Guidance on how to write a PhD proposal

The essentials of writing a proposal

As part of the application process, PhD candidates are required to submit a research proposal with maximum 2000 words. Make sure the proposal is sufficiently narrow and has well specified boundaries. Broadly written proposals with vague research aims and fuzzy frameworks do not usually work well.

Assessors of PhD proposals pay a particular attention to their originality and feasibility. Hence, make sure that these aspects of your proposal are explained well. You may also outline potential/expected contribution(s) of the proposed research to academic knowledge and its significance for non-academic parties (e.g. businesses, economy, society or public policy).

Make sure your proposed topic falls into the research areas covered by our academic staff. Click on the link on the on main page that provides a list of our supervisors and their research interests. Finally, the style of presentation in the proposal should conform to the standards of academic writing. E.g. provide appropriate citations in text and a list of bibliography at the end, proof- read your proposal before submitting it.

Structure of the proposal

You can structure and write your proposal in different ways. Here is a short guidance on what to consider and include in your research proposal.

A working title: The title should be short and it should describe the gist of the proposal well.

Introduction/overview of the topic of proposal

This is where you describe the background to and the motivation for your research proposal. Explain why the topic is interesting and important. You might discuss what the expected contributions of the proposed research could be, for example, to the existing body of relevant academic knowledge, public policy and welfare.

Research Questions

It would be useful if you make your research questions explicit by listing them. Think about the feasibility of answering each of them. Are there sufficient data/information to answer them? If not, can you generate sufficiently adequate primary data within the time frame of a PhD programme? Do the research questions signal your expected contribution to the literature and reflect the potential originality of your proposed work?

Literature review

This is where you demonstrate your knowledge and provide an integrated overview of the progress made by other scholars on the topic of your proposal. This section should provide a conceptual framework for the reader so that your research questions and methodology can be better understood. It is a good idea to be selective and up-to-date in presenting the literature relevant to your thesis. In other words, do not just write about any odd author or paper you come across but present landmark studies, major debates, controversies, contributions etc.

Many academics encourage their students to provide a critical assessment of the existing literature on the topic. This means not only presenting the relevant literature accurately with reference to published sources but also comparing and contrasting different views and assessing, for example, the validity and consistency of various elements of the relevant literature.

One of the most common problems in PhD proposals is the disconnection between the literature review and the proposed research area. You must avoid this by for example considering the following questions. Where does the literature review lead you in terms of your own proposal? Try to relate your research questions to the literature review. Where does your proposal stand in the literature? For example, have you identified a gap in the literature and are your research questions formulated to fill in those gaps? Or, are the research questions designed to investigate the validity / invalidity of a paradigm or an established theory? Or, are you proposing research in an unexploited territory?

Methodology

This is the section where you discuss the means through which you will answer your research questions and prove your thesis. The following are some of the issues you may want to consider and discuss in this section. 

• Frame your  hypothesis:  What  is  your  ‘thesis’  and  how  will  you  test  it?  
• Design of your research: How will you test and/or critique and/or develop etc. the relevant conceptual/theoretical framework(s)? What processes and stages do you envisage to fully answer your research questions and achieve your research objectives? 
• Data collection: What data and information are needed? Qualitative or quantitative? What data collection method(s) will you use? Are the data and information you need available and accessible? If yes, describe in detail. If not, how will you generate the necessary data? Do you envisage a fieldwork for data collection? If you will collect primary data, consider the ethical implications of this as well as the time when you need to apply for ethics approval.
• Measurement and analysis: What techniques and tools will you use to measure key indicators and analyse data and information?