Fill each prompt in a sentence or two first, then expand. Follow your department's own format and word limits where they differ. Print with your browser's Print command; the site's menus are left off the paper.

Research proposal (synopsis)

Trainee: ____________________ Placement: ____________________ Date: ____________

Title

Variables, population and design in under 20 words

Background

What is known, with the 5-10 most relevant studies
Why it matters in your setting (country, population, service)

The gap

What is not yet known, or not known for this population
Why the existing studies cannot answer it

Aims and hypotheses

One overall aim
Specific objectives
Hypotheses stated so they can be wrong, with their direction

Design

Correlational, experimental, quasi-experimental, qualitative or mixed
Why this design answers the question

Participants

Who, from where, inclusion and exclusion criteria
Sampling method
Sample size and how it was calculated (effect size, power, alpha)

Measures

Each instrument: what it measures, items, scoring, reliability and validity in a similar sample
Permission or licence to use it, and the language version

Procedure

Step by step, from first contact to debrief
Where data are collected and by whom

Analysis plan

Data screening and missing data
The test for each hypothesis
Effect sizes you will report

Ethics

Consent, confidentiality, risks and how you will handle distress
Ethics committee you will apply to

Timeline and resources

Month by month
Costs, if any

References

APA 7th edition

Researcher: ______________________________ Date: ______________

Supervisor: ______________________________ Date: ______________

Template from PsychologyOrbit (https://psychologyorbit.com/templates/research-proposal). Free to print and adapt. No client names, phone numbers, CNIC or hospital numbers, or dates of birth.