A call for proposals....
Professional ecologists support their research by applying for research grants. Most ecologists are funded by grants from the National Science Foundation, the US EPA, the USDA, DOE or NASA while state agencies and foundations are alternative sources of support. This "request for proposals" or RFP borrows language from the National Science Foundation's regular annual call for proposals.
The instructors of Field Ecology would like to announce a call for independent research proposals that examine any aspect of field ecology.
You may choose to submit your proposal through either
The Ecosystem Studies Program supports investigations of whole-system ecological processes and relationships across a diversity of spatial and temporal (including paleo) scales in order to advance understanding of: 1) material and energy fluxes and transformations within and among ecosystems, 2) the relationships between structure, including complexity, and functioning of ecosystems, 3) ecosystem dynamics and trajectories of ecosystem development through time, and 4) linkages among ecosystems at different spatial and temporal scales.
The Ecology Program supports studies of interspecific interactions and species diversity at diverse spatial and temporal scales. These include, but are not limited to, (1) food-web structure and trophic dynamics, (2) biotic interactions, including mutualism, competition, predation and parasitism, (3) mechanisms of coexistence, community assembly and the maintenance of species diversity, (4) co-evolution and (5) landscape ecology, habitat fragmentation and macroecology. Ecology particularly encourages studies that can be applied to a wide range of habitats and taxa across multiple scales.
Observational and manipulative approaches in field or mesocosm settings are supported, with the expectation that the research, whether hypothesis- or discovery-driven, have a strong conceptual foundation.
Successful proposals will:
1. State a motivating question of broad general interest placed within the context of exisiting knowledge available through the peer reviewed literature.
2. Carefully list the hypotheses or predictions to be tested
3. Provide a well thought out and reasonable methodology for testing the stated hypotheses/predictions. Wherever possible standard methods should be used and cited appropriately.
4. Include a detailed timeline for the research project.
Proposals should be no more than 5 pages of text (including figures or tables). A bibliography of cited references should be included as a separate file. All proposals should be submitted in Times New Roman 11pt font with 1” margins.
A separate list of necessary supplies and analyses should be submitted together with the proposal.
**Proposals are due on 12 October 2018. There will be an opportunity for proposals to be revised and reconsidered on 1 November 2018**
The instructors of Field Ecology would like to announce a call for independent research proposals that examine any aspect of field ecology.
You may choose to submit your proposal through either
The Ecosystem Studies Program supports investigations of whole-system ecological processes and relationships across a diversity of spatial and temporal (including paleo) scales in order to advance understanding of: 1) material and energy fluxes and transformations within and among ecosystems, 2) the relationships between structure, including complexity, and functioning of ecosystems, 3) ecosystem dynamics and trajectories of ecosystem development through time, and 4) linkages among ecosystems at different spatial and temporal scales.
The Ecology Program supports studies of interspecific interactions and species diversity at diverse spatial and temporal scales. These include, but are not limited to, (1) food-web structure and trophic dynamics, (2) biotic interactions, including mutualism, competition, predation and parasitism, (3) mechanisms of coexistence, community assembly and the maintenance of species diversity, (4) co-evolution and (5) landscape ecology, habitat fragmentation and macroecology. Ecology particularly encourages studies that can be applied to a wide range of habitats and taxa across multiple scales.
Observational and manipulative approaches in field or mesocosm settings are supported, with the expectation that the research, whether hypothesis- or discovery-driven, have a strong conceptual foundation.
Successful proposals will:
1. State a motivating question of broad general interest placed within the context of exisiting knowledge available through the peer reviewed literature.
2. Carefully list the hypotheses or predictions to be tested
3. Provide a well thought out and reasonable methodology for testing the stated hypotheses/predictions. Wherever possible standard methods should be used and cited appropriately.
4. Include a detailed timeline for the research project.
Proposals should be no more than 5 pages of text (including figures or tables). A bibliography of cited references should be included as a separate file. All proposals should be submitted in Times New Roman 11pt font with 1” margins.
A separate list of necessary supplies and analyses should be submitted together with the proposal.
**Proposals are due on 12 October 2018. There will be an opportunity for proposals to be revised and reconsidered on 1 November 2018**
Advice for writing your research proposal
A great proposal will include the following elements
- a broad scientific problem leading into the narrower problem that you'll address
- a literature review that provides context and identifies the hole in the literature, however small, that your study will fill
- a specific, clearly defined research question
- a testable hypothesis or several alternative hypotheses
- a plan to unambiguously test the hypothesis/hypotheses, with literature citations for key methods
- an explanation for how your study will help us better understand ecological systems
- The language is simple and precise
- The purpose and subject of your study are obvious within the first paragraph
- The key ideas are impossible to miss - especially the hole in the literature, your question, your hypothesis, and the connection between your methods and hypotheses
- You've clearly thought about how your experiment might fail and have made backup plans where necessary
- You've clearly thought about what it will mean if your hypothesis is wrong or if your treatment comparison or regression isn't significant