How To Write PhD Research Proposal

by Alen Owen Professional Essay Writer

HOW TO WRITE A PHD RESEARCH PROPOSAL

A PhD research proposal is a test that is used to test your potential as a doctoral researcher. PhD research proposal does two major things, that is, what and why.

What are the questions you will be dealing with and the answers that you expect while Why is the reason you are doing the research and the benefits that it will have.

When writing a PhD research proposal, several stages must be followed. They include:

Stage 1: Title

Stage 2: Abstract

Stage 3: Aims and Objectives

Stage 4: Literature Review

Stage 5: Methodology

Stage 6: Timeline

Stage 7: Ethical Approval

Stage 8: Resources

Stage 9: Budget

 

Stage 1: Title

Your research proposal should have a title. It’s a key requirement that will help the people who will be reading your research proposal understand what you are researching on and how you are planning to do the research. The title should have 25 words or less. The Title should remain relevant to the research question.

Stage 2: Abstract                                                                                                   

An abstract is a brief summary of the whole research proposal. It is important to give a brief summary of the entire research proposal in few words. The abstract should show the importance of each part of the research proposal in about 200 words. For one to have a good abstract, one should write it last after writing the whole research proposal.

 

Stage 3: Aims and objectives

In this stage, you should now give a deeper explanation title of the research proposal and also the aims and objectives of your research. An outline and explanation of the research question, the purpose of the research and description of your methodology should be done in this section also.

A conversation in this section should be about the research problem that you plan to answer or do research on, your hypothesis, the parameters of the research, what you plan to add in your research and what you plan not to.

Stage 4: Literature Review

Writing a literature review chapter is an important section in your research proposal. In this stage, you will need to show an understanding of the existing literature and research studies within the area of your research topic. This will assist the reader the importance of your research and where it stands in the existing body of knowledge.

Discussing what the existing literature is about and pointing the gaps and issues should be done in this section. This will help you show where your research fits in this literature and also enter into discussions that relate to your research question.

Show that you have a good understanding and information of the research area and also the benefits your research proposal will introduce to the existing research and knowledge. 

Stage 5: Methodology

The term methodology refers to the steps to be used to prove the application of particular research methods that you will choose to use. In this stage, you will show how you plan on investigating the research question.

For example, you may decide to use Kaupapa Maori methodology. In this step, you will have to give a small overview of Kaupapa Maori theory and indicate why you have decided to use this methodology and how your research proposal will fit within its methodological pattern.

For a case where you decide to use more than one methodology, you have to explain why you have added it and how it is relevant to the aims and objectives of your research proposal.

It is important also to explain the number of people you plan to involve in your research, how they will be useful to your study and how you plan to get them.

Stage 6: Timeline

Your research proposal should be done within the time given. You have to prove that. You may decide to put a timeframe yourself or the learning institution you are submitting the research proposal to might decide to give you a timeframe. Either way, you have to prove that the proposal can be done within the set time.

Incase in your research proposal you will be producing any results, reports or findings, then it should be done within the agreed time.

Stage 7: Ethical Approval

Majority of the institutions insists on getting approval from ethical advisory boards if the research one is doing will involve human participation. The ethical approval is meant to make sure that the researcher does the research respectfully and also protect the human beings that might be affected by the research directly or indirectly. The ethical approval should be obtained within your area of research. You might find yourself seeking several ethical approvals from different boards depending on the institutional, financial and disciplinary context. You will only obtain ethical approvals by presenting applications to the ethical committees themselves.

Having a clear understanding of research ethics will help you know how to engage with the society that you will be research in.

Stage 8: Resources

In this step, you will have to explain what resources you have. This shows the reader that you are ready and able to carry on with the research. This includes physical and personal resources and any other resource that might be useful to you as a researcher.

The resources that you will require too but you are yet to acquire them should also be stated here and explain how you plan to get them.

Stage 9: Budget

If you have a plan to apply for funding for your research proposal, it is important to show how much money you need for the research proposal and prove why you need the money. To prove that you need the money, you can provide an explained budget showing the expenses you think you will face when doing your research. Show how and where the money will be spent and how much will be spent at what stage. The size of the budget should reflect the size of the research.

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Created on Nov 2nd 2020 16:15. Viewed 292 times.

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