research proposal in physics

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The research proposal is central to your application to undertake doctoral study in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. You should read the following guidelines to ensure that your proposal includes the information we need to assess your application.

To support your application for a PhD place in the School of Mathematical & Physical Sciences, you should either:

• write a new project proposal in a specialised subject, which will appeal to our faculty, naming one or more preferred supervisors.
• write a general personal statement describing a broad topic of interest to you and our faculty. You should show how your areas of academic strength would benefit the topic. If you have more than one such topic, clearly address each one separately. You may indicate preferred supervisors and research groups.
• write a specific personal statement about why you are the right person for one of our advertised research projects. (Not all research groups advertise projects.)

As appropriate, you can

• explain your interest and motivation to carry out the research
• specify the questions you wish to investigate, including references to research literature
• indicate which methods and techniques are adequate to achieve the research aims, and state whether you are able to apply them or wish to develop skills in them.

Your document can be from half to four pages in length, as necessary. Please upload it to your application in pdf format.

Details of our Research Groups can be found on the research webpage .

In the Financial Information section of the online form, you should:

• Tell us which studentship you would like to be considered for. They are advertised on the scholarships web pages . Check your eligibility in the advertisement.
• Tell us if you have another way of funding your studies should we be unable to offer you a studentship.
• Tell us the name of your sponsor, or intended sponsor, if you will be funded by a third party. Inform us of any important deadlines.

• Research Process

Writing a Scientific Research Project Proposal

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The importance of a well-written research proposal cannot be underestimated. Your research really is only as good as your proposal. A poorly written, or poorly conceived research proposal will doom even an otherwise worthy project. On the other hand, a well-written, high-quality proposal will increase your chances for success.

In this article, we’ll outline the basics of writing an effective scientific research proposal, including the differences between research proposals, grants and cover letters. We’ll also touch on common mistakes made when submitting research proposals, as well as a simple example or template that you can follow.

What is a scientific research proposal?

The main purpose of a scientific research proposal is to convince your audience that your project is worthwhile, and that you have the expertise and wherewithal to complete it. The elements of an effective research proposal mirror those of the research process itself, which we’ll outline below. Essentially, the research proposal should include enough information for the reader to determine if your proposed study is worth pursuing.

It is not an uncommon misunderstanding to think that a research proposal and a cover letter are the same things. However, they are different. The main difference between a research proposal vs cover letter content is distinct. Whereas the research proposal summarizes the proposal for future research, the cover letter connects you to the research, and how you are the right person to complete the proposed research.

There is also sometimes confusion around a research proposal vs grant application. Whereas a research proposal is a statement of intent, related to answering a research question, a grant application is a specific request for funding to complete the research proposed. Of course, there are elements of overlap between the two documents; it’s the purpose of the document that defines one or the other.

Scientific Research Proposal Format

Although there is no one way to write a scientific research proposal, there are specific guidelines. A lot depends on which journal you’re submitting your research proposal to, so you may need to follow their scientific research proposal template.

In general, however, there are fairly universal sections to every scientific research proposal. These include:

• Title: Make sure the title of your proposal is descriptive and concise. Make it catch and informative at the same time, avoiding dry phrases like, “An investigation…” Your title should pique the interest of the reader.
• Abstract: This is a brief (300-500 words) summary that includes the research question, your rationale for the study, and any applicable hypothesis. You should also include a brief description of your methodology, including procedures, samples, instruments, etc.
• Introduction: The opening paragraph of your research proposal is, perhaps, the most important. Here you want to introduce the research problem in a creative way, and demonstrate your understanding of the need for the research. You want the reader to think that your proposed research is current, important and relevant.
• Background: Include a brief history of the topic and link it to a contemporary context to show its relevance for today. Identify key researchers and institutions also looking at the problem
• Literature Review: This is the section that may take the longest amount of time to assemble. Here you want to synthesize prior research, and place your proposed research into the larger picture of what’s been studied in the past. You want to show your reader that your work is original, and adds to the current knowledge.
• Research Design and Methodology: This section should be very clearly and logically written and organized. You are letting your reader know that you know what you are going to do, and how. The reader should feel confident that you have the skills and knowledge needed to get the project done.
• Preliminary Implications: Here you’ll be outlining how you anticipate your research will extend current knowledge in your field. You might also want to discuss how your findings will impact future research needs.
• Conclusion: This section reinforces the significance and importance of your proposed research, and summarizes the entire proposal.
• References/Citations: Of course, you need to include a full and accurate list of any and all sources you used to write your research proposal.

Common Mistakes in Writing a Scientific Research Project Proposal

Remember, the best research proposal can be rejected if it’s not well written or is ill-conceived. The most common mistakes made include:

• Not providing the proper context for your research question or the problem
• Failing to reference landmark/key studies
• Losing focus of the research question or problem
• Not accurately presenting contributions by other researchers and institutions
• Incompletely developing a persuasive argument for the research that is being proposed
• Misplaced attention on minor points and/or not enough detail on major issues
• Sloppy, low-quality writing without effective logic and flow
• Incorrect or lapses in references and citations, and/or references not in proper format
• The proposal is too long – or too short

Scientific Research Proposal Example

There are countless examples that you can find for successful research proposals. In addition, you can also find examples of unsuccessful research proposals. Search for successful research proposals in your field, and even for your target journal, to get a good idea on what specifically your audience may be looking for.

While there’s no one example that will show you everything you need to know, looking at a few will give you a good idea of what you need to include in your own research proposal. Talk, also, to colleagues in your field, especially if you are a student or a new researcher. We can often learn from the mistakes of others. The more prepared and knowledgeable you are prior to writing your research proposal, the more likely you are to succeed.

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One of the top reasons scientific research proposals are rejected is due to poor logic and flow. Check out our Language Editing Services to ensure a great proposal , that’s clear and concise, and properly referenced. Check our video for more information, and get started today.

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27.3: Guide for writing a proposal

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Summary and Goal

Write a few short sentences briefly summarizing the aim of your experiment, how it will be conducted, and how precise of a result you expect to obtain.

Method and equipment

Clearly describe, in as much detail as required, the method/procedure that you will use to carry out your experiment, and how you will analyze the results. Justify the choices that you made (no need to say you chose to use a ruler because you will need to measure a distance, but perhaps say why you need to measure a given distance, or that you chose to measure something in a particular way as it would reduce the corresponding uncertainty). Provide a list of the equipment that you will need. Also, propose a method of assessing whether or not your project was successful.

Consider the following questions:

• What theory are you testing and through what model?
• How precisely do you estimate that you will be able to make your measurement? Estimate the uncertainty that you will obtain with the proposed experiment. Use this in guiding the design of your experiment.
• What materials, equipment and/or tools are necessary in making your measurements?
• What are the cost of these materials? Can they be easily obtained?
• Where should this experiment be conducted?
• Are there any safety concerns?
• How will you make your measurements? How many times will you make them?
• How will you record your measurements?
• How will you maximize the precision of your experiments?
• How will you determine uncertainties?
• How will you analyze the data?
• What issues could arise in your experiment? How do you plan to resolve these issues?

Timeline and Team

Provide the names of team members, and assign relevant duties to each member. Give a rough outline of the timeline to conduct the experiment, to analyze the data, and to report on the results.

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An research proposal examples on physics is a prosaic composition of a small volume and free composition, expressing individual impressions and thoughts on a specific occasion or issue and obviously not claiming a definitive or exhaustive interpretation of the subject.

Some signs of physics research proposal:

• the presence of a specific topic or question. A work devoted to the analysis of a wide range of problems in biology, by definition, cannot be performed in the genre of physics research proposal topic.
• The research proposal expresses individual impressions and thoughts on a specific occasion or issue, in this case, on physics and does not knowingly pretend to a definitive or exhaustive interpretation of the subject.
• As a rule, an essay suggests a new, subjectively colored word about something, such a work may have a philosophical, historical, biographical, journalistic, literary, critical, popular scientific or purely fiction character.
• in the content of an research proposal samples on physics , first of all, the author’s personality is assessed - his worldview, thoughts and feelings.

The goal of an research proposal in physics is to develop such skills as independent creative thinking and writing out your own thoughts.

Writing an research proposal is extremely useful, because it allows the author to learn to clearly and correctly formulate thoughts, structure information, use basic concepts, highlight causal relationships, illustrate experience with relevant examples, and substantiate his conclusions.

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Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)

Update: November 2020 The Physics Department is currently working to improve and streamline our departmental UROP-seeking procedure. Our hope is to create more UROPs within the Department and to also make them more visible to our students. We will be periodically updating this webpage with more information. Physics students can also expect to be emailed about these listings as they pertain to future terms.

The Physics Department participates in the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) by providing positions for undergraduates with our faculty and in our research labs. General information about the UROP program including funding opportunities, application deadlines, guidelines, and other resources can be found at http://web.mit.edu/urop/ .

To apply for a UROP, complete the following steps:

• Visit the UROP website for opportunities, guidelines and resources;
• Review UROP participation options ;
• Once a position is chosen, write a proposal as described below;
• Submit your proposal by the deadline provided by the UROP Office.

Finding a UROP

There are many ways you can find UROPs, as listed on the UROP website . Here are some of the most common ways:

• Search for openings on the main UROP website or find listings posted weekly in our Physics Student Newsletter;
• Seek out and connect with physics faculty members or researchers working on projects that interest you and ask if the researcher would be willing to supervise you in a UROP. The UROP website has lots of helpful tips on how to approach faculty!

Writing a Physics UROP Proposal

Once you choose a UROP and find a supervisor, you will need to write a UROP proposal.

Your proposal should address three major issues:

• how the proposed UROP fits into the overall research picture in your physics area of interest;
• how your specific project fits into the group’s research program;
• how you plan to implement your project, including a description of what you hope to accomplish.

Tips for Writing a UROP Proposal

• Expect the audience reading the proposal to have some knowledge of science, but not a detailed knowledge of the subfield. This means that specific terms such as Ising model, SO galaxy, or optical molasses should be explained the first time they’re used, along with their significance.
• A concise proposal can accomplish its purpose within a single page, with generally one paragraph devoted to each of the goals listed above.
• If this is a first-time project, the UROP Coordinator will know that not all aspects of the project will be able to be explained in detail.
• If this is a continuation of a previous UROP, the UROP Coordinator will want to know how this project builds on what the student has accomplished previously.

Once the UROP application is received, it will be reviewed by Physics UROP Coordinator Prof. Joe Checkelsky .

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Physics: Writing a Literature Review

Literature reviews.

A  literature review  surveys scholarly articles, books and other sources (e.g. dissertations, conference proceedings) relevant to a particular issue, area of research, or theory, providing a description, summary, and critical evaluation of each work. 

• Provide context for a research paper
• Explore the history and development of a topic
• Examine the scholarly conversation surrounding the topic
• Shows relationships between studies
• Examines gaps in research on the topic

Components 

Similar to primary research, development of the literature review requires four stages:

• Problem formulation—which topic or field is being examined and what are its component issues?
• Literature search—finding materials relevant to the subject being explored
• Data evaluation—determining which literature makes a significant contribution to the understanding of the topic
• Analysis and interpretation—discussing the findings and conclusions of pertinent literature

Conducting a Literature Review

1. choose a topic. define your research questions..

Your literature review should be guided by a central research question.  Remember, it is not a collection of loosely related studies in a field but instead represents background and research developments related to a specific research question, interpreted and analyzed by you in a synthesized way.

• Make sure your research question is not too broad or too narrow.  Is it manageable?
• Begin writing down terms that are related to your question. These will be useful for searches later.
• If you have the opportunity, discuss your topic with your professor.

2. Decide on the scope of your review. 

• How many studies do you need to look at?
• How comprehensive should it be?
• How many years should it cover? 

Tip: This may depend on your assignment.  How many sources does the assignment require?

3. Select the databases you will use to conduct your searches.  

Make a list of the databases you will search.  

Where to find databases:

• Find Databases by Subject
• T he Find Articles tab of this guide

This page contains a list of the most relevant databases for most Physics research. 

4. Conduct your searches and find the literature. Keep track of your searches! 

• Review the abstracts of research studies carefully. This will save you time.
• Write down the searches you conduct in each database so that you may duplicate them if you need to later (or avoid dead-end searches   that you'd forgotten you'd already tried).
• Use the bibliographies and references of research studies you find to locate others.
• Ask your professor or a librarian if you are missing any key works in the field.

5. Review the Literature 

Some questions to help you analyze the research: 

• What was the research question of the study you are reviewing? What were the authors trying to discover?
• Was the research funded by a source that could influence the findings?
• What were the research methodologies? Analyze its literature review, the samples and variables used, the results, and the conclusions. Does the research seem to be complete? Could it have been conducted more soundly? What further questions does it raise?
• If there are conflicting studies, why do you think that is?
• How are the authors viewed in the field? Has this study been cited?; if so, how has it been analyzed?

Tips: 

• Again, review the abstracts carefully.  
• Keep careful notes so that you may track your thought processes during the research process.

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NASA Selects 7 Fundamental Physics Proposals

NASA’s Fundamental Physics Program has selected seven proposals submitted in response to the Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences - 2022 (ROSES-2022) E.6 Fundamental Physics call for proposal.

Three of the selected projects will involve performing experiments using the Cold Atom Laboratory (CAL) aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Four of the selected proposals call for ground-based research to help NASA identify and develop the foundation for future space-based experiments.

The Cold Atom Laboratory (CAL) provides an opportunity to study ultra-cold quantum gases in the microgravity environment of the space station. This environment makes it possible to conduct research in a way unachievable on Earth because atoms can be observed over a longer period, and mixtures of different atoms can be studied free of the effects of gravity, where cold atoms can be trapped more easily by magnetic fields.

The selected proposals are from seven institutions in seven states, with the total combined award amount of approximately $9.6 million over a five-year period.

The Fundamental Physics Program is managed by the Biological and Physical Sciences Division in NASA's Science Mission Directorate. This program performs carefully designed research in space that advances our understanding of physical laws, nature's organizing principles, and how these laws and principles can be manipulated by scientists and technologies to benefit humanity on Earth and in space.

Below is the complete list of the selected proposals, principal investigators, and their organizations:

• Nicholas Bigelow , University of Rochester, “ Consortium of Ultracold Atoms in Space ”
• Shimon Kolkowitz , University of Wisconsin, Madison, “ Developing new techniques for ultra-high-precision space-based optical lattice clock comparisons ”
• Vladimir Malinovsky , United States Department of the Army, “ Tractor atom interferometer for fundamental physics, quantum sensing, and space science applications ”
• Makan Mohageg , Jet Propulsion Laboratory, “ Teleportation of atomic states between Earth and space ”
• Nathan Lundblad , Bates College, “ Quantum dynamics of ultracold bubbles ”
• Igor Pikovski , Stevens Institute of Technology, “ Atomic quantum networks on curved space-time ”
• Cass Sackett , University of Virginia, Charlottesville, “ AS-PHYS-Bloch Oscillations in Microgravity LOI ”

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New Journal Citation Reports Support Physical Review Journals’ Leading Position

The Physical Review journals published by the American Physical Society (APS) remain among the most trusted, cited, impactful and influential publications in physics, according to the 2022 Journal Citation Reports released this week by Clarivate Analytics.

Clarivate’s annual report assesses the impact and reach of more than 21,500 high-quality academic journals from across more than 250 research disciplines. APS journals held leading positions in a number of categories.

Physical Review Letters (PRL), the APS flagship publication that has published cutting-edge physics research for the last 65 years, leads the way as the most-cited journal in physics and the 8th-most cited journal in science overall. On another key measure, called the Normalized Eigenfactor, PRL ranks as the most influential physics journal in the world, and #15 among all journals across all categories.

Reviews of Modern Physics , the world’s premier physics review journal established in 1929, maintains its #1 rank as the highest-impact journal among all titles in the Physics, Multidisciplinary category, with a Journal Impact Factor of 44.1.

APS has also responded thoughtfully to the scientific community’s growing need for high-quality, open access titles, in support of open research. Among fully open-access publications in the Physics, Multidisciplinary category, the top two by impact factor are APS’s Physical Review X (12.5) and PRX Quantum (9.7). PRX Quantum also ranks as the top primary research journal in Quantum Science & Technology. The fully open access Physical Review Research , which has published more than 5,300 articles since its launch in 2019, received its first-ever impact factor (4.2).

Five additional physics titles published by APS — Physical Review A, B, C, D and E — all sit within the top 10% of publications in their respective categories when ranked by multiple metrics, including Total Articles, Total Citations, and Eigenfactor. Physical Review Applied , Physical Review Fluids and Physical Review Materials each ranked among the top 20% largest (Total Articles) and top 15% most influential (Eigenfactor) in their respective categories.

Physical Review Physics Education Research , the only APS publication indexed in the Social Sciences Citation Index as well as the Science Citation Index Expanded received its highest-ever Journal Impact Factor (3.1). Physical Review Accelerators and Beams , which this year celebrates 25 years of publication, was one of the first open access journals in physics, and is one of science’s longest running Diamond Open Access journals. It received an impact factor of 1.7.

APS is grateful to the countless authors, readers, referees, editors, and staff members who have supported the journals and contributed to these achievements.

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