Applications are denied funding when they present a vast research topic as the object of investigation instead of a research question developed from that topic. The proposed research should not be presented as if applicants know in advance exactly what they will find. Such applications do not allow for falsification, and there is a risk that the research problem will not really be investigated. Applications also fail when they assert that the research will answer such a wide variety of questions that the investigation may not answer any single one fully and carefully. A well-developed research question also means that applicants should state how the research fits into and elaborates on existing knowledge in anthropology.
Appropriate evidence refers to the evidence needed to answer the research question or problem.
Whatever the methods used, they should be appropriate for answering the research question. The application therefore should communicate a close fit between the evidence to be collected and the research question. Too often in applications, it is unclear why or how the particular evidence to be collected will answer the research objective. The result is a gap between the research goals expressed and the actual investigation to be undertaken. Applicants should make very clear what evidence they will collect and how it serves to investigate or to measure fundamental aspects of the research question.