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Image of a researcher AEE 578--Scientific Inquiry in Agricultural and Extension Education
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Preparing Research Proposals and Grant Applications
Introduction:

Image of a magnifying glass 		If you are writing a thesis: One of the first tasks in writing a thesis is to prepare a proposal to present to your committee. Typically a proposal is 10-15 pages long and is a condensed version of what will eventually be Chapters 1, 2 and 3 of the finished thesis (Chapter 1 is the Introductory Chapter, Chapter 2 is the Review of Literature and Chapter 3 is the Methodology). After reading the proposal, your committee should have a very clear idea of what you propose to research including the significance of the problem, your research questions and how you plan to conduct the research. You should learn how to prepare a research proposal in this lesson.

If you are not writing a thesis: Agriculture teachers and extension agents often have to write grant applications. The information in a grant proposal is very similar to what is contained in a research proposal. There are some minor differences but the process is about the same. So you need to pay attention to this lesson because you will probably end up doing about the same thing as a student who is writing a thesis at some point in your career.
Learning Objectives:

Icon of a signpost 		image of a ball Describe briefly the main sections of a research proposal and a research report.
image of a ball Describe major difference between a research proposal and a research report.
image of a ball Write a research proposal or grant proposal.
image of a ball Critique a typical research report or proposal.
image of a ball Identify private and federal sources of grant funding.
image of a ball Identify the components of a successful grant proposal.
image of a ball List 10 principles to follow in writing grants.
 
Instructional
Activities:

Icon of a computer 		image of a ball Read Chapter 25 "Preparing Research Proposals and Reports" in the course text, How to Design and Evaluate Research in Education (Fraenkel & Wallen).

image of a ball   Complete the short tutorial on writing grant proposals from the Foundation Center.

image of a ball   GrantProposals.com has some excellent tips for grant writing.

  image of a ball Read the Basic Elements of Grant Writing from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

image of a ball   Work through the various sections of the Non-Profit Guides, which is a collection of grant-writing tools for non-profit organizations.

image of a ball   If you are an educator and want to get serious about grant writing, you will want to bookmark School Grants. This site has excellent suggestions about grant writing, links to funding sources, and many examples of funded grants.

image of a ball The Foundation Center is an on-line directory of private funding sources and funding information. You have to pay a fee to use this service, however it is a fantastic resource. You should be aware that such a service exists. The Foundation Center also has their directory in book form. Most libraries will have a copy of the Foundation Directory. The next time you are in the library, you should look at this document. At least two past students from this class have landed some major grants because of this information.

image of a ball   Want to write a federal grant proposal? See what the federal government advocates in Developing and Writing Grant Proposals.

image of a ball   The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance allows one to search for government funded opportunities. Please spend some time browsing areas that interest you. You could also search for key words such as agricultural education, nutrition, etc.

image of a ball   Read "Common Proposal Mistakes" from this Notre Dame site.

image of a ball   If you are an agriculture teacher, either at the secondary or two year postsecondary level, you might want to consider writing a proposal for the
USDA Secondary & 2 Yr Post-Secondary Agricultural Education Challenge Grant Program.

image of a ball View the PowerPoint presentation on preparing research proposals.
Review:

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 Image of a blue ball  The publisher of the textbook has some excellent information to support the text; you should check it out:
Image of a blue ball Visit the text site and complete the multiple choice questions for Chapter 25

Additional Resources:
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 		Image of a blue ball IF you want to see more (NOT required):
Assignments:               
Icon of note pad 		Image of a blue ball There is no weekly assignment this week. Instead spend the time starting to work on one of the major assignments for this course -- a research proposal or a grant proposal. More details about this assignment can be found in the proposal assignment information sheet. The due date has been changed to give you more time. Look on the course information page to see when the new due date is.

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