A proposal writing workshop will be held on Thursday, February 8th. An electronic copy of the proposal guide and the workshop handout can be found here.

The purpose of the research proposal is to encourage you to think about how your individual projects fit into the "big picture" of Puget Sound. Clearly state the problem to be addressed or hypothesis to be tested, explain why your proposed research is important, and detail your plans for the OCN 444 cruise and subsequent analyses of samples. Be sure to demonstrate a basic familiarity with published work relating to the problem. The proposal should sum up your individual scientific goal(s) for the course. The style/format used for the proposal (and for your OCN 444 paper next quarter) is that of the journal Limnology and Oceanography. Alternatively, you can use the L&O style guide, edited and abridged specifically for Ocean 443/444. A collection of past research proposals has been placed on reserve in the Fisheries-Oceanography Library so that you can see what your predecessors produced.

The proposal should consist of the following main sections:

Title Page: Give the title of your research project, your name, address, phone, e-mail address and the date. (Home phone numbers and e-mail addresses may be used to contact you before and during the cruise in the event of schedule changes/emergencies)

Project Summary: In a one paragraph summary of the proposal, briefly and clearly state the objectives of the proposed work, succinctly describe the methods and approach to be used in accomplishing the objectives, and provide a rationale for the research.

Introduction: Give a description of the problem you are addressing and place it in the broad perspective of its importance to marine science, environmental policy, etc. State the questions you are asking and try to frame your research goal in terms of an hypothesis that is to be tested in the proposed work that follows. Review the current state of knowledge concerning the problem and briefly summarize previous applicable research. Why is it important to do more research on the problem?

Proposed Research: Description of the research that you will do in the context of the hypothesis stated in the previous section. Give a thorough description of the field and laboratory methods that will be used and be sure to cite relevant literature. You should address the time, duration, and sequence of your shipboard sampling and observations. Show how your proposed work will allow a test of your hypothesis. In addition, describe how your expected results should complement (and be complemented by) measurements to be made by others.

Other things to include in this section would be:

1) charts and tables showing sections, lines, station descriptions,

2) description of on-cruise and post-cruise analyses to be conducted,

3) any important special considerations for collection and/or analysis of samples or data that might constrain your work.

Examples of this latter category might be

1) the need to begin shore-based analyses within a short time after sample collection or

2) the need for a key piece or type of information from another investigator before you can effectively accomplish your cruise/research goals.

Project Budget: A tabular summary of all costs associated with carrying out your work. This should include ship time, equipment rental, supplies and expendables, analytical costs, etc. Rental charges for all pooled equipment, including the small boat (Wee Lander), together with costs for chemical analyses, are on the Technical Services web site. Use a cost of $22,000/day for Thompson. Clearly indicate which are real project costs and which items (such as Thompson time are being provided at no charge to your project budget.

References: Complete list of all publications cited in your proposal. Use the format given in the Limnology and Oceanography style guide.

To ensure that you stay on track, a typed draft of your proposal is due on Monday, 26 February. Do not hesitate to consult with us, or/and hand us earlier drafts.

Your full proposal is to be submitted by 5 PM on Friday 9 March. Different options may require additional submission methods (i.e. hard copy, e-submit, Word document via e-mail attachment, etc.). See your Option adviser for details. There is no length limit for the proposal, but 5-6 pages (double-spaced) not including references, figures, and tables, might be sufficient. Please make a copy for your own use.

Submission of an acceptable proposal will be the prerequisite for taking part in the OCN 444 cruise.