A research proposal is a summary of your research plan and is written in order to scope out a research project to ensure its feasibility. It can be adapted to suit a range of contexts (funding applications, PhD proposals etc) and is useful as a reference point for the direction of your work at a later stage. It includes a brief outline of the aims and scope of the project, the reasons for and urgency of the project, a brief literature review, a discussion of the methodology and the timeframe for the project. The tone of a research design proposal should be confident but curious. You are aiming to convince your reader that you are expert and experienced enough to identify research that needs doing and to carry that work out independently.
Proposal Format (see the example of Distinction level proposal1 and 2)included in the file!!!!
format that includes the following:

  1. Title
  2. Research Aims and Context, outlining:
    • What you propose to examine /discover/ create
    • The rationale and importance of the proposed research
    • The scope of the research (e.g. particular time frame, genre, event, organisation, national context etc – you need to be specific and create limits for your study)
  3. Research Questions (what do you hope to discover? You might wish to use what, how and why type questions. Do ensure that these research questions connect to your literature review and are in sync with your research design)
  4. Literature Review – here you should demonstrate your knowledge of existing material on your topic and the location of your research within it. Use the literature to establish your theoretical framework and to explain any key concepts.
  5. Methodology, outlining:
    • How you plan to design and carry out the research. Which research strategies will you use?
    • Which materials or sources will you use?
    • Are they any access or ethical issues connected to your planned research?
    • How will you analyse the data that you collect?
    • Do make sure that you cite and draw on methods literature in this section
  6. Timeframe. Provide an overview of the key milestones of your research project and a timeframe (including ethics approval) – for example, you could use a GANTT chart.
    Pitfalls
    The biggest pitfall is claiming you are going to solve all problems in a given arena of inquiry. Not only is this unlikely, it is also evidence that you might not be ‘in control’ of the research as a whole.

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