University-of-Cambridge-PhD-research-proposal-writ

1of4CareersServiceGuidelinesforWritingaResearchProposalforaUKPhDapplicationintheArts,HumanitiesorSocialSciencesPurposeofaresearchproposalAPhDisawardedmainlyastheresultofyoumakinganoriginalcontributiontotheknowledgeinyourresearchfield.AttheapplicationstageforaPhDyouareaskedtowritearesearchproposalsothatyoucanpresentandjustifyyourresearchideaandtodescribethepracticalwaysinwhichyouintendtoconductthisresearch.Yourresearchproposalwillbeused,alongwithyouracademiccredentialsandreferences,todecidewhetheryouareasuitablecandidateforPhDstudies.Inparticular,itwillhelptheselectors(academicsintheDepartmentyouareapplyingto)decide:ifyourresearchinterestsmatchtheDepartment’s;whetherornottheywillbeabletoprovidesuitablyinterestedandqualifiedsupervisor/s;andwhetherornotyouhaveprovidedevidenceofpossessingtheabilitytoidentifyanddevelopaninterestingresearchquestion.Overallyourobjectiveistocommunicatethatyouareproposingtoundertakeanacademicpieceofresearchwhichwillbe:original;basedoncriticalassessment;addtotheexistingbodyofknowledge;anddoableintherequiredtimeframe.Theresearchproposalshoulddescribetheresearchproblemyouplantoaddress(question/sorhypothesis),statewhyitisimportantandoutlinetheresearchmethodsyouplantouseandwhytheyareappropriateandfeasible.Theresearchhypothesisorquestion/smustbesufficientlynarrowandspecificsoastobeanswerablewithintheperiodoftimeavailableforcompletingyourthesis.ItisgenerallyacceptedthatifyouaregivenaplaceonaPhDprogrammethentheresearchyouactuallyundertakemaydifferinsomerespectsfromthatoutlinedinyourresearchproposalsoyouarelikelytobeabletodevelopandrefineyourthinkingandmethodologyintheearlystagesofthePhD.However,youwillstillbeexpectedtostaywithintheresearchinterestsoftheDepartmentandyoursupervisor/s,soitisrareforthePhDresearchtoradicallydivergefromtheoriginalproposalwithoutverygoodreason,e.g.theunforeseeablelossofaccesstoacoredatasource.Thismeansthatyouneedtobegenuinelyinterestedin,andconfidentabout,completingtheresearchyouareproposing.2of4ContentoftheResearchProposalThereisnoonerightwaytowritearesearchproposalanditisveryimportantthatyoufirstchecktoseeifeithertheUniversityorDepartmentyouareapplyingtohaveanyparticularrequirementsintermsofformat,lengthand/orcontent.Notwithstanding,anyspecificrequirements,yourproposalshouldaimtocover:Theoverallthemeofyourtopicandwhyitisofinteresttoyou.Thehypothesisthatyouwilltest,ortheresearchquestionorquestionsyouplantoanswerWhyyouthinktheresearchisworthdoing.Abrief,selectiveandcriticalreview(assessmentofstrengthsandweaknesses)oftherelevantliterature:toshowyourunderstandingofthemaindebatesandissuesinyourresearcharea(thisalsoprovidesevidenceofhowyouhavebeguntoprepareforyourresearch);andhowyourproposedresearchwilladdto,orreconceptualise,this.Howyouwilldotheresearch-themethodologyyouproposetouse,andit’sappropriatenessforansweringyourresearchquestion/sortestingyourhypothesis.Thissectionwillvarysignificantlyforempirical,andtheoretical/philosophicalresearch.Inthecaseoftheformer,youwillneedtosaywhetheryourresearchwillbedescriptiveorexploratory,whatdatayouwilluseandhowyouwillyoucollect,analyseandmeasureit,whatproblemsyoumightencounterandhowwillyouovercomethem.Arethereanyethicalissuestobeconsidered?Willyouneedanyadditionaltraining?Includeatimelinewhichshowsyouwillbeabletocompleteyourresearchwithintheallottedtime.Keystages(whichmayoverlap)arelikelytoinclude:refiningtheresearchproposal;literaturereview;developingresearchmethods;datacollection/fieldwork;analysis;writingthedraft;finalsubmission.StatehowyourresearchwillfitwithintheestablishedordevelopingspecialistresearchareasoftheDepartmentyouareapplyingto.Ifyouhavebeingincontactwithamemberoftheacademicstafftodiscussyourproposedresearchtopic(ahighlyrecommendedtactic)youshouldsaysoandgivetheirname/s.Whenyouhavewrittenyourfirstfulldraftreadbackoveritandcriticallyassesswhetherornotyouhaveansweredthefollowingquestionsinaclearandconciseway:Whatistheresearchabout?Whydoyouwanttodoit?Whyyoubelieveyouwillbeabletodoit?Whyitissignificant?3of4Whatyouaimtoachievebycompletingit?Haveyoushownthatyouunderstandhowyourresearchwillcontributetotheconceptualunderstandingand/orknowledgeofyourtopic,e.g.expandknowledgeortheory,improveresearchdesign,improveanalysis?Haveyouexplainedhowyouplantoconducttheresearch,e.g.empiricalortheoretical,qualitativeand/orquantitative,willyouuseexistingdata/sourcesorcollectyourown,thetoolsyouwilluse,e.g.modeling,surveys,interviews,observation,casestudies……..?Isitclearhowyourresearchwillfitwithin,andcontributeto,theDepartment?Ifyouhaveaccesstoafriendlyacademicdoaskthemtoreadthroughyourdraftandcommentonitsacademiccredibility.FormatWhilecontentisofprimaryimportancetheformatofyourresearchproposalalsoneedsattention:Ifyouarenotgivenawordlimityoushouldaimtowritearound1,000–1,500wordsbutnomorethan2,000.However,itispossiblethatyouwillbegivenawordlimitlowerthanthis,especiallyforafundingapplication,inwhichcasestillaimtosaysomethingabouteachofthemainpointsabove.Unlessotherwisestateduse1.5spacing,atleastfontsize10andleavestanda