Structuring your research proposal

What you need to include in your doctorate research proposal

Your proposal cannot exceed 10,000 words so please follow the instructions
carefully. All proposals have to cover the same core material: description of a
problem or issue, a review of relevant literature, identification of research
questions or hypotheses, description of appropriate methods to address those
concerns.

Different disciplines have different styles in how they structure this material.
This page provides two different templates and more be added as they are
developed or needed. Please check with your supervisors as to the template
they want you to use.

1. Summary or abstract
A substantial paragraph (approximately 350 words) summarising what you will
do in the research project, and how you will do it. Write it last.

2. Research question
This short section states what the research project will deal with. Clearly state
your research problem in the form of a central question, perhaps some sub-
questions, or an hypothesis/hypotheses, along with its/their rationale.

3. Importance of the research topic

A requirement of a doctoral thesis is that it makes an original contribution to
knowledge, so you need to show how the proposed research is sufficiently
important to justify your efforts (and the efforts of those you involve in your
research). This should include a statement of how the answer to the central
question, or the confirmation or otherwise of your hypothesis, might influence
educational theory and/or practice.

4. Significant prior research/literature review

This considerably long section (likely including several sub-sections) should
be comprehensive enough to demonstrate that you are aware of the major
relevant sources of literature. Most research projects arise out of considerable
prior research, which should be summarized here. Close this section by
making the relationship between your question or hypothesis (in 2 above) and
the prior research clear. (For this reason, some writers like to put their
research question section immediately after the literature review rather than
before it.)
5. Research design
This (also considerably long) section describes how you intend to find the
answer/s to your research question and it should be as explicit as possible. It
will often include an opening over-arching methodology sub-section as well as
further sub-sections addressing methods, participants, data analysis or
interpretation.

The notion of methodology (the ‘why’ of your research design) incorporates a

wide range of possible orientations or approaches to the collection and
analysis of ‘data’ (information to analyse or interpret) for your project – from
the experimental method in psychological research, to the study of archives
for historical research, to the detailed analysis of concepts in philosophical
research, to the collection and analysis of empirical data or policies (etc) in
sociological research.

The choice of method/s (the ‘how’ of your research design) should be justified
in terms of the question being asked. The particular methods you choose
should be described as explicitly as possible, showing evidence of your
reading about the pros and cons of each method. Such description doesn’t
mean you can’t make later changes in method, but you should demonstrate at
this early stage that you have given considerable thought to the practicalities
of the conduct of your research.

Certain methods lend themselves to far more advance specification than

others. For example, if a sample of people or documents is to be drawn,
procedures for choosing the sample should be described and justified. If a
questionnaire or interview is to be used, it should be explained and possible
examples of the major types of questions be asked should be described. If an
experimental situation is to be used to collect data, there should be a
description of the types of subjects (e.g., age, school level, number to be
selected, the method of selection to be adopted), types of materials to be
used (e.g., describe measures of achievement, self concept, attitudes, beliefs,
etc.), types of data collection (e.g., self report, observation, clinical diagnosis,
etc.), etc. If there are major questions yet to be decided, these should be
noted. This is perhaps the most important section of your proposal because it
demonstrates your understanding of the steps and skills necessary to
undertake the research.

In a final sub-section of your research design, describe how you propose to

analyse or interpret the data you collect; in other words, describe for the
readers how you will determine the answer(s) to your question from the
evidence you have gathered. For example, if you plan to use some kind of
discourse analysis to make sense of qualitative data (e.g., interview
transcripts, policy documents), describe the version that you think you will
use. Or, if you plan to collect quantitative data with a questionnaire and apply
subsequent statistical analyses, you should carefully describe the likely
method/s of analysis and possible outcomes. Or, if you plan to use a case
study approach, describe how you plan to identify the key themes and
patterns in the data you will collect and the procedures you will use to check
the validity of your analysis.

6. Ethical considerations
Proposals for research which involves human participants must be approved
by the University of Auckland Human Participants Ethics Committee before
the research begins. Areas of responsibility towards research participants –
for example, securing informed consent, confidentiality, preservation of
anonymity, avoidance of deception or adverse effects, etc – need to be
thought through at the research design stage and strategies for addressing
these issues should be written about (briefly) in this section. (The application
itself will address them in full.)

A proposal for research involving Maori or particular minority

groups/communities should demonstrate that the researcher has adequate
background preparation for working with those communities. It should also
indicate the extent to which members of that group/community will be involved
or consulted in the overall supervision of the project and the dissemination of
the research findings.

7. Limitations
It is common for new researchers to try to do too much, so this brief section
describes some of the (planned) limitations of your research.

8. Timeline
Include a timeline showing the stages of your project and approximate
completion dates for each stage. (The final submission date should
correspond with that shown on your Registration Summary.)

9. References
All readings cited in the proposal should be listed at the end and formatted
consistently. APA 6th is recommended in the faculty but, if you are working in
an area such as philosophical or historical research, you might be advised to
use the referencing system employed in those disciplinary spaces and their
journals. Talk to your main supervisor about which system is most suitable for
your research.