preliminary pages of research work

The Graduate School

University information technology (uit), main navigation, formatting requirements: preliminary pages.

• Submission Procedure
• Policies for Theses and Dissertations
• Coauthored Theses and Dissertations
• Approval Requirements
• Publication Requirements

Copyright Page

Statement of thesis/dissertation approval, dedication, frontispiece, and epigraph, table of contents and list of figures/tables, acknowledgements.

• General Formatting Requirements
• Parts Composed of Related Chapters
• Headings and Subheadings
• Tables and Figures
• Footnote and Reference Citations
• Appendix or Appendices
• References or Selected Bibliography
• Documentation Styles
• Writing Styles
• Print Quality
• Accessibility in the PDF
• Electronic Version Submitted for Thesis Release
• Distribution of Theses and Dissertations
• Alternate Text
• Color Contrast
• Accessibility Issues in Table Construction
• Heading Space
• Double Space
• Single Space
• Previously Published, Accepted, and Submitted Articles as Chapters of a Dissertation
• Alternate Figure/Table Placement

Preliminary pages are, in order, the title page; copyright page; statement of thesis/dissertation approval; abstract; dedication (optional); frontispiece (optional); epigraph (optional); table of contents; lists of tables, figures, symbols, and abbreviations (necessary only in certain situations); and acknowledgments (optional). Table 2.1 lists all the possible preliminary sections in order and if they are required or not. 

The preliminary pages are counted in sequence (except the copyright page, which is neither counted nor numbered). Any page with a main heading on it (title page, abstract, table of contents, etc.) is counted, but no page number is typed on the page. Second pages to the abstract, table of contents, lists, and acknowledgments are numbered with lower case Roman numerals centered within the thesis margins and .5” from the bottom of the page. See the preliminary pages in this handbook for an example. 

Order of preliminary pages, indicating which are mandatory and where page numbers should be included.

Note : Page numbers in the preliminary pages appear centered on the bottom of the page in lower case Roman numerals. This differs from page numbers in the text, which appear on the top right of the page and use Arabic numerals.

SEE Sample Preliminary Pages

The title page is page i (Roman numeral) of the manuscript (page number not shown). 

The title of the thesis or dissertation is typed in all capital letters. The title should be placed in the same size and style of font as that used for major headings throughout the manuscript. If longer than 4 1/2 inches, the title should be double spaced and arranged so that it appears balanced on the page. The title should be a concise yet comprehensive description of the contents for cataloging and data retrieval purposes. Initials, abbreviations, acronyms, numerals, formulas, super/subscripts, and symbols should be used in the title with careful consideration of clarity and maximizing search results for future readers. Consult the manuscript editors if in doubt. 

The word “by” follows the title. The full legal name of the author as it appears in CIS follows after a double space. The name is not typed in all capital letters. These two lines of text are centered between the title and the statement described in the following paragraph. 

The statement “A thesis submitted to the faculty of The University of Utah in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of” appears single spaced in the middle of the title page (see Figure 2.1). For doctoral candidates, the phrasing reads “A dissertation submitted. . . ” 

The appropriate degree follows the statement. The space between the statement and the degree should be the same size that is between the author’s name and the statement. In the event the name of the degree differs from the name of the department, e.g., Master of Science in Environmental Humanities, the words “Master of Science” are placed below the statement, followed by “in” and then the degree program; the lines of the degree name and program are double spaced (see Figure 2.2). Thus, a student receiving a doctorate in history need use only the words “Doctor of Philosophy.” A student receiving a doctorate in Geophysics must put “Doctor of Philosophy in Geophysics.” 

Below the degree field, the full name of the department is listed on the title page. “The University of Utah,” is listed a double space below the department name.

The date appears on the title page a double space below “The University of Utah.” Only the month and year appear, with no punctuation separating them. The month indicates the last month in the semester the degree is granted: fall semester, December; spring semester, May; summer semester, August. 

Again, the spaces below the title, the full legal name, the statement, and the degree should be of equal size. 

The second page is the copyright page, which is uncounted and unnumbered. A copyright notice appears in every copy of the thesis or dissertation. The notice, as illustrated in Figure 2.3, is centered within the side margins and the top and bottom margins of the page. 

Copyright © Student’s Full Legal Name 2022

All Rights Reserved 

There is a double space between the two lines. 

The statement of thesis/dissertation approval is page ii (Roman numeral) of the manuscript (page number not shown). This statement is prepared as shown in Figures 2.4 (for master’s students) and 2.5 (for doctoral students). 

The statement of thesis/dissertation approval signifies that the thesis or dissertation has been approved by the committee chair and a majority of the members of the committee and by the department chair and the dean of The Graduate School. The names of any committee members who did not approve or digitally sign the forms for the thesis or dissertation are not dated. The dates entered should match the date when you received notification that the committee member electronically signed the form. 

The full name of the student, as it appears on the title page and copyright page, must be used. 

As with the digital signature forms, full legal names of committee members must be listed. The full legal names of committee members and department chair or dean can be found on your CIS page under the Committee tab. Neither degrees nor titles should be listed with the names of faculty members. No signatures are required. 

Abstract Page

The abstract is page iii, unnumbered; if there is a second page, it is page iv, and a number appears on the page. The abstract is a concise, carefully composed summary of the contents of the thesis or dissertation. In the abstract, the author defines the problem, describes the research method or design, and reports the results and conclusions. No diagrams, illustrations, subheadings, or citations appear in the abstract. The abstract is limited to 350 words (approximately 1.5 double-spaced pages). A copy of the abstract of all doctoral candidates is published in Dissertation Abstracts International. The word ABSTRACT is placed 2 inches from the top of the page in all capital letters. Following a heading space, the abstract text begins, with the first line indented the same size space as for the paragraphs in the remainder of the manuscript. The text of the abstract must be double spaced. 

If a manuscript is written in a foreign language, the abstract is in the same language, but an English version (or translation) of the abstract must precede the foreign language abstract. The two abstracts are listed as one in the table of contents. The first page of each version is unnumbered but counted. If there is a second page to each version of the abstract, the page number (lower-case Roman numeral) is centered between the left and right margins and between the bottom of the page and the top of the bottom margin. 

The dedication is an optional entry; enumeration continues in sequence, but no page number appears on the page. It follows the abstract and precedes the table of contents. Often only one or two lines, it is centered within the top and bottom margins of the page and within the thesis margins. It is not labeled “Dedication” and is not listed in the table of contents. 

Frontispiece and Epigraph

These are infrequently used entries. The frontispiece is an illustration that alerts the reader to the major theme of the thesis or dissertation. An epigraph is a quotation of unusual aptness and relevance. 

Contents or Table of Contents

The table of contents follows the abstract (or dedication if one is used). The word CONTENTS (or TABLE OF CONTENTS) is placed 2 inches from the top of the page in all capital letters. Following a heading space, the table of contents begins. The table of contents, essentially an outline of the manuscript, lists the preliminary pages beginning with the abstract (page iii). It does not list a frontispiece, dedication, or epigraph if these are used, nor is the table of contents listed in the table of contents; these pages are, however, counted. The list of figures and list of tables, if used, are included (see the Table of Contents in this handbook for a sample using numbered chapters; see Figures 2.6, 2.7, and 2.8 for additional options). 

All chapters or main sections and all first-level subheadings of the manuscript are listed in the table of contents. No lower subheadings levels are to appear in the table of contents. Beginning page numbers of each chapter or section listed are lined up with each listing by a row of evenly spaced, aligned period leaders. The numbers, titles, and subheadings of chapters or sections used in the table of contents must agree exactly in wording and capitalization with the way they appear on the actual page. 

The table of contents reflects the relationship of the chapters and subheadings. Chapter titles appear in all capital letters, as do titles of appendices. First-level subheadings can be headline style or sentence style in capitalization. Subheadings are neither underlined nor italicized in the table of contents. If the table of contents continues to a second page, it begins 1 inch from the top of the page, and it is not labeled “Table of Contents Continued.” Main headings are followed by a double space in the table of contents; all subheadings are single spaced. The words “Chapters” and “Appendices” are used as referents only, printed above the list of entries. The word “Chapter” or “Appendix” is not repeated with each entry. 

List of Figures / List of Tables

The enumeration continues in sequence; no number appears on pages with main headings (those in all caps). A list of tables, a list of figures, a list of symbols, a list of abbreviations, or a glossary may be used. All lists follow the table of contents. The title is placed 2 inches from the top edge of the page in all capital letters: LIST OF TABLES. Following a heading space, the list begins. A list of tables or a list of figures is required if there are 5 to 25 entries. Lists with fewer than 5 entries or more than 25 are not included. It is not permissible to combine a list of tables and figures. The word “Table” or “Figure” is not repeated with each entry. 

As noted for entries in the table of contents, the listing of tables and figures must agree exactly in wording, capitalization, and punctuation with the table title or figure caption. (An exception to this rule occurs if the table title appears in all capital letters on the table itself; table titles in the list of tables are not typed in all capital letters.) Capitalization styles may not be mixed. In the case of long titles or captions, the first sentence must convey the essential description of the item. The first sentence alone then is used in the list. Long captions may not be summarized. 

The table or figure number begins at the left margin and is followed by the title or caption. The page on which each table or figure appears is at the right margin. As in the table of contents, the page numbers are lined up with each entry by a row of evenly spaced, aligned periods (period leaders). If a table or figure occupies more than one page, only the initial page number is listed. If the title or caption of a table or figure appears on a part-title page preceding the table or figure, the page number in the list refers to the number of the part-title page. 

If a list continues to a second page, the second page of text begins 1 inch from the top of the page. The second page is not labeled “List of Tables Continued” or “List of Figures Continued.” Individual entries are single-spaced with a double space between each entry. 

A list of symbols and abbreviations or a glossary does not replace defining terms, symbols, or abbreviations upon their first occurrence in the text. When introducing terms, always introduce terms upon their first usage in the document. 

The enumeration continues in sequence; no number appears on the first page. Acknowledgments are optional. If a preface is used, the acknowledgments are added to the end of the preface without a separate heading. The word ACKNOWLEDGMENTS is placed 2 inches from the top of the page in all capital letters. Following a heading space, the acknowledgments begin. The text of the acknowledgments must be double spaced. In the acknowledgments, students may wish to recognize special assistance from committee members, friends, or family members who may have helped in the research, writing, or technical aspects of the thesis or dissertation. Research funding, grants, and/or permission to reprint copyrighted materials should be acknowledged. Individuals employed to prepare the manuscript are not acknowledged. 

The enumeration continues in sequence; no number appears on the first page. This is an optional entry. The word PREFACE is placed 2 inches from the top of the page in all capital letters. Following a heading space, the preface begins. The text of the preface must be double spaced. A preface includes the reasons for undertaking the study, the methods and design of the researcher, and acknowledgments. Background data and historical or other information essential to the reader’s understanding of the subject are placed in the text as an introduction, not in the preface. Theses and dissertations generally do not contain a foreword (i.e., a statement about the work by someone other than the author). 

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Thesis / dissertation formatting manual (2024).

• Filing Fees and Student Status
• Submission Process Overview
• Electronic Thesis Submission
• Paper Thesis Submission
• Formatting Overview
• Fonts/Typeface
• Pagination, Margins, Spacing
• Paper Thesis Formatting
• Preliminary Pages Overview
• Copyright Page
• Dedication Page
• Table of Contents
• List of Figures (etc.)
• Acknowledgements
• Text and References Overview
• Figures and Illustrations
• Using Your Own Previously Published Materials
• Using Copyrighted Materials by Another Author
• Open Access and Embargoes
• Copyright and Creative Commons
• Ordering Print (Bound) Copies
• Tutorials and Assistance
• FAQ This link opens in a new window

Preliminary Pages

The Preliminary Pages require very specific wording, spacing, and layout. Templates and sample pages are provided for your reference.

Only the pages listed below may be included as part of the Preliminary Pages section, and they must appear in this order. No other pages are permitted. All pages are required except the Dedication Page. Lists of Symbols, Tables, Figures, and Illustrations are only required if applicable to the content of your manuscript. 

Note : A Signature Page is NOT a valid part of your manuscript and is not included in the submission of your thesis or dissertation. Committee signatures are now included on the “Ph.D. Form II/Signature Page” or the “Master’s Thesis/Signature Page” that you submit to the Graduate Division. 

Preliminary Pages Order

• Title Page (no page number)
• Copyright Page (no page number)
• Dedication Page (optional, page number ii if included)
• Table of Contents  (if Dedication Page is included, Table of Contents is page iii. If no Dedication, Table of Contents is page ii)
• List(s) of Figures/Illustrations/Formulae/Terms/etc.  (required, if applicable. Each new list should begin on a new page)
• Acknowledgements  (alt. spelling: Acknowledgments)
• Vita  (PhD dissertations ONLY. Should not be more than 3 pages)

Pagination - Preliminary Pages

Preliminary Pages are numbered with lowercase Roman numerals.

• The Title Page is counted in determining the total number of pages in this section but is NOT numbered.
• The Copyright Page is not counted or numbered.
• Your first numbered page will either be your Dedication Page if you have one, or your Table of Contents if you do not have a Dedication Page.
• There is no page i in the manuscript. 
• The subsequent pages are then numbered consecutively with lowercase Roman numerals through the end of the Abstract.
• Dashes, periods, underlining, letter suffixes, other text (including last names), and other stylizations are not permitted before, after, or under your page numbers.
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Organizing and Formatting Your Thesis and Dissertation

Learn about overall organization of your thesis or dissertation. Then, find details for formatting your preliminaries, text, and supplementaries.

Overall Organization

A typical thesis consists of three main parts – preliminaries, text, and supplementaries. Each part is to be organized as explained below and in the order indicated below:

1. Preliminaries:

• Title page (required)
• Copyright page (required)
• Abstract (required) only one abstract allowed
• Acknowledgments (optional) located in the Preliminary Section only
• Preface (optional)
• Autobiography (optional)
• Dedication (optional)
• Table of Contents (required)
• List of Tables (optional)
• List of Figures (optional)
• List of Plates (optional)
• List of Symbols (optional)
• List of Keywords (optional)
• Other Preliminaries (optional) such as Definition of Terms

3. Supplementaries:

• References or bibliography (optional)
• Appendices (optional)
• Glossary (optional)
• List of Abbreviations (optional)

Preliminaries

These are the general requirements for all preliminary pages.

• Preliminary pages are numbered with lower case Roman numerals.
• Page numbers are ½” from the bottom of the page and centered.
• The copyright page is included in the manuscript immediately after the title page and is not assigned a page number nor counted.
• The abstract page is numbered with the Roman numeral “ii”.
• The remaining preliminary pages are arranged as listed under “Organizing and Formatting the Thesis/Dissertation” and numbered consecutively.
• Headings for all preliminary pages must be centered in all capital letters 1” from the top of the page.
• Do not bold the headings of the preliminary pages.

A sample Thesis title page pdf is available here ,  and a sample of a Dissertation title page pdf is available here.

Refer to the sample page as you read through the format requirements for the title page.

• Do not use bold.
• Center all text except the advisor and committee information.

The heading “ Thesis ” or “ Dissertation ” is in all capital letters, centered one inch from the top of the page.

• Your title must be in all capital letters, double spaced and centered.
• Your title on the title page must match the title on your GS30 – Thesis/Dissertation Submission Form

Submitted by block

Divide this section exactly as shown on the sample page. One blank line must separate each line of text.

• Submitted by
• School of Advanced Materials Discovery 
• School of Biomedical Engineering
• Graduate Degree Program in Cell and Molecular Biology
• Graduate Degree Program in Ecology

If your department name begins with “School of”, list as:

• School of Education
• School of Music, Theatre and Dance
• School of Social Work

If you have questions about the correct name of your department or degree, consult your department. Areas of Study or specializations within a program are not listed on the Title Page.

Degree and Graduating Term block

• In partial fulfillment of the requirements
• For the Degree of
• Colorado State University
• Fort Collins, Colorado (do not abbreviate Colorado)

Committee block

• Master’s students will use the heading Master’s Committee:
• Doctoral students will use the heading Doctoral Committee:
• The Master’s Committee and Doctoral Committee headings begin at the left margin.
• One blank line separates the committee heading and the advisor section.
• One blank line separates the advisor and committee section.
• Advisor and committee member names are indented approximately half an inch from the left margin.
• Titles before or after the names of your advisor and your members are not permitted (Examples – Dr., Professor, Ph.D.).

Copyright Page

• A sample copyright page pdf is available here.
• A copyright page is required.
• A copyright page is included in the manuscript immediately after the title page.
• This page is not assigned a number nor counted.
• Center text vertically and horizontally.
• A sample abstract page pdf is available here – refer to the sample page as you read through the format requirements for the abstract.
• Only one abstract is permitted.
• The heading “ Abstract ” is in all capital letters, centered one inch from the top of the page.
• Three blank lines (single-spaced) must be between the “ Abstract ” heading and your title.
• Your title must be in all capital letters and centered.
• The title must match the title on your Title Page and the GS30 – Thesis/Dissertation Submission Form
• Three blank lines (single-spaced) must be between the title and your text.
• The text of your abstract must be double-spaced.
• The first page of the abstract is numbered with a small Roman numeral ii.

Table of Contents

• A sample Table of Contents page pdf is available.
• The heading “ Table of Contents ” is in all capital letters centered one inch from the top of the page.
• Three blank lines (single-spaced) follow the heading.
• List all parts of the document (except the title page) and the page numbers on which each part begins.
• The titles of all parts are worded exactly as they appear in the document.
• Titles and headings and the page numbers on which they begin are separated by a row of dot leaders.
• Major headings are aligned flush with the left margin.
• Page numbers are aligned flush with the right margin.

The text of a thesis features an introduction and several chapters, sections and subsections. Text may also include parenthetical references, footnotes, or references to the bibliography or endnotes.

Any references to journal publications, authors, contributions, etc. on your chapter pages or major heading pages should be listed as a footnote .

• The entire document is 8.5” x 11” (letter) size.
• Pages may be in landscape position for figures and tables that do not fit in “portrait” position.
• Choose one type style (font) and font size and use it throughout the text of your thesis. Examples: Times New Roman and Arial.
• Font sizes should be between 10 point and 12 point.
• Font color must be black. 
• Hyperlinked text must be in blue. If you hyperlink more than one line of text, such as the entire table of contents, leave the text black. 
• Margins are one inch on all sides (top, bottom, left, and right).
• Always continue the text to the bottom margin except at the end of a chapter.

• Please see preliminary page requirements .
• Body and references are numbered with Arabic numerals beginning with the first page of text (numbered 1).
• Page numbers must be centered ½” from the bottom of the page.

Major Headings

• A sample page pdf for major headings and subheadings is available here.
• Use consistent style for major headings.
• Three blank lines (single-spaced) need to be between the major heading and your text.
• Each chapter is started on a new page.
• The References or Bibliography heading is a major heading and the formatting needs to match chapter headings.

Subheadings

• A sample page pdf for major headings and subheadings is available here .
• Style for subheadings is optional but the style should be consistent throughout.
• Subheadings within a chapter (or section) do not begin on a new page unless the preceding page is filled. Continue the text to the bottom of the page unless at the end of a chapter.
• Subheadings at the bottom of a page require two lines of text following the heading and at least two lines of text on the next page.

Running Head

Do not insert a running head.

When dividing paragraphs, at least two lines of text should appear at the bottom of the page and at least two lines of text on the next page.

Hyphenation

The last word on a page may not be divided. No more than three lines in succession may end with hyphens. Divide words as indicated in a standard dictionary.

• The text of the thesis is double-spaced.
• Bibliography or list of reference entries and data within large tables may be single-spaced. Footnotes should be single spaced.
• Footnotes and bibliography or list of reference entries are separated by double-spacing.
• Quoted material of more than three lines is indented and single-spaced. Quoted material that is three lines or fewer may be single-spaced for emphasis.

Poems should be double-spaced with triple-spacing between stanzas. Stanzas may be centered if lines are short.

• Consult a style manual approved by your department for samples of footnotes.
• Footnotes are numbered consecutively throughout the entire thesis.
• Footnotes appear at the bottom of the page on which the reference is made.
• Footnotes are single-spaced.
• Consult a style manual approved by your department for samples of endnotes.
• Endnotes are numbered consecutively throughout the entire thesis.
• Endnotes may be placed at the end of each chapter or following the last page of text.
• The form for an endnote is the same as a footnote. Type the heading “endnote”.

Tables and Figures

• Tables and figures should follow immediately after first mentioned in the text or on the next page.
• If they are placed on the next page, continue the text to the bottom of the preceding page.
• Do not wrap text around tables or figures. Text can go above and/or below.
• If more clarity is provided by placing tables and figures at the end of chapters or at the end of the text, this format is also acceptable.
• Tables and Figures are placed before references.
• Any diagram, drawing, graph, chart, map, photograph, or other type of illustration is presented in the thesis as a figure.
• All tables and figures must conform to margin requirements.
• Images can be resized to fit within margins
• Table captions go above tables.
• Figure captions go below figures.
• Captions must be single spaced.

Landscape Tables and Figures

• Large tables or figures can be placed on the page landscape or broadside orientation.
• Landscape tables and figures should face the right margin (unbound side).
• The top margin must be the same as on a regular page.
• Page numbers for landscape or broadside tables or figures are placed on the 11” side.

Supplementaries

These are the general requirements for all supplementary pages.

• Supplementary pages are arranged as listed under “Organizing and Formatting the Thesis/Dissertation” and numbered consecutively.
• Headings for all supplementary pages are major headings and the formatting style needs to match chapter headings.

References or Bibliography

• The References or Bibliography heading is always a major heading and the formatting style needs to match chapter headings.
• References or Bibliography are ordered after each chapter, or at the end of the text.
• References or Bibliography must start on a new page from the chapter text.
• References are aligned flush with the left margin.
• The style for references should follow the format appropriate for the field of study.
• The style used must be consistent throughout the thesis.
• Appendices are optional and used for supplementary material.
• The Appendices heading is a major heading and the formatting style needs to match chapter headings.
• As an option the appendix may be introduced with a cover page bearing only the title centered vertically and horizontally on the page. The content of the appendix then begins on the second page with the standard one inch top margin.
• Quality and format should be consistent with requirements for other parts of the thesis including margins.
• Page numbers used in the appendix must continue from the main text.

A Foreign Language Thesis

Occasionally, theses are written in languages other than English. In such cases, an English translation of the title and abstract must be included in the document.

• Submit one title page in the non-English language (no page number printed).
• Submit one title page in English (no page number printed).
• Submit one abstract in the non-English language (page number is ii).
• Submit one abstract in English (page number is numbered consecutively from previous page – example: if the last page of the abstract in the foreign language is page ii the first page of the abstract in English is numbered page iii).

Multipart Thesis

In some departments, a student may do research on two or more generally related areas which would be difficult to combine into a single well-organized thesis. The solution is the multi-part thesis.

• Each part is considered a separate unit, with its own chapters, bibliography or list of references, and appendix (optional); or it may have a combined bibliography or list of references and appendix.
• A single abstract is required.
• The pages of a multi-part thesis are numbered consecutively throughout the entire thesis, not through each part (therefore, the first page of Part II is not page 1).
• The chapter numbering begins with Chapter 1 for each part, or the chapters may be numbered consecutively.
• Pagination is consecutive throughout all parts, including numbered separation sheets between parts.
• Each part may be preceded by a separation sheet listing the appropriate number and title.

Libraries & Cultural Resources

Research guides, guide to research and writing for the academic study of religion.

• Topic Pyramids
• Research Assignment Parameters
• Thesis statement
• Identifying Interests
• Controversy
• Availability of Sources

Preliminary Research

• Developing Your Question and Thesis
• Research Question and Thesis Statement Examples
• Periodicals
• Primary Sources
• Reference Works - Encyclopedias, Dictionaries, Biographies etc
• Journal Articles
• Primary Sources This link opens in a new window
• Web Search Engines
• Web Directories
• Invisible Web
• Does the Library hold the article I need?
• Locating resources unavailable at U of C Library
• Content of Databases
• Standardized Terminology
• Review Quiz Databases
• Keyword Searching
• Search Limits
• Phrase Searching
• Truncations and Wildcards
• Boolean Operators
• Proximity Operators
• Natural Language Searching
• Searching Basics Quiz
• Search Overview
• Selecting Records
• Combing Searchers
• General Criteria
• Quoting in text
• in Text Citations
• List of References
• Avoiding Plagiarism
• Staying Organized
• Links to Writing Help
• Sources Used in Creating this Workbook

Developing a good research question is impossible without doing some preliminary research.  Preliminary research gives you background information on your topic, answering questions such as who, what, when and where.  This research will also help you determine controversies related to your topic and determine if there are enough sources available to cover the topic effectively.

 You will encounter and learn much more information than you will convey in your final paper. Background information will enrich your research paper but should not bog it down in trivia. For example, if you were doing a paper on Hildegaard of Bingen, you should know that she was born into a noble family in Germany in 1098 and entered a hermitage at the age of eight and became a Benedictine Abbess. This information will help you contextualize her work in your own mind but your research paper should not be a simple recitation of these facts. Your research question should take you beyond the common knowledge found in encyclopedias, but without that  common knowledge your research will lack a solid foundation.

What follows is a list of resources that you may find useful for doing preliminary research in the field of Religious Studies. Keep in mind the type of information that you will need based on your preliminary topic and where your topic falls in the topic pyramid. Remember that the pyramid is a continuum rather than a series of discrete stages, so your topic likely will draw on both columns for some resources.

Resources for Preliminary Research

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Libraries & Cultural Resources

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Format Requirements for Your Dissertation or Thesis

Main navigation.

The final dissertation or thesis manuscript must have a ready-for-publication appearance and standard features.

The Office of the University Registrar does not endorse or verify the accuracy of any dissertation or thesis formatting templates that may be available to you.

It is your student responsibility to make sure that the formatting meets these requirements. Introductory material, text, and appendices must all be clearly and consistently prepared and must meet all of the specifications outlined below.

Once you upload and submit your dissertation or thesis in Axess, and it has been approved by the university, the submission is considered final and no further changes are permitted.

The digital file of the dissertation or thesis, which is sent to Stanford Libraries for cataloging, must meet certain technical requirements to ensure that it can be easily accessed by readers now and into the future. 

Follow the specifications outlined below.

Style and Format

Word and text divisions, style guides, content and layout, special instructions for d.m.a. students, order and content, page orientation, embedded links, supplementary material and publishing, supplementary material, scholarly reference, published papers and multiple authorship, use of copyrighted material, copyrighting your dissertation, file security and file name, stanford university thesis & dissertation publication license.

Pages should be standard U.S. letter size (8.5 x 11 inches).

In order to ensure the future ability to render the document, standard fonts must be used. 

For the main text body, type size should be 10, 11, or 12 point. Smaller font sizes may be used in tables, captions, etc. 

The font color must be black. 

Font Families

Acceptable font styles include:

• Times New Roman (preferred)
• Courier, Courier Bold, Courier Oblique, Courier Bold-Oblique;
• Helvetica, Helvetica Bold, Helvetica Oblique, Helvetica Bold-Oblique;
• Times, Times Bold, Times Italic, Times Bold-Italic;
• Computer Modern (or Computer Modern Roman).

Note: Do not use script or ornamental fonts. Do not use proprietary fonts.

If you use mathematical or other scientific notation in your dissertation or thesis using a font other than Symbol, you must embed the font into the PDF that is submitted to the university. 

Inner margins (left edge if single-sided; right edge for even-numbered pages, and left edge for odd-numbered pages if double-sided) must be 1.5 inches. All other margins must be one inch.

Pagination, headers, and/or footers may be placed within the margin, but no closer than one-half inch from the edge of the page.

For double-sided copies, 1.5 inches must be maintained as the inner margin. Margin requirements should apply to the entire document, including the title page.

The main body text of the manuscript should be one-and-a-half or double-spaced lines, except where conventional usage calls for single spacing, such as footnotes, indented quotations, tables, appendices, etc.

Words should be divided correctly at the end of a line and may not be divided from one page to the next. Use a standard dictionary to determine word division. 

Avoid short lines that end a paragraph at the top of a page, and any heading or subheading at the bottom of a page that is not followed by text.

The dissertation and thesis must be in English. 

Language Exceptions for Dissertations Only

Approval for writing the dissertation in another language is normally granted only in cases where the other language or literature in that language is also the subject of the discipline. 

Exceptions are granted by the school dean upon submission of a written request from the chair of your major department. Approval is routinely granted for dissertations in the Division of Literature, Cultures, and Languages within department specifications.

Prior to submitting in Axess, you must send a copy of the approval letter (or email message chain) from the department dean to [email protected]    

Dissertations written in another language must include an extended summary in English (usually 15 to 20 pages in length). In this case, you should upload your English summary as a supplemental file, during Step 4 of the online submission process.

Select a standard style approved by your department or dissertation advisor and use it consistently. 

Some reliable style guides are:

• K.A. Turabian’s A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, 
• Theses and Dissertations (University of Chicago Press), and 
• the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (Modern Language Association).

If you are a student in the Doctor of Musical Arts program, you may submit musical scores formatted at 11 x 17 inches in size. 

If you are submitting a performance as your dissertation, submit the audio file in WAV format as a supplemental file. 

Note: The maximum file size accepted for submission is 100 MB. If a performance recording exceeds the maximum file size, break the file into multiple files and submit the parts individually as supplemental files.

Your dissertation or thesis must contain the following sections. All sections must be included in a single digital file for upload.

• Title Page — The format must be followed exactly. View these title page examples for Ph.D. Dissertation and this title page sample for an Engineer Thesis . Use uppercase letters. The title of the dissertation or thesis should be a meaningful description of the content of the manuscript. Use word substitutes for formulas, symbols, superscripts, subscripts, Greek letters, etc. The month and year must be the actual month and year in which you submit your dissertation or thesis electronically to the university. (Note: A student who submits in Autumn quarter is conferred his/her degree in the following calendar year.)
• Copyright Page — The dissertation or thesis PDF uploaded in Axess should not contain a copyright page. The copyright page will be created automatically by the online submission system and inserted into the file stored by Stanford Libraries.
• Signature Page — The dissertation or thesis PDF uploaded in Axess should also not contain a signature page. The submission process has moved away from ink-signatures, so a digital facsimile of the signature page will be created automatically by the online submission system and inserted into the dissertation or thesis in its final format stored by Stanford Libraries.
• Abstract — An abstract may be included in the preliminary section of the dissertation or thesis. The abstract in the body of the dissertation or thesis follows the style used for the rest of the manuscript and should be placed following the signature page. There is no maximum permissible length for the abstract in the dissertation or thesis.    Dissertation authors must enter an abstract using the online submission form for uploading the digital dissertation or thesis file to the library. This abstract, which will be indexed for online searching, must be formatted in plain text (no HTML or special formatting). It should be a pithy and succinct version of the abstract included in the dissertation or thesis itself.
• Preface, an Acknowledgment, or a Dedication
• Table of Contents – Include page references.
• List of Tables –  Include titles and page references. This list is optional.
• List of Illustrations – Include titles and page references. This list is optional
• Introduction  
• Main body – Include suitable, consistent headings for the larger divisions and more important sub-divisions.
• Appendices.
• Bibliography or List of References.

Except for the title page, which counts as 'i' but is not physically numbered, each page of the manuscript, including all blank pages, pages between chapters, pages with text, photographs, tables, figures, maps, or computer code must be assigned a number. 

Consistent placement of pagination, at least one-half inch from the paper’s edge, should be used throughout the manuscript.

Follow these pagination instructions exactly:

• For the preliminary pages, use small Roman numerals (e.g., iv, v, vi).
• The title page is not physically numbered, but counts as page i.
• Keep in mind that a copyright page ii and augmented signature page iii (based off your student record) will automatically be inserted to your manuscript during submission.  This means you must ensure to remove pages ii and iii from your dissertation or thesis.
• Failing to remove pages ii and iii is most common formatting mistake: you must remove your copyright page ii and signature page iii from the pdf file before you submit your dissertation or thesis, and begin pagination on your abstract with page number "iv". If the document is formatted for double-sided printing with each section starting on the right page, then pagination will begin on a blank page (page"iv") and the Abstract should be numbered as page "v", and so forth.
• For the remainder of the manuscript, starting with the Introduction or Chapter 1 of the Main Body, use continuous pagination (1, 2, 3, etc) for text, illustrations, images, appendices, and the bibliography. Remember to start with Arabic numbered page 1, as this is not a continuation of the Roman numeral numbering from the preliminary pages.
• The placement of page numbers should be consistent throughout the document.

For text, illustrations, charts, graphs, etc., printed in landscape form, the orientation should be facing away from the bound edge of the paper.

Images (color, grayscale, and monochrome) included in the dissertation or thesis should be clearly discernible both on screen and when printed. The dimensions should not exceed the size of the standard letter-size page (8.5” x 11”).

Image resolution should be 150 dots per inch (dpi), though resolutions as low as 72 dpi (and no lower) are acceptable. 

The format of images embedded in the PDF should be JPEG or EPS (the format JPEG2000 is also acceptable when it is supported in future versions of the PDF format). GIF and PNG are not preferred image file formats.

Large images, including maps and charts or other graphics that require high resolution, should not be included in the main dissertation or thesis file. Instead, they can be submitted separately as supplemental files and formatted in other formats as appropriate. 

Multimedia, such as audio, video, animation, etc., must not be embedded in the body of the dissertation or thesis. These media types add size and complexity to the digital file, introducing obstacles to users of the dissertation or thesis who wish to download and read (and “play back”) the content, and making it more difficult to preserve over time.

If you wish to include multimedia with your submission, upload the media separately as a stand-alone file in an appropriate media format. See Supplementary Material section below.

It is acceptable to include “live” (i.e., clickable) web URLs that link to online resources within the dissertation or thesis file. Spell out each URL in its entirety (e.g., http://www.stanford.edu ) rather than embedding the link in text (e.g., Stanford homepage ). By spelling out the URL, you improve a reader’s ability to understand and access the link reference.

Supplementary material may be submitted electronically with the dissertation or thesis. This material includes any supporting content that is useful for understanding the dissertation or thesis, but is not essential to the argument. It also covers core content in a form that can not be adequately represented or embedded in the PDF format, such as an audio recording of a musical performance.

Supplementary materials are submitted separately than the dissertation or thesis file, and are referred to as supplemental files.

A maximum of twenty supplemental files can be submitted. There are no restrictions on the file formats. The maximum file size is 1 GB.

You are encouraged to be judicious about the volume and quality of the supplemental files, and to employ file formats that are widely used by researchers generally, if not also by scholars of the discipline.

The following table outlines recommended file formats for different content types. By following these recommendations, the author is helping to ensure ongoing access to the material.

After uploading each supplemental file, it is important to enter a short description or label (maximum 120 characters for file name and the description). This label will be displayed to readers in a list of the contents for the entire submission.

If copyrighted material is part of the supplementary material, permission to reuse and distribute the content must be obtained from the owner of the copyright. Stanford Libraries requires copies of permission letters (in PDF format) to be uploaded electronically when submitting the files, and assumes no liability for copyright violations. View this sample permission letter .

System restrictions allow for a maximum of 10 individually uploaded permission files. If you have more than 10 permission files we recommend combining all permission letters into a single PDF file for upload.

In choosing an annotation or reference system, you should be guided by the practice of your discipline and the recommendations of your departments. In addition to the general style guides listed in the Style section above, there are specific style guides for some fields. When a reference system has been selected, it should be used consistently throughout the dissertation or thesis. The placement of footnotes is at your discretion with reading committee approval.

An important aspect of modern scholarship is the proper attribution of authorship for joint or group research. If the manuscript includes joint or group research, you must clearly identify your contribution to the enterprise in an introduction.

The inclusion of published papers in a dissertation or thesis is the prerogative of the major department. Where published papers or ready-for-publication papers are included, the following criteria must be met:

• There must be an introduction that integrates the general theme of the research and the relationship between the chapters. The introduction may also include a review of the literature relevant to the dissertation or thesis topic that does not appear in the chapters.
• Multiple authorship of a published paper should be addressed by clearly designating, in an introduction, the role that the dissertation or thesis author had in the research and production of the published paper. The student must have a major contribution to the research and writing of papers included in the dissertation or thesis.
• There must be adequate referencing of where individual papers have been published.
• Written permission must be obtained for all copyrighted materials. Letters of permission must be uploaded electronically in PDF form when submitting the dissertation or thesis. 
• The published material must be reformatted to meet the university's format requirements (e.g., appropriate margins and pagination) of the dissertation. The Office of the University Registrar will approve a dissertation or thesis if there are no deviations from the normal specifications that would prevent proper dissemination and utilization of the dissertation or thesis. If the published material does not correspond to these standards, it will be necessary for you to reformat that portion of the dissertation or thesis.
• Multiple authorship has implications with respect to copyright and public release of the material. Be sure to discuss copyright clearance and embargo options with your co-authors and your advisor well in advance of preparing your thesis for submission.

If copyrighted material belonging to others is used in your dissertation or thesis or is part of your supplementary materials, you must give full credit to the author and publisher of the work in all cases, and obtain permission from the copyright owner for reuse of the material unless you have determined that your use of the work is clearly fair use under US copyright law (17 USC §107). 

The statute sets out four factors that must be considered when assessing Fair Use:

• the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purpose;
• the nature of the copyrighted work;
• the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
• the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

The Association of American University Presses requires permission for any quotations that are reproduced as complete units (poems, letters, short stories, essays, journal articles, complete chapters or sections of books, maps, charts, graphs, tables, drawings, or other illustrative materials). You can find this guideline and other detailed information on Fair Use at http://fairuse.stanford.edu . 

If you are in doubt, it is safest to obtain permission. Permission to use copyrighted material must be obtained from the owner of the copyright. Stanford Libraries requires copies of permission letters (in PDF format) to be uploaded electronically when submitting the dissertation or thesis, and assumes no liability for copyright violations. For reference, view this sample permission letter .

Copyright protection is automatically in effect from the time the work is in fixed form. A proper copyright statement consisting of the copyright symbol, the author’s name, year of degree conferral, and the phrase “All Rights Reserved” will be added automatically to the dissertation or thesis in its final form.

Registration of copyright is not required, but it establishes a public record of your copyright claim and enables copyright owners to litigate against infringement. You need not register your copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office at the outset, although registration must be made before the copyright may be enforced by litigation in case of infringement. 

Early registration does have certain advantages: it establishes a public record of your copyright claim, and if registration has been made prior to the infringement of your work, or within three months after its publication, qualifies you to be awarded statutory damages and attorney fees in addition to the actual damages and profits available to you as the copyright owner (should you ever have to sue because of infringement).

For more information about copyright, see the Stanford Libraries' resource on Copyright Considerations .

For further information on Registration of Copyright, see https://www.copyright.gov/registration/ .

Do not require a password to make changes to your submitted PDF file, or apply other encryption or security measures. Password-protected files will be rejected.

The file name and description will be printed on a page added to your dissertation or thesis, so choose a file name accordingly.

Important note: File names may only consist of alphanumeric characters, hyphen, underscore, at sign, space, ampersand, and comma – before the ending period and file extension.  Specifically,

• A file name cannot start with a space, period (nor contain a period), underscore, or hyphen.
• Files names must be 120 characters or less.

Here is an example of a filename that is allowed, including all of the possible characters:

• A Study of Social Media with a Focus on @Twitter Accounts, Leland Student_30AUG2023.pdf

In submitting a thesis or dissertation to Stanford, the author grants The Trustees of Leland Stanford Junior University (Stanford) the non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable right to reproduce, distribute, display and transmit author's thesis or dissertation, including any supplemental materials (the Work), in whole or in part in such print and electronic formats as may be in existence now or developed in the future, to sub-license others to do the same, and to preserve and protect the Work, subject to any third-party release or display restrictions specified by Author on submission of the Work to Stanford.

Author further represents and warrants that Author is the copyright holder of the Work, and has obtained all necessary rights to permit Stanford to reproduce and distribute third-party materials contained in any part of the Work, including use of third-party images, text, or music, as well as all necessary licenses relating to any non-public, third-party software necessary to access, display, and run or print the Work. Author is solely responsible and will indemnify Stanford for any third party claims related to the Work as submitted for publication.

Author warrants that the Work does not contain information protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), confidentiality agreements, or contain Stanford Prohibited, Restricted or Confidential data described on the University IT website , or other data of a private nature.

Stanford is under no obligation to use, display or host the work in any way and may elect not to use the work for any reason including copyright or other legal concerns, financial resources, or programmatic need.

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

11.2 Steps in Developing a Research Proposal

Learning objectives.

• Identify the steps in developing a research proposal.
• Choose a topic and formulate a research question and working thesis.
• Develop a research proposal.

Writing a good research paper takes time, thought, and effort. Although this assignment is challenging, it is manageable. Focusing on one step at a time will help you develop a thoughtful, informative, well-supported research paper.

Your first step is to choose a topic and then to develop research questions, a working thesis, and a written research proposal. Set aside adequate time for this part of the process. Fully exploring ideas will help you build a solid foundation for your paper.

Choosing a Topic

When you choose a topic for a research paper, you are making a major commitment. Your choice will help determine whether you enjoy the lengthy process of research and writing—and whether your final paper fulfills the assignment requirements. If you choose your topic hastily, you may later find it difficult to work with your topic. By taking your time and choosing carefully, you can ensure that this assignment is not only challenging but also rewarding.

Writers understand the importance of choosing a topic that fulfills the assignment requirements and fits the assignment’s purpose and audience. (For more information about purpose and audience, see Chapter 6 “Writing Paragraphs: Separating Ideas and Shaping Content” .) Choosing a topic that interests you is also crucial. You instructor may provide a list of suggested topics or ask that you develop a topic on your own. In either case, try to identify topics that genuinely interest you.

After identifying potential topic ideas, you will need to evaluate your ideas and choose one topic to pursue. Will you be able to find enough information about the topic? Can you develop a paper about this topic that presents and supports your original ideas? Is the topic too broad or too narrow for the scope of the assignment? If so, can you modify it so it is more manageable? You will ask these questions during this preliminary phase of the research process.

Identifying Potential Topics

Sometimes, your instructor may provide a list of suggested topics. If so, you may benefit from identifying several possibilities before committing to one idea. It is important to know how to narrow down your ideas into a concise, manageable thesis. You may also use the list as a starting point to help you identify additional, related topics. Discussing your ideas with your instructor will help ensure that you choose a manageable topic that fits the requirements of the assignment.

In this chapter, you will follow a writer named Jorge, who is studying health care administration, as he prepares a research paper. You will also plan, research, and draft your own research paper.

Jorge was assigned to write a research paper on health and the media for an introductory course in health care. Although a general topic was selected for the students, Jorge had to decide which specific issues interested him. He brainstormed a list of possibilities.

If you are writing a research paper for a specialized course, look back through your notes and course activities. Identify reading assignments and class discussions that especially engaged you. Doing so can help you identify topics to pursue.

• Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) in the news
• Sexual education programs
• Hollywood and eating disorders
• Americans’ access to public health information
• Media portrayal of health care reform bill
• Depictions of drugs on television
• The effect of the Internet on mental health
• Popularized diets (such as low-carbohydrate diets)
• Fear of pandemics (bird flu, HINI, SARS)
• Electronic entertainment and obesity
• Advertisements for prescription drugs
• Public education and disease prevention

Set a timer for five minutes. Use brainstorming or idea mapping to create a list of topics you would be interested in researching for a paper about the influence of the Internet on social networking. Do you closely follow the media coverage of a particular website, such as Twitter? Would you like to learn more about a certain industry, such as online dating? Which social networking sites do you and your friends use? List as many ideas related to this topic as you can.

Narrowing Your Topic

Once you have a list of potential topics, you will need to choose one as the focus of your essay. You will also need to narrow your topic. Most writers find that the topics they listed during brainstorming or idea mapping are broad—too broad for the scope of the assignment. Working with an overly broad topic, such as sexual education programs or popularized diets, can be frustrating and overwhelming. Each topic has so many facets that it would be impossible to cover them all in a college research paper. However, more specific choices, such as the pros and cons of sexual education in kids’ television programs or the physical effects of the South Beach diet, are specific enough to write about without being too narrow to sustain an entire research paper.

A good research paper provides focused, in-depth information and analysis. If your topic is too broad, you will find it difficult to do more than skim the surface when you research it and write about it. Narrowing your focus is essential to making your topic manageable. To narrow your focus, explore your topic in writing, conduct preliminary research, and discuss both the topic and the research with others.

Exploring Your Topic in Writing

“How am I supposed to narrow my topic when I haven’t even begun researching yet?” In fact, you may already know more than you realize. Review your list and identify your top two or three topics. Set aside some time to explore each one through freewriting. (For more information about freewriting, see Chapter 8 “The Writing Process: How Do I Begin?” .) Simply taking the time to focus on your topic may yield fresh angles.

Jorge knew that he was especially interested in the topic of diet fads, but he also knew that it was much too broad for his assignment. He used freewriting to explore his thoughts so he could narrow his topic. Read Jorge’s ideas.

Conducting Preliminary Research

Another way writers may focus a topic is to conduct preliminary research . Like freewriting, exploratory reading can help you identify interesting angles. Surfing the web and browsing through newspaper and magazine articles are good ways to start. Find out what people are saying about your topic on blogs and online discussion groups. Discussing your topic with others can also inspire you. Talk about your ideas with your classmates, your friends, or your instructor.

Jorge’s freewriting exercise helped him realize that the assigned topic of health and the media intersected with a few of his interests—diet, nutrition, and obesity. Preliminary online research and discussions with his classmates strengthened his impression that many people are confused or misled by media coverage of these subjects.

Jorge decided to focus his paper on a topic that had garnered a great deal of media attention—low-carbohydrate diets. He wanted to find out whether low-carbohydrate diets were as effective as their proponents claimed.

Writing at Work

At work, you may need to research a topic quickly to find general information. This information can be useful in understanding trends in a given industry or generating competition. For example, a company may research a competitor’s prices and use the information when pricing their own product. You may find it useful to skim a variety of reliable sources and take notes on your findings.

The reliability of online sources varies greatly. In this exploratory phase of your research, you do not need to evaluate sources as closely as you will later. However, use common sense as you refine your paper topic. If you read a fascinating blog comment that gives you a new idea for your paper, be sure to check out other, more reliable sources as well to make sure the idea is worth pursuing.

Review the list of topics you created in Note 11.18 “Exercise 1” and identify two or three topics you would like to explore further. For each of these topics, spend five to ten minutes writing about the topic without stopping. Then review your writing to identify possible areas of focus.

Set aside time to conduct preliminary research about your potential topics. Then choose a topic to pursue for your research paper.

Collaboration

Please share your topic list with a classmate. Select one or two topics on his or her list that you would like to learn more about and return it to him or her. Discuss why you found the topics interesting, and learn which of your topics your classmate selected and why.

A Plan for Research

Your freewriting and preliminary research have helped you choose a focused, manageable topic for your research paper. To work with your topic successfully, you will need to determine what exactly you want to learn about it—and later, what you want to say about it. Before you begin conducting in-depth research, you will further define your focus by developing a research question , a working thesis, and a research proposal.

Formulating a Research Question

In forming a research question, you are setting a goal for your research. Your main research question should be substantial enough to form the guiding principle of your paper—but focused enough to guide your research. A strong research question requires you not only to find information but also to put together different pieces of information, interpret and analyze them, and figure out what you think. As you consider potential research questions, ask yourself whether they would be too hard or too easy to answer.

To determine your research question, review the freewriting you completed earlier. Skim through books, articles, and websites and list the questions you have. (You may wish to use the 5WH strategy to help you formulate questions. See Chapter 8 “The Writing Process: How Do I Begin?” for more information about 5WH questions.) Include simple, factual questions and more complex questions that would require analysis and interpretation. Determine your main question—the primary focus of your paper—and several subquestions that you will need to research to answer your main question.

Here are the research questions Jorge will use to focus his research. Notice that his main research question has no obvious, straightforward answer. Jorge will need to research his subquestions, which address narrower topics, to answer his main question.

Using the topic you selected in Note 11.24 “Exercise 2” , write your main research question and at least four to five subquestions. Check that your main research question is appropriately complex for your assignment.

Constructing a Working ThesIs

A working thesis concisely states a writer’s initial answer to the main research question. It does not merely state a fact or present a subjective opinion. Instead, it expresses a debatable idea or claim that you hope to prove through additional research. Your working thesis is called a working thesis for a reason—it is subject to change. As you learn more about your topic, you may change your thinking in light of your research findings. Let your working thesis serve as a guide to your research, but do not be afraid to modify it based on what you learn.

Jorge began his research with a strong point of view based on his preliminary writing and research. Read his working thesis statement, which presents the point he will argue. Notice how it states Jorge’s tentative answer to his research question.

One way to determine your working thesis is to consider how you would complete sentences such as I believe or My opinion is . However, keep in mind that academic writing generally does not use first-person pronouns. These statements are useful starting points, but formal research papers use an objective voice.

Write a working thesis statement that presents your preliminary answer to the research question you wrote in Note 11.27 “Exercise 3” . Check that your working thesis statement presents an idea or claim that could be supported or refuted by evidence from research.

Creating a Research Proposal

A research proposal is a brief document—no more than one typed page—that summarizes the preliminary work you have completed. Your purpose in writing it is to formalize your plan for research and present it to your instructor for feedback. In your research proposal, you will present your main research question, related subquestions, and working thesis. You will also briefly discuss the value of researching this topic and indicate how you plan to gather information.

When Jorge began drafting his research proposal, he realized that he had already created most of the pieces he needed. However, he knew he also had to explain how his research would be relevant to other future health care professionals. In addition, he wanted to form a general plan for doing the research and identifying potentially useful sources. Read Jorge’s research proposal.

Before you begin a new project at work, you may have to develop a project summary document that states the purpose of the project, explains why it would be a wise use of company resources, and briefly outlines the steps involved in completing the project. This type of document is similar to a research proposal. Both documents define and limit a project, explain its value, discuss how to proceed, and identify what resources you will use.

Writing Your Own Research Proposal

Now you may write your own research proposal, if you have not done so already. Follow the guidelines provided in this lesson.

Key Takeaways

• Developing a research proposal involves the following preliminary steps: identifying potential ideas, choosing ideas to explore further, choosing and narrowing a topic, formulating a research question, and developing a working thesis.
• A good topic for a research paper interests the writer and fulfills the requirements of the assignment.
• Defining and narrowing a topic helps writers conduct focused, in-depth research.
• Writers conduct preliminary research to identify possible topics and research questions and to develop a working thesis.
• A good research question interests readers, is neither too broad nor too narrow, and has no obvious answer.
• A good working thesis expresses a debatable idea or claim that can be supported with evidence from research.
• Writers create a research proposal to present their topic, main research question, subquestions, and working thesis to an instructor for approval or feedback.

Writing for Success Copyright © 2015 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Graduate College

Formatting your thesis, thesis templates and support.

As you prepare your thesis for deposit, please contact our office with any questions you might have.  We can answer questions related to formatting requirements, help you assemble your manuscript, and provide technical assistance with thesis submission.  We will also provide a pre-deposit check of your thesis.  Contact Erin Kaufman ([email protected]) for more information.

Our preliminary page templates help ensure your preliminary pages are formatted correctly and include accurate information.  There is a version for PC users and a version for Mac users .  If you want your 1) chapters and subheadings automatically numbered and / or 2) table and figure captions to include the number of the chapter in which they appear, use this template .  This template relies on a multi-level list to generate automatic numbering, and it can be difficult to navigate if you are new to using Microsoft Word to format large documents.

For suggestions on how to reduce thesis file size, download our Ways to Reduce File Size handout.

For general formatting support, download the Manuscript Construction Guidelines for PC or the Manuscript Construction Guidelines for MAC .  Understanding how to use a number of basic Microsoft Word and Adobe Acrobat tools will greatly simplify the formatting and completion of your thesis.  All topics are essential to the proper construction of your thesis or dissertation. 

Required and Optional Elements

Formatting requirements, page numbers.

• Preliminary page numbers begin with a lower-case Roman numeral ii on the first page following the Title Page, or the Copyright Page should you choose to include one.  Center these page numbers in the footer, 1/2 to 1 inch above the bottom of the page.
• Manuscript text page numbers must be in Arabic with a 1 on the first page of your first chapter. They may be located in the upper or lower right-hand corner or the bottom center of the page and must be consistent throughout the manuscript.
• List your degree as it appears on MyUI.  If you have an official sub-track, you may include it in parentheses after your degree.
• List the correct month and year of your graduation.
• List the names of your committee members.  Your thesis supervisor should be listed first, followed by a comma and the phrase “Thesis Supervisor.”
• There is no page number on the Title Page.

Copyright Page

• The copyright date is the year of graduation.
• There is no page number on the Copyright Page.
• Text should be single-spaced and centered on the page, both horizontally and vertically.
• This page requires a lower-case Roman numeral page number, at the bottom center of the page.

Acknowledgements

• Text should be top-aligned, double-spaced, and with each paragraph indented.

An External Abstract is no longer required.

• A Scholarly Abstract (“Abstract”) is required for PhD and Master’s students, but not for DMA or MFA students.
• A Public Abstract (“Public Abstract”) is required for all students.
• These pages require lower-case Roman numeral page numbers, at the bottom center of the page.

Table of Contents

• All major headings from the manuscript must be included.  Entries should be consistently spaced.
• Entries here must match corresponding titles in the text, but should not carry over boldface, italics, or underlining from the text.
• Do not include entries for the preliminary pages that come before the Table of Contents.
• Do not include an entry for the Table of Contents in the Table of Contents.
• Include the List of Tables and List of Figures, if the thesis contains them.  Page numbering for these entries should be lower-case Roman numerals.
• Entries should not run into the page number column.
• Page numbers should be vertically aligned by the rightmost digit.

List of Tables / List of Figures

• Entries should be single-spaced, with a double space between them.
• Captions listed must match corresponding captions in the text, but should not carry over boldface, italics, or underlining from the text.
• The List(s) require a lower-case Roman numeral page number, at the bottom center of the page.
• Treat Appendix headings (Appendix A, B, etc.) as major headings and include them in the Table of Contents.
• If more than one Appendix is included, identify them as Appendix A, Appendix B, and so on. Lettering is unnecessary when there is only one Appendix.
• Major headings should be consistently formatted in a professional manner.
• Spacing around major headings should be consistent throughout the entire manuscript.
• Different order subheadings should each have a distinct style.
• Spacing around subheadings should be consistent.
• Headings may not be placed at the bottom of the page without at least two lines of text beneath them.

Tables and Figures

• Brief descriptive titles for tables and figures must be included in the List of Figures / List of Tables (if included).
• Tables and figures may be located above, below, or adjacent to the manuscript text.
• Gaps around tables and figures are allowed if the table or figure is larger than half a page.
• Table captions must not extend beyond the width of the table(s) being described.
• Spacing between a caption and its corresponding table / figure should be consistent.
• Tables / figures that appear in an Appendix must have their own numbering system (A.1, A.2, etc.).
• If a table or figure continues to one or more following pages, the number with a “continued” notation (e.g. Table 3—continued) is placed on each page after the first.  The descriptive title is not repeated in part or full on continuation pages. A separation line is not required.

References / Bibliography

• The References heading should be treated as a major heading and included in the Table of Contents.
• References should be single-spaced, and indenting conventions should be consistent.
• There may be a single- or double-space between entries.
• References may be placed at the end of each chapter or at the end of the manuscript.
• Entries should not break across a page.

Margins 

• Margins must be a minimum of 1 inch on all sides and on all pages, including the Preliminary Pages.
• Margins should be consistent throughout the entire text.

Line Spacing

• Line spacing may be either 1.5 or double-spaced. Line spacing should be consistent throughout.
• Use 10–12-point font for the body of the manuscript.  Font smaller than 8-point is not allowed.
• You may use 12-point font for major headings.  Font larger than this may be used sparingly, if at all.
• A range of font styles is acceptable, but font styles and sizes should be professional in appearance.

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Formatting Requirements

Preliminary pages.

Preliminary pages must appear in this order:

Committee Page (Required)

The committee page:

• is the second page of the thesis and is numbered ii
• does not have a heading or title
• lists all examining committee members and supervisory committee members with their titles, departments, and if they are not at UBC, their universities
• lists examining committee members with supervisor first, co-supervisor(s) second
• does not include signatures
• is not listed in the table of contents

See Resources for Thesis Preparation and Checking for examples and templates.

After you have listed your committee, please remove excess lines.

Doctoral students: Please include this page in the copy for the External Examiner, with your supervisory committee entered. If you know which members of the committee will be on the Examining Committee you can include them there; otherwise, they can go under Additional Supervisory Committee Members. Please remember to update the page before final post-defence submission. You must list the full examining committee, including both University Examiners, but listing the External Examiner is optional. We recommend you or your program ask the External Examiner whether or not they wish to be included on the committee page. Please do not include the Chair of the exam committee on this page.

Abstract (required - maximum 350 words)

The abstract:

• is the third page of the thesis and is numbered iii
• is a concise and accurate summary of the thesis
• should state the problem, the methods of investigation, and the general conclusions
• must not contain tables, graphs or illustrations
• must not exceed 350 words
• should contain keywords that will facilitate automated information retrieval
• must be the only abstract in the thesis

350 words is the maximum allowed by online bibliographic listings; anything beyond 350 words will be arbitrarily cut off. The abstract in your thesis and the one you enter online at final submission must be identical.

Please do not put a list of keywords with your abstract.

Lay Summary (required - maximum 150 words)

The lay or public summary explains the key goals and contributions of the research/scholarly work in terms that can be understood by the general public. It should not exceed 150 words in length.

Preface (Required)

For detailed information about what to include in the Preface, see “ Structure of Theses and Dissertations ”.

Sample Prefaces

Table of Contents (Required)

Every thesis must have a table of contents that lists the preliminary and end pages and the content.

If you think your thesis does not require a table of contents, contact the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Thesis Section to confirm this.

The title page and committee page do not appear in the table of contents.

For additional information on formatting a table of contents (including lists of tables and lists of figures) see Formatting Requirements/Table of Contents .

List of tables (required if document has tables)

• tables must be listed with their numbers, titles, and page numbers
• each entry must have leader lines (dots) between entry and page number
• the list must start at the top of a new page

List of Figures (required if document has figures)

• must appear after the List of Tables
• figures must be listed with their numbers, titles, and page numbers

List of Illustrations (NORMALLY required if document has Illustrations)

• must appear after the List of Tables / List of Figures
• illustrations must be listed with their numbers, titles, and page numbers

If you think your thesis does not require a List of Illustrations, contact the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Thesis Section to confirm this.

List of multimedia materials (Required if thesis includes multimedia

List of material submitted that is not included in the pdf (required if thesis includes these), other lists.

• list of symbols
• list of abbreviations
• list of acronyms
• must appear after the List of Tables / List of Figures / List of Illustrations
• each list must start at the top of a new page

You must include a List of Multimedia Materials or List of Audio/Video files if you are submitting any with your thesis.

Acknowledgements (optional)

In this section you can:

• include a  land acknowledgement  in recognition of any Indigenous lands upon which you undertook your work. UBC Vancouver is situated on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Musqueam people. Additional information:  Musqueam & UBC .
• acknowledge the extent to which assistance has been given by members of staff, fellow students, data technicians, editors, and/or others
• recognize the supervision and advice given by your supervisor and committee members
• acknowledge colleagues with whom you have written journal articles

Note: We highly recommend you ensure that you have permission to include names of individuals in the Acknowledgements. Once your thesis is in the Library's electronic repository, cIRcle, you will not be able to make changes.

Dedication (optional)

The dedication is usually quite short, and is a personal rather than an academic recognition. You can use any font or language you wish for the dedication page.

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6.2: Preliminary Research Strategies

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The first step towards writing a research paper is pretty obvious: find sources. Not everything that you find will be good, and those that are good are not always easily found. Having an idea of what you’re looking for–what will most help you develop your essay and enforce your thesis–will help guide your process.

Example of a Research Process

A good research process should go through these steps:

• Decide on the topic.
• Narrow the topic in order to narrow search parameters.
• Create a question that your research will address.
• Generate sub-questions from your main question.
• Determine what kind of sources are best for your argument.
• Create a bibliography as you gather and reference sources.

Each of these is described in greater detail below.

Preliminary Research Strategies

A research plan should begin after you can clearly identify the focus of your argument. First, inform yourself about the basics of your topic (Wikipedia and general online searches are great starting points). Be sure you’ve read all the assigned texts and carefully read the prompt as you gather preliminary information. This stage is sometimes called pre-research .

A broad online search will yield thousands of sources, which no one could be expected to read through. To make it easier on yourself, the next step is to narrow your focus. Think about what kind of position or stance you can take on the topic. What about it strikes you as most interesting? Refer back to the prewriting stage of the writing process, which will come in handy here.

Preliminary Search Tips

• It is okay to start with Wikipedia as a reference, but do not use it as an official source. Look at the links and references at the bottom of the page for more ideas.
• Use “Ctrl+F” to find certain words within a webpage in order to jump to the sections of the article that interest you.
• Use quotation marks to narrow your search from just tanks in WWII to “Tanks in WWII” or “Tanks” in “WWII”.
• Find specific types of websites by adding “site:.gov” or “site:.edu” or “site:.org”. You can also search for specific file types like “filetype:.pdf”.
• Click on “Search Tools” under the search bar in Google and select “Any time” to see a list of options for time periods to help limit your search. You can find information just in the past month or year, or even for a custom range.

As you narrow your focus, create a list of questions that you’ll need to answer in order to write a good essay on the topic. The research process will help you answer these questions.

Another part of your research plan should include the type of sources you want to gather. Keep track of these sources in a bibliography and jot down notes about the book, article, or document and how it will be useful to your essay. This will save you a lot of time later in the essay process–you’ll thank yourself!

Contributors and Attributions

• Revision and Adaptation. Provided by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
• The Research Process graphic. Authored by : Kim Louie for Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution
• Organizing Your Research Plan. Provided by : Boundless. Located at : https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-writing/ . Project : Boundless Writing. License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike

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HOW TO DRAFT EXCELLENT PRELIMINARY PAGES IN RESEARCH WRITING

November 13, 2014 By Divine Nwachukwu

For a research to be termed acceptable to your research coordinator or project supervisor, the preliminary pages of the work must be all encompassing and concise enough to make great meaning. Preliminary pages are those write ups that come before the chapter one of every project or research work. Standard preliminary pages has the following features in these chronological order

• Declaration
• Certification
• Acknowledgement
• Table of contents

Cover page of the research work The cover page of a research page is the first page of the work which contains:

• The full topic of the project work.
• The case study of the project/research work.
• The researchers/student’s name, starting with the surname and registration number.
• The institution of study.
• The year and month the project work was completed.

The above specifications must be done with block letters. Below is an example of a cover page of a project work:  

APPRAISING THE ROLES OF AN ACCOUNTANT IN LOANS AND CREDIT CONTROLS MANAGEMENT (A CASE STUDY OF THE UNITED BANK OF AFRICA PLC, LAGOS BRANCH (2009-2011)

A RESEARCH PROJECT BY

OKORO MOHAMMED BOLA 10/PG/CE/BSC/DBA/100

SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA ENUGU STATE.

IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF A POSTGRADUATE DIPLOMA IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

NOVEMBER, 2015.

Declaration of the research work Every research work must be deemed original and void of plagiarism. To this effect the declaration is more of an affidavit stating in clear terms that the work is an original work and was not copied from any source.  In declaring that your work as a researcher is original, it has to be done with your full name and the full name of the researcher observer or project supervisor who guided you through the research work and the date the research was concluded. Below is an example of a declaration of a research work:

DECLARATION I declare that this project on “appraising the roles of an accountant in loans and credit controls and management” is an original work done by me under the supervision of Dr. A.A. Akai, faculty of business administration, university of Nigeria, Nsukka.

                                                                                                                                                                OKORO, MOHAMMED BOLA.                                                                 Certification of the research work As the name depicts, certification of a research work is just a confirmation that the work or research was actually embarked upon by you. In drafting your certification of the research work, it has to come with your full name beginning with your surname followed by your other names, your registration number, space for the name date and signature of your project supervisor and finally a space for the name, signature and date of the external supervisor. Below is an example of a certification of a project work:

CERTIFICATION This is to certify that this research work on “appraising the roles of accountants in loan and credit controls and management was carried out OKORO, MOHAMMED BOLA; with the registration Number: 10/PG/CE/BSC/DBA/100. We examined and found it acceptable for the award of postgraduate diploma in Business Administration, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

Dr. A.A. Akai: ………………………………………………………………. Signature ………………………   Date…………………………………… Supervisor/head of accounting department

Dr. W.S. Ugwu: ………………………………………………………………. Signature ………………………   Date…………………………………… Coordinator, post graduate diploma Business administration

Dedication of the research work Dedication is one of the preliminary pages of a research work. It has to do with dedicating the complete work to loved ones or people your hold in high regard. Below is an example of a dedication of a research work:

DEDICATION This research project is dedicated first to “THE ALMIGHTY GOD” forhis enabling strength he bestowed on me in completing this work.Secondly to my wonderful wife Mrs.Okoro Mohammed Bola

Acknowledgement of the research work This is where the researcher appreciates people who contributed directly or indirectly in the actualization of the project work. Acknowledgement in a research work takes into cognizance, your project or research supervisor for availing his time to making your work a success, your parents or loved ones for morally and financially supporting you through this work and other people you may have in mind for what they did towards their direct or indirect contribution to the success of your work.Below is an example

ACKNOWLEDEGEMNT I am most grateful to God Almighty, the sole provider of knowledge, wisdom, love, mercy and grace for his protections throughout the period of the programme. I sincerely appreciate my supervisor, Dr. A.A. Akai who offered timely criticism and corrections that led me through the various stages of this project. I appreciate my parents, Mr. and Mrs. AfikaAkara, my siblings and friends for their unquantifiable love and financial assistance during this period. May God bless you all in Jesus name, Amen.

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Research Topic Ideas: Preliminary Research

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What is Preliminary Research?

Preliminary research is the process of exploring what research has already been done on a topic or set of topics. Doing preliminary research can help you to narrow or broaden your topic idea . You can also determine useful keywords or related topics by consulting existing research. Use the resources on this page to get started.  

How to Start the Research Process   This article provides six tips for how to start the research process.

What are Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Sources?   This guide defines different types of sources and offers tips for evaluating their credibility.

Journal Articles

Digital Public Library of America   This resource contains thousands of books, images, videos, and sounds.

Directory of Open Access Books   This directory features thousands of peer-reviewed books.

Open Textbook Library   This resource includes hundreds of free textbooks.

Open Access Databases

arXiv   This resource archives free, full-text journal articles from the sciences and mathematics.

Directory of Open Access Journals   This resource allows you to search for journal articles from a wide range of disciplines.

Google Scholar   Use Google Scholar to search for full-text journal articles.

PubMed   PubMed hosts full-text journal articles from the medical and health sciences.

How to Read Academic Research

How to Read a Scholarly Article   This article breaks down the components of scholarly articles and features tips for reading them.

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How to Write a Preliminary Report: A Step-by-Step Guide

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If you are a project manager or a student, learning how to write a preliminary report is an essential skill. In this guide, we will walk you through every step of the process to help you craft a comprehensive and effective preliminary report.

Understanding the Purpose of a Preliminary Report

Before we dive into the specifics of how to write a preliminary report, it is essential first to understand why you need to write one. A preliminary report is usually a preliminary version of a more comprehensive report that will be written later. It is a concise summary of the findings that have been gathered during the preliminary research stage.

However, the importance of a preliminary report goes beyond just being a summary. It is a critical tool in project management that helps ensure the success of a project. By providing a broad overview of the situation, a preliminary report helps identify potential issues and risks that may impact the project's success.

Defining a Preliminary Report

A preliminary report is a document that presents the initial findings of a study or project. It often includes background information, research methods, findings, and recommendations. The report is intended to provide a broad overview of the situation, so the readers can draw their conclusions.

When writing a preliminary report, it is essential to keep in mind that it is not the final report. Instead, it is a tool to help guide the project in the right direction. The report should be concise, yet comprehensive enough to provide the necessary information to stakeholders.

Importance of a Preliminary Report in Project Management

Project managers use preliminary reports to ensure that all stakeholders are aware of the latest developments and any potential issues. The report provides a summary of the project's progress, identified risks, and other critical factors. Preliminary reports help managers anticipate future hurdles and plan accordingly. Thus, by sharing the preliminary review, they can make informed decisions that steer the project in the right direction.

Moreover, preliminary reports help project managers identify any gaps in the project plan. By analyzing the preliminary report, managers can identify areas that require further research or investigation. This information can then be used to refine the project plan and ensure that the final report is accurate and comprehensive.

In conclusion, a preliminary report is a critical tool in project management that helps ensure the success of a project. It provides a broad overview of the situation, identifies potential issues and risks, and helps project managers anticipate future hurdles. By using a preliminary report, project managers can make informed decisions that steer the project in the right direction. Therefore, it is essential to take the time to write a comprehensive preliminary report that provides all the necessary information to stakeholders.

Preparing to Write Your Preliminary Report

Before you start writing your preliminary report, there are a few things that you need to prepare. These include gathering the necessary information, identifying your audience, and establishing report objectives.

Gathering Relevant Information

Start by gathering all the relevant information and data that you need. The information should be relevant to the project at hand. It includes existing reports, research, and data related to the subject matter. Additionally, you may need to conduct interviews or surveys to gather additional information. Remember to keep track of your sources in case you need to reference them later.

Identifying Your Audience

Knowing your audience is essential when creating a report. Understanding who will be reading and using the report will help you tailor the content and structure to meet their needs. Consider your audience's level of expertise and the purpose of the report when considering the tone and level of technical jargon.

Establishing Report Objectives

Establishing clear objectives for your report will help guide your research and writing efforts. Think about what you want to achieve with the report and ensure your objectives align with the project's overall goals and objectives.

Structuring Your Preliminary Report

The structure of your preliminary report is just as important as the content. The structure enables readers to follow the information logically and understand how each section fits into the broader context.

Creating an Outline

Creating an outline will help you organize your information logically and create a roadmap to guide your writing. Ensure that your report follows a clear and logical structure, breaks down your information into sections with clear headings and subheadings. Along with outlining, you can use bullet points and numbered lists to make the information more scannable and digestible.

Organizing Your Information

Organizing your information effectively is crucial to ensure the report is easy to read and understand. The information should be arranged chronologically or thematically, depending on the type of report and its purpose.

Ensuring Logical Flow

When writing the report, ensure you maintain a logical flow. Each section should be structured logically, and information should be presented clearly and concisely. Avoid including irrelevant information, as this could confuse the reader and make your ideas seem disjointed.

Writing the Preliminary Report

With all the preparation out of the way, it's time to start writing the preliminary report. This section will cover the different sections you need to prepare when writing the report.

Crafting a Strong Introduction

Your introduction should succinctly summarize the report's purpose and provide an overview of the information presented in the report. It should also have a thesis statement that summarizes the key takeaways in the report.

Presenting Your Findings and Analysis

This section should provide a straightforward description of your findings. Furthermore, it should be arranged in such a manner that highlights the key issues and trends. Use tables and graphs if necessary, to show the data that supports your findings.

Addressing Potential Issues and Solutions

Identify potential issues that need addressing and discuss ways to overcome them. Furthermore, be sure to identify the consequences of not addressing the issues or taking corrective action.

Providing Recommendations and Next Steps

This section should provide recommendations on how to resolve any issues identified, the steps to be taken to implement the recommendations, and the projected results of the implementation.

ChatGPT Prompt for Writing a Preliminary Report

Use the following prompt in an AI chatbot . Below each prompt, be sure to provide additional details about your situation. These could be scratch notes, what you'd like to say or anything else that guides the AI model to write a certain way.

Please create a detailed and thorough initial document that outlines the key findings and observations of your research or investigation. This report should provide a comprehensive overview of the topic and highlight any significant insights or conclusions that have been drawn thus far.

[ADD ADDITIONAL CONTEXT. CAN USE BULLET POINTS.]

A well-written preliminary report is a valuable tool for project managers, students, and professionals. The report provides essential information about a project's progress and potential issues, enabling managers to make informed decisions. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can craft a comprehensive and effective preliminary report that meets your project's objectives.

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Preliminary pages in a book: Significance, structure, examples

23 February 2024

Magda Wojcik

Preliminary pages (prelims) in a book comprise the introductory section before the main content, featuring elements like the title, authorship, copyright and table of contents, providing essential information about the book’s publication details and structure. They serve as a prelude to the core narrative or informational content within the book, playing a crucial role in providing essential information, context and structure for the reader. Additionally, they may express gratitude, set the tone with an epigraph, and offer guidance through a table of contents. The foreword or preface may provide insights into the book’s background or purpose. Altogether, the preliminary pages contribute to the overall reader experience, enhancing comprehension and engagement with the main content of the book.

Preliminary pages are usually numbered with Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, iv, …) and consist of the following elements:

• half-title page
• frontispiece
• copyright page
• dedication page
• list of figures/tables
• acknowledgements
• foreword/preface
• repeated half-title page

Half-title page: Page i

The first page of a book is its half-title page, sometimes called the ‘bastard title.’ This will be a recto (right-hand page) and, it will be page i, though the page number is usually not printed on it.

The half-title page should consist only of the book’s title in a typeface (font) consistent with the book’s cover or interior design, which is normally centred and positioned somewhat above the centre of the page. For instance, between a fifth and sixth of the way down the page from the top margin is a good spot to place the title.

Frontispiece: Page ii

Page ii (the reverse of the half-title) is normally blank but can contain a relevant image. It is referred to as the ‘frontispiece.’

Title page: Page iii

Page iii will normally be the title page with all relevant information about the book. This should include:

• subtitle, if any
• name(s) of the author(s) or editor(s)
• publisher name and/or logo

Optionally, it may also include:

• publisher’s location
• publication year
• descriptive text
• illustration

As with the half-title page, the page number is also often not printed on this page.

Copyright page: Page iv

Page iv (the reverse of the title page) will normally be the copyright page. This page includes copyright information, such as the copyright holder, publication date and any disclaimers. It may also provide details about the book’s printing or edition. The copyright page should include the following information:

• publisher details
• ISBN number
• copyright notice
• legal copy details
• edition information (if any)
• any legal notices/disclaimers required

It may also optionally include credits for editing, design, production and illustration. Like the frontispiece and title page, this page often does not carry a page number. 

Copyright page template

Here is a template for the copyright page for a self-published book. To complete it, replace the dots with the information about your book.

Dedication: Page v

Some books include a dedication page where the author expresses appreciation or dedication to specific individuals or groups. This page is often the first numbered page of the book — usually page v. Normally, it is set in the same size as the main text in the book but centred. Sometimes, the dedication may be set in italics.

How to write a good dedication?

When writing a dedication for the preliminary pages of a book, it is important to keep it concise while still conveying your appreciation or sentiments. Here is a guide on how to write a good dedication page:

• Start with the address :   Begin with a formal salutation or address to the person or group you dedicate the book to. For example: ‘To my dearest family,’ or ‘In honour of…’
• Express gratitude : Clearly state your gratitude or appreciation. You might say, ‘For their unwavering support,’ or ‘In grateful acknowledgement of…’
• Be specific :   Mention the names of the individuals or group you dedicate the book to. This adds a personal touch and shows that you have thought specifically about the people involved.
• State the reason : Briefly explain why you dedicate the book to these individuals. It could be their support, inspiration, encouragement or any other meaningful contribution to your journey.
• Use authentic language :   Choose words that convey genuine emotions. If it is a dedication to family, express love and warmth. If it is to mentors or colleagues, communicate respect and gratitude.
• Keep it brief :   Remember that the dedication page is not the place for a lengthy essay. Keep your dedication short and focused, usually a few sentences to a short paragraph.
• Proofread carefully :   As with any part of your book, proofread your dedication carefully to ensure no grammatical errors or typos. This is a special part of your book, so you want it to be flawless.

Epigraph: Page vi

An epigraph is a quotation or brief statement that precedes the main text and often sets the tone or theme of the book. It may be used at the start of the book, at chapter heads, or both. When used at the start of a book, it may appear on a recto (right-hand page) on its own page at this point or can sometimes appear on a verso (left-hand page) facing the table of contents or the first page of text.

How to choose a good epigraph?

Choosing a good epigraph for the preliminary pages of a book can enhance the overall tone, theme or message of your work. Here are some tips on how to choose a meaningful and effective epigraph:

• Relevance : Ensure that the epigraph is relevant to the content of your book. It should provide insight into the themes, subject matter or tone of the work. Readers should be able to connect the epigraph and the main text.
• Quotations from influential figures : Selecting a quote from a well-known or respected person in the field related to your book can lend authority and credibility to your work. It can also offer readers a perspective they might find interesting or thought-provoking.
• Literary connection : If your book falls within a specific genre or literary tradition, choosing an epigraph from a classic work or a well-known author in that genre can provide context and engage readers who appreciate that style.
• Contrast or irony : An epigraph that contrasts with the main content of your book or introduces an element of irony can be intriguing. It may encourage readers to think more deeply about the material.
• Personal significance : If you have a favourite quote or a saying that holds meaning to you and aligns with the theme of your book, it can add a unique and authentic touch.
• Length and language : Keep the epigraph concise. A short, impactful quote is often more effective than a lengthy one. Additionally, consider the language of the epigraph — it should be clear and easily understood by your target audience.
• Permission : If the chosen epigraph is from a copyrighted source, ensure you have the necessary permission to use it in your book. Some works may be in the public domain, while others may require permission or attribution.

List of figures/tables: Page vii

If the book includes illustrations, photographs, figures or tables, a list (along with the page number) may be provided on page vii so the readers can identify and locate them. The number and type of tables will vary depending on the type of book. Fiction books rarely include figures, charts or tables but may include illustrations or photographs. Non-fiction books, depending on the subject, more often include tables, diagrams or charts.

Acknowledgements: Page viii

The acknowledgement page is a place for the author to thank particular individuals or institutions — usually those who have helped in the research, writing and/or production of the book.

Foreword/preface: Page ix–x

A foreword is usually written by someone other than the author and provides additional context or endorsement for the book. A preface, if written by the author, may serve a similar function as an introduction. In this case, it explains the purpose, background or circumstances surrounding the book’s creation and content.

Unlike the foreword, a preface is generally written by the author and falls outside the scope of the book’s main content — its argument (non-fiction) or story (fiction). It is a space where the author can speak directly to the reader about their motivation in writing the book and discuss their inspiration and intention.

Repeated half-title page: Page xi

Some books repeat the half-title page. This is particularly the case when preliminary pages are long.

How to prepare preliminary pages for publication?

Professional proofreading is the systematic review and correction of written material to ensure grammar, spelling, punctuation and overall presentation accuracy before publication. Proofreading is a crucial step in the book publishing process, and according to the  Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading , ‘a proofreader will be expected to proofread these pages and cross-check any details such as page numbers in the contents list with actual page numbers.’ Here is some more information about how professional proofreading contributes to the preparation of these pages for publication:

• Ensuring accuracy and consistency : Proofreading helps identify and correct spelling, grammar and punctuation errors to ensure the accuracy of information on the preliminary pages. Moreover, it helps maintain consistency in formatting, style and language throughout the front matter, providing a polished and professional appearance.
• Enhancing readability : Proofreading helps improve the overall readability of the preliminary pages by identifying and fixing awkward phrasing or unclear sentences.
• Adhering to style guidelines : Publishers often have specific style guidelines that authors need to follow. Proofreading ensures that the preliminary pages adhere to these guidelines regarding formatting, citation style and other editorial requirements.
• Checking page numbers and headings : A proofreader verifies the accuracy of page numbers and ensures that headings, subheadings and other elements are correctly formatted and in the correct order.
• Verifying copyright information : The copyright page is a critical element of prelims. Proofreading ensures that all copyright information, including the publication date, ISBN and other details, is present, accurate and up-to-date.
• Detecting typographical errors:  Typographical errors can easily go unnoticed during the writing and editing phases. Proofreading helps catch these errors, preventing embarrassing mistakes in the final printed or digital version of the book.

Final thoughts

In conclusion, preliminary pages in a book are a crucial part of the publication process. They provide essential information about the book’s publication details and structure, serve as a prelude to the core narrative or informational content, and contribute to the overall reader experience by enhancing comprehension and engagement with the book’s main content. Thus, by following the above guidelines, writers can ensure that their books are presented in the best possible light while readers can navigate the book with ease and have a more meaningful experience.

If your preliminary pages or the book manuscript need proofreading, contact me for a  free sample edit  of your text (and remember to use my  early bird discount ). I am an  experienced editor  working with non-fiction, academic and business books.

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Home » How To Write A Research Proposal – Step-by-Step [Template]

How To Write A Research Proposal – Step-by-Step [Template]

Table of Contents

How To Write a Research Proposal

Writing a Research proposal involves several steps to ensure a well-structured and comprehensive document. Here is an explanation of each step:

1. Title and Abstract

• Choose a concise and descriptive title that reflects the essence of your research.
• Write an abstract summarizing your research question, objectives, methodology, and expected outcomes. It should provide a brief overview of your proposal.

2. Introduction:

• Provide an introduction to your research topic, highlighting its significance and relevance.
• Clearly state the research problem or question you aim to address.
• Discuss the background and context of the study, including previous research in the field.

3. Research Objectives

• Outline the specific objectives or aims of your research. These objectives should be clear, achievable, and aligned with the research problem.

4. Literature Review:

• Conduct a comprehensive review of relevant literature and studies related to your research topic.
• Summarize key findings, identify gaps, and highlight how your research will contribute to the existing knowledge.

5. Methodology:

• Describe the research design and methodology you plan to employ to address your research objectives.
• Explain the data collection methods, instruments, and analysis techniques you will use.
• Justify why the chosen methods are appropriate and suitable for your research.

6. Timeline:

• Create a timeline or schedule that outlines the major milestones and activities of your research project.
• Break down the research process into smaller tasks and estimate the time required for each task.

7. Resources:

• Identify the resources needed for your research, such as access to specific databases, equipment, or funding.
• Explain how you will acquire or utilize these resources to carry out your research effectively.

8. Ethical Considerations:

• Discuss any ethical issues that may arise during your research and explain how you plan to address them.
• If your research involves human subjects, explain how you will ensure their informed consent and privacy.

9. Expected Outcomes and Significance:

• Clearly state the expected outcomes or results of your research.
• Highlight the potential impact and significance of your research in advancing knowledge or addressing practical issues.

10. References:

• Provide a list of all the references cited in your proposal, following a consistent citation style (e.g., APA, MLA).

11. Appendices:

• Include any additional supporting materials, such as survey questionnaires, interview guides, or data analysis plans.

Research Proposal Format

The format of a research proposal may vary depending on the specific requirements of the institution or funding agency. However, the following is a commonly used format for a research proposal:

1. Title Page:

• Include the title of your research proposal, your name, your affiliation or institution, and the date.

2. Abstract:

• Provide a brief summary of your research proposal, highlighting the research problem, objectives, methodology, and expected outcomes.

3. Introduction:

• Introduce the research topic and provide background information.
• State the research problem or question you aim to address.
• Explain the significance and relevance of the research.
• Review relevant literature and studies related to your research topic.
• Summarize key findings and identify gaps in the existing knowledge.
• Explain how your research will contribute to filling those gaps.

5. Research Objectives:

• Clearly state the specific objectives or aims of your research.
• Ensure that the objectives are clear, focused, and aligned with the research problem.

6. Methodology:

• Describe the research design and methodology you plan to use.
• Explain the data collection methods, instruments, and analysis techniques.
• Justify why the chosen methods are appropriate for your research.

7. Timeline:

8. Resources:

• Explain how you will acquire or utilize these resources effectively.

9. Ethical Considerations:

• If applicable, explain how you will ensure informed consent and protect the privacy of research participants.

10. Expected Outcomes and Significance:

11. References:

12. Appendices:

Research Proposal Template

Here’s a template for a research proposal:

1. Introduction:

2. Literature Review:

3. Research Objectives:

4. Methodology:

5. Timeline:

6. Resources:

7. Ethical Considerations:

8. Expected Outcomes and Significance:

9. References:

10. Appendices:

Research Proposal Sample

Title: The Impact of Online Education on Student Learning Outcomes: A Comparative Study

1. Introduction

Online education has gained significant prominence in recent years, especially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This research proposal aims to investigate the impact of online education on student learning outcomes by comparing them with traditional face-to-face instruction. The study will explore various aspects of online education, such as instructional methods, student engagement, and academic performance, to provide insights into the effectiveness of online learning.

2. Objectives

The main objectives of this research are as follows:

• To compare student learning outcomes between online and traditional face-to-face education.
• To examine the factors influencing student engagement in online learning environments.
• To assess the effectiveness of different instructional methods employed in online education.
• To identify challenges and opportunities associated with online education and suggest recommendations for improvement.

3. Methodology

3.1 Study Design

This research will utilize a mixed-methods approach to gather both quantitative and qualitative data. The study will include the following components:

3.2 Participants

The research will involve undergraduate students from two universities, one offering online education and the other providing face-to-face instruction. A total of 500 students (250 from each university) will be selected randomly to participate in the study.

3.3 Data Collection

The research will employ the following data collection methods:

• Quantitative: Pre- and post-assessments will be conducted to measure students’ learning outcomes. Data on student demographics and academic performance will also be collected from university records.
• Qualitative: Focus group discussions and individual interviews will be conducted with students to gather their perceptions and experiences regarding online education.

3.4 Data Analysis

Quantitative data will be analyzed using statistical software, employing descriptive statistics, t-tests, and regression analysis. Qualitative data will be transcribed, coded, and analyzed thematically to identify recurring patterns and themes.

4. Ethical Considerations

The study will adhere to ethical guidelines, ensuring the privacy and confidentiality of participants. Informed consent will be obtained, and participants will have the right to withdraw from the study at any time.

5. Significance and Expected Outcomes

This research will contribute to the existing literature by providing empirical evidence on the impact of online education on student learning outcomes. The findings will help educational institutions and policymakers make informed decisions about incorporating online learning methods and improving the quality of online education. Moreover, the study will identify potential challenges and opportunities related to online education and offer recommendations for enhancing student engagement and overall learning outcomes.

6. Timeline

The proposed research will be conducted over a period of 12 months, including data collection, analysis, and report writing.

The estimated budget for this research includes expenses related to data collection, software licenses, participant compensation, and research assistance. A detailed budget breakdown will be provided in the final research plan.

8. Conclusion

This research proposal aims to investigate the impact of online education on student learning outcomes through a comparative study with traditional face-to-face instruction. By exploring various dimensions of online education, this research will provide valuable insights into the effectiveness and challenges associated with online learning. The findings will contribute to the ongoing discourse on educational practices and help shape future strategies for maximizing student learning outcomes in online education settings.

About the author

Muhammad Hassan

Researcher, Academic Writer, Web developer

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How to properly format the preliminary pages of a project report

Preliminary pages are those pages that come before the main body of your project or research work. Before your project supervisor approves or accepts your project report, your preliminary pages should be in order and well written.

Standard preliminary pages are comprised of the following:

• Cover/Title page
• Declaration (if any)
• Certification (If any)
• Approval (if any)
• Acknowledgement
• Table of contents
• List of Tables (if any)
• List of Figures (if any)

Cover / Title page

The cover page is comprised of the following sections:

• The title of the project work
• The case study of the project / research work
• The researchers / student’s name, starting with the surname and registration number
• The institution of study
• The year and month the project work was completed
• Note : it should be written in uppercase. See an example below.

Declaration This is where you state that the research work is original and was conducted by you. Your full names, registration / Matriculation number, and project supervisor should also be indicated.

Certification The certification page of a project report is where you confirm that the research was carried out by you. The page should include the following: a. Your full names (starting with your surname), registration number and signature b. Your project supervisor’s name, signature and date c. The external examiner’s name, signature and date

Approval The approval page is similar to the declaration page. You basically state that you did the research and it is void of plagiarism.  The Page should also contain the names and signatures of your supervisor, head of department (H.O.D), and external examiner.

Dedication The dedication page comes after the approval page. It is used to dedicate the work to those that supported you during your studies.  This page should be brief.

If you want to recognize and acknowledge more people, do so in the acknowledgement page which is the next page.

Acknowledgement The acknowledgement page comes after the dedication page. This is where you appreciate the people who directly or indirectly assisted you in carrying out your research.

In writing you acknowledgement, be sure to mention only the people that assisted you. You can address your project supervisor, colleagues, loved ones and your parents/sponsors for their moral and financial support.

Table of contents A table of contents is a list of the parts of a book, research report or document, organized in the order in which the parts appear.

The contents usually include the titles or descriptions of the first level headers, such as chapter titles in longer works and often includes a second level titles or section titles within the chapters and occasionally even third level titles or subsections.

List of Tables and Figures This is required if you have two or more figures and tables in the project report. All figures and tables in research report should be included in the list.

Abstract An abstract is a clear, accurate and concise summary of a research. It is usually written at the end of the research, after the rest of the project report has been completed.

An abstract should be between 100 – 250 words and should get the reader interested in the research paper. Knowing how abstracts are structured is the first step towards writing an awesome abstract.

Learn more – How to write a good and effective abstract

Some points to note 1. Be sure you have the correct month and year of graduation. 2. Preliminary pages are numbered in lower case roman numerals.

Below is an example of preliminary pages of a project report :

This to certify that this project was written by ——– with REG NO:  ——– under the supervision of Mr. ——-, Department of Business Administration and Management, ———, in partial fulfillment of the award of ———– in Business Administration and Management.

Title Page Approval Page Dedication Acknowledgment Abstract Table of Contents

CHAPTER ONE Introduction 1.1    Background of Study 1.2    Statement of Problems 1.3    Objective of the Study 1.4    Research Question 1.5    Significance of Study 1.6    Scope of Study 1.7    Limitation of the Study 1.8    Definition of Terms

CHAPTER TWO Literature Review 2.1    Definition of Leadership 2.2    Leadership Distinct from Management 2.3    Leadership Style 2.3.1    Autocratic (Deceptive) Leadership Style 2.3.2    Democratic or Participative Leadership Style 2.3.3    Employee (Entered) Leadership Style 2.3.4    Lassies Faire Leadership Style 2.3.5    Applicative Leadership Style 2.4    Style Flexibly 2.5    Leadership Theories 2.5.1    Fielder Leadership Contingency Model 2.5.2    The Great Man Theory 2.5.3    Treat Theories 2.5.4    Hershey and Blanched Situation Leadership Theory 2.6    Motivation Theories 2.6.1    Maslow’s Need Hierarchy (The Need Theory) 2.6.2    Vroom’s Motivation Models: A Contingency View 2.7    Summary of Literature Review

CHAPTER THREE Research Methodology 3.1    Introduction 3.2    Research Design 3.3    Method of Data Collection 3.4    Sample Size 3.5    Sample Technique

CHAPTER FOUR Presentation of Data 4.1    Introduction 4.2    Data Analysis 4.3    Research Findings

CHAPTER FIVE Summary of Findings, Conclusion and Recommendations 5.1    Summary of Findings 5.2    Conclusion 5.3    Recommendations References Appendix

DO YOU KNOW? writing your term paper, seminar, proposal, SIWES report and final year project report can be fun rather than boring. The integrity and rigour of your research is solely dependent on getting access to the right information and resources tailored to your specific need(s).

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• Open access
• Published: 16 May 2024

Promoting equality, diversity and inclusion in research and funding: reflections from a digital manufacturing research network

• Oliver J. Fisher 1 ,
• Debra Fearnshaw   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-6498-9888 2 ,
• Nicholas J. Watson 3 ,
• Peter Green 4 ,
• Fiona Charnley 5 ,
• Duncan McFarlane 6 &
• Sarah Sharples 2  

Research Integrity and Peer Review volume  9 , Article number:  5 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

146 Accesses

Metrics details

Equal, diverse, and inclusive teams lead to higher productivity, creativity, and greater problem-solving ability resulting in more impactful research. However, there is a gap between equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) research and practices to create an inclusive research culture. Research networks are vital to the research ecosystem, creating valuable opportunities for researchers to develop their partnerships with both academics and industrialists, progress their careers, and enable new areas of scientific discovery. A feature of a network is the provision of funding to support feasibility studies – an opportunity to develop new concepts or ideas, as well as to ‘fail fast’ in a supportive environment. The work of networks can address inequalities through equitable allocation of funding and proactive consideration of inclusion in all of their activities.

This study proposes a strategy to embed EDI within research network activities and funding review processes. This paper evaluates 21 planned mitigations introduced to address known inequalities within research events and how funding is awarded. EDI data were collected from researchers engaging in a digital manufacturing network activities and funding calls to measure the impact of the proposed method.

Quantitative analysis indicates that the network’s approach was successful in creating a more ethnically diverse network, engaging with early career researchers, and supporting researchers with care responsibilities. However, more work is required to create a gender balance across the network activities and ensure the representation of academics who declare a disability. Preliminary findings suggest the network’s anonymous funding review process has helped address inequalities in funding award rates for women and those with care responsibilities, more data are required to validate these observations and understand the impact of different interventions individually and in combination.

Conclusions

In summary, this study offers compelling evidence regarding the efficacy of a research network's approach in advancing EDI within research and funding. The network hopes that these findings will inform broader efforts to promote EDI in research and funding and that researchers, funders, and other stakeholders will be encouraged to adopt evidence-based strategies for advancing this important goal.

Peer Review reports

Introduction

Achieving equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) is an underpinning contributor to human rights, civilisation and society-wide responsibility [ 1 ]. Furthermore, promoting and embedding EDI within research environments is essential to make the advancements required to meet today’s research challenges [ 2 ]. This is evidenced by equal, diverse and inclusive teams leading to higher productivity, creativity and greater problem-solving ability [ 3 ], which increases the scientific impact of research outputs and researchers [ 4 ]. However, there remains a gap between EDI research and the everyday implementation of inclusive practices to achieve change [ 5 ]. This paper presents and reflects on the EDI measures trialled by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) funded digital manufacturing research network, Connected Everything (grant number: EP/S036113/1) [ 6 ]. The EPSRC is a UK research council that funds engineering and physical sciences research. By sharing these reflections, this work aims to contribute to the wider effort of creating an inclusive research culture. The perceptions of equality, diversity, and inclusion may vary among individuals. For the scope of this study, the following definitions are adopted:

Equality: Equality is about ensuring that every individual has an equal opportunity to make the most of their lives and talents. No one should have poorer life chances because of the way they were born, where they come from, what they believe, or whether they have a disability.

Diversity: Diversity concerns understanding that each individual is unique, recognising our differences, and exploring these differences in a safe, positive, and nurturing way to value each other as individuals.

Inclusion: Inclusion is an effort and practice in which groups or individuals with different backgrounds are culturally and socially accepted, welcomed and treated equally. This concerns treating each person as an individual, making them feel valued, and supported and being respectful of who they are.

Research networks have varied goals, but a common purpose is to create new interdisciplinary research communities, by fostering interactions between researchers and appropriate scientific, technological and industrial groups. These networks aim to offer valuable career progression opportunities for researchers, through access to research funding, forming academic and industrial collaborations at network events, personal and professional development, and research dissemination. However, feedback from a 2021 survey of 19 UK research networks, suggests that these research networks are not always diverse, and whilst on the face of it they seem inclusive, they are perceived as less inclusive by minority groups (including non-males, those with disabilities, and ethnic minority respondents) [ 7 ]. The exclusivity of these networks further exacerbates the inequality within the academic community as it prevents certain groups from being able to engage with all aspects of network activities.

Research investigating the causes of inequality and exclusivity has identified several suggestions to make research culture more inclusive, including improving diverse representation within event programmes and panels [ 8 , 9 ]; ensuring events are accessible to all [ 10 ]; providing personalised resources and training to build capacity and increase engagement [ 11 ]; educating institutions and funders to understand and address the barriers to research [ 12 ]; and increasing diversity in peer review and funding panels [ 13 ]. Universities, research institutions and research funding bodies are increasingly taking responsibility to ensure the health of the research and innovation system and to foster inclusion. For example, the EPSRC has set out their own ‘Expectation for EDI’ to promote the formation of a diverse and inclusive research culture [ 14 ]. To drive change, there is an emphasis on the importance of measuring diversity and links to measured outcomes to benchmark future studies on how interventions affect diversity [ 5 ]. Further, collecting and sharing EDI data can also drive aspirations, provide a target for actions, and allow institutions to consider common issues. However, there is a lack of available data regarding the impact of EDI practices on diversity that presents an obstacle, impeding the realisation of these benefits and hampering progress in addressing common issues and fostering diversity and inclusion [ 5 ].

Funding acquisition is important to an academic’s career progression, yet funding may often be awarded in ways that feel unequal and/or non-transparent. The importance of funding in academic career progression means that, if credit for obtaining funding is not recognised appropriately, careers can be damaged, and, as a result of the lack of recognition for those who have been involved in successful research, funding bodies may not have a complete picture of the research community, and are unable to deliver the best value for money [ 15 ]. Awarding funding is often a key research network activity and an area where networks can have a positive impact on the wider research community. It is therefore important that practices are established to embed EDI consideration within the funding process and to ensure that network funding is awarded without bias. Recommendations from the literature to make the funding award process fairer include: ensuring a diverse funding panel; funders instituting reviewer anti-bias training; anonymous review; and/or automatic adjustments to correct for known biases [ 16 ]. In the UK, the government organisation UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), tasked with overseeing research and innovation funding, has pledged to publish data to enhance transparency. This initiative aims to furnish an evidence base for designing interventions and evaluating their efficacy. While the data show some positive signs (e.g., the award rates for male and female PI applicants were equal at 29% in 2020–21), Ottoline Leyser (UKRI Chief Executive) highlights the ‘persistent pernicious disparities for under-represented groups in applying for and winning research funding’ [ 17 ]. This suggests that a more radical approach to rethinking the traditional funding review process may be required.

This paper describes the approach taken by the ‘Connected Everything’ EPSRC-funded Network to embed EDI in all aspects of its research funding process, and evaluates the impact of this ambition, leading to recommendations for embedding EDI in research funding allocation.

Connected everything’s equality diversity and inclusion strategy

Connected Everything aims to create a multidisciplinary community of researchers and industrialists to address key challenges associated with the future of digital manufacturing. The network is managed by an investigator team who are responsible for the strategic planning and, working with the network manager, to oversee the delivery of key activities. The network was first funded between 2016–2019 (grant number: EP/P001246/1) and was awarded a second grant (grant number: EP/S036113/1). The network activities are based around three goals: building partnerships, developing leadership and accelerating impact.

The Connected Everything network represents a broad range of disciplines, including manufacturing, computer science, cybersecurity, engineering, human factors, business, sociology, innovation and design. Some of the subject areas, such as Computer Science and Engineering, tend to be male-dominated (e.g., in 2021/22, a total of 185,42 higher education student enrolments in engineering & technology subjects was broken down as 20.5% Female and 79.5% Male [ 18 ]). The networks also face challenges in terms of accessibility for people with care responsibilities and disabilities. In 2019, Connected Everything committed to embedding EDI in all its network activities and published a guiding principle and goals for improving EDI (see Additional file 1 ). When designing the processes to deliver the second iteration of Connected Everything, the team identified several sources of potential bias/exclusion which have the potential to impact engagement with the network. Based on these identified factors, a series of mitigation interventions were implemented and are outlined in Table  1 .

Connected everything anonymous review process

A key Connected Everything activity is the funding of feasibility studies to enable cross-disciplinary, foresight, speculative and risky early-stage research, with a focus on low technology-readiness levels. Awards are made via a short, written application followed by a pitch to a multidisciplinary diverse panel including representatives from industry. Six- to twelve-month-long projects are funded to a maximum value of £60,000.

The current peer-review process used by funders may reveal the applicants’ identities to the reviewer. This can introduce dilemmas to the reviewer regarding (a) deciding whether to rely exclusively on information present within the application or search for additional information about the applicants and (b) whether or not to account for institutional prestige [ 34 ]. Knowing an applicant’s identity can bias the assessment of the proposal, but by focusing the assessment on the science rather than the researcher, equality is more frequently achieved between award rates (i.e., the proportion of successful applications) [ 15 ]. To progress Connected Everything’s commitment to EDI, the project team created a 2-stage review process, where the applicants’ identity was kept anonymous during the peer review stage. This anonymous process, which is outlined in Fig.  1 , was created for the feasibility study funding calls in 2019 and used for subsequent funding calls.

Connected Everything’s anonymous review process [EDI: Equality, diversity, and inclusion]

To facilitate the anonymous review process, the proposal was submitted in two parts: part A the research idea and part B the capability-to-deliver statement. All proposals were first anonymously reviewed by a random selection of two members from the Connected Everything executive group, which is a diverse group of digital manufacturing experts and peers from academia, industry and research institutions that provide guidance and leadership on Connected Everything activities. The reviewers rated the proposals against the selection criteria (see Additional file 1 , Table 1) and provided overall comments alongside a recommendation on whether or not the applicant should be invited to the panel pitch. This information was summarised and shared with a moderation sift panel, made up of a minimum of two Connected Everything investigators and a minimum of one member of the executive group, that tensioned the reviewers’ comments (i.e. comments and evaluations provided by the peer reviewers are carefully considered and weighed against each other) and ultimately decided which proposals to invite to the panel. This tension process included using the identifying information to ensure the applicants did have the capability to deliver the project. If this remained unclear, the applicants were asked to confirm expertise in an area the moderation sift panel thought was key or asked to bring in additional expertise to the project team during the panel pitch.

During stage two the applicants were invited to pitch their research idea to a panel of experts who were selected to reflect the diversity of the community. The proposals, including applicants’ identities, were shared with the panel at least two weeks ahead of the panel. Individual panel members completed a summary sheet at the end of the pitch session to record how well the proposal met the selection criteria (see Additional file 1 , Table 1). Panel members did not discuss their funding decision until all the pitches had been completed. A panel chair oversaw the process but did not declare their opinion on a specific feasibility study unless the panel could not agree on an outcome. The panel and panel chair were reminded to consider ways to manage their unconscious bias during the selection process.

Due to the positive response received regarding the anonymous review process, Connected Everything extended its use when reviewing other funded activities. As these awards were for smaller grant values (~ £5,000), it was decided that no panel pitch was required, and the researcher’s identity was kept anonymous for the entire process.

Data collection and analysis methods

Data collection.

Equality, diversity and inclusion data were voluntarily collected from applicants for Connected Everything research funding and from participants who won scholarships to attend Connected Everything funded activities. Responses to the EDI data requests were collected from nine Connected Everything coordinated activities between 2019 and 2022. Data requests were sent after the applicant had applied for Connected Everything funding or had attended a Connected Everything funded activity. All data requests were completed voluntarily, with reassurance given that completion of the data requested in no way affected their application. In total 260 responses were received, of which the three feasibility study calls comprised 56.2% of the total responses received. Overall, there was a 73.8% response rate.

To understand the diversity of participants engaging with Connected Everything activities and funding, the data requests asked for details of specific diversity characteristics: gender, transgender, disability, ethnicity, age, and care responsibilities. Although sex and gender are terms that are often used interchangeably, they are two different concepts. To clarify, the definitions used by the UK government describe sex as a set of biological attributes that is generally limited to male or female, and typically attributed to individuals at birth. In contrast, gender identity is a social construction related to behaviours and attributes, and is self-determined based on a person’s internal perception, identification and experience. Transgender is a term used to describe people whose gender identity is not the same as the sex they were registered at birth. Respondents were first asked to identify their gender and then whether their gender was different from their birth sex.

For this study, respondents were asked to (voluntarily) self-declare whether they consider themselves to be disabled or not. Ethnicity within the data requests was based on the 2011 census classification system. When reporting ethnicity data, this study followed the AdvanceHE example to aggregate the census categories into six groups to enable benchmarking against the available academic ethnicity data. AdvanceHE is a UK charity that works to improve the higher education system for staff, students and society. However, it was acknowledged that there were limitations with this grouping, including the assumption that minority ethnic staff or students are a homogenous group [ 16 ]. Therefore, this study made sure to breakdown these groups during the discussion of the results. The six groups are:

Asian: Asian/Asian British: Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, and any other Asian background;

Black: Black/African/Caribbean/Black British: African, Caribbean, and any other Black/African/Caribbean background;

Other ethnic backgrounds, including Arab.

White: all white ethnic groups.

Benchmarking data

Published data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency [ 26 ] (a UK organisation responsible for collecting, analysing, and disseminating data related to higher education institutions and students), UKRI funding data [ 19 , 35 ] and 2011 census data [ 36 ] were used to benchmark the EDI data collected within this study. The responses to the data collected were compared to the engineering and technology cluster of academic disciplines, as this is most represented by Connected Everything’s main funded EPSRC. The Higher Education Statistics Agency defines the engineering and technology cluster as including the following subject areas: general engineering; chemical engineering; mineral, metallurgy & materials engineering; civil engineering; electrical, electronic & computer engineering; mechanical, aero & production engineering and; IT, systems sciences & computer software engineering [ 37 ].

When assessing the equality in funding award rates, previous studies have focused on analysing the success rates of only the principal investigators [ 15 , 16 , 38 ]; however, Connected Everything recognised that writing research proposals is a collaborative task, so requested diversity data from the whole research team. The average of the last six years of published principal investigator and co-investigator diversity data for UKRI and EPSRC funding awards (2015–2021) was used to benchmark the Connected Everything funding data [ 35 ]. The UKRI and EPSRC funding review process includes a peer review stage followed by panel pitch and assessment stage; however, the applicant's track record is assessed during the peer review stage, unlike the Connected Everything review process.

The data collected have been used to evaluate the success of the planned migrations to address EDI factors affecting the higher education research ecosystem, as outlined in Table  1 (" Connected Everything’s Equality Diversity and Inclusion Strategy " Section).

Dominance of small number of research-intensive universities receiving funding from network

The dominance of a small number of research-intensive universities receiving funding from a network can have implications for the field of research, including: the unequal distribution of resources; a lack of diversity of research, limited collaboration opportunities; and impact on innovation and progress. Analysis of published EPSRC funding data between 2015 and 2021 [ 19 ], shows that the funding has been predominately (74.1%, 95% CI [71.%, 76.9%] out of £3.98 billion) awarded to Russell Group universities. The Russell Group is a self-selected association of 24 research-intensive universities (out of the 174 universities) in the UK, established in 1994. Evaluation of the universities that received Connected Everything feasibility study funding between 2016–2019, shows that Connected Everything awarded just over half (54.6%, 95% CI [25.1%, 84.0%] out of 11 awards) to Russell Group universities. Figure  2 shows that the Connected Everything funding awarded to Russell Group universities reduced to 44.4%, 95% CI [12.0%, 76.9%] of 9 awards between 2019–2022.

A comparison of funding awarded by EPSRC (total = £3.98 billion) across Russell Group universities and non-Russell Group universities, alongside the allocations for Connected Everything I (total = £660 k) and Connected Everything II (total = £540 k)

Dominance of successful applications from men

The percentage point difference between the award rates of researchers who identified as female, those who declare a disability, or identified as ethnic minority applicants and carers and their respective counterparts have been plotted in Fig.  3 . Bars to the right of the axis mean that the award rate of the female/declared-disability/ethnic-minority/carer applicants is greater than that of male/non- disability/white/not carer applicants.

Percentage point (PP) differences in award rate by funding provider for gender, disability status, ethnicity and care responsibilities (data not collected by UKRI and EPSRC [ 35 ]). The total number of applicants for each funder are as follows: Connected Everything = 146, EPSRC = 37,960, and UKRI = 140,135. *The numbers of applicants were too small (< 5) to enable a meaningful discussion

Figure  3 (A) shows that between 2015 and 2021 research team applicants who identified as male had a higher award rate than those who identified as female when applying for EPSRC and wider UKRI research council funding. Connected Everything funding applicants who identified as female achieved a higher award rate (19.4%, 95% CI [6.5%, 32.4%] out of 146) compared to male applicants (15.6%, 95% CI [8.8%, 22.4%] out of 146). These data suggest that biases have been reduced by the Connected Everything review process and other mitigation strategies (e.g., visible gender diversity in panel pitch members and publishing CE principal and goals to demonstrate commitment to equality and fairness). This finding aligns with an earlier study that found gender bias during the peer review process, resulting in female investigators receiving less favourable evaluations than their male counterparts [ 15 ].

Over-representation of people identifying as male in engineering and technology academic community

Figure  4 shows the response to the gender question, with 24.2%, 95% CI [19.0%, 29.4%] of 260 responses identifying as female. This aligns with the average for the engineering and technology cluster (21.4%, 95% CI [20.9%, 21.9%] female of 27,740 academic staff), which includes subject areas representative of our main funder, EPSRC [ 22 ]. We also sought to understand the representation of transgender researchers within the network. However, following the rounding policy outlined by UK Government statistics policies and procedures [ 39 ], the number of responses that identified as a different sex to birth was too low (< 5) to enable a meaningful discussion.

Gender question responses from a total of 260 respondents

Dominance of successful applications from white academics

Figure  3 (C) shows that researchers with a minority ethnicity consistently have a lower award rate than white researchers when applying for EPSRC and UKRI funding. Similarly, the results in Fig.  3 (C) indicate that white researchers are more successful (8.0% percentage point, 95% CI [-8.6%, 24.6%]) when applying for Connected Everything funding. These results indicate that more measures should be implemented to support the ethnic minority researchers applying for Connected Everything funding, as well as sense checking there is no unconscious bias in any of the Connected Everything funding processes. The breakdown of the ethnicity diversity of applicants at different stages of the Connected Everything review process (i.e. all applications, applicants invited to panel pitch and awarded feasibility studies) has been plotted in Fig.  5 to help identify where more support is needed. Figure  5 shows an increase in the proportion of white researchers from 54%, 95% CI [45.4%, 61.8%] of all 146 applicants to 66%, 95% CI [52.8%, 79.1%] of the 50 researchers invited to the panel pitch. This suggests that stage 1 of the Connected Everything review process (anonymous review of written applications) may favour white applicants and/or introduce unconscious bias into the process.

Ethnicity questions responses from different stages during the Connected Everything anonymous review process. The total number of applicants is 146, with 50 at the panel stage and 23 ultimately awarded

Under-representation of those from black or minority ethnic backgrounds

Connected Everything appears to have a wide range of ethnic diversity, as shown in Fig.  6 . The ethnicities Asian (18.3%, 95% CI [13.6%, 23.0%]), Black (5.1%, 95% CI [2.4%, 7.7%]), Chinese (12.5%, 95% CI [8.4%, 16.5%]), mixed (3.5%, 95% CI [1.3%, 5.7%]) and other (7.8%, 95% CI [4.5%, 11.1%]) have a higher representation among the 260 individuals engaging with network’s activities, in contrast to both the engineering and technology academic community and the wider UK population. When separating these groups into the original ethnic diversity answers, it becomes apparent that there is no engagement with ‘Black or Black British: Caribbean’, ‘Mixed: White and Black Caribbean’ or ‘Mixed: White and Asian’ researchers within Connected Everything activities. The lack of engagement with researchers from a Caribbean heritage is systemic of a lack of representation within the UK research landscape [ 25 ].

Ethnicity question responses from a total of 260 respondents compared to distribution of the 13,085 UK engineering and technology (E&T) academic staff [ 22 ] and 56 million people recorded in the UK 2011 census data [ 36 ]

Under-representation of disabilities, chronic conditions, invisible illnesses and neurodiversity in funded activities and events.

Figure  7 (A) shows that 5.7%, 95% CI [2.4%, 8.9%] of 194 responses declared a disability. This is higher than the average of engineering and technology academics that identify as disabled (3.4%, 95% CI [3.2%, 3.7%] of 27,730 academics). Between Jan-March 2022, 9.0 million people of working age (16–64) within the UK were identified as disabled by the Office for National Statistics [ 40 ], which is 21% of the working age population [ 27 ]. Considering these statistics, there is a stark under-representation of disabilities, chronic conditions, invisible illnesses and neurodiversity amongst engineering and technology academic staff and those engaging in Connected Everything activities.

Responses to A  Disability and B  Care responsibilities questions colected from a total of 194 respondents

Between 2015 and 2020 academics that declared a disability have been less successful than academics without a disability in attracting UKRI and EPSRC funding, as shown in Fig.  3 (B). While Fig.  3 (B) shows that those who declare a disability have a higher Connected Everything funding award rate, the number of applicants who declared a disability was too small (< 5) to enable a meaningful discussion regarding this result.

Under-representation of those with care responsibilities in funded activities and events

In response to the care responsibilities question, Fig.  7 (B) shows that 27.3%, 95% CI [21.1%, 33.6%] of 194 respondents identified as carers, which is higher than the 6% of adults estimated to be providing informal care across the UK in a UK Government survey of the 2020/2021 financial year [ 41 ]. However, the ‘informal care’ definition used by the 2021 survey includes unpaid care to a friend or family member needing support, perhaps due to illness, older age, disability, a mental health condition or addiction [ 41 ]. The Connected Everything survey included care responsibilities across the spectrum of care that includes partners, children, other relatives, pets, friends and kin. It is important to consider a wide spectrum of care responsibilities, as key academic events, such as conferences, have previously been demonstrably exclusionary sites for academics with care responsibilities [ 42 ]. Breakdown analysis of the responses to care responsibilities by gender in Fig.  8 reveals that 37.8%, 95% CI [25.3%, 50.3%] of 58 women respondents reported care responsibilities, compared to 22.6%, 95% CI [61.1%, 76.7%] of 136 men respondents. Our findings reinforce similar studies that conclude the burden of care falls disproportionately on female academics [ 43 ].

Responses to care responsibilities when grouped by A  136 males and B  58 females

Figure  3 (D) shows that researchers with careering responsibilities applying for Connected Everything funding have a higher award rate than those researchers applying without care responsibilities. These results suggest that the Connected Everything review process is supportive of researchers with care responsibilities, who have faced barriers in other areas of academia.

Reduced opportunities for ECRs

Early-career researchers (ECRs) represent the transition stage between starting a PhD and senior academic positions. EPSRC defines an ECR as someone who is either within eight years of their PhD award, or equivalent professional training or within six years of their first academic appointment [ 44 ]. These periods exclude any career break, for example, due to family care; health reasons; and reasons related to COVID-19 such as home schooling or increased teaching load. The median age for starting a PhD in the UK is 24 to 25, while PhDs usually last between three and four years [ 45 ]. Therefore, these data would imply that the EPSRC median age of ECRs is between 27 and 37 years. It should be noted, however, that this definition is not ideal and excludes ECRs who may have started their research career later in life.

Connected Everything aims to support ECRs via measures that include mentoring support, workshops, summer schools and podcasts. Figure  9 shows a greater representation of researchers engaging with Connected Everything activities that are aged between 30–44 (62.4%, 95% CI [55.6%, 69.2%] of 194 respondents) when compared to the wider engineering and technology academic community (43.7%, 95% CI [43.1%, 44.3%] of 27,780 academics) and UK population (26.9%, 95% CI [26.9%, 26.9%]).

Age question responses from a total of 194 respondents compared to distribution of the 27,780 UK engineering and technology (E&T) academic staff [ 22 ] and 56 million people recorded in the UK 2011 census data [ 36 ]

High competition for funding has a greater impact on ECRs

Figure  10 shows that the largest age bracket applying for and winning Connected Everything funding is 31–45, whereas 72%, CI 95% [70.1%, 74.5%] of 12,075 researchers awarded EPSRC grants between 2015 and 2021 were 40 years or older. These results suggest that measures introduced by Connected Everything has been successful at providing funding opportunities for researchers who are likely to be early-mid career stage.

Age of researchers at applicant and awarded funding stages for A  Connected Everything between 2019–2022 (total of 146 applicants and 23 awarded) and B  EPSRC funding between 2015–2021 [ 35 ] (total of 35,780 applicants and 12,075 awarded)

The results of this paper provide insights into the impact that Connected Everything’s planned mitigations have had on promoting equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in research and funding. Collecting EDI data from individuals who engage with network activities and apply for research funding enabled an evaluation of whether these mitigations have been successful in achieving the intended outcomes outlined at the start of the study, as summarised in Table  2 .

The results in Table  2 indicate that Connected Everything’s approach to EDI has helped achieve the intended outcome to improve representation of women, ECRs, those with a declared disability and black/minority ethnic backgrounds engaging with network events when compared to the engineering and technology academic community. In addition, the network has helped raise awareness of the high presence of researchers with care responsibilities at network events, which can help to track progress towards making future events inclusive and accessible towards these carers. The data highlights two areas for improvement: (1) ensuring a gender balance; and (2) increasing representation of those with declared disabilities. Both these discrepancies are indicative of the wider imbalances and underrepresentation of these groups in the engineering and technology academic community [ 26 ], yet represent areas where networks can strive to make a difference. Possible strategies include: using targeted outreach; promoting greater representation of these groups in event speakers; and going further to create a welcoming and inclusive environment. One barrier that can disproportionately affect women researchers is the need to balance care responsibilities with attending network events [ 46 ]. This was reflected in the Connected Everything data that reported 37.8%, 95% CI [25.3%, 50.3%] of women engaging with network activities had care responsibilities, compared to 22.6%, 95% CI [61.1%, 76.7%] of men. Providing accommodations such as on-site childcare, flexible scheduling, or virtual attendance options can therefore help to promote inclusivity and allow more women researchers to attend.

Only 5.7%, 95% CI [2.4%, 8.9%] of responses engaging with Connected Everything declared a disability, which is higher than the engineering and technology academic community (3.4%, 95% CI [3.2%, 3.7%]) [ 26 ], but unrepresentative of the wider UK population. It has been suggested that academics can be uncomfortable when declaring disabilities because scholarly contributions and institutional citizenship are so prized that they feel they cannot be honest about their issues or health concerns and keep them secret [ 47 ]. In research networks, it is important to be mindful of this hidden group within higher education and ensure that measures are put in place to make the network’s activities inclusive to all. Future considerations for accommodations to improve research events inclusivity include: improving physical accessibility of events; providing assistive technology such as screen readers, audio descriptions, and captioning can help individuals with visual or hearing impairments to access and participate; providing sign language interpreters; offering flexible scheduling options; and the provision of quiet rooms, written materials in accessible formats, and support staff trained to work with individuals with cognitive disabilities.

Connected Everything introduced measures (e.g., anonymised reviewing process, Q&A sessions before funding calls, inclusive design of panel pitch) to help address inequalities in how funding is awarded. Table 2 shows success in reducing the dominance of researchers who identify as male and research-intensive universities in winning research funding and that researchers with care responsibilities were more successful at winning funding than those without care responsibilities. The data revealed that the proposed measures were unable to address the inequality in award rates between white and ethnic minority researchers, which is an area to look to improve. The inequality appears to occur during the anonymous review stage, with a greater proportion of white researchers being invited to panel. Recommendations to make the review process fairer include: ensuring greater diversity of reviewers; reviewer anti-bias training; and automatic adjustments to correct for known biases in writing style [ 16 , 32 ].

When reflecting on the development of a strategy to embed EDI throughout the network, Connected Everything has learned several key lessons that may benefit other networks undergoing a similar activity. These include:

EDI is never ‘done’: There is a constant need to review approaches to EDI to ensure they remain relevant to the network community. Connected Everything could review its principles to include the concept of justice in its approach to diversity and inclusion. The concept of justice concerning EDI refers to the removal of systematic barriers that stop fair and equitable distribution of resources and opportunities among all members of society, regardless of their individual characteristics or backgrounds. The principles and subsequent actions could be reviewed against the EDI expectations [ 14 ], paying particular attention to areas where barriers may still be present. For example, shifting from welcoming people into existing structures and culture to creating new structures and culture together, with specific emphasis on decision or advisory mechanisms within the network. This activity could lend itself to focusing more on tailored support to overcome barriers, thus achieving equity, if it is not within the control of the network to remove the barrier itself (justice).

Widen diversity categories: By collecting data on a broad range of characteristics, we can identify and address disparities and biases that might otherwise be overlooked. A weakness of this dataset is that ignores the experience of those with intersectional identities, across race, ethnicity, gender, class, disability and/ or LGBTQI. The Wellcome Trust noted how little was known about the socio-economic background of scientists and researchers [ 48 ].

Collect data on whole research teams: For the first two calls for feasibility study funding, Connected Everything only asked the Principal Investigator to voluntarily provide their data. We realised that this was a limited approach and, in the third call, asked for the data regarding the whole research team to be shared anonymously. Furthermore, we do not currently measure the diversity of our event speakers, panellists or reviewers. Collecting these data in the future will help to ensure the network is accountable and will ensure that all groups are represented during our activities and in the funding decision-making process.

High response rate: Previous surveys measuring network diversity (e.g., [ 7 ]) have struggled to get responses when surveying their memberships; whereas, this study achieved a response rate of 73.8%. We attribute this high response rate to sending EDI data requests on the point of contact with the network (e.g., on submitting funding proposals or after attending network events), rather than trying to survey the entire network membership at anyone point in time.

Improve administration: The administration associated with collecting EDI data requires a commitment to transparency, inclusivity, and continuous improvement. For example, during the first feasibility funding call, Connected Everything made it clear that the review process would be anonymous, but the application form was not in separate documents. This made anonymising the application forms extremely time-consuming. For the subsequent calls, separate documents were created – Part A for identifying information (Principal Investigator contact details, Project Team and Industry collaborators) and Part B for the research idea.

Accepting that this can be uncomfortable: Trying to improve EDI can be uncomfortable because it often requires challenging our assumptions, biases, and existing systems and structures. However, it is essential if we want to make real progress towards equity and inclusivity. Creating processes to support embedding EDI takes time and Connected Everything has found it is rare to get it right the first time. Connected Everything is sharing its learning as widely as possible both to support others in their approaches and continue our learning as we reflect on how to continually improve, even when it is challenging.

Enabling individual engagement with EDI: During this work, Connected Everything recognised that methods for engaging with such EDI issues in research design and delivery are lacking. Connected Everything, with support from the Future Food Beacon of Excellence at the University of Nottingham, set out to develop a card-based tool [ 49 ] to help researchers and stakeholders identify questions around how their work may promote equity and increase inclusion or have a negative impact towards one or more protected groups and how this can be overcome. The results of this have been shared at conference presentations [ 50 ] and will be published later.

While this study provides insights into how EDI can be improved in research network activities and funding processes, it is essential to acknowledge several limitations that may impact the interpretation of the findings.

Sample size and generalisability: A total of 260 responses were received, which may not be representative of our overall network of 500 + members. Nevertheless, this data provides a sense of the current diversity engaging in Connected Everything activities and funding opportunities, which we can compare with other available data to steer action to further diversify the network.

Handling of missing data: Out of the 260 responses, 66 data points were missing for questions regarding age, disability, and caring responsibilities. These questions were mistakenly omitted from a Connected Everything summer school survey, contributing to 62 missing data points. While we assumed the remainer of missing data to be at random during analysis, it's important to acknowledge it could be related to other factors, potentially introducing bias into our results.

Emphasis on quantitative data: The study relies on using quantitative data to evaluate the impact of the EDI measures introduced by Connected Everything. However, relying solely on quantitative metrics may overlook nuanced aspects of EDI that cannot be easily quantified. For example, EDI encompasses multifaceted issues influenced by historical, cultural, and contextual factors. These nuances may not be fully captured by numbers alone. In addition, some EDI efforts may not yield immediate measurable outcomes but still contribute to a more inclusive environment.

Diversity and inclusion are not synonymous: The study proposes 21 measures to contribute towards creating an equal, diverse and inclusive research culture and collects diversity data to measure the impact of these measures. However, while diversity is simpler to monitor, increasing diversity alone does not guarantee equality or inclusion. Even with diverse research groups, individuals from underrepresented groups may still face barriers, microaggressions, or exclusion.

Balancing anonymity and rigour in grant reviews:The proposed anonymous review process proposed by Connected Everything removes personal and organisational details from the research ideas under reviewer evaluation. However, there exists a possibility that a reviewer could discern the identity of the grant applicant based on the research idea. Reviewers are expected to be subject matter experts in the field relevant to the grant proposal they are evaluating. Given the specialised nature of scientific research, it is conceivable that a well-known applicant could be identified through the specifics of the work, the methodologies employed, and even the writing style.

Expanding gender identity options: A limitation of this study emerged from the restricted gender options (male, female, other, prefer not to say) provided to respondents when answering the gender identity question. This limitation reflects the context of data collection in 2018, a time when diversity monitoring guidance was still limited. As our understanding of gender identity evolves beyond binary definitions, future data collection efforts should embrace a more expansive and inclusive approach, recognising the diverse spectrum of gender identities.

In conclusion, this study provides evidence of the effectiveness of a research network's approach to promoting equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in research and funding. By collecting EDI data from individuals who engage with network activities and apply for research funding, this study has shown that the network's initiatives have had a positive impact on representation and fairness in the funding process. Specifically, the analysis reveals that the network is successful at engaging with ECRs, and those with care responsibilities and has a diverse range of ethnicities represented at Connected Everything events. Additionally, the network activities have a more equal gender balance and greater representation of researchers with disabilities when compared to the engineering and technology academic community, though there is still an underrepresentation of these groups compared to the national population.

Connected Everything introduced measures to help address inequalities in how funding is awarded. The measures introduced helped reduce the dominance of researchers who identified as male and research-intensive universities in winning research funding. Additionally, researchers with care responsibilities were more successful at winning funding than those without care responsibilities. However, inequality persisted with white researchers achieving higher award rates than those from ethnic minority backgrounds. Recommendations to make the review process fairer include: ensuring greater diversity of reviewers; reviewer anti-bias training; and automatic adjustments to correct for known biases in writing style.

Connected Everything’s approach to embedding EDI in network activities has already been shared widely with other EPSRC-funded networks and Hubs (e.g. the UKRI Circular Economy Hub and the UK Acoustics Network Plus). The network hopes that these findings will inform broader efforts to promote EDI in research and funding and that researchers, funders, and other stakeholders will be encouraged to adopt evidence-based strategies for advancing this important goal.

Availability of data and materials

The data collected was anonymously, however, it may be possible to identify an individual by combining specific records of the data request form data. Therefore, the study data has been presented in aggregate form to protect the confidential of individuals and the data utilised in this study cannot be made openly accessible due to ethical obligations to protect the privacy and confidentiality of the data providers.

Abbreviations

Early career researcher

Equality, diversity and inclusion

Engineering physical sciences research council

UK research and innovation

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the support Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) [grant number EP/S036113/1], Connected Everything II: Accelerating Digital Manufacturing Research Collaboration and Innovation. The authors would also like to gratefully acknowledge the Connected Everything Executive Group for their contribution towards developing Connected Everything’s equality, diversity and inclusion strategy.

This work was supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) [grant number EP/S036113/1].

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Food, Water, Waste Research Group, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, UK

Oliver J. Fisher

Human Factors Research Group, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, UK

Debra Fearnshaw & Sarah Sharples

School of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK

Nicholas J. Watson

School of Engineering, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK

Peter Green

Centre for Circular Economy, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK

Fiona Charnley

Institute for Manufacturing, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

Duncan McFarlane

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OJF analysed and interpreted the data, and was the lead author in writing and revising the manuscript. DF led the data acquisition and supported the interpretation of the data. DF was also a major contributor to the design of the equality diversity and inclusion (EDI) strategy proposed in this work. NJW supported the design of the EDI strategy and was a major contributor in reviewing and revising the manuscript. PG supported the design of the EDI strategy, and was a major contributor in reviewing and revising the manuscript. FC supported the design of the EDI strategy and the interpretation of the data. DM supported the design of the EDI strategy. SS led the development EDI strategy proposed in this work, and was a major contributor in data interpretation and reviewing and revising the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Fisher, O.J., Fearnshaw, D., Watson, N.J. et al. Promoting equality, diversity and inclusion in research and funding: reflections from a digital manufacturing research network. Res Integr Peer Rev 9 , 5 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41073-024-00144-w

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Virome Sequencing Identifies H5N1 Avian Influenza in Wastewater from Nine Cities

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Avian influenza (serotype H5N1) is a highly pathogenic virus that emerged in domestic waterfowl in 1996. Over the past decade, zoonotic transmission to mammals, including humans, has been reported. Although human to human transmission is rare, infection has been fatal in nearly half of patients who have contracted the virus in past outbreaks. The increasing presence of the virus in domesticated animals raises substantial concerns that viral adaptation to immunologically naïve humans may result in the next flu pandemic. Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) to track viruses was historically used to track polio and has recently been implemented for SARS-CoV2 monitoring during the COVID-19 pandemic. Here, using an agnostic, hybrid-capture sequencing approach, we report the detection of H5N1 in wastewater in nine Texas cities, with a total catchment area population in the millions, over a two-month period from March 4 th to April 25 th , 2024. Sequencing reads uniquely aligning to H5N1 covered all eight genome segments, with best alignments to clade 2.3.4.4b. Notably, 19 of 23 monitored sites had at least one detection event, and the H5N1 serotype became dominant over seasonal influenza over time. A variant analysis suggests avian or bovine origin but other potential sources, especially humans, could not be excluded. We report the value of wastewater sequencing to track avian influenza.

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This work was supported by S.B. 1780, 87th Legislature, 2021 Reg. Sess. (Texas 2021) (E.B., A.W.M., and J.F.P.), NIH/NIAID (Grant number U19 AI44297) (A.W.M.), Baylor College of Medicine Melnick Seed (A.W.M) and Alkek Foundation Seed (J.F.P.), and Pandemic Threat Technology Center (P.A.P.).

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Engineering student works to improve water infrastructure

Tolulope odunola is driven to make an impact in developing communities.

After earning her bachelor's degree in civil engineering at a premier university in Nigeria, Tolulope Odunola became fascinated by the world of hydrology and water systems and set off to continue her education in environmental engineering.

She came to the University of Cincinnati for her master's degree, and the experience left such an impact she stayed for her doctorate, working under the guidance of Patrick Ray, associate professor of environmental engineering.

Odunola was named Graduate Student Engineer of the Month by the College of Engineering and Applied Science. 

Why did you choose UC?

My journey to the University of Cincinnati was quite an interesting one. I grew up in Nigeria and after earning a bachelor's degree in civil engineering, I was convinced that I needed both the exposure and improved skillset that an overseas graduate education would provide. The University of Cincinnati was not on my list initially, but upon recommendation, I browsed through the school's website and faculty profiles in my program of choice. 

After I arrived at UC, I was captivated by the beautiful architecture on campus and the diversity of nationalities represented here.

Tolulope Odunola, Graduate Student Engineer of the Month

Tolulope Odunola

My quick survey of the university revealed that UC held much promise for my development academically and careerwise, so I did not delay in submitting my application for a master's degree in environmental engineering .

I applied to UC a few days before the deadline in 2019 and I am so glad I made the right choice. After I arrived, I was captivated by the beautiful architecture on campus and the diversity of nationalities represented here. 

Why did you choose your field of study?

I am pursuing my doctorate in environmental engineering after obtaining my master's degree in the same program in 2022. I have a bachelor's degree in civil engineering, and the little story of how I ended up in the field of engineering begins when I was in high school. Back then, I enjoyed science and mathematics, but I also loved fine arts and technical drawing, so I wanted a discipline that combined both innovative creativity and computation prowess. I explored the field of environmental design first and considered architecture, but I eventually decided on civil engineering, in part due to the broader scope of the field. 

As an undergraduate student, I learned about the environmental aspects of civil engineering. With time, water and environmental engineering began to stand out to me amongst other areas of specialization. I observed that there was still much room to contribute to the practice of environmental engineering in Nigeria, as well as to improve the standards, management, and sustainability practices of water resources and waste management systems. By the final year of my undergraduate program, I decided I would go onto graduate school to learn more about environmental engineering and gain skills in the area. This is how I ended up at UC in the Water Systems Analysis group under the supervision of Dr. Patrick Ray. 

Briefly describe your research work. What problems do you hope to solve?

Under the guidance of Dr. Patrick Ray, Tolulope Odunola has presented her research at several conferences, including the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting.

My research is focused on improving the economic evaluation of water resource projects under changing climate conditions.

My goal is to make significant contributions to decision science. The design, planning and operation of water projects like irrigation dams and water supply networks is affected by climate change because the amount of water that will be available in the future for such projects is uncertain.

While climate science has advanced in recent years, there is still room for improvement to standard economic evaluation using climate vulnerability assessment methodologies.

My research aims to provide decision makers in water resources engineering with robust analysis frameworks, tools, and decision metrics for confident investment decisions under climate uncertainty. I am also exploring spatial and distributional equity considerations in economic evaluation under climate change.

Odunola is advised by Associate Professor of Environmental Engineering, Patrick Ray.

Research at UC has been positively demanding and rewarding. I am thankful for my adviser, Patrick Ray , who introduced me to the world of development projects planning, climate vulnerability assessment and decision science.

I have enjoyed working on practical projects, learning new skills, and collaborating with multidisciplinary project teams. For instance, I was funded by the Millennium Challenge Corporation for three years which introduced me to the work culture in a typical development agency.

I have learned to present my research to a non-technical audience and to understand and be considerate of different perspectives of water engineering systems modeling under climate change. I have had to think like an economist, an urban planner and an agronomist while building my hydrological models and approaching scenario analysis under climate change, for example.

I would say this is one of the blessings of graduate school — it eliminates myopic approaches to anything in life, research included. 

What are some of the most impactful experiences during your time at UC?

I have been privileged to attend and present at the American Geophysical Union fall meeting several times as well as the American Society of Civil Engineers' EWRI Congress. These conferences inspired and encouraged me to work harder on my research and make significant contributions to both science and industry. There was also the additional advantage of visiting and touring new cities during the conferences. 

Traveling for work and presentation sessions at the Millennium Challenge Corporation office in Washington, D.C., had a huge impact on me. I once toured D.C. with my family as a teenager. To return almost a decade later for work as a graduate student was amazing, to say the least. As you can expect, I took a selfie with a caption of my thoughts on the busy morning streets of D.C. and shared it with my family back home in Nigeria. 

What are a few of your accomplishments of which you are most proud?

Winning the Outstanding Student Presentation Award for the Hydrology Section at the AGU Fall Meeting in 2023, and the 2024 People's Choice Award at the University of Cincinnati's three-minute thesis competition are definitely at the top of my list.

I also have been a two-time recipient of the American Water Works Association Ohio Chapter Graduate Scholarship. Recently, I was awarded the Graduate Student Government Research Fellowship.

I am deeply grateful for the honor that accompanies these feats, but equally important and impactful was the process leading up to these awards during which I developed my research dissemination, writing, and presentation skills. 

When do you expect to graduate? What are your plans after earning your degree?

I aim to graduate within the next year and my plan is the same as it was in the fall of 2019 when I arrived at UC: to make an impact in human communities, one sustainable water resource project at a time. I look forward to being employed in the water industry as a water resource analyst and planner, and specifically I hope to work in an international development or foreign aid agency to provide developing countries with water infrastructure that is robust to uncertainties such as climate change. 

Do you have any other hobbies or involvements you'd like to share?

Outside of research, I enjoy reading historical fiction novels, creative writing, and exploring the beauty of nature. UC has also afforded me many leadership opportunities.

First, with the Nigerian Students' Association where I served as Secretary and three-time Electoral Committee Chairperson. Also, I have served for two tenures as the Vice President of my department's Graduate Student Association.

Plus, I had growth, leadership, and ministry opportunities by serving with Every Nation here at UC. I will always be grateful for the relationships I have made as a graduate student at UC; my church family, research group colleagues, Nigerian friends who made Cincinnati a home away from home, and several others too numerous to mention!

Featured image at top:  Tolulope Odunola is studying ways to improve the infrastructure that provides clean drinking water. He was named UC's Graduate Student Engineer of the Month by the College of Engineering and Applied Science. Photo/Pixabay

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