Objective: Introduce a topic and research approach by identifying questions to be answered or hypotheses to be investigated.

Where it's found: In academic research that is conducted over an extended period, the proposal is usually written before research begins in order to inform advisors, colleagues, and potential funders of the study and solicit their feedback. After research is finished, the proposal is usually revised heavily and transformed into the introductory section of the final work.

Tone of writing: Practical, straightforward and to the point. The topic and the intellectual debates/traditions that accompany it are described in just enough detail to make the proposed questions or hypotheses understandable to the reader. Any further elaboration should be left to subsequent sections of the final work (such as the "relevance of the work" section).

Weight given to scholarly discussion: Incorporate scholarly literature or ideas only as needed to make the topic and proposed questions or hypotheses understandable to the reader. At the earliest stage of research, the very pretext for the study (i.e., a term paper in a specific course) is often sufficient to convey its scholarly relevance.

Weight given to empirical material: The research proposal includes a large element of preliminary research. Present the basic descriptive facts of the topic (for this assignment, your case-study corporation or economic organization). The topic's connections to other key empirical issues (for instance, the 2012 elections) are introduced but not definitively determined; instead, those connections are phrased as questions or hypotheses for study.

Weight given to personal references: Before research has begun, it's sometimes preferable to use first-person references ("I propose to study...", "my interests in this topic...", etc.) so as to give readers a concrete sense of what you hope to achieve with your study, and how they might help you do that.

Breadth vs. depth of argument: In its intellectual objective, the research proposal is almost all big picture. Specific details are introduced only to clarify the domain of the topic (e.g., the period of a corporation under specific leadership, a political controversy). Depth of analysis occurs after the research proposal, once questions/hypotheses and methods lead you to specific issues, methods and findings.

Tricks of the trade: The research proposal is your plan for action and should be periodically consulted once research has begun. This plan will be most effective if you can develop specific questions or hypotheses for study, but those can be difficult to articulate if the research is open-ended or exploratory in nature. As your research progresses and you find an angle or issue that's most interesting to pursue, go back to the proposal and rewrite your questions or hypotheses in more pointed form. This will keep your research on track and help you greatly in writing the introductory section of the final work.