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I just read a book about writing science proposals. You would think that writing a proposal intended for an audience of scientists the advice would be 'stick to
by b_emery 10y ago
I just read a book about writing science proposals. You would think that writing a proposal intended for an audience of scientists the advice would be 'stick to the facts' and make a 'scientific' argument. Yes, sort of. But it turns out that if you want to convince people of the importance of your idea, you need to invoke emotion and the best way to do this is with a compelling story. So to convince people, even scientists, of the importance of any idea the best way to do it is to use a good story.
Interesting, and not obvious to me. Though I'd guess standard knowledge for people in marketing and sales.
- joeclark77 10y agoWell, scientists often consider the two factors of relevance and rigor. A scientific study must be rigorous in its methodology in order to pass peer review. But it must also be relevant to a question or problem that matters. So you often start a paper with a few paragraphs about "the problem" and how/why your contribution is important. This would be even more important if applying for a grant, because funders want to make sure there's a good reason for the study.