how to write a research proposal philosophy

Simon Knutsson

Phd philosophy research proposal (admitted to lse and stockholm).

By Simon Knutsson Written April 18, 2017; published November 17, 2017

This is the research proposal I included in my applications to PhD programs in philosophy. I got admitted to London School of Economics and Stockholm University. [1] As an applicant, it can be difficult to know how a research proposal is supposed to look. Universities’ application guidelines are often brief and unclear. It is also unfair that applicants with the right connections, for example, applicants who know students in top PhD programs, can get help with their proposals and thereby get an edge over those who lack such connections. Hopefully my proposal being public can help those who are planning to apply to PhD programs in philosophy and level the playing field.

Value superiority

Introduction.

Aim and research question

My main research question is, are there value superiorities? I plan to explore at least three aspects of this question: (1) the structure of value if there is superiority, (2) measurement of value in the case of superiority, and (3) sequence arguments and infinity. Tentatively, I expect to argue at least for the following: The structure of value is such that it can be indeterminate whether, for example, a good is superior to another, and this allows one to give convincing replies to challenges that have been made against superiority. Regarding measurement, I expect to argue that vectors can represent value in the case of superiority better than Carlson argues. Finally, a sequence argument against superiority by Arrhenius (and Rabinowicz) has a potential weakness: it is not clear that an analogous argument is successful against an adjusted notion of superiority (superiority*) formulated in terms of both finite amounts and an infinity of a good.

Project description

1.     the structure of superiority.

Which is the most plausible account of the structure of value if there is superiority, and is such an account plausible? Attempts have been made to spell out the structure of value superiority; to explain why there would be superiority and how a theory of value would look like if there is superiority. Temkin and Rachels hold that superiority applies when there is a sufficiently large difference between the goods or bads in question; [5] Klocksiem (2016) defends “threshold lexicality,” according to which superiority between bads sets in at an absolute level of intensity between discomfort and pain; Dorsey (2009) explains superiority in terms of an account of well-being that involves global projects; Carlson (2000) and Rabinowicz (2003) refer to diminishing marginal value; Qizilbash (2005) points to the vagueness of categorical evaluations such as “serious” and “non-serious” illness; Parfit (2016) relies on indeterminacy and the relation “imprecisely equally good”; Lemos (1993) refers to organic unities and Carlson (2015) similarly points to a holistic non-Archimedean objective list theory of welfare.

My main hypothesis about the structure of value related to superiority is that value relations such as “better than” and “superior to” allow for indeterminacy in the sense that it can be indeterminate, for example, whether an amount of some value bearer is better or worse than an amount of another value bearer. Similarly, it can be indeterminate whether a good is superior to another. If this is correct, I hypothesize that it can be the basis for a convincing reply to the sequence argument against superiority that can be found in Arrhenius (2005) and Arrhenius and Rabinowicz (2015), as well as to the kind of spectra presented by Temin, Rachels and others, in which one is, for example, asked to contemplate gradually experiencing milder pain for longer durations.

There are some publications on ideas similar to superiority that also deal with indeterminacy or vagueness (Qizilbash 2005; Knapp 2007; Parfit 2016; Nebel forthcoming, sec. 4.2), but they essentially briefly propose indeterminacy or vagueness as a possible solution to challenges with superiority, without explaining in-depth how that would work and without assessing whether it is plausible when the implications of such a position are spelled out. In general, according to Dougherty (forthcoming, sec. 7), “the topic of ethical vagueness is a relatively neglected topic … on which there is still much work to be done.”

In one of my attached writings sample, which is work in progress, I have started investigating whether pointing to indeterminacy can amount to a convincing reply to sequence arguments. My tentative hypothesis is that rather than bringing in theories of vagueness, such as supervaluationism, epistemicism and many-valued logic, one should, more directly, give an account of evaluative indeterminacy. One plausible way to do that may be in terms of permissible preferences or appropriate attitudes (a “fitting attitudes”-analysis of value) as, for example, Rabinowicz (2008) does. One could introduce indeterminacy in such a model, as Rabinowicz (2009) mentions, by allowing for that it can be indeterminate whether it is permissible to have some preference, or that it is permissible to have indeterminate preferences (c.f., e.g., Aldred (2007) on vague preferences). If there is evaluative indeterminacy, one probably wants to avoid that it has sharp boundaries, similar to how philosophers working on vagueness often want there to be no sharp boundary between colors that are red and those that are borderline red. Here, what we could call higher-order evaluative indeterminacy seems key. For example, the second order of such indeterminacy could say about value bearers a and b that it is indeterminate whether it is indeterminate whether it is permissible to prefer a to b . I am not aware of any thorough philosophical work on such higher-order evaluative indeterminacy, although there is a literature on betterness and vagueness (e.g., Broome 1997; Carlson 2013; Qizilbash 2007, 2012, 2014), which sometimes briefly mentions higher-order vagueness. One should probably not give an account of higher-order evaluative indeterminacy directly in terms of, for example, a supervaluationist account of higher-order vagueness, but one could reason similarly to how philosophers have reasoned about the higher-order vagueness of vague terms such as ‘red.’ (See attached writing sample for more information.)

2.     Representational measurement of value

Which representations of value superiority are possible, and which operations, such as addition, do they allow? Some work on superiority deals with how to measure and compute value if there is superiority. This work can be seen as supporting superiority because one may hold that it is an advantage of a theory of value if it allows for a stronger degree of measurement, for example, on a ratio scale rather than on an ordinal scale. Brülde (2003, p. 24), for instance, lists measurability as an adequacy condition for a theory of well-being, and Klocksiem (2016, p. 1328) mentions the potential adequacy condition for a theory of value that value should be representable by single real numbers. Value can straightforwardly be represented by single reals if one assumes a form of superiority such as the one based on diminishing marginal value, but not if one assumes some other forms of superiority.

Attempts at solutions include Carlson (2007, 2010) and Feit (2001), who suggest representing value by lexical vectors or ordered pairs of real numbers, [6] and Klocksiem (2016, p. 1328), who says that his favored form of superiority can be represented by hyperreals. However, vector representation has been said to have problems and the suggestion to use hyperreals is not sufficiently developed.

Carlson (2001, sec. 3) argues against vector representation for more complex forms of superiority. One of his arguments is that vector representation does not work for weak superiority (i.e., the idea that a sufficient amount of a good g is better than any amount of another good g′ ), in part because if a conjunction of n (or more) g -objects is a superior good of a higher order than m g -objects, where m < n , then n g -objects would also, according to Carlson, be superior to a conjunction of conjunctions of m g -objects, even though that conjunction of conjunctions would have more than n g -objects. This would be absurd, the argument goes. I plan to argue that vector representation can overcome this argument, because such a conjunction of conjunctions (which is probably better understood as a concatenation of concatenations) would be a superior good of the same order as n g -objects. A main challenge, pointed out by Carlson in conversation, is how much of aggregation and additivity one can save if one assumes weak superiority and if one uses vectors to represent value.

Hyperreals have been used to represent non-Archimedean structures (e.g. Narens 1974), but that does not imply that they work well as a representation of value in the case of superiority, especially weak superiority, and philosophers have only pointed in passing to hyperreals as a possible solution (e.g. Klocksiem 2016, p. 1328). It remains to be explored to what extent superiority can be represented by hyperreals.

Finally, the measurement literature includes representation by other mathematical entities, such as intervals, sets and geometric objects, and I plan to investigate what the options are for representing value in the case of superiority by mathematical entities other than single reals, vectors or hyperreals, and whether such alternative representations are plausible.

3.     Superiority, sequence arguments and infinity

The best sequence argument against superiority can be found in Arrhenius (2005) and Arrhenius and Rabinowicz (2015). The argument is roughly that superiority between any two goods in a sequence of goods (a sequence g 1 , …, g n in which g 1 is better than g 2 , which is better than g 3 , …, which is better than g n ) implies that one good needs to be weakly superior to another adjacent good that is only marginally worse, which, according to the argument, is implausible. However, the argument has a potentially important weakness: it is not clear that an analogous conclusion can be established for a different notion of superiority, which we can call ‘superiority*,’ and which includes the idea of an infinity of a type of good. One could argue that superiority* is the more interesting notion. Roughly speaking, my point is that Arrhenius and Rabinowicz’s sequence argument is made in a framework of finite numbers, which allows the authors to derive potentially counterintuitive implications of superiority. But in the case of superiority, one may need to include infinities in the discussion. I plan to expand on and polish this idea.

The following is a more detailed description of my point. The sequence argument includes the step that if a good g 1 is not weakly superior to another good g i -1 then there is some number k such that m g 1 -objects are not better than k g i -1 -objects (Arrhenius 2005, p. 110; Arrhenius and Rabinowicz 2015, p. 242). This step can be taken because of their definition of weak superiority: an object g is weakly superior to an object g′ if and only if for some number m , m g -objects are better than any number of g′ -objects (note my emphasis of ‘number’). We can modify the definition by, for example, adding infinity, and get weak superiority*: an object g is weakly superior* to an object g′ if and only if for some number m , m g -objects are better than any number of g′ -objects and an infinity of g′ -objects. Assuming infinity is not a number, the step above can no longer be taken: that a good g 1 is not weakly superior* to another good g i -1 does not imply that there is some number k such that m g 1 -objects are not better than k g i -1 -objects, because it could be that m g 1 -objects are not better than an infinity of g i -1 -objects, while still being better than k g i -1 -objects for any number k . My point does not avoid weak superiority between adjacent goods, but it avoids weak superiority* between adjacent goods, and it could be argued that weak superiority* is the more interesting relation.

An objection, mentioned by Erik Carlson in conversation, is that the sequence argument may still spell trouble for weak superiority* since one could argue that a “principle” such as weak superiority* should avoid implausible implications even if one considers only a subset of its scope (i.e., only finite amounts). This is an interesting objection that I would like to address in a part of my work on sequence arguments and infinities.

4.     Extra topic: the continuity axiom

A continuity axiom is commonly assumed in decision theory as a requirement of rationality. The following is a rough formulation of continuity: a strict preference relation ≻ is continuous if for all consequences a , b and c for which a ≻ b ≻ c , there is a probability p , 0 < p < 1, such that b ∼ ( a , p , c ), where ∼ is indifference, and ( a , p , c ) is a lottery in which consequence a occurs with probability p and consequence c occurs with probability 1 – p . For example, if a is getting 1 SEK, b is getting 0 SEK and c is death, and assuming a ≻ b ≻ c , there is a probability greater than zero that is sufficiently low so that rationality requires that an agent prefers a gamble between death and getting 1 SEK to certainly getting 0 SEK and survive. [7]

The question I am most interested in is whether the continuity axiom is a plausible requirement of rationality. There is a philosophical literature on the plausibility of the continuity axiom (e.g., Temkin 2001; Danielsson 2004; Arrhenius and Rabinowicz 2005; Jensen 2012), but, according to McCarthy (2016), more philosophical work on continuity is needed. For example, there is, as far as I know, nothing written about whether continuity is a plausible requirement of phenomena that are similar to rational preferences and relevant to axiology, such as appropriate pro-attitudes or appropriate emotive attitudes. Continuity is related to superiority, partly because if there is value superiority, it seems implausible that continuity would be a requirement of rationality or appropriate pro-attitudes. But one can reject continuity even if there is no value superiority. Investigating the plausibility of continuity does not obviously help answering my main research question (‘are there value superiorities?’), but it is related and similar arguments are used in both debates. I consider the continuity axiom to be a bonus topic that I would like to do research on if I have time.

Aldred, J. (2007). Intransitivity and Vague Preferences. Journal of Ethics , 11 (4), 377–403.

Arrhenius, G. (2005). Superiority in Value. Philosophical Studies , 123 (1–2), 97–114.

Arrhenius, G., & Rabinowicz, W. (2005). Value and Unacceptable Risk. Economics and Philosophy , 21 (2), 177–197.

Arrhenius, G., & Rabinowicz, W. (2015). Value Superiority. In I. Hirose & J. Olson (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Value Theory (pp. 225–248). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Broome, J. (1997). Is Incommensurability Vagueness? In R. Chang (Ed.), Incommensurability, Incomparability and Practical Reason . Harvard University Press.

Brülde, B. (2003). Teorier om livskvalitet . Lund: Studentlitteratur.

Brülde, B. (2010). Happiness, morality, and politics. Journal of Happiness Studies , 11 (5), 567–583.

Carlson, E. (2000). Aggregating harms – Should we kill to avoid headaches? Theoria , 66 (3), 246–255.

Carlson, E. (2001). Organic Unities, Non-Trade-Off, and the Additivity of Intrinsic Value. Journal of Ethics , 5 (4), 335–360.

Carlson, E. (2007). Higher Values and Non-Archimedean Additivity. Theoria , 73 (1), 3–27.

Carlson, E. (2010). Generalized extensive measurement for lexicographic orders. Journal of Mathematical Psychology , 54 (4), 345–351.

Carlson, E. (2013). Vagueness, Incomparability, and the Collapsing Principle. Ethical Theory and Moral Practice , 16 (3), 449–463.

Carlson, E. (2015, January 30). On some impossibility theorems in population ethics . Draft. https://www.york.ac.uk/media/philosophy/documents/events/Carlson%20On%20Some%20Impossibility%20Theorems%20in%20Population%20Ethics%20-%20Draft%2030%20January%202015.docx

Danielsson, S. (2004). Temkin, Archimedes and the transitivity of “Better.” Patterns of Value: Essays on Formal Axiology and Value Analysis , 2 , 175–179.

Dorsey, D. (2009). Headaches, lives and value. Utilitas , 21 (01), 36–58.

Dougherty, T. (forthcoming). Vagueness and indeterminacy in ethics. In T. McPherson & D. Plunkett (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Metaethics .

Feit, N. (2001). The Structure of Higher Goods. Southern Journal of Philosophy , 39 (1), 47–57.

Hausner, M. (1954). Multidimensional utilities. In R. M. Thrall, C. H. Coombs, & R. L. Davis (Eds.), Decision processes (pp. 167–180). New York: John Wiley.

Hutcheson, F. (1968). A system of moral philosophy (Vols. 1-1). New York: Augustus M Kelley.

Jensen, K. K. (2012). Unacceptable risks and the continuity axiom. Economics and Philosophy , 28 (1), 31–42.

Klocksiem, J. (2016). How to Accept the Transitivity of Better Than. Philosophical Studies , 173 (5), 1309–1334.

Knapp, C. (2007). Trading Quality for Quantity. Journal of Philosophical Research , 32 (1), 211–233.

Lemos, N. M. (1993). Higher Goods and the Myth of Tithonus. Journal of Philosophy , 60 (9), 482–496.

McCarthy, D. (2016). Probability in Ethics. In A. Hajek & C. Hitchcock (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy and Probability . Oxford University Press.

Narens, L. (1974). Measurement without Archimedean Axioms. Philosophy of Science , 41 (4), 374–393.

Nebel, J. M. (forthcoming). The Good, the Bad, and the Transitivity of Better Than. Noûs . https://www.academia.edu/30482496/The_Good_the_Bad_and_the_Transitivity_of_Better_Than

Norcross, A. (2009). Two Dogmas of Deontology: Aggregation, Rights, and the Separateness of Persons. Social Philosophy and Policy , 26 (1), 76–95.

Parfit, D. (2016). Can We Avoid the Repugnant Conclusion? Theoria , 82 (2), 110–127.

Qizilbash, M. (2005). Transitivity and Vagueness. Economics and Philosophy , 21 (1), 109–131.

Qizilbash, M. (2007). The Mere Addition Paradox, Parity and Vagueness. Philosophy and Phenomenological Research , 75 (1), 129–151.

Qizilbash, M. (2012). Incommensurability or Vagueness? a Comment on Rabinowicz and Sugden. Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society , 112 (3), 333–338.

Qizilbash, M. (2014). “Incommensurability” and Vagueness: Is the Vagueness View Defensible? Ethical Theory and Moral Practice , 17 (1), 141–153. 

Rabinowicz, W. (2003). Ryberg’s Doubts About Higher and Lower Pleasures: Put to Rest? Ethical Theory and Moral Practice , 6 (2), 231–237.

Rabinowicz, W. (2008). Value Relations. Theoria , 74 (1), 18–49.

Rabinowicz, W. (2009). Incommensurability and Vagueness. Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, Supplementary Volumes , 83 , 71–94.

Ross, W. D. (1930). The right and the good . Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Ryberg, J. (2002). Higher and Lower Pleasures – Doubts on Justification. Ethical Theory and Moral Practice , 5 (4), 415–429.

Temkin, L. (2001). Worries about continuity, transitivity, expected utility theory, and practical reasoning. In D. Egonsson, J. Josefsson, B. Petersson, & T. Rønnow-Rasmusen (Eds.), Exploring Practical Philosophy (pp. 95–108). Aldershot: Ashgate Publishers.

Thrall, Robert M. (1954). Applications of multidimensional utility theory. In R. M. Thrall, C. H. Coombs, & R. L. Davis (Eds.), Decision processes (pp. 181–186). New York: John Wiley.

Voorhoeve, A. (2015). Why Sore Throats Don’t Aggregate Against a Life, but Arms Do. Journal of Medical Ethics , 41 (6), 492–493.

[1] This is the proposal I sent to Stockholm University. The proposal I sent to London School of Economics was similar but had a few differences: it was 25% shorter, less developed, and the fourth sub-project was different—instead of an extra sub-project on the continuity axiom it was a regular (not “extra”) sub-project about the reliability of intuitions related to value superiority.

I applied to Stockholm, LSE, Cambridge, and Oslo. My research plans fit Stockholm and LSE better than Cambridge and Oslo. I would have applied to Uppsala, where my plans also fit very well, but Uppsala did not announce a PhD position at the time. The three universities that I targeted with my application were LSE, Stockholm, and Uppsala.

[2] Hutcheson (1968, pp. 117–118).

[3] According to Lemos (1993).

[4] For more references, see Arrhenius (2005, p. 97).

[5] According to Klocksiem (2016).

[6] Similar work has been done in economics, for example, on multidimensional utilities by Hausner (1954) and Thrall (1954).

[7] One can also formulate continuity in terms of the value of outcomes, as is done by Arrhenius and Rabinowicz (2005, p. 178).

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How To Write A Research Proposal

A Straightforward How-To Guide (With Examples)

By: Derek Jansen (MBA) | Reviewed By: Dr. Eunice Rautenbach | August 2019 (Updated April 2023)

Writing up a strong research proposal for a dissertation or thesis is much like a marriage proposal. It’s a task that calls on you to win somebody over and persuade them that what you’re planning is a great idea. An idea they’re happy to say ‘yes’ to. This means that your dissertation proposal needs to be   persuasive ,   attractive   and well-planned. In this post, I’ll show you how to write a winning dissertation proposal, from scratch.

Before you start:

– Understand exactly what a research proposal is – Ask yourself these 4 questions

The 5 essential ingredients:

• The title/topic
• The introduction chapter
• The scope/delimitations
• Preliminary literature review
• Design/ methodology
• Practical considerations and risks 

What Is A Research Proposal?

The research proposal is literally that: a written document that communicates what you propose to research, in a concise format. It’s where you put all that stuff that’s spinning around in your head down on to paper, in a logical, convincing fashion.

Convincing   is the keyword here, as your research proposal needs to convince the assessor that your research is   clearly articulated   (i.e., a clear research question) ,   worth doing   (i.e., is unique and valuable enough to justify the effort), and   doable   within the restrictions you’ll face (time limits, budget, skill limits, etc.). If your proposal does not address these three criteria, your research won’t be approved, no matter how “exciting” the research idea might be.

PS – if you’re completely new to proposal writing, we’ve got a detailed walkthrough video covering two successful research proposals here . 

How do I know I’m ready?

Before starting the writing process, you need to   ask yourself 4 important questions .  If you can’t answer them succinctly and confidently, you’re not ready – you need to go back and think more deeply about your dissertation topic .

You should be able to answer the following 4 questions before starting your dissertation or thesis research proposal:

• WHAT is my main research question? (the topic)
• WHO cares and why is this important? (the justification)
• WHAT data would I need to answer this question, and how will I analyse it? (the research design)
• HOW will I manage the completion of this research, within the given timelines? (project and risk management)

If you can’t answer these questions clearly and concisely,   you’re not yet ready   to write your research proposal – revisit our   post on choosing a topic .

If you can, that’s great – it’s time to start writing up your dissertation proposal. Next, I’ll discuss what needs to go into your research proposal, and how to structure it all into an intuitive, convincing document with a linear narrative.

The 5 Essential Ingredients

Research proposals can vary in style between institutions and disciplines, but here I’ll share with you a   handy 5-section structure   you can use. These 5 sections directly address the core questions we spoke about earlier, ensuring that you present a convincing proposal. If your institution already provides a proposal template, there will likely be substantial overlap with this, so you’ll still get value from reading on.

For each section discussed below, make sure you use headers and sub-headers (ideally, numbered headers) to help the reader navigate through your document, and to support them when they need to revisit a previous section. Don’t just present an endless wall of text, paragraph after paragraph after paragraph…

Top Tip:   Use MS Word Styles to format headings. This will allow you to be clear about whether a sub-heading is level 2, 3, or 4. Additionally, you can view your document in ‘outline view’ which will show you only your headings. This makes it much easier to check your structure, shift things around and make decisions about where a section needs to sit. You can also generate a 100% accurate table of contents using Word’s automatic functionality.

Ingredient #1 – Topic/Title Header

Your research proposal’s title should be your main research question in its simplest form, possibly with a sub-heading providing basic details on the specifics of the study. For example:

“Compliance with equality legislation in the charity sector: a study of the ‘reasonable adjustments’ made in three London care homes”

As you can see, this title provides a clear indication of what the research is about, in broad terms. It paints a high-level picture for the first-time reader, which gives them a taste of what to expect.   Always aim for a clear, concise title . Don’t feel the need to capture every detail of your research in your title – your proposal will fill in the gaps.

Need a helping hand?

Ingredient #2 – Introduction

In this section of your research proposal, you’ll expand on what you’ve communicated in the title, by providing a few paragraphs which offer more detail about your research topic. Importantly, the focus here is the   topic   – what will you research and why is that worth researching? This is not the place to discuss methodology, practicalities, etc. – you’ll do that later.

You should cover the following:

• An overview of the   broad area   you’ll be researching – introduce the reader to key concepts and language
• An explanation of the   specific (narrower) area   you’ll be focusing, and why you’ll be focusing there
• Your research   aims   and   objectives
• Your   research question (s) and sub-questions (if applicable)

Importantly, you should aim to use short sentences and plain language – don’t babble on with extensive jargon, acronyms and complex language. Assume that the reader is an intelligent layman – not a subject area specialist (even if they are). Remember that the   best writing is writing that can be easily understood   and digested. Keep it simple.

Note that some universities may want some extra bits and pieces in your introduction section. For example, personal development objectives, a structural outline, etc. Check your brief to see if there are any other details they expect in your proposal, and make sure you find a place for these.

Ingredient #3 – Scope

Next, you’ll need to specify what the scope of your research will be – this is also known as the delimitations . In other words, you need to make it clear what you will be covering and, more importantly, what you won’t be covering in your research. Simply put, this is about ring fencing your research topic so that you have a laser-sharp focus.

All too often, students feel the need to go broad and try to address as many issues as possible, in the interest of producing comprehensive research. Whilst this is admirable, it’s a mistake. By tightly refining your scope, you’ll enable yourself to   go deep   with your research, which is what you need to earn good marks. If your scope is too broad, you’re likely going to land up with superficial research (which won’t earn marks), so don’t be afraid to narrow things down.

Ingredient #4 – Literature Review

In this section of your research proposal, you need to provide a (relatively) brief discussion of the existing literature. Naturally, this will not be as comprehensive as the literature review in your actual dissertation, but it will lay the foundation for that. In fact, if you put in the effort at this stage, you’ll make your life a lot easier when it’s time to write your actual literature review chapter.

There are a few things you need to achieve in this section:

• Demonstrate that you’ve done your reading and are   familiar with the current state of the research   in your topic area.
• Show that   there’s a clear gap   for your specific research – i.e., show that your topic is sufficiently unique and will add value to the existing research.
• Show how the existing research has shaped your thinking regarding   research design . For example, you might use scales or questionnaires from previous studies.

When you write up your literature review, keep these three objectives front of mind, especially number two (revealing the gap in the literature), so that your literature review has a   clear purpose and direction . Everything you write should be contributing towards one (or more) of these objectives in some way. If it doesn’t, you need to ask yourself whether it’s truly needed.

Top Tip:  Don’t fall into the trap of just describing the main pieces of literature, for example, “A says this, B says that, C also says that…” and so on. Merely describing the literature provides no value. Instead, you need to   synthesise   it, and use it to address the three objectives above.

Ingredient #5 – Research Methodology

Now that you’ve clearly explained both your intended research topic (in the introduction) and the existing research it will draw on (in the literature review section), it’s time to get practical and explain exactly how you’ll be carrying out your own research. In other words, your research methodology.

In this section, you’ll need to   answer two critical questions :

• How   will you design your research? I.e., what research methodology will you adopt, what will your sample be, how will you collect data, etc.
• Why   have you chosen this design? I.e., why does this approach suit your specific research aims, objectives and questions?

In other words, this is not just about explaining WHAT you’ll be doing, it’s also about explaining WHY. In fact, the   justification is the most important part , because that justification is how you demonstrate a good understanding of research design (which is what assessors want to see).

Some essential design choices you need to cover in your research proposal include:

• Your intended research philosophy (e.g., positivism, interpretivism or pragmatism )
• What methodological approach you’ll be taking (e.g., qualitative , quantitative or mixed )
• The details of your sample (e.g., sample size, who they are, who they represent, etc.)
• What data you plan to collect (i.e. data about what, in what form?)
• How you plan to collect it (e.g., surveys , interviews , focus groups, etc.)
• How you plan to analyse it (e.g., regression analysis, thematic analysis , etc.)
• Ethical adherence (i.e., does this research satisfy all ethical requirements of your institution, or does it need further approval?)

This list is not exhaustive – these are just some core attributes of research design. Check with your institution what level of detail they expect. The “ research onion ” by Saunders et al (2009) provides a good summary of the various design choices you ultimately need to make – you can   read more about that here .

Don’t forget the practicalities…

In addition to the technical aspects, you will need to address the   practical   side of the project. In other words, you need to explain   what resources you’ll need   (e.g., time, money, access to equipment or software, etc.) and how you intend to secure these resources. You need to show that your project is feasible, so any “make or break” type resources need to already be secured. The success or failure of your project cannot depend on some resource which you’re not yet sure you have access to.

Another part of the practicalities discussion is   project and risk management . In other words, you need to show that you have a clear project plan to tackle your research with. Some key questions to address:

• What are the timelines for each phase of your project?
• Are the time allocations reasonable?
• What happens if something takes longer than anticipated (risk management)?
• What happens if you don’t get the response rate you expect?

A good way to demonstrate that you’ve thought this through is to include a Gantt chart and a risk register (in the appendix if word count is a problem). With these two tools, you can show that you’ve got a clear, feasible plan, and you’ve thought about and accounted for the potential risks.

Tip – Be honest about the potential difficulties – but show that you are anticipating solutions and workarounds. This is much more impressive to an assessor than an unrealistically optimistic proposal which does not anticipate any challenges whatsoever.

Final Touches: Read And Simplify

The final step is to edit and proofread your proposal – very carefully. It sounds obvious, but all too often poor editing and proofreading ruin a good proposal. Nothing is more off-putting for an assessor than a poorly edited, typo-strewn document. It sends the message that you either do not pay attention to detail, or just don’t care. Neither of these are good messages. Put the effort into editing and proofreading your proposal (or pay someone to do it for you) – it will pay dividends.

When you’re editing, watch out for ‘academese’. Many students can speak simply, passionately and clearly about their dissertation topic – but become incomprehensible the moment they turn the laptop on. You are not required to write in any kind of special, formal, complex language when you write academic work. Sure, there may be technical terms, jargon specific to your discipline, shorthand terms and so on. But, apart from those,   keep your written language very close to natural spoken language   – just as you would speak in the classroom. Imagine that you are explaining your project plans to your classmates or a family member. Remember, write for the intelligent layman, not the subject matter experts. Plain-language, concise writing is what wins hearts and minds – and marks!

Let’s Recap: Research Proposal 101

And there you have it – how to write your dissertation or thesis research proposal, from the title page to the final proof. Here’s a quick recap of the key takeaways:

• The purpose of the research proposal is to   convince   – therefore, you need to make a clear, concise argument of why your research is both worth doing and doable.
• Make sure you can ask the critical what, who, and how questions of your research   before   you put pen to paper.
• Title – provides the first taste of your research, in broad terms
• Introduction – explains what you’ll be researching in more detail
• Scope – explains the boundaries of your research
• Literature review – explains how your research fits into the existing research and why it’s unique and valuable
• Research methodology – explains and justifies how you will carry out your own research

Hopefully, this post has helped you better understand how to write up a winning research proposal. If you enjoyed it, be sure to check out the rest of the Grad Coach Blog . If your university doesn’t provide any template for your proposal, you might want to try out our free research proposal template .

Psst… there’s more!

This post is an extract from our bestselling short course, Research Proposal Bootcamp . If you want to work smart, you don't want to miss this .

30 Comments

Thank you so much for the valuable insight that you have given, especially on the research proposal. That is what I have managed to cover. I still need to go back to the other parts as I got disturbed while still listening to Derek’s audio on you-tube. I am inspired. I will definitely continue with Grad-coach guidance on You-tube.

Thanks for the kind words :). All the best with your proposal.

First of all, thanks a lot for making such a wonderful presentation. The video was really useful and gave me a very clear insight of how a research proposal has to be written. I shall try implementing these ideas in my RP.

Once again, I thank you for this content.

I found reading your outline on writing research proposal very beneficial. I wish there was a way of submitting my draft proposal to you guys for critiquing before I submit to the institution.

Hi Bonginkosi

Thank you for the kind words. Yes, we do provide a review service. The best starting point is to have a chat with one of our coaches here: https://gradcoach.com/book/new/ .

Hello team GRADCOACH, may God bless you so much. I was totally green in research. Am so happy for your free superb tutorials and resources. Once again thank you so much Derek and his team.

You’re welcome, Erick. Good luck with your research proposal 🙂

thank you for the information. its precise and on point.

Really a remarkable piece of writing and great source of guidance for the researchers. GOD BLESS YOU for your guidance. Regards

Thanks so much for your guidance. It is easy and comprehensive the way you explain the steps for a winning research proposal.

Thank you guys so much for the rich post. I enjoyed and learn from every word in it. My problem now is how to get into your platform wherein I can always seek help on things related to my research work ? Secondly, I wish to find out if there is a way I can send my tentative proposal to you guys for examination before I take to my supervisor Once again thanks very much for the insights

Thanks for your kind words, Desire.

If you are based in a country where Grad Coach’s paid services are available, you can book a consultation by clicking the “Book” button in the top right.

Best of luck with your studies.

May God bless you team for the wonderful work you are doing,

If I have a topic, Can I submit it to you so that you can draft a proposal for me?? As I am expecting to go for masters degree in the near future.

Thanks for your comment. We definitely cannot draft a proposal for you, as that would constitute academic misconduct. The proposal needs to be your own work. We can coach you through the process, but it needs to be your own work and your own writing.

Best of luck with your research!

I found a lot of many essential concepts from your material. it is real a road map to write a research proposal. so thanks a lot. If there is any update material on your hand on MBA please forward to me.

GradCoach is a professional website that presents support and helps for MBA student like me through the useful online information on the page and with my 1-on-1 online coaching with the amazing and professional PhD Kerryen.

Thank you Kerryen so much for the support and help 🙂

I really recommend dealing with such a reliable services provider like Gradcoah and a coach like Kerryen.

Hi, Am happy for your service and effort to help students and researchers, Please, i have been given an assignment on research for strategic development, the task one is to formulate a research proposal to support the strategic development of a business area, my issue here is how to go about it, especially the topic or title and introduction. Please, i would like to know if you could help me and how much is the charge.

This content is practical, valuable, and just great!

Thank you very much!

Hi Derek, Thank you for the valuable presentation. It is very helpful especially for beginners like me. I am just starting my PhD.

This is quite instructive and research proposal made simple. Can I have a research proposal template?

Great! Thanks for rescuing me, because I had no former knowledge in this topic. But with this piece of information, I am now secured. Thank you once more.

I enjoyed listening to your video on how to write a proposal. I think I will be able to write a winning proposal with your advice. I wish you were to be my supervisor.

Dear Derek Jansen,

Thank you for your great content. I couldn’t learn these topics in MBA, but now I learned from GradCoach. Really appreciate your efforts….

From Afghanistan!

I have got very essential inputs for startup of my dissertation proposal. Well organized properly communicated with video presentation. Thank you for the presentation.

Wow, this is absolutely amazing guys. Thank you so much for the fruitful presentation, you’ve made my research much easier.

this helps me a lot. thank you all so much for impacting in us. may god richly bless you all

How I wish I’d learn about Grad Coach earlier. I’ve been stumbling around writing and rewriting! Now I have concise clear directions on how to put this thing together. Thank you!

Fantastic!! Thank You for this very concise yet comprehensive guidance.

Even if I am poor in English I would like to thank you very much.

Thank you very much, this is very insightful.

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How to Write a Research Proposal Paper

Table of Contents

What is a research proposal paper, why write a research proposal paper.

• How to Plan a Research Proposal Paper

Components of a Research Proposal Paper

Research proposal examples, help & additional resources, this resource page will help you:.

• Learn what a research proposal paper is.  
• Understand the importance of writing a research proposal paper. 
• Understand the steps in the planning stages of a research proposal paper.  
• Identify the components of a research proposal paper.  

A research proposal paper:   

• includes sufficient information about a research study that you propose to conduct for your thesis (e.g., in an MT, MA, or Ph.D. program) or that you imagine conducting (e.g., in an MEd program). It should help your readers understand the scope, validity, and significance of your proposed study.  
• may be a stand-alone paper or one part of a larger research project, depending on the nature of your assignment. 
• typically follows the citation format of your field, which at OISE is APA .    

Your instructor will provide you with assignment details that can help you determine how much information to include in your research proposal, so you should carefully check your course outline and assignment instructions.  

Writing a research proposal allows you to  

• develop skills in designing a comprehensive research study; 

learn how to identify a research problem that can contribute to advancing knowledge in your field of interest; 

further develop skills in finding foundational and relevant literature related to your topic; 

critically review, examine, and consider the use of different methods for gathering and analyzing data related to the research problem;  

see yourself as an active participant in conducting research in your field of study. 

Writing a research proposal paper can help clarify questions you may have before designing your research study. It is helpful to get feedback on your research proposal and edit your work to be able to see what you may need to change in your proposal. The more diverse opinions you receive on your proposal, the better prepared you will be to design a comprehensive research study. 

How to Plan your Research Proposal

Before starting your research proposal, you should clarify your ideas and make a plan. Ask yourself these questions and take notes:  

What do I want to study? 

Why is the topic important? Why is it important to me? 

How is the topic significant within the subject areas covered in my class? 

What problems will it help solve? 

How does it build on research already conducted on the topic? 

What exactly should I plan to do to conduct a study on the topic? 

It may be helpful to write down your answers to these questions and use them to tell a story about your chosen topic to your classmates or instructor. As you tell your story, write down comments or questions from your listeners. This will help you refine your proposal and research questions. 

This is an example of how to start planning and thinking about your research proposal assignment. You will find a student’s notes and ideas about their research proposal topic - "Perspectives on Textual Production, Student Collaboration, and Social Networking Sites”. This example is hyperlinked in the following Resource Page:&nbsp;

A research proposal paper typically includes: 

• an introduction  
• a theoretical framework 
• a literature review 
• the methodology  
• the implications of the proposed study and conclusion 
• references 

Start your introduction by giving the reader an overview of your study. Include:  

• the research context (in what educational settings do you plan to conduct this study?) 
• the research problem, purpose (What do you want to achieve by conducting this study?) 
• a brief overview of the literature on your topic and the gap your study hopes to fill 
•  research questions and sub-questions 
• a brief mention of your research method (How do you plan to collect and analyze your data?) 
• your personal interest in the topic. 

 Conclude your introduction by giving your reader a roadmap of your proposal. 

 To learn more about paper introductions, check How to write Introductions .  

A theoretical framework refers to the theories that you will use to interpret both your own data and the literature that has come before. Think about theories as lenses that help you look at your data from different perspectives, beyond just your own personal perspective. Think about the theories that you have come across in your courses or readings that could apply to your research topic. When writing the theoretical framework, include 

• A description of where the theories come from (original thinkers), their key components, and how they have developed over time. 
• How you plan to use the theories in your study / how they apply to your topic. 

The literature review section should help you identify topics or issues that will help contextualize what the research has/hasn’t found and discussed on the topic so far and convince your reader that your proposed study is important. This is where you can go into more detail on the gap that your study hopes to fill. Ultimately, a good literature review helps your reader learn more about the topic that you have chosen to study and what still needs to be researched 

To learn more about literature reviews check What is a Literature Review . 

The methods section should briefly explain how you plan to conduct your study and why you have chosen a particular method. You may also include  

• your overall study design (quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods) and the proposed stages 
• your proposed research instruments (e.g. surveys, interviews)  
• your proposed participant recruitment channels / document selection criteria 
• a description of your proposed study participants (age, gender, etc.). 
• how you plan to analyze the data.  

You should cite relevant literature on research methods to support your choices. 

The conclusion section should include a short summary about the implications and significance of your proposed study by explaining how the possible findings may change the ways educators and/or stakeholders address the issues identified in your introduction. 

Depending on the assignment instructions, the conclusion can also highlight next steps and a timeline for the research process. 

To learn more about paper conclusions, check How to write Conclusions . 

List all references you used and format them according to APA style. Make sure that everything in your reference list is cited in the paper, and every citation in your paper is in your reference list.  

To learn more about writing citations and references, check Citations & APA . 

These are detailed guidelines on how to prepare a quantitative research proposal. Adapted from the course APD2293 “Interpretation of Educational Research”. These guidelines are hyperlinked in the following Resource Page:&nbsp;&nbsp;

Related Resource Pages on ASH

• What is a Literature Review?
• How to Prepare a Literature Review
• How to Understand & Plan Assignments
• Citations and APA Style
• How to Integrate Others' Research into your Writing
• How to Write Introductions
• How to Write Conclusions

Additional Resources

• Writing a research proposal– University of Southern California   
• Owl Purdue-Graduate-Specific Genres-Purdue University  
• 10 Tips for Writing a research proposal – McGill University  

On Campus Services

• Book a writing consultation (OSSC)
• Book a Research Consultation (OISE Library)

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• Starting the research process
• How to Write a Research Proposal | Examples & Templates

How to Write a Research Proposal | Examples & Templates

Published on October 12, 2022 by Shona McCombes and Tegan George. Revised on September 5, 2024.

A research proposal describes what you will investigate, why it’s important, and how you will conduct your research.

The format of a research proposal varies between fields, but most proposals will contain at least these elements:

Introduction

Literature review.

• Research design

Reference list

While the sections may vary, the overall objective is always the same. A research proposal serves as a blueprint and guide for your research plan, helping you get organized and feel confident in the path forward you choose to take.

Table of contents

Research proposal purpose, research proposal examples, research design and methods, contribution to knowledge, research schedule, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about research proposals.

Academics often have to write research proposals to get funding for their projects. As a student, you might have to write a research proposal as part of a grad school application , or prior to starting your thesis or dissertation .

In addition to helping you figure out what your research can look like, a proposal can also serve to demonstrate why your project is worth pursuing to a funder, educational institution, or supervisor.

Research proposal length

The length of a research proposal can vary quite a bit. A bachelor’s or master’s thesis proposal can be just a few pages, while proposals for PhD dissertations or research funding are usually much longer and more detailed. Your supervisor can help you determine the best length for your work.

One trick to get started is to think of your proposal’s structure as a shorter version of your thesis or dissertation , only without the results , conclusion and discussion sections.

Download our research proposal template

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

Writing a research proposal can be quite challenging, but a good starting point could be to look at some examples. We’ve included a few for you below.

• Example research proposal #1: “A Conceptual Framework for Scheduling Constraint Management”
• Example research proposal #2: “Medical Students as Mediators of Change in Tobacco Use”

Like your dissertation or thesis, the proposal will usually have a title page that includes:

• The proposed title of your project
• Your supervisor’s name
• Your institution and department

The first part of your proposal is the initial pitch for your project. Make sure it succinctly explains what you want to do and why.

Your introduction should:

• Introduce your topic
• Give necessary background and context
• Outline your  problem statement  and research questions

To guide your introduction , include information about:

• Who could have an interest in the topic (e.g., scientists, policymakers)
• How much is already known about the topic
• What is missing from this current knowledge
• What new insights your research will contribute
• Why you believe this research is worth doing

As you get started, it’s important to demonstrate that you’re familiar with the most important research on your topic. A strong literature review  shows your reader that your project has a solid foundation in existing knowledge or theory. It also shows that you’re not simply repeating what other people have already done or said, but rather using existing research as a jumping-off point for your own.

In this section, share exactly how your project will contribute to ongoing conversations in the field by:

• Comparing and contrasting the main theories, methods, and debates
• Examining the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches
• Explaining how will you build on, challenge, or synthesize prior scholarship

Following the literature review, restate your main  objectives . This brings the focus back to your own project. Next, your research design or methodology section will describe your overall approach, and the practical steps you will take to answer your research questions.

To finish your proposal on a strong note, explore the potential implications of your research for your field. Emphasize again what you aim to contribute and why it matters.

For example, your results might have implications for:

• Improving best practices
• Informing policymaking decisions
• Strengthening a theory or model
• Challenging popular or scientific beliefs
• Creating a basis for future research

Last but not least, your research proposal must include correct citations for every source you have used, compiled in a reference list . To create citations quickly and easily, you can use our free APA citation generator .

Some institutions or funders require a detailed timeline of the project, asking you to forecast what you will do at each stage and how long it may take. While not always required, be sure to check the requirements of your project.

Here’s an example schedule to help you get started. You can also download a template at the button below.

Download our research schedule template

If you are applying for research funding, chances are you will have to include a detailed budget. This shows your estimates of how much each part of your project will cost.

Make sure to check what type of costs the funding body will agree to cover. For each item, include:

• Cost : exactly how much money do you need?
• Justification : why is this cost necessary to complete the research?
• Source : how did you calculate the amount?

To determine your budget, think about:

• Travel costs : do you need to go somewhere to collect your data? How will you get there, and how much time will you need? What will you do there (e.g., interviews, archival research)?
• Materials : do you need access to any tools or technologies?
• Help : do you need to hire any research assistants for the project? What will they do, and how much will you pay them?

If you want to know more about the research process , methodology , research bias , or statistics , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

Methodology

• Sampling methods
• Simple random sampling
• Stratified sampling
• Cluster sampling
• Likert scales
• Reproducibility

 Statistics

• Null hypothesis
• Statistical power
• Probability distribution
• Effect size
• Poisson distribution

Research bias

• Optimism bias
• Cognitive bias
• Implicit bias
• Hawthorne effect
• Anchoring bias
• Explicit bias

Once you’ve decided on your research objectives , you need to explain them in your paper, at the end of your problem statement .

Keep your research objectives clear and concise, and use appropriate verbs to accurately convey the work that you will carry out for each one.

I will compare …

A research aim is a broad statement indicating the general purpose of your research project. It should appear in your introduction at the end of your problem statement , before your research objectives.

Research objectives are more specific than your research aim. They indicate the specific ways you’ll address the overarching aim.

A PhD, which is short for philosophiae doctor (doctor of philosophy in Latin), is the highest university degree that can be obtained. In a PhD, students spend 3–5 years writing a dissertation , which aims to make a significant, original contribution to current knowledge.

A PhD is intended to prepare students for a career as a researcher, whether that be in academia, the public sector, or the private sector.

A master’s is a 1- or 2-year graduate degree that can prepare you for a variety of careers.

All master’s involve graduate-level coursework. Some are research-intensive and intend to prepare students for further study in a PhD; these usually require their students to write a master’s thesis . Others focus on professional training for a specific career.

Critical thinking refers to the ability to evaluate information and to be aware of biases or assumptions, including your own.

Like information literacy , it involves evaluating arguments, identifying and solving problems in an objective and systematic way, and clearly communicating your ideas.

The best way to remember the difference between a research plan and a research proposal is that they have fundamentally different audiences. A research plan helps you, the researcher, organize your thoughts. On the other hand, a dissertation proposal or research proposal aims to convince others (e.g., a supervisor, a funding body, or a dissertation committee) that your research topic is relevant and worthy of being conducted.

Cite this Scribbr article

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McCombes, S. & George, T. (2024, September 05). How to Write a Research Proposal | Examples & Templates. Scribbr. Retrieved September 9, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/research-process/research-proposal/

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How to write a research proposal

You will need to submit a research proposal with your PhD application. This is crucial in the assessment of your application and it warrants plenty of time and energy.

Your proposal should outline your project and be around 1,500 words.

Your research proposal should include a working title for your project.

Overview of the research

In this section, you should provide a short overview of your research. You should also state how your research fits into the research priorities of your particular subject area.

Here you can refer to the research areas and priorities of a particular research grouping or supervisor.

You must also state precisely why you have chosen to apply to the discipline area and how your research links into our overall profile.

Positioning of the research

This should reference the most important texts related to the research, demonstrate your understanding of the research issues, and identify existing gaps (both theoretical and practical) that the research is intended to address.

Research design and methodology

This section should identify the information that is necessary to carry out the analysis and the possible research techniques that could deliver the information.

Your research proposal will be used to assess the quality and originality of your ideas, whether you are able to think critically and whether you have a grasp of the relevant literature. It also gives us important information about the perspectives you intend to take on your research area, and how you fit into the department's research profile overall. This is helpful when assigning a supervisor.

Flexibility

You will not be forced to follow the proposal exactly once you have started to study. It is normal for students to refine their original proposal, in light of detailed literature review, further consideration of research approaches and comments received from your supervisors (and other academic staff).

Pitfalls to avoid

We sometimes have to reject students who meet the academic requirements but have not produced a satisfactory research proposal, therefore:

• Make sure that your research idea, question or problem is very clearly stated and well-grounded in academic research.
• Make sure that your proposal is well focused and conforms exactly to the submission requirements described here.
• Poorly specified, jargon-filled or rambling proposals will not convince us that you have a clear idea of what you want to do.

The University uses electronic systems to detect plagiarism and other forms of academic malpractice and for assessment. All Humanities PhD programmes require the submission of a research proposal as part of the application process. The Doctoral Academy upholds the principle that where a candidate approaches the University with a project of study, this should be original. While it is understandable that research may arise out of previous studies, it is vital that your research proposal is not the subject of plagiarism.

Find a supervisor

Exploring our research specialisms will help you to match your proposal idea with a suitable supervisor.

Current PhD students

Get inspiration from some of our current students about the types of research topics you can pursue.

• How to Write a Great PhD Research Proposal | FindAPhD.com

How to Write a Great PhD Research Proposal

Written by Mark Bennett

You'll need to write a research proposal if you're submitting your own project plan as part of a PhD application. A good PhD proposal outlines the scope and significance of your topic and explains how you plan to research it.

It's helpful to think about the proposal like this: if the rest of your application explains your ability to do a PhD, the proposal demonstrates the actual PhD you plan to do. Of course, being able to effectively plan and explain a research project is one of the key qualifications for being able to complete one, which is why the proposal is such an important part of the PhD application process.

Thankfully, the secret to writing a good research proposal isn't complicated. It's simply a case of understanding what the proposal is for, what it needs to do and how it needs to be put together.

On this page

What is a phd research proposal.

First things first, do you need a research proposal for your PhD? It depends on the kind of project you want to do:

• If your PhD is advertised by a university, you probably won't need to submit a research proposal for it. The broad aims and objectives for your PhD will already be defined: you just need to prove you're the right person to do it.
• But, if you're proposing your own research topic to research within a university's PhD programme, you will need to write a proposal for it (the clue is in the word "proposing")

As a rule, advertised PhDs are very common in STEM subjects, whereas Arts, Humanities and Social Science students are more likely to propose their own PhDs.

Some PhD programmes actually wait and ask students to develop their research proposal during the degree (usually after they've completed some initial training). This is normal in the USA , but it's becoming more common for some UKRI-funded UK PhDs.

For the purposes of this guide we're going to assume that you do need to write a good research proposal for your PhD application. So let's explore what's involved in that.

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What should a research proposal for PhD admission include?

It's natural to be a little intimidated at the thought of structuring a PhD proposal, particularly if you've never written anything like this before.

But here's the thing: a research proposal isn't a fiendish test designed to catch you out and stop you ever doing a PhD. It's actually much more boring than that.

All a research proposal really is is a document that demonstrates three things:

• Your PhD is worthwhile
• Your PhD is feasible
• You are capable of completing it at this university

Or to put it even more simply: the PhD is worth doing, it's doable and you can do it.

Demonstrate your PhD is worthwhile (the what and the why)

A successful PhD project has to make a significant original contribution to knowledge. If it doesn't, it won't meet the criteria for a doctoral degree and will probably fail the viva exam .

Your PhD proposal itself doesn't have to meet those criteria (or pass a viva!) but it does need to indicate that your PhD project eventually will.

It does that by first demonstrating that your research topic is original. That means nobody else has studied this same topic (or one very similar) before.

There are all sorts of ways a PhD can be original. You might examine new data or primary sources, to look at existing material from a fresh perspective, or deal with the impact of new events. It doesn't matter how your project is original, so long as your proposal is really specific about what makes it original.

You also need to explain why your proposed research will be academically significant. To do this properly, you'll need to acknowledge relevant existing scholarship and explain how your research will relate to it. You don't need to be exhaustive at this point, but you should be able to show how your PhD will contribute to its field and – ideally – indicate some of the gaps in knowledge it will aim to fill.

The final step in demonstrating your PhD is worthwhile is to suggest what will become possible as a result of your research. How could other researchers use or build upon your results? What might closing those gaps in academic knowledge mean for audiences outside the unviversity?

Demonstrate your PhD is feasible (the how)

It isn't enough just to show that your research is worth doing; it also needs to actually be doable.

The length of a full-time PhD is around three to four years in most countries (it's longer in for a PhD in the USA , but you don't spend all that time doing research).

Three years may seem like a long time, but researching a PhD is a lot of work and you'll probably spend at least some of your time on other activities like teaching, conference presentations or even publication.

So, one of the things your proposal needs to do is demonstrate that your project is feasible: that it fits within the scope of a PhD.

The most important criteria for this is to be clear about what you plan to do. It should be obvious from your proposal what the scope of your project is – what is and isn't included within it.

You also need to outline how you plan to go about your research. Where will you start and what order do you expect to proceed in? Is the logic for that obvious? If not, it's probably a good idea to explain it.

Finally, you need to explain the methodology you plan to use. This could include techniques for collecting data and sources, theoretical perspectives for analysing them – or both. You may also need to detail specific equipment you expect to use or fieldwork you'll need to undertake (including trips to archives or other external resources).

None of this needs to be exact or completely final. The key word here is 'plan' – but you do need to have one.

Demonstrate that you can complete it at this university (the who and the where)

So far we've thought about the project itself: what makes it worth doing and how it's going to get done. But your proposal also needs to address the who and the where: why are you the right person to carry out this research, and why do you want to do it at this particular university?

The first part of this is easier than it probably looks. Writing a good research proposal demonstrates enthusiasm for your project much more convincingly than simply saying you're very interested in it (a classic case of 'show, don't tell').

You also don't need to repeat your grades and academic achievements (other parts of your PhD application will cover those). Instead, try to underline experiences that relate to this project. Has a particular module or Masters dissertation topic prepared you with useful subject knowledge or methodological skills? If so, highlight it.

It's also fine, within reason, to be honest about the skills you don't have and to identify your training needs. This shows you're being practical about your project and thinking seriously about what it will require. Just make sure you can realistically acquire the skills and training you need within the time available (this goes back to the feasibility).

Showing your project is a good fit for the university is also relatively simple. There should already be some reasons why you've chosen this university for your PhD so make sure you explain what they are. Perhaps there's a particular supervisor you'd like to work with , or facilities and resources your research could use. The key is to emphasise the fit between the project and the university – so don't just say you want to research there because it's highly ranked .

PhD research proposal structure

Hopefully the above sections have given you a few ideas for the things your proposal needs to include. Let's be honest though, the scariest thing about a proposal isn't deciding what to include: it's actually writing it.

But, if we flip that on its head, we remember that all a research proposal really is is a piece of writing that follows a pretty standard format. And that's a lot less scary.

Research proposal structure

Because proposals for PhD all have to do the same things, they mostly follow a similar structure. Yours will probably go something like this:

• Title – Keep it simple and descriptive: the clever alliteration and quotes can come later when you write up your thesis. For now, you just want the person reading this to know exactly what your research is about and, perhaps, which prospective supervisor to send it to.
• Overview – Start by defining your research question (the what) and explaining how it contributes to current work in your field (the why). This is also a good place to reference one or two pieces of scholarship: the full literature review can wait until your PhD begins, but you should show that you have some understanding of relevant academic research.
• Methodology – Make sure the reader understands the practical and / or theoretical approaches you'll take to your research. What data will you collect, how will you collect it and how will you analyse it? Ideally refer to relevant research methods and models. It's also a good idea to provide some sort of roadmap for how you'll go about things. Don't worry, you can change it later (and you will).
• Outcomes and impact – What will exist as a result of your research (other than just another PhD on a library shelf) and what will it make possible? You don't need to identify every specific outcome from your project (blue sky research is fine) but you should think about what some potential outcomes might be.

You probably won't need to include a specific conclusion - it should be obvious, by now, what your project is doing, how you're going to do it and why that matters. A quick summary sentence is fine though, if you think it will help.

Writing tips

Being able to effectively communicate academic concepts, ideas and results is a key skill for PhD research in all subjects . Think of your proposal as a chance to demonstrate this.

The good news is that the key principles of good proposal writing aren't that different from other work you've probably done as a Bachelors or Masters student:

• Be clear – The person reading your research proposal should know exactly what it is you're proposing to research, with no room for ambiguity and confusion. This is important on a practical level (they need to know where to send it) but it's also important to the success of your application: a confusing proposal suggests a confused project. Try having a friend read it and ask them "do you know what it is I'm proposing to do here?" (even if they don't understand the details).
• Be concise – You will have more ideas than you can include in your proposal. That's fine. Choose the best ones and leave the others for your interview .
• be coherent – Follow something like the structure above. Don't start with your methodology, then say what it is you want to research.

How long should a PhD research proposal be?

Honestly? As long as the university asks for it to be. Most will have guidelines and you should follow them closely if so.

If you honestly can't find a suggested word count for your proposal, then consider asking a prospective supervisor . If you still aren't sure, aim for somewhere between 1,000-2,000 words .

As a very general rule, Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences are a bit longer than STEM proposals (and a lot of STEM students don't have to write one anyway, as we've explained).

Research proposal for PhD admission - dos and don'ts

Research proposals are a popular topic over on the FindAPhD blog , where we've shared stories of how students wrote theirs , along with mistakes to avoid and a counter-intuitive look at the things a PhD proposal doesn't actually need to do .

Here are a few general tips and mistakes to avoid:

#1 Give yourself enough time to do a good job

Preparing to write a PhD proposal takes time and effort. None of this is wasted as the process of evaluating and framing your ideas for a proposal will improve your project plan immensely. So will the need to decide which ideas to include.

But you need time and space to do that, so make sure you get it. How long it will take to write your PhD proposal is heavily dependent on your personal working style, but you'll likely need to give yourself at least a few weeks to do a good job.

#2 Set out to impress

A good proposal isn't a begging letter. You're approaching the university with a great idea that's going to contribute to and enhance their research. Be honest, be realistic, but don't be unnecessarily humble. They should want you and your project.

#3 Demonstrate original thinking!

You may not need to present original research findings yet, but your proposal does need to present original ideas – and it should be clear why and how those ideas are original.

Make sure you indicate how your project is going to expand, enhance or even correct existing work in your field. Remember that making an "original contribution to knowledge" is a key part of what a PhD is .

#1 Send the same proposal to several universities

A good proposal needs to explain why you want to do your research at a particular university. That's a big part of the feasibility (the fit between project, person and place) and methodology (how are you going to use this university's equipment and archives; when and where will you need to travel).

It's OK to apply to more than one university in parallel, but, in that case, you're writing research proposals .

#2 Use online proposal templates (without evaluating them first!)

It can be tempting to search for PhD proposal samples on the internet, but make sure you evaluate what you find. Some websites may host old proposals from previous PhD students, but there's no way of knowing how relevant these are to your subject and university – or if they were even successful! More 'generic' research proposal examples can offer guidance, but they won't be tailored to your specific project.

The best place to look for a PhD proposal sample is your university. Consider asking your supervisor if they can share a good proposal from a previous student in your subject – or put you in touch with a current student you can ask.

#3 Confuse the proposal with the PhD

We've covered this on the blog , but it's simple enough to include here too.

You're setting out to do a PhD, but you (probably!) haven't done one yet. So you don't need to include research findings, in-depth analysis or a comprehesive literature review. You need to make a case for the research and analysis you want to do.

#4 Ignore your university's help and guidance

The advice on this page is necessarily quite general. We're considering adding guides to writing PhD proposals in specific subjects in future but, for now, the best place to get specific advice for your academic field is probably the university you're applying to.

See if you can get some subject-specific tips by contacting a supervisor , or just checking with the admissions team for your department.

And remember: if they give you a structure and a word count, stick to it.

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Getting ready to apply for a PhD? Our guides explain research proposals, references and entry tests for doctoral programmes.

Our guide explains how to contact a potential PhD supervisor to discuss your proposal or ideas with them before applying.

A checklist of the things you'll need to do when making an international PhD application, from meeting the entry requirements to sorting out your visa.

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Writing a research proposal

How to write a research proposal.

For many subjects, writing a research proposal is a key part of your postgraduate research degree application. This is your opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge and how you want to contribute to the subject.  

We use the proposal to match your interest with an appropriate supervisor to make sure you have the best support during your degree. We are looking for originality and relevance when assessing the overall quality of your application, including your suitability for this level of study.  

We highly recommend that you explore which academic researchers are working in your subject area and contact them first with any questions, this is a good opportunity to firm up your ideas, further explore the topic and talk with others in your field.  

What is a research proposal?  

A research proposal is a concise and coherent document, usually between 1500 – 2000 words, maximum 4 x A4 pages. You should outline your proposed research project, why it is of relevance (rationale), what research questions are you going to ask, what you hope to achieve (aims and objectives) and how you plan to carry out your research (methodology).   

Step-by-step 

This page is your comprehensive guide to writing a research proposal and will cover seven key elements of a proposal:  

Working title

You should include a title for your thesis in the proposal.

Your title may change as you further your research, but at this stage it's important to state succinctly what your research will cover.

Introduction

Briefly identify your idea, what is your ‘research question’?

It could be the theory you want to test, or a more open question. It would be useful to give examples, 3-5 research questions from recently completed PhDs in a relevant field. You should discuss the context around your research topic, such as current debates and issues. The important thing here is that you introduce your research project with clarity and in a way that stimulates your reader’s interest.

Demonstrate the significance of your research project.

To do this, explain why your research is important, what makes it original and how it will contribute to existing knowledge within its field.

Aims and objectives

What are you hoping to achieve with your research?

Try and produce four or five bullet points of objectives for each aim, which demonstrate your understanding of how to meet your research aims. You can use the SMART acronym to support you in creating objectives, which involves making your objectives: specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time specific.

Literature Review

Demonstrate your knowledge and awareness of relevant literature

A literature review is a discussion and evaluation of academic literature or a relevant body of knowledge (for practice-based research). You should use this section of your proposal to show that you are familiar with work in your chosen topic area and that your research will contribute something new and/or meaningful to it.

Methodology

Explain how you plan to carry out your research

The methodology section of your research proposal is where you explain how you plan to carry out your research. This should include the research techniques and methods you will use, why these are most appropriate and how you will implement them. You should also include a discussion of the research strategy (general approach) you will adopt, with appropriate justification, including the analytical approach. The section should also contain the range of research findings that will be gathered from the research and how you will analyse or evaluate this. For practice based research, include how will your portfolio of artefacts, code, software, compositions, computer games etc. articulate the originality of your research?

Reference all the materials you used in the preparation your proposal

You may also list references that you didn't directly draw upon, to demonstrate awareness of literature relating to your proposed material.

Support from academic staff in drafting your research proposal

Your research proposal will be read by academics with an interest in your field of research. You are therefore encouraged to contact members of academic staff informally prior to submitting your application to discuss to your research proposal. This can often speed up the applications process, as you can identify the member(s) of staff you have spoken to on your research degree application form.

Use the Huddersfield Research Portal to browse academic staff profiles and search using key words to find staff members who share your research interests.

Changing aspects of your research proposal after gaining a place as a research student

Your research proposal is your starting point, and we understand that as your idea develop s , your proposed research is likely to change. As such, you will not be obliged to adhere to the specifics of your proposal if you are offered a place as a research degree candidate at Huddersfield. However, as the proposal is the foundation of your working relationship with your supervisor(s), you will need to discuss any changes with them first. 

Useful tips for writing a research proposal

• Maintain a focus in your proposal: Your research proposal should be clear and concise, outlining your research idea and its benefits to your chosen field of study, in a way that the reader can clearly understand. Remember, your proposal is just the starting point and an outline and does not need to be overly complicated.
• Share your proposal: Ask someone you trust (a friend, family member, tutor) to read your proposal and provide some feedback. Do they understand what your research is about? Do they think your aims and objectives are achievable? Does your research engage them?
• Align your proposal topic with University research themes: Whilst it is important to choose a research topic that you are passionate about, your proposal will be assessed (in part) on its fit with our University research themes. You therefore need to choose a topic which aligns with topics of interest to the University or academic school you hoping to work within and make it clear how your project matches up with them.
• Be realistic in your proposal: Your proposal is assessed not only on its quality, originality and fit with our research themes but also the likelihood of completion, so make sure that the scope of your research project is reasonable and realistic .
• Take your time when writing your proposal: There are a lot of elements to a high-quality research proposal, so take the time to ensure that you meet them all. At the University of Huddersfield, there are three opportunities for enrolling onto a research degree programme during the academic year (October, January, and April), meaning less time pressure when working on your proposal and application.

Once you have written your proposal, what next?

Once you have written your research proposal you will need to complete an application form. Look at our how to apply webpage for more information.

How to apply for a research degree

Our step-by-step guide will help you to make the most out of your application for a research degree

Scholarships and funding

Explore our funding options, including scholarships and Doctoral Loans.

How to write a research proposal

What is a research proposal.

A research proposal should present your idea or question and expected outcomes with clarity and definition – the what.

It should also make a case for why your question is significant and what value it will bring to your discipline – the why. 

What it shouldn't do is answer the question – that's what your research will do.

Why is it important?

Research proposals are significant because Another reason why it formally outlines your intended research. Which means you need to provide details on how you will go about your research, including:

• your approach and methodology
• timeline and feasibility
• all other considerations needed to progress your research, such as resources.

Think of it as a tool that will help you clarify your idea and make conducting your research easier.

How long should it be?

Usually no more than 2000 words, but check the requirements of your degree, and your supervisor or research coordinator.

Presenting your idea clearly and concisely demonstrates that you can write this way – an attribute of a potential research candidate that is valued by assessors.

What should it include?

Project title.

Your title should clearly indicate what your proposed research is about.

Research supervisor

State the name, department and faculty or school of the academic who has agreed to supervise you. Rest assured, your research supervisor will work with you to refine your research proposal ahead of submission to ensure it meets the needs of your discipline.

Proposed mode of research

Describe your proposed mode of research. Which may be closely linked to your discipline, and is where you will describe the style or format of your research, e.g. data, field research, composition, written work, social performance and mixed media etc. 

This is not required for research in the sciences, but your research supervisor will be able to guide you on discipline-specific requirements.

Aims and objectives

What are you trying to achieve with your research? What is the purpose? This section should reference why you're applying for a research degree. Are you addressing a gap in the current research? Do you want to look at a theory more closely and test it out? Is there something you're trying to prove or disprove? To help you clarify this, think about the potential outcome of your research if you were successful – that is your aim. Make sure that this is a focused statement.

Your objectives will be your aim broken down – the steps to achieving the intended outcome. They are the smaller proof points that will underpin your research's purpose. Be logical in the order of how you present these so that each succeeds the previous, i.e. if you need to achieve 'a' before 'b' before 'c', then make sure you order your objectives a, b, c.

A concise summary of what your research is about. It outlines the key aspects of what you will investigate as well as the expected outcomes. It briefly covers the what, why and how of your research. 

A good way to evaluate if you have written a strong synopsis, is to get somebody to read it without reading the rest of your research proposal. Would they know what your research is about?

Now that you have your question clarified, it is time to explain the why. Here, you need to demonstrate an understanding of the current research climate in your area of interest.

Providing context around your research topic through a literature review will show the assessor that you understand current dialogue around your research, and what is published.

Demonstrate you have a strong understanding of the key topics, significant studies and notable researchers in your area of research and how these have contributed to the current landscape.

Expected research contribution

In this section, you should consider the following:

• Why is your research question or hypothesis worth asking?
• How is the current research lacking or falling short?
• What impact will your research have on the discipline?
• Will you be extending an area of knowledge, applying it to new contexts, solving a problem, testing a theory, or challenging an existing one?
• Establish why your research is important by convincing your audience there is a gap.
• What will be the outcome of your research contribution?
• Demonstrate both your current level of knowledge and how the pursuit of your question or hypothesis will create a new understanding and generate new information.
• Show how your research is innovative and original.

Draw links between your research and the faculty or school you are applying at, and explain why you have chosen your supervisor, and what research have they or their school done to reinforce and support your own work. Cite these reasons to demonstrate how your research will benefit and contribute to the current body of knowledge.

Proposed methodology

Provide an overview of the methodology and techniques you will use to conduct your research. Cover what materials and equipment you will use, what theoretical frameworks will you draw on, and how will you collect data.

Highlight why you have chosen this particular methodology, but also why others may not have been as suitable. You need to demonstrate that you have put thought into your approach and why it's the most appropriate way to carry out your research. 

It should also highlight potential limitations you anticipate, feasibility within time and other constraints, ethical considerations and how you will address these, as well as general resources.

A work plan is a critical component of your research proposal because it indicates the feasibility of completion within the timeframe and supports you in achieving your objectives throughout your degree.

Consider the milestones you aim to achieve at each stage of your research. A PhD or master's degree by research can take two to four years of full-time study to complete. It might be helpful to offer year one in detail and the following years in broader terms. Ultimately you have to show that your research is likely to be both original and finished – and that you understand the time involved.

Provide details of the resources you will need to carry out your research project. Consider equipment, fieldwork expenses, travel and a proposed budget, to indicate how realistic your research proposal is in terms of financial requirements and whether any adjustments are needed.

Bibliography

Provide a list of references that you've made throughout your research proposal. 

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Home » How To Write A Research Proposal – Step-by-Step [Template]

How To Write A Research Proposal – Step-by-Step [Template]

Table of Contents

How To Write a Research Proposal

Writing a Research proposal involves several steps to ensure a well-structured and comprehensive document. Here is an explanation of each step:

1. Title and Abstract

• Choose a concise and descriptive title that reflects the essence of your research.
• Write an abstract summarizing your research question, objectives, methodology, and expected outcomes. It should provide a brief overview of your proposal.

2. Introduction:

• Provide an introduction to your research topic, highlighting its significance and relevance.
• Clearly state the research problem or question you aim to address.
• Discuss the background and context of the study, including previous research in the field.

3. Research Objectives

• Outline the specific objectives or aims of your research. These objectives should be clear, achievable, and aligned with the research problem.

4. Literature Review:

• Conduct a comprehensive review of relevant literature and studies related to your research topic.
• Summarize key findings, identify gaps, and highlight how your research will contribute to the existing knowledge.

5. Methodology:

• Describe the research design and methodology you plan to employ to address your research objectives.
• Explain the data collection methods, instruments, and analysis techniques you will use.
• Justify why the chosen methods are appropriate and suitable for your research.

6. Timeline:

• Create a timeline or schedule that outlines the major milestones and activities of your research project.
• Break down the research process into smaller tasks and estimate the time required for each task.

7. Resources:

• Identify the resources needed for your research, such as access to specific databases, equipment, or funding.
• Explain how you will acquire or utilize these resources to carry out your research effectively.

8. Ethical Considerations:

• Discuss any ethical issues that may arise during your research and explain how you plan to address them.
• If your research involves human subjects, explain how you will ensure their informed consent and privacy.

9. Expected Outcomes and Significance:

• Clearly state the expected outcomes or results of your research.
• Highlight the potential impact and significance of your research in advancing knowledge or addressing practical issues.

10. References:

• Provide a list of all the references cited in your proposal, following a consistent citation style (e.g., APA, MLA).

11. Appendices:

• Include any additional supporting materials, such as survey questionnaires, interview guides, or data analysis plans.

Research Proposal Format

The format of a research proposal may vary depending on the specific requirements of the institution or funding agency. However, the following is a commonly used format for a research proposal:

1. Title Page:

• Include the title of your research proposal, your name, your affiliation or institution, and the date.

2. Abstract:

• Provide a brief summary of your research proposal, highlighting the research problem, objectives, methodology, and expected outcomes.

3. Introduction:

• Introduce the research topic and provide background information.
• State the research problem or question you aim to address.
• Explain the significance and relevance of the research.
• Review relevant literature and studies related to your research topic.
• Summarize key findings and identify gaps in the existing knowledge.
• Explain how your research will contribute to filling those gaps.

5. Research Objectives:

• Clearly state the specific objectives or aims of your research.
• Ensure that the objectives are clear, focused, and aligned with the research problem.

6. Methodology:

• Describe the research design and methodology you plan to use.
• Explain the data collection methods, instruments, and analysis techniques.
• Justify why the chosen methods are appropriate for your research.

7. Timeline:

8. Resources:

• Explain how you will acquire or utilize these resources effectively.

9. Ethical Considerations:

• If applicable, explain how you will ensure informed consent and protect the privacy of research participants.

10. Expected Outcomes and Significance:

11. References:

12. Appendices:

Research Proposal Template

Here’s a template for a research proposal:

1. Introduction:

2. Literature Review:

3. Research Objectives:

4. Methodology:

5. Timeline:

6. Resources:

7. Ethical Considerations:

8. Expected Outcomes and Significance:

9. References:

10. Appendices:

Research Proposal Sample

Title: The Impact of Online Education on Student Learning Outcomes: A Comparative Study

1. Introduction

Online education has gained significant prominence in recent years, especially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This research proposal aims to investigate the impact of online education on student learning outcomes by comparing them with traditional face-to-face instruction. The study will explore various aspects of online education, such as instructional methods, student engagement, and academic performance, to provide insights into the effectiveness of online learning.

2. Objectives

The main objectives of this research are as follows:

• To compare student learning outcomes between online and traditional face-to-face education.
• To examine the factors influencing student engagement in online learning environments.
• To assess the effectiveness of different instructional methods employed in online education.
• To identify challenges and opportunities associated with online education and suggest recommendations for improvement.

3. Methodology

3.1 Study Design

This research will utilize a mixed-methods approach to gather both quantitative and qualitative data. The study will include the following components:

3.2 Participants

The research will involve undergraduate students from two universities, one offering online education and the other providing face-to-face instruction. A total of 500 students (250 from each university) will be selected randomly to participate in the study.

3.3 Data Collection

The research will employ the following data collection methods:

• Quantitative: Pre- and post-assessments will be conducted to measure students’ learning outcomes. Data on student demographics and academic performance will also be collected from university records.
• Qualitative: Focus group discussions and individual interviews will be conducted with students to gather their perceptions and experiences regarding online education.

3.4 Data Analysis

Quantitative data will be analyzed using statistical software, employing descriptive statistics, t-tests, and regression analysis. Qualitative data will be transcribed, coded, and analyzed thematically to identify recurring patterns and themes.

4. Ethical Considerations

The study will adhere to ethical guidelines, ensuring the privacy and confidentiality of participants. Informed consent will be obtained, and participants will have the right to withdraw from the study at any time.

5. Significance and Expected Outcomes

This research will contribute to the existing literature by providing empirical evidence on the impact of online education on student learning outcomes. The findings will help educational institutions and policymakers make informed decisions about incorporating online learning methods and improving the quality of online education. Moreover, the study will identify potential challenges and opportunities related to online education and offer recommendations for enhancing student engagement and overall learning outcomes.

6. Timeline

The proposed research will be conducted over a period of 12 months, including data collection, analysis, and report writing.

The estimated budget for this research includes expenses related to data collection, software licenses, participant compensation, and research assistance. A detailed budget breakdown will be provided in the final research plan.

8. Conclusion

This research proposal aims to investigate the impact of online education on student learning outcomes through a comparative study with traditional face-to-face instruction. By exploring various dimensions of online education, this research will provide valuable insights into the effectiveness and challenges associated with online learning. The findings will contribute to the ongoing discourse on educational practices and help shape future strategies for maximizing student learning outcomes in online education settings.

About the author

Muhammad Hassan

Researcher, Academic Writer, Web developer

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Help with your application

Guidance for applicants applying to the PhD programme

1. Find a research opportunity and contact potential supervisors prior to making an application

Find a research opportunity that matches your interests. We strongly encourage you to get in touch with a potential supervisor, and to include their name in your application. When contacting a potential supervisor, please include a draft proposal and CV as this will provide the starting point for discussion. You can introduce yourself by explaining why their work interests you. Please note that our academic staff are very busy and it may take time for them to respond to your enquiry.

View our research interests and staff profiles

2. Write a research proposal

Writing your research proposal.

Your research proposal will be used to consider whether supervision can be provided for the research that you propose, so it is important that your basic aims and area of investigation are clear.

We understand that it can be difficult to formulate research plans for a proposal well in advance of carrying out the work, but we encourage you to formulate your ideas clearly and to take great care over your proposal. You should expect to draft your proposal several times, and, ideally, seek comments on it from people able to discuss it with you (perhaps from your referees or former lecturers) before submitting your application.

Your proposal should be around 1000 words. This does not include any references or bibliography – you are encouraged to refer to relevant literature and may include a set of references as well as a proposal of the length described above.

Your proposal should include:

a title for the project

a discussion of the research questions or hypothesis that you intend to address, along with a justification for them: what makes the problem or questions interesting and important?

a brief explanation of the ideas or concepts that the research will investigate

a description of the research context in which you aim to work – you should refer explicitly to work which is similar to that which you are planning or which is influential on your ideas, and you should include the details of this work in a bibliography or list of references

an indication of feasibility: How will you go about answering the question in the timeframe of the PhD? What skills/knowledge do you need to acquire? 

Given the limited scope of a PhD dissertation, you will not resolve a big, longstanding philosophical problem in your dissertation. Instead aim for a medium sized contribution (i.e. greater scope than a single journal article, but no more than a short monograph) to a current debate in philosophy or philosophical scholarship. An overly ambitious proposal is unlikely to be successful. If your application is successful, we expect that your research will develop. It is likely that your supervisor will suggest changes or developments to your research. Therefore, you will not be held to the ideas that you explain in your proposal during the course of your research.

3. Prepare and submit your application materials

In order to ensure full consideration of your application we ask that you submit your complete application including all supporting documentation by 14 November 2022 . Only applications received by November 14 will be considered for funding.

You should include a sample of academic writing, such as an essay or article, written in the past two years. Ideally your work sample should be on a topic related to your proposed area of research.

You will be asked to add contact details for your referees. We will email them with information on how to upload their reference directly to your online application. Please allow plenty of time as we can only consider your application once we have received your full application, including your references.

Find out more about the application process

4. Prepare a funding application

Our PhD positions do not come with automatic funding. The AHRC, specifically the Scottish Graduate School for Arts and Humanities (SGSAH) is a main source of funding for our PhD students.  M ore information can be found at:

• Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)

All applicants in the first round (November deadline) are strongly encouraged to prepare an application to the SGSAH. This application is submitted to PPLS immediately after your application for a PhD position at PPLS . Do not wait to be offered a place to study first! We select a number of proposals based on academic merit and funding potential to be considered by the SGSAH. If you do not complete the SGSAH application, you greatly diminish your chances of receiving funding for your PhD. Shortlisted candidates will have the opportunity to work on their proposal further prior to final submission to SGSAH.  SGSAH will consider and make final decision on funding award in late spring 2022.

For further funding options beyond the SGSAH, please see:

• Funding opportunities for research students

If you require a PDF document in an alternative format, such as large print or a coloured background, please email [email protected] or contact the Postgraduate Office.

If you would like more information about submitting your application and the admissions process please do not hesitate to get in touch with the School Postgraduate Office.

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Research Philosophy

Research philosophy is a vast topic and here we will not be discussing this topic in great details. Research philosophy is associated with assumption, knowledge and nature of the study. It deals with the specific way of developing knowledge. This matter needs to be addressed because researchers may have different assumptions about the nature of truth and knowledge and philosophy helps us to understand their assumptions.

In business and economics dissertations at Bachelor’s level, you are not expected to discuss research philosophy in a great level of depth, and about one page in methodology chapter devoted to research philosophy usually suffices. For a business dissertation at Master’s level, on the other hand, you may need to provide more discussion of the philosophy of your study. But even there, about two pages of discussions are usually accepted as sufficient by supervisors.

Discussion of research philosophy in your dissertation should include the following:

• You need to specify the research philosophy of your study. Your research philosophy can be pragmatism , positivism , realism or interpretivism as discussed below in more details.
• The reasons behind philosophical classifications of the study need to be provided.
• You need to discuss the implications of your research philosophy on the research strategy in general and the choice of primary data collection methods in particular.

The Essence of Research Philosophy

Research philosophy deals with the source, nature and development of knowledge [1] . In simple terms, research philosophy is belief about the ways in which data about a phenomenon should be collected, analysed and used.

Although the idea of knowledge creation may appear to be profound, you are engaged in knowledge creation as part of completing your dissertation. You will collect secondary and primary data and engage in data analysis to answer the research question and this answer marks the creation of new knowledge.

In respect to business and economics philosophy has the following important three functions [2] :

• Demystifying : Exposing, criticising and explaining the unsustainable assumptions, inconsistencies and confusions these may contain.
• Informing : Helping researchers to understand where they stand in the wider field of knowledge-producing activities, and helping to make them aware of potentialities they might explore.
• Method-facilitating : Dissecting and better understanding the methods which economists or, more generally, scientists do, or could, use, and thereby to refine the methods on offer and/or to clarify their conditions of usage.

In essence, addressing research philosophy in your dissertation involves being aware and formulating your beliefs and assumptions.  As illustrated in figure below, the identification of research philosophy is positioned at the outer layer of the ‘research onion’. Accordingly it is the first topic to be clarified in research methodology chapter of your dissertation.

Research philosophy in the ‘research onion’ [2]

Each stage of the research process is based on assumptions about the sources and the nature of knowledge. Research philosophy will reflect the author’s important assumptions and these assumptions serve as base for the research strategy. Generally, research philosophy has many branches related to a wide range of disciplines. Within the scope of business studies in particular there are four main research philosophies:

• Interpretivism (Interpretivist)

The Choice of Research Philosophy

The choice of a specific research philosophy is impacted by practical implications. There are important philosophical differences between studies that focus on facts and numbers such as an analysis of the impact of foreign direct investment on the level of GDP growth and qualitative studies such as an analysis of leadership style on employee motivation in organizations.

The choice between positivist and interpretivist research philosophies or between quantitative and qualitative research methods has traditionally represented a major point of debate. However, the latest developments in the practice of conducting studies have increased the popularity of pragmatism and realism philosophies as well.

Moreover, as it is illustrated in table below, there are popular data collection methods associated with each research philosophy.

 Research philosophies and data collection methods [3]

My e-book,  The Ultimate Guide to Writing a Dissertation in Business Studies: a step by step assistance contains discussions of theory and application of research philosophy. The e-book also explains all stages of the  research process  starting from the  selection of the research area  to writing personal reflection. Important elements of dissertations such as  research philosophy ,  research approach ,  research design ,  methods of data collection  and  data analysis  are explained in this e-book in simple words.

John Dudovskiy

[1] Bajpai, N. (2011) “Business Research Methods” Pearson Education India

[2] Tsung, E.W.K. (2016) “The Philosophy of Management Research” Routledge

[3] Table adapted from Saunders, M., Lewis, P. & Thornhill, A. (2012) “Research Methods for Business Students” 6 th  edition, Pearson Education Limited

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Applicants must submit a detailed research proposal. The full proposal, preferably between 1,000 and 1,500 words, should include at least the following elements:

• a clear description of the proposed thesis topic, indicating the research problem and expected scope of the investigation;
• a description of how the proposed topic fits into the existing field;
• an indication of how the research is to be carried out (e.g. study of written sources, social surveys, fieldwork);
• an indication of why the University of Aberdeen is suited to the proposed research (e.g. staff expertise, library or archival resources).

Candidates admitted to PhD study will not be bound by the proposal that accompanies the application. Its purpose is to reveal something of the applicant’s preparation and insight. During their first months of work doctoral students often adjust their proposals in consultation with their advisors, who may also request a fuller proposal (e.g. with chapter outlines and provisional bibliography) as the project takes shape.

In Aberdeen as elsewhere in the UK, the dissertation is examined by internal and external examiners other than the candidate’s supervisor. They will expect a dissertation that makes an original and significant contribution to knowledge.

Research proposals should be uploaded online with your application.

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Research Methods in Philosophy - How to Write a Research Proposal

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Participants are taught to write with a linear progression of logic, which leads reviewers through their applications. It is stressed that applicants are writing for two different audiences – the assigned reviewers, who have read the application in its entirety, and non-assigned reviewers who may have read little, or nothing, of the proposal before the meeting of the review panel. Strategies, tools, and tips designed to merit a fundable priority score are emphasized. The focus of the seminar will be on grant applications to many types of funding agencies.

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