The pre-proposal title page should include the following:

• Title: Title of Research
• Researchers: Name, affiliation and contact information for all researchers

The pre-proposal main document should follow this format:

• Abstract and Key Words: Max 500 word project description, and key words 
• Statement of Intended Contribution to Practice: A clear, concise statement of how the proposed research would provide a novel and interesting contribution to practice and what marketing managers might do differently as a result of the research findings.
• Fit with MSI’s Research Priorities (if applicable): We especially encourage research pre-proposals that fit with MSI’s current Research Priorities (here) – we are also open to additional research topics that significantly advance marketing knowledge and practice.
• Motivation and Research Question(s): A statement of the specific research question(s) that will be addressed, why they are important and interesting, and what the researchers expect to learn from answering these questions.
• Brief Description of the Research Design and Methodology: Study design, data sources/collection procedures, experiments to be run (if applicable), modeling techniques to be used (if applicable), and any other relevant details.
• Overall Funding and Support Needs: A brief description of the budget for the project including specific budget items and amounts (typically between $3,000 and $10,000).
• Vita(e) of each of the researchers.

Pre-proposals should not exceed 1,200 words excluding vita(e) and title page.

Pre-proposals are encouraged to draw upon diverse theoretical perspectives and methodologies. Studies may be conceptual or empirical; and they may involve combinations of methodological approaches including literature reviews, comparative studies, observational and ethnographic studies, naturalistic, laboratory, or field experiments, econometric models, and so forth. Projects using multiple methodologies are especially welcomed. Researchers are encouraged to identify industry collaborators.

View MSI's 2022-2024 Research Priorities here! Also, if you have questions about submitting to MSI, please contact research@msi.org.