NiNi
Sign in

Example library

Research proposal examples

Four worked research proposal examples, written the way NiNi writes them: a problem worth arguing about, questions that can actually be answered, a design that matches the question, and limitations stated plainly. Read them in full, then run your own question through the same six steps.

Start with your own topicWatch a full journey replay
Education / Learning sciences

Everyday AI Use and the Learning Ability of College Students

A one-year mixed-methods study of undergraduates that separates AI used as a shortcut from AI used as a tutor, and measures what each does to unaided problem solving.

Mixed methods (panel survey + think-aloud tasks) · Master's or first-year doctoralManagement / Organisational behaviour

Distance and Idea Flow: Remote Work and Team Innovation

An archival study of collaboration logs paired with a quarterly survey, testing whether remote teams lose novelty or simply relocate it to weak ties.

Quantitative, archival + survey · DoctoralPublic health / Environmental epidemiology

Urban Heat Islands and Emergency Department Demand

A case-crossover study linking neighbourhood-level canopy and surface temperature to emergency visits, aimed at making a planting budget defensible.

Quantitative, time-series · Master'sHumanities / Applied linguistics

What Interpretation Leaves Out: Migrant Testimony in Asylum Hearings

A discourse-analytic study of interpreted hearing transcripts, tracing how hedging, repair and narrative order are reshaped in interpretation.

Qualitative, discourse analysis · Doctoral

How to use these examples

  • Read the problem statement first. A proposal is accepted or rejected on whether the problem is real, not on whether the method is elaborate.
  • Check that each research question could be answered wrongly. A question with only one possible answer is a summary, not a study.
  • Match design to question rather than to preference — the case-crossover example exists because that question needed within-person control, not because it is fashionable.
  • Write limitations before you need them. Reviewers trust a proposal that names its own weak points.

These examples carry no reference lists on purpose. In a real NiNi draft, every citation comes from a live search of OpenAlex, Crossref and current news for your specific question — nothing is invented to fill a page.