DevelopingaResearchProposal

Dr Krisanthi Seneviratne
E01
K.Seneviratne@hw.ac.uk

LectureOutline
Typesofaward
Administrativeprocedure
Choosingatopic
Developingtheresearchproposal

TypesofAward
PGCertificate
4courses(passmark35)
PGDiploma
8courses(passmark35)
MSc
8courses(passmark40,overallaverage50)
Dissertation

AdministrativeProcedure
Formal
Youwillreceiveadecisiontoproceedto
dissertationbytheexamboardwhen:
Completed8courses
Passedthemwithaminimumof40%
Overallaverageisminimumof50%

Untilthat,youwillnotbeabletoaccessthe
dissertationcourseonVision

AdministrativeProcedure
Informal
Youneedtosubmitadissertationproposalonce
youcompleted:
4coursesifyouareafulltimestudent
6coursesifyouareaparttimestudent

Youwillbeallocatedasupervisorbasedonyour
proposal
Youcanstartworkingonyourdissertation
However
Submittingadissertationproposal doesnotmeanyouhave
alreadyproceedtodissertation.Thiswouldhelpyouintermsof
dissertationprogress

Whenisyoursubmission?
Onceyoufulfilledthefollowingconditions:
Completed8courses
Passedthemwithaminimumof40%
Overallaverageisminimumof50%

Fulltimestudentsgetonesemester
Parttimestudentsgettwosemesters
Submissions:April,AugustandDecember
Yourdissertationsubmissiondatewillbestatedin
theexamboarddecision,thatwillbesent/emailed
toyou

Proposalsubmission
Nextdissertationproposalsubmissiondeadlineis
13February2015
Outcomeoftheproposal(within34weeks)
Pass/approve
Referred(needtoresubmit)

Ifyoudonotsubmitaproposal,youwillnotbe
allocatedasupervisor
Youwillhavetofindasupervisorbyyourowntalking
tothestaff/submitonyourowndiscretion

MScDissertation
Equivalentto4thoughtcourses(60credits)
Substantialpeaceofworksubmittedduringthe
programme
Normallyaround15,000words(excluding
appendices)
Dissertationshoulddemonstrate
Theabilitytoconductapeaceofrigorousresearchin
yourchosenfield
Criticalthinkingandreasoning

WhatisResearch?
Researchgeneratesnewknowledge(contributesto
knowledge)
Generatesnewconcepts/theories
Broadensourperspectivesandperception
Challengesbeliefs

Concernedwithseekingsolutionsto
problems/answerstoquestions
Researchisnotfillingyourownknowledgegap

TopicSelection
Connectedtothebuiltenvironment
CECM allowedonlythetechnicaltopics
CMSfollowingtopicswillnotbeaccepted:
Causesofdelaysinconstruction(saturated!)
Socialresearch

TopicSelection
Initialideacancomefrom:
Problems/circumstancesatyourplaceofwork
o Relevance
o Priorknowledge
o Readyaccesstofieldworkdata

Academics
Coursematerials
Conferences
Formerdissertations
Literature

TopicSelection
Then,startreading
Tofindoutwhathasbeendone
Toidentifytheissues/problem
Toseehowtheareacanbenarrowdown

Shouldnotbetoobroad
E.g.:ContractorsCashflowinInfrastructureProjects

Shouldbespecific/focused
E.g.:Investigatethereasonsfornegativecashflowin
roadprojects

Shouldnotbetoonarrow youwillnotcomeup
withsufficientfindings

OutlineResearchProposal
Firstsignificantstepinlayingthegroundworkforthe
dissertation
Involvesdevelopingyourinitialideaintoamorestructured
format
Involvessomeinitialinvestigation
Referarticles,books,reports,otherdissertationsetc.
Around800words
Researchproposalformsthefirstchapterofyour
dissertationeffortinvolvedinpreparingagoodproposal
isnotwasted!

OutlineResearchProposal
Structure/sections
Titlepage(title,yourname,reg no,HWemail,
programme,FT/PT)
Proposal
Dissertationtitle
Backgroundandrationaleofthestudy
Aim
Objectives
Outlineresearchmethods
References

OutlineResearchProposal
Dissertationtitle
Itprovidesanunderstandingof
theresearchtopic/focusofthe
study(butnotalways)
Willhavetorefineasthe
researchisundertaken
Providearelativelyshort,
simpleandeffectivetitlethat
thereadercaneasily
understand
E.g.

OutlineResearchProposal
Backgroundandrationaleofthestudy
Introducesthetopicareabriefly
Itsetsouttheproblemandthereasonfortheproposedstudy,
highlightingtheissuestobeinvestigated(thisisimportant)
Itmustdemonstratewhyitisworthwhiletoinvestigate
Shouldbesupportedwithafewkeyreferences(Journals,conference
proceedings,reportsprovideuptodatematerial)

OutlineResearchProposal
Aim
Istheultimategoalofyourresearch
Writtenwithclearoneortwosentences
Agoodaimdemonstratesthatyouhavenarrowed
downthetopictosomethingthatisdoableand
manageable

OutlineResearchProposal
Objectives
Objectivesarethebreakdownoftheaiminto
separate butrelated issuesthatwheninvestigated
willhelpyoutoachievetheaim
Usually35,enumerated(shouldnotwriteasa
paragraph)E.g:
1. Toidentify.
2. Toinvestigate.
3. Todevelop

ShouldbeSMART
Specific(notgeneric),Measurable,Achievable,Realistic,Timely
(fitwithinthetimescale)

OutlineResearchProposal
Objectives
Usefulverbsinwritingobjectives
First Objective

Review

Describe

Identify

Establish

Outline

Highlight

Reveal

Discuss

Main Objectives

Reveal

Discuss

Explore

Consider

Examine

Investigate

Compare

Analyse

Evaluate

Assess

Final Objective

Develop

Recommend

Outline

Make

OutlineResearchProposal
Outlineresearchmethods
Explainshowyouareplanningtoachieveyouraim
andobjectives
Deskstudy
Themesoftheliteraturereview

Fieldstudy
Primarydatayouwillcollectandhowthiswillhelptoachieve
yourobjectives
Approach(inductive,deductive),Strategy(Survey,Casestudy
etc.)andMethodsuse(questionnaire,interviewsetc.)

Whenyouarewritingyourdissertationyoumustdoa
literaturereviewonresearchmethodology(approach,
strategy,methodsetc.)

OutlineResearchProposal
References
FollowtheHarvardReferencingSystem
Withinthetextcitations=Listofreferences
Formattingofwithinthetextreferencese.g.
Procurementisdefinedas.(Authorsurname,year).
Procurementisdefinedas.(SmithandAshworth,2014).
Procurementisdefinedas.(Smithetal.,2014).
Procurementisdefinedas.(Ashworth,2013;Smith,2014).
Smith(2014),definesconstructionprocurement
AccordingtoSmith(2014),constructionprocurementis

OutlineResearchProposal
References
Listofreferencesattheend:

OutlineResearchProposal
Otherissues
Avoidspellingandgrammaticalmistakes
Expressyourideasclearly

ResponsibilitiesofStudents
Oncetheproposalissubmitted,asupervisorwill
beallocated
Initiatecontactwithyoursupervisorandforward
yourproposalforadiscussion
Basedonhis/herfeedback,modify,refineand
developtheproposalintoaworkableframework
forpreparingthedissertation
Maintainprogress
Donotexpecttoreadandcommentondraft
chaptersatshortnotice

ResponsibilitiesofStudents
Approachestooutsideorganisationsmustbemade
withtheapprovalofthesupervisor
(questionnaires,interviews)
Successfulcompletionofthedissertationisthe
responsibilityofthestudent
Independentpeaceofwork

ResponsibilitiesofSupervisors
Supportthroughout
Adviseonthestructureandsuitabilityofthe
dissertation
Commentondraftworksubmitted
Warnthestudentiftheworkisnotofasatisfactory
standard

Groupactivity
Splitintogroupsbasedontheprogrammeyou
follow(CPM,QS,FM,REMD,REIF,CECM,WR)
Discussasagrouphowyouaregoingtodevelopa
proposalbasedonthetopicgiventoyou
Dissertationtitle
Backgroundandrationaleofthestudy
Aim
Objectives
Outlineresearchmethods
References