Emory College | Current Students | SIRE: Project Proposal & Budget

emory college faculty of arts and sciences

Scholarly Inquiry and Research at Emory (SIRE)

Project Proposal and Budget

The Project Proposal, together with your budget, is the core of your application. Your proposal should explain the academic significance of your research while also explaining to the committee the details and methods you plan to use. Please read the advice and instructions listed below.

You have 3 pages of single-spaced, 12 pt. font to explain your project to the committee. Your proposal should begin with a statement of your research question, problem or premise of your project. It should contain a brief literature review that leads the committee to understand how your project fits in the context of the field. Your proposal should describe the methods, media or creative process you will use in your project. Finally, please include a timeline for your research including when and how your project will be shared when completed (paper, performance, presentation, etc.).

This proposal should be written by the student applicant, NOT the faculty mentor. The project description should be as complete and detailed as possible, and is a blueprint for your project. This is the core of your grant application, and explains your project objective, the methods you plan to use and the significance of the project. Be sure that the proposal can be understood by people who are not in your immediate field of study--the selection committee is multidisciplinary. In general, you should include the following elements:

What focused question or problem is your research/creative project designed to address? What hypothesis will your research test? What premise underlies your creative project? You should be able to state this basic goal succinctly and clearly.

What scholarly contribution will your research make? Make reference to the scholarly literature or tradition which your project addresses. Please appropriately cite your references, using a form appropriate to your discipline.

What research methods will you use to collect, analyze, and interpret your data or materials? Or, what media and creative process will you employ in your creative arts project? In describing your research methods, be sure that you are as detailed as possible, and that you indicate your preparation and training for undertaking this research.

Within what time frame will you complete the stages of your project?

Indicate if your research involves work with human subjects in interviews, surveys, experiments or other research activities. If so, you will need to follow university guidelines for research with human subjects, as specified by the Institutional Research Board (IRB www.emory.edu/IRB/). Please review the guidelines, and indicate whether you have begun the process of seeking IRB approval. Such approval is necessary before we release funds for research with human subjects, but not before you apply for SIRE support.

What resources--people, archives, research centers, labs, and so on--will you draw upon to conduct your project?

What form will your final product take?

For those proposing a project involving international travel, be sure to address the following additional issues as a part of your proposal. In most cases, this additional information will be a part of the sections listed above, rather than a separate addendum. Your proposal may be as long as 4 pages in order to allow you to address these issues:

Personal Logistics: describe how you will make contact, gain access, and establish living arrangements at your research location, including:

Your contacts with members of the local community, researchers, and institutions who may be of assistance in your research or with logistics

Where you will reside, with whom, and how local logistics will be arranged with those familiar with your site

Overseas Research Logistics:

Describe how you will realistically gain access, make contact, and establish ongoing relations with the persons during your overseas study. If you are planning to interview people, how will you locate them, inform them about your research, and obtain their permission to participate?

How will you maintain records and documents of your experience in a way that maintains and protects the confidentiality of your informants?

If your project involves archival, textual, or material cultural materials, describe where and how you will effectively gain access to and use of these materials, including photo reproduction or other permissions.

Cultural Experience:

Describe and explain your prior cultural understanding, background, and experience with the culture or culture area in question. Include but do not limit yourself to description of relevant academic training

Are you aware of culturally sensitive topics in traveling and researching in this site? If so, please describe and explain how you would address these issues.

What guide books, travel guides or other information you have you used to familiarize yourself with the country/area, and how have you used or will use these sources?

Language:

Language Logistics: If you are not completely fluent in the local language, how will you circumvent or otherwise deal with this fact? To what extent will translators or language helpers be needed, and how will such persons be recruited and compensated?

Personal Challenges and Security

Do you have any personal characteristics - such as gender, national or ethnic identity, or otherwise- that will pose special challenges to your research given the cultural and social characteristics of your research location? How will you respond to these challenges?

Are there any special challenges of safety or security that your research poses? How will you address these to reduce your risk to an acceptable level?

Are there any customs, practices, or beliefs in your location of research that are especially sensitive or that will pose special challenges for you or for your research? How will you respond to and deal with these?

Detailed Budget Instructions

When applying for a cost of research grant, you need to include a detailed budget of the costs you expect to incur. Please be as specific as possible and indicate the source of those estimates. You may need to explain why particular expenses are essential to your project. For grants not involving international travel, the total cost may not exceed $2500 (the application may be for a lesser amount). Students proposing projects involving international travel may apply for a supplemental grant (up to $1500 in addition to the SIRE grant, for a total grant of $4,000) from the Institute for Comparative and International Study (ICIS) as part of this application. Selection committees review this budget carefully, and often fund only parts of the budget you submit, or provide funding of a different amount if they feel your request is not reasonable. Please read the specific information below about the nature of costs that are covered. There may be other categories of expenses; these are ones that are typical and about which students often have questions.

Transportation	Travel expenses are covered if travel is necessary for the purposes of doing research. For example, travel to a field research site or to a library would be covered. Generally, travel to conferences to present research is not covered by a SIRE grant. The grant will cover reasonable transportation costs, food, and lodging during the time that you are traveling. Transportation costs include fares for air travel, train, rental car, taxi or bus. Provide cost source information. Please be aware that it is often difficult for drivers under 25 to rent cars because of the rules applied by car rental companies. Before planning a project requiring car rental, please investigate whether this is possible. For travel, reimbursement is made after the trip is completed. You are free to make your own travel arrangements. However, to avoid depleting your available cash, travel can be booked by the College Office so these costs may be pre-paid on your behalf. E-tickets, boarding passes, etc. must be provided with other reimbursement materials, including for pre-paid expenses.
Housing	Cost of housing for approved travel. Provide cost source information.
Lab Materials	Research materials needed for projects involving laboratory or field research. Funds are restricted to materials that are deemed essential for the SIRE project alone. In the case of several costs all being lab or field research materials, each item should be detailed. It is important that a student consult with the principal investigator and others in a working group to develop detailed cost information for major items in the budget. Funds are not provided for 'general purpose' research supplies shared by multiple users or projects.
Equipment	Small equipment costs may be covered by a SIRE grant if the cost is less than $499 and the purchase is essential to the proposed project. In some cases, that equipment becomes the property of the University when the project is completed. University rules regarding purchase of equipment may limit some purchases. Please contact Dean Brzinski with questions about equipment purchases before submitting the application.
Books and Other Printed Materials	In general, committees will not cover the costs of books or materials which are available in the library or through interlibrary loan. Books may be included when they have limited availability or are available only at the site of a research trip. Students in the humanities with text-based projects may also be able to request support to purchase some books, but should indicate why ownership of those books is important for their project.
Library Photocopying	Photocopying costs of materials from the Emory library are not reimbursable costs. However, copies made at a distant site or library may be reimbursable.
Survey Photocopying	Questionnaire duplication may be covered by the grant.
Food	Food costs, as a part of a research project, may be covered by the grant.
Postage	Mailing costs for surveys or questionnaires may be covered by the grant.
Subject Compensation	Costs paid to survey participants
Telephone or Fax	If these costs are essential to a project, they may be covered.
Performance or Visual Arts	Production costs for humanities projects may be covered.
Other	Describe the cost area and the amount

Costs which are ineligible for Grant award: 1) Printing and production of an honors thesis. 2) Photocopying performed at the Emory University Library or other local library. 3) Travel to Conferences.