Writing a research proposal

This is a brief review of lectures and assignments that I have been given on writing a research proposal. These lectures were given in marine mammal science, and formed my exam in January.

Learning to write a research proposal

As part of the third-year marine mammal science module at Bangor University, in the first semester, students are taught how to write a professional research proposal.

Research proposals are a great way to show potential funders what your project will be about, so what they will be investing in, which is the best way to ensure funding for a research project, as by explaining what the project is it will hopefully peak the investors interest. It is also essential for scientists to be able to write a good research proposal, as to ensure that the research project will be able to be conducted.

For the marine mammal science module you were tasked with providing a research proposal to carry out research on the question “how could shipping vessels effect Bowhead whale population in the North west passage”.

The first step of writing a successful research proposal is to decide the topic that either hasn’t been studied well or needs more research, this was already given to us as it was part of an exam. Once the topic has been chosen, the hypothesis and aims would need to be developed to further the understanding of the topic in the research project. But, also by setting aims and objectives it makes sure as the researcher that you stay on course with the topic or area of field you are looking at, as without setting them it is very easy to start focusing on other ideas once research begins. Once the aims are set and a hypothesis is established a full method with sample sizes and statistical analysis would be formed.

My research proposal

As stated before this was an exam based research proposal so the question was established for us. This was “how could shipping vessels effect Bowhead whale population in the North west passage”. The Northwest passage is a sea route that follows westwards from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. It is normally covered with ice but now due to climate change the ice has began to melt leading to the passage now being permanently open. This has had a massive effect on Bowhead whales migration patterns and the patterns that the shipping vessels sail on. The aim of the study was to try and investigate and track the movement of both Bowhead whales and the vessels sailing patterns in the Northwest Passage. I then compared the two for any similarities or overlaps that occur, and then this data was used to create an action plan on how to protect the population from being hit by shipping vessels.

My refelection

This exam was very well thought out and was worthwhile for the carer path I’m looking to take. It gave me a good insight into how to write a research proposals as well as how to formulate my own research projects. The skills that I learnt while carrying out this exam will be helpful in any kind of job, but especially research proposals to do with potential areas that may need conservation efforts put in place, which is something I am very interested in. Also, with needing to formulate a methodology and further my understanding in how to research and search for scientific journals, which will help when writing projects in the future.