A Systematic Guide to Write a Scholarly Research Proposal in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Abstract

This traditional narrative review provides a systematic guideline for developing scholarly research proposals and transitioning them into final research reports, with its specific focus on the challenges and opportunities presented by generative AI era. The intent of this review is that proposal writing remains a fundamentally creative, non-generative process despite technological advances. The study addresses three primary objectives is to examine the core constituents, functions, and challenges of research proposal writing—particularly topic novelty, structural integrity, and the proposal-to-publication transition, to identify the most frequent methodological and ethical requirements in research propositions, and to delineate the structural and functional distinctions between research proposals and research reports to inform best practices in scholarly writing. Synthesizing recent literature (2024–2026) with established frameworks, the review proposes that successful proposal development integrates systematic gap identification, stakeholder-driven prioritization, narrative-based discovery, and computational novelty assessment. Key findings indicate that research proposals serve not merely as bureaucratic mandates but as persuasive, planning, and ethical accountability documents that shape research trajectories. The paper concludes that mastery of proposal writing constitutes a critical scholarly competency in an increasingly competitive, impact-driven academic landscape, and offers a practical guide for early-career researchers navigating this complex terrain.