Sigma Xi: The Scientific Research Society: Tips for Preparing a Successful Application

Grants-in-Aid of Research

Information for Applicants

Application Guidelines

Application

Preparing a Successful Application

Information for Reference Writers

Follow-up Report Form

Program Information

Programs » Grants-in-Aid of Research » Tips

Preparing a Successful Application

Application decisions are based on the strength of three key elements of a grant proposal: Proposed Investigation, Budget, References. Below are suggestions for each section.

You should also view the Grant-in-Aid of Research Evaluation Form to see how reviewers grade proposals.

In addition, view the Sample Application to see how questions are presented on the application. DO NOT begin a live application just to view the application details.

Proposed Investigation

The Proposed Investigation Section is limited to 500 words — be thorough but concise.
Formal citations are not required in the Proposed Investigation section. Literature used to prepare the proposal or research project may be listed in the Literature Citation section and does not count towards to 500 word limit in the Proposed Investigation.
Compose your proposal offline and seek advice from your research advisor on how best to present your research
You may return to edit your proposal any time before the application deadline.
State your goals, hypothesis and/or research question clearly.
State the background information in your proposal very briefly. Avoid the common pitfall of presenting too much background and neglecting to develop methods and objectives.
Describe your methods clearly, showing how they are used to address your hypothesis or research question.
Indicate the significance of this research and how your study contributes to the big picture of research in your field of study.
If the proposed work is part of an ongoing project, clearly state how your work meshes with the larger project and how your proposed work is a unique contribution.
Uploading your Proposed Investigation: your proposal must be uploaded through the online form as an RTF file (save as .rtf in your word processing program). Do not include images, figures or tables.
Tables, figures and images: You may include 1 page of these items in your application. Captions on this page do not count towards the 500 word limit. Save the additional page as a .rtf or .pdf file and send it via e-mail to giar@sigmaxi.org DO NOT INCLUDE tables, figures or images in the .rtf upload of your Proposed Investigation as this is likely to cause the file to upload incorrectly.

Budget

Make certain that budget items fit within the scope of the GIAR Program. Inappropriate budget requests are the number one reason for denying funding. See the Guidelines Page for more information
Items in your budget should clearly relate to the methodology described in your Proposed Investigation section.
Prepare a budget that shows the full scope of your project (or your work on a larger project)
Highlight expenses you wish Sigma Xi to fund.
Include justifications for expenses for items that may not normally receive funding See Guidelines Page for more information
Appropriate formatting for a budget would look something like:

Full Project Budget
$5,000 – Including Item A, Item B, and Item C. (Please see Other Funding Sources for more information)

Items Requested from Sigma Xi
$200 – Travel to Research Site – 400 miles @ .50 per mile
$100 – Supply Item 1
$100 – Supply Item 2 (10 @ $10 each)
$600 – Computer Equipment Purchase*
$1,000 – Total Requested From Sigma Xi

*Budget Explanation for Item that is a Funding Exception according to Sigma Xi Funding Guidelines

Note on Formatting: Please note that the confirmation page displays the information you entered in your application in an unformatted version. The print version of your application will retain the formatting of your budget. DO NOT attempt to paste a table in the budget section as that formatting will not be retained.

References

References are due three business days after the application deadline. With this in mind, it is vital that you begin your application some time before the deadline date in order to give references time to compose and submit their letters.
References are contacted by email using the name and email addresses you provide when creating the application. Have reference email addresses when you start the application.
Your first reference should be your primary research advisor (where possible)
The second reference may be a reference who can comment on your abilities as a researcher or your academic performance
Both references should be professional researchers or educators and not fellow students
References email instructions include a link to Information for Reference Writers. Viewing this page may help you determine who could best provide a suitable reference for your application.

Final Suggestions:

Note your Grant ID Number on the Confirmation Page as you will need this to log back into your application.
Meet the deadlines: March 15 and October 15 annually. This means that your application and both letters of recommendation must be received by these dates.
After you begin your application, you may log back in to make edits and upload new .rtf proposal files any time before the deadline.
You may log back into your application to verify that references have been submitted. If they have not, you may send an email reminder to references by clicking on the appropriate button near the contact information for that reference.
Confirmation Page: Each time you submit or make an edit, you will be taken to a confirmation page that displays the information you entered. Although this page displays the information unformatted, your formatting will be maintained in the print version of your application.
Confirm .RTF Upload: the Confirmation Page includes a hyperlink to the .rtf Proposal file you uploaded. Click on the link to very that the file uploaded correctly. It is your obligation to make certain that the file is correct.