CGS-M grant in Canada; research proposal questions

[alex1_2_3]

I'm applying to a few clinical psychology schools in Canada and so am applying for the CGS-M grant from the tricouncil. Does anyone here have experience with this particular grant?

I need some pointers for the research proposal (part of the application) also which I imagine is pretty standard. What degree of specificity do they require? Does anyone have an example I can read? Thanks!

 

[Guest |||]

The first thing to do, is to ensure you apply to the correct funding body.  Tri-council consists of NSERC, SSHRC and CIHR, each of which fund different kinds of research, so

 

http://www.science.gc.ca/default.asp?lang=En&n=FEE7261A-1

 

Double check and see where you should be applying as each will demand different things in the application.

 

The research proposal while being a standard part of the application, is non the less a vital part for which you won't find a formula on how to easily write.  You are given a small amount of space and need to demonstrate why your work belongs to that particular field, why it merits funding, whether or not the project is feasible and has solid methodology and lastly, if anyone should care at all.

 

Specificity wise, you are writing to an educated audience but not one composed of professionals on your particular topic of interest - so yes you should explain specialized jargon.

 

 

There are numerous online tutorials and videos that might be helpful to you as well

 

 

[TakeruK]

I've applied (and was successful) for both the NSERC CGS-M and CGS-D over the past few years. In addition to what NicholasCage already said, I think it's helpful to contact a prof (maybe one that you might even work with) and discuss your proposal idea with them. I find that a lot of times, as students, it's hard for us to understand the scope of a graduate level project and what is actually achievable in the short time of our degrees. Also, the profs come with a large wealth of experience and background knowledge that you might not know. You don't want to be proposing to do a project that has been done before, or that tons of others have tried but failed (unless you knew this and can show why your project will be different). So, work with a prof on this part, if you can!

 

Otherwise, I think the goal of the research proposal should be to:

1. Demonstrate that you have thought about the topic and are familiar with the background. In my proposals, I cited previous work by others and demonstrated what we already know in order to set up the research problem I will tackle.

2. Demonstrate that you know what to do in your project and what difficulties you anticipate. I think it's important to not be vague here -- explain what you will be doing clearly, cite papers using these methods if possible. It's better to use proven methods or justify why your new methods will work and/or are necessary. However, remember that your audience are just generally in the same field, not necessarily familiar with all of the methods in your subfield. So, try to explain it in the most accessible terms possible (general scientific jargon is fine because they are all scientists but avoid very specific jargon).

3. Your application will be evaluated as a whole too, so it would be great if the rest of your application shows that you have the skills and experience necessary to do the work you want to do. That is, they are looking for something that is doable

4. Finally, you should explain how this project will add to your field. Why would it be interesting to others?

 

Also, don't forget that you are not committed to actually completing this project. So, you don't actually have to do the work to get the award, it's mostly there to show that you can think of and propose a project. You will just have to make sure that your actual project is within the scope of whatever committee you are applying to. This might be tricky though, because if you change your project too much you might not get the funding in the end (if one agency decides your project is more like CIHR, for example). So, if you do have an exact project in mind, definitely go with that, but remember that you do have a bit of flexibility.