out interviews you will want to factor
in transcription time, if you are carrying out questionnaires don’t
forget that data entry may be required.
It may be helpful here to develop a Gantt Chart, this helps you to
visually see what your research timeline will look like.
Dissemination
Are you planning to hold a dissemination event, whereby you inform
people about the research and what you have found out? Who
might be key to include in such an event – would this be an
opportunity to involve wider stakeholders/commissioners in the
field?
Are you planning to develop any publicity to disseminate your
findings?
What are you hoping to do with your research findings? Could this
lead to a potential publication and if so where?
If you are planning to publish – think about who can review your
work and feedback on it.
What might the findings of your research lead to in the future?
For more information and advice please contact NSFT Research
we have people who can advise on research development as
well as on ethics and research governance approvals. We also
have people here who work on live research studies within the
Trust, they can advise on the practicalities of research. We are
here to help!
Tel: 01603 421152
Email: rdofficemailbox@nsft.nhs.uk
Or pop in and see us in NSFT Research within the Knowledge
Centre, Hellesdon Hospital, Norwich NR6 5BE