 Have you heard your professors or research mentors mention the word proposal but you're not really sure what a proposal is? This video will walk you through the basics. What are proposals? An easy way to think about proposals is to remember this basic formula. Proposal equals title plus abstract. This basic formula is applicable for any discipline. Why are proposals important? Proposals are often a required element in applications for presenting, publishing, or showcasing your research. The goal of the proposal is to introduce readers to your research and to make them excited with the hope they'll want to read or learn more about it. For these reasons and more, the proposal is often viewed as the gateway to participating in research locally, nationally, and internationally. Who should write proposals? Any student interested in participating in undergraduate research or in presenting or publishing their research should be learning to write proposals. How are proposals useful? In most cases, proposals are useful far beyond the acceptance of the research. Think back to that formula mentioned earlier, proposal equals title plus abstract. When we move into the realm of published research, the title and the abstract become the most visible elements of research to peer reviewers or selection committees, other researchers, and the outside world. They become the most visible because the title is always shown in the results list of a database. Also, many people read the abstract to determine if the source is relevant to their research. This means researchers will make initial decisions on your research from the title and the abstract. When do proposals need to be written? If your proposal is part of a class, often the proposal is an assignment with a due date. However, in the real world, including the undergraduate research symposiums here on campus, researchers learn about opportunities via calls for proposals, also known as CFPs. CFPs can come from a variety of places, such as professional organizations and societies holding annual conferences or journals looking for articles on a particular topic for a special issue. Regardless of where they come from, CFPs often have clear guidelines for submission, such as the due date or submission length. If you have any questions about proposals, be sure to ask your professor or librarian for help.