• 3-minute read
• 18th July 2016

The Anatomy of a First Class Thesis Proposal

So, you’ve decided to do a PhD. That’s good. But before you get stuck into research, you’ll need to prove that your idea is worth pursuing and that you’ll produce a first class thesis at the end of it.

To do this, you’ll have to write a thesis proposal outlining your research interests, what you intend to argue, and how this will add to the knowledge in your subject area.

It’s therefore important that your thesis proposal includes the following…

1. A Working Title

There’s time to change this later, but you need to have a working title early on. This should be clear, memorable and informative, telling your reader what your research is about from the outset.

2. An Introduction

Every thesis proposal should start with an introduction that outlines the problem you’re addressing and why it justifies investigation. You may also want to give a little background information.

You don’t have to go into a vast amount of detail at this point. The introduction is simply there to prepare your reader for the rest of your proposal. It may even help to write this last.

3. Research Aims

As well as a clear statement of your research question, you should explain exactly what you hope to achieve from your PhD project. This includes your research aims and objectives, hypotheses and any predicted results or applications.

4. Methodology

Just as important as explaining what you’re researching is setting out how you intend to conduct your research. This is particularly true if you’re doing experimental research.

Provide as much descriptive detail as possible, as this will show that you’ve considered the practical side of your study.

5. Literature Review

It isn’t always necessary to include a full literature review in a thesis proposal – sometimes a bibliography is enough – but it makes sense to outline related research in your subject area.

As well as setting your work in context, this demonstrates how your study will build upon existing research and shows you have a strong understanding of your field.

6. Scope and Constraints

One common pitfall of PhD research is trying to do too much with limited time and resources. It’s therefore essential to consider the scope and constraints of your project.

This means being realistic about what you can achieve with your research and acknowledging any related issues that you might need to leave aside. Attempts to find the answer to life, the universe and everything will likely prove overambitious.

7. Chapter Outline and Timetable

Finally, a thesis proposal should include a chapter breakdown (i.e. how you intend to structure your final thesis) and a timetable (i.e. a step-by-step plan for when each stage of your research will be complete).

As with the methodology, this makes your proposal convincing by showing that you’ve given due thought to the practical side of undertaking a PhD.