Research proposal (RP) definition
“A proposal is a plan that you have chosen to
follow in order to achieve your intended outcomes—the completion of your research. A proposal is like a map that will help you navigate your journey along the research process . . .” (Hart, 366)
research proposal is an utterance in dialogue with your research supervisor and others in your research community.
Key elements of the RP
- answers a series of key questions about our research (what, why, how, where and who of RP)
- your proposal is not a thing but an act— an act of communication
- in some way it is dialogic—in actual conversation with others
- research proposal is an utterance in dialogue with your research supervisor and others in your research community
- your research project from start to finish
RP Structure
- Introduction (title and field of study) [500]
- Literature discussion/review [1000]
- Responding to the presentation process* [1000]
- Methodology and methods including research questions, epistemology etc. [1500]
- Ethics [500]
- Results analysis (proposed methids) [500]
- Discussion of potential issues/evaluation/conclusion [1000]
1 Introduction
- 1 Research topic and justification
- 2 Focus of the study
- 3 Researcher positionality (specifically, how this has informed your choice of topic)
- 4 Context of the research
2 LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter should be structured around key definitions and themes arising from the literature to base your study. These should help to build towards your focused research questions, later. You should indicate how you will examine these areas further in the dissertation, and how these might form a theoretical framework for your study overall.
3 METHODOLOGY AND METHODS
- 1 Positionality (your beliefs, other influences on your methodological approach)
- 2 Epistemology (Interpretivist/Positivist – Qualitative/Quantitative)
- 3 Data collection methods and Justification (examples below)
- 3.1 Questionnaires
- 2.2 Focus Groups
- 4 Ethical considerations and data security (include plans/drafts for ethics documents as appendices and briefly talk about your process here)
- 5 Methods of Analysis (explain and justify how you intend to analyse your data)
- 6 End the section by stating your specific research questions (based on your own focus and findings from the literature review, these should ‘fit’ with your proposed methodology)
CHAPTER 4: DISCUSSION OF POTENTIAL ISSUES, TIMELINE
- 1 Research timeline (diagram, table etc. is acceptable but you must include commentary)
- 2 Practical considerations (access/recruitment of participants, potential difficulties etc. What if one of the activities on your timeline is delayed? What if you are not able to obtain the type or quality of data that you are hoping for?)
- 4 Concluding thoughts (How do you feel about conducting this study? What do you hope to learn?)
REFERENCES
*APPENDICES
Appendix I: Presentation slides
Appendix II: Presentation feedback
Appendix III: Draft participant information document
Appendix IV: Draft consent form
