How to Write Your PhD Research Proposal

By Emily Rose,
Writing a research proposal allows you to clarify the steps and expected outcomes of
your research and to communicate these to your supervisor or faculty. Once
you have decided on a topic and defined the objectives of your research you
are ready to begin writing a research proposal. Although content differs
depending on the discipline, Most research proposals follow a typical
format that consists of the following.

Instructions
1. How to Write a PhD Research Proposal
1) Create a title page containing your name, department, supervisor's name
and the title of your research project. On the subsequent page provide an
abstract.The abstract should concisely sum up the outline of your proposal,
research involved, questions and/or hypothesis, proposed research methods
and method of data analysis. (Halaman judul & abstrak)
2) Provide aaable of contents on the page following the abstract. This is
composed of alll the headings in your research proposal along with their
corresponding page numbers. (Daftar-daftar)
3) Write the background under the background heading. This section will
include what research will be involved, research questions or hypotheses,
research methods and how the data will be analyzed.
4) Provide the theoretical framework by reviewing relevant literature
related to your topic of interest. Label this section under the theoretical
framework heading. This will place your proposed research in context within
existing research.
5) Identify the methodology under the research methodology heading.
Provide a strong argument for the research you wish to conduct based
on an exhaustive literature review. Identify any substantive gaps
and/or questions raised from the literature surrounding your
chosen topic. Use this gap to provide a rationale for your proposed research.
6) Outline how you will obtain data under the research design and
methods heading. Identify any problems that may be encountered,
ethical considerations, number of participants or animals required and
how they will be recruited and method of data collection.
7) Write the analysis and discussion under a heading of the same name.
Restate the aims and objectives of the research and how data will be
analyzed. Include detailed information on any tools required for analysis.
8) Write under the format heading how many chapters are required and
what the order of presentation will be. This stage is not always included
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in research proposals, but is useful in indicating structure and increases

the accuracy when estimating the required time to complete research.
9) Include the estimated time required for the project under the
timeline heading. Factor in the time taken for research, testing period,
data collection, data analysis and report writing or presentation
preparation.
10) Outline resources and budget required under the budget and resources
heading. This section should indicate the financial viability of your
proposed research. Consider potential costs such as equipment hire or
purchase, travel costs, participant payment and payment associated with
hiring data analysts and a research assistant.
11) Write the bibliography. This step comproses an extensive list of
resources consulted during the initial research stage. Evidence of thorough
reading will provide on overview of the topic area and to demonstrate your
klnowledge of the topic. The format for the bibliography will differ
depending on the academic organization. In the U.S., the Harvard system
of referencing Guide is frequency used. (Referensi pribadi yang pernah
diterbitkan dan yang sesuai dengan topik penelitian yang dipilih)

Steps to Complete a PhD Dissertation Plan

By Lori Garrett-Hatfield,
After a doctoral student completes coursework, and passes the comprehensive
examination, they will need to develop a dissertation plan, also called the
proposal, in order to write the dissertation. A good dissertation plan provides
the framework for a good dissertation & bad dissertation plan makes it
difficult to write a dissertation that is cohesive and understandable-which
makes the time to graduation that much longer.

1. Selecting An Area Of Interest

The first step in a student's dissertation plan is to select an area of

interest, or a topic, to research. Keep in mind that whatever topic a
student chooses, he will be immersed in that topic for a few years, so
he should choose a topic that interests him. Students who are having
a difficult time selecting a topic should ask their adviser, and do a
literature search to see what research has been done in the area of interest,
according to the American Psychological Association (APA).

The Problem

The first section in the dissertation plan is the problem chapter, also
called the introduction and background chapter. In this
section/chapter, according to the APA, the doctoral student will
introduce the general problem that she is trying to research, give the
background, and introduce the research questions. The research
questions will help the student guide her research. It is important to think
about how the research will change the current situation, or help to
understand the problem better. Also, while the problem section is the
first section in the dissertation plan, it doesn't have to be the first section a
doctoral student writes. The student may want to write the literature
review first, and then write the problem section.

The Literature Review

The APA identifies the literature review section within the dissertation plan
as the section for discussing the topic, introducing key concepts related
to the topic, and reviewing the existing literature associated with the topic.
The student will need to be prepared to do a large literature review of
books, journals, and the internet on the topic she selected. In many
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dissertations, the literature review is the longest chapter, so when

writing the dissertation plan, keep in mind this section may become a
bit unwieldy. GradMatters, a graduate student advice site at Tufts
University, suggests using a note-taking program, such as Endnotes or
Refworks to keep up with references.

The Methods Section

In the dissertation plan or proposal, the methods section is an outline of

the methods the student plans to use to research the topic. By this
point, reports the APA, the doctoral student in education or the social
sciences should have determined whether or not the dissertation research
will be qualitative (which may consist of interviews, observations, or
artifacts) or quantitative (which may consist of statistical analysis of
surveys). The student will need to have information on who she will
research, where, when, and how the data will be collected and analyzed.
In the hard sciences, however, the dissertation plan, especially the
methodology section, is a bit different. Many times, according to Science
Magazine, the doctoral student has completed the research, but needs
to write up the research into dissertation plan format. For these
students, the methodology part of the plan is actually the easiest to write.

PhD Research Methods

By Laura Parr,
What research methods you should use depends on your research question.
PhD students research topics in order to answer specific questions and their
research methods do not differ from any other research methods. The two main
kinds of research are quantitative and qualitative research, and these are broken
into further types of study. Which research methods you use should depends on the
nature of your research topic and personal preference.

1. Quantitative and Qualitative

Quantitative researchers use numerical values to quantify disparity

between variables to predict causal relationships and to describe
characteristics of the study population. Questionnaires are structured with
closed-ended questions and study designs remain rigid throughout.

In contrast, qualitative research seeks to explore responses to open-ended

questions. Researchers use interviews, focus groups and participant
observation in a fluid fashion, changing the course of the study along the way,
according to answers given.

2. Questionnaires and Interviews

Both quantitative and qualitative studies make use of questionnaires and

interviews, but in different ways. Quantitative questionnaires break
answers into measurable quantities, and a random sample of the
population is usually compared with a control group. The random sample
may be stratified, that is, divided into classes according to social or other
strata. In a qualitative study, broad questionnaires elicit more general
responses from participants, and answers tend to be complex.

Participant Observation

In quantitative studies, such as randomized controlled trials, or RCTs,

researchers observe participants and record data numerically. In qualitative
studies, researchers describe the changes they see.

Literature Search

 A literature search is a way to collate information on a certain subject,

without interviewing any new participants. Researchers review all literature
on the subject, and by taking all results into account, arrive at their own
conclusion.

Focus Groups

Sometimes studies use focus groups to collect data on the cultural norms of
a specific group or population. Focus groups may generate a need for
further research or discussion in a certain area, or may highlight broad
issues of concern in a qualitative study.

Data Collection

When it comes to collecting and collating your evidence, it's important to

remember to write at PhD level. Writing for education website,
FindAPhD.com, Professor Shahn Majid, PhD, reminds you to include a
beautifully written introduction, to ensure that your referee wants to
read on. Your paper should also include your motivation for the
study, your methodology and results, an acknowledgement of
relevant literature, anda clear and concise abstract.

Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods

By Lee Johnson,
Qualitative studies focus on subjective information, such as feelings, experiences or
opinions: data that cannot be scientifically quantified. Quantitative research is the
opposite, shunning subjectivity in favor of objectivity. Quantitative research
focuses on statistics and quantifiable information. Learning about different
methods used to study a topic quantitatively and qualitatively can help you
decide which form of research is better for your study.

1. Qualitative Research: Participant Observation

Participant observation means that the participant in the research is

observed by the researcher, usually in a natural setting. For example,
qualitative researchers studying autistic children often immerse
themselves in the child's world by spending time in the home playing
with the child, eating dinner with the family and interviewing parents
about the child's behavior. Disadvantages include the smallscale nature
of the study, which means it's difficult to generalize about the entire
population. In overt research, the "observer effect" could play a part;
participants might act differently because they're being watched.

Qualitative Research: In-Depth Interview

In-depth interviews allow the researcher to collect detailed information

about one individual participant. This gives the researcher the option of
asking about anything relevant, and also allows greater control over the
direction of the conversation than would be possible in a focus group,
which is another qualitative research method that examines groups
instead of individuals. In-depth interviews are very useful for gathering
personal histories and perspectives. Aside from the inability to generalize
from in-depth interviews, the "observer effect" can also hide results with
this method. For example, participants who are attracted to the
interviewer may be inclined to hide negative aspects of their personalities
or actions in order to appear more appealing.

Quantitative Research: Questionnaire

Quantitative research commonly uses questionnaires as a method of

gaining information from a large number of subjects. To enable
generalization and quantification of the results, the questions included are
often closed-ended, offering only "yes" or "no" as options for an
answer, for example. Or the instrument may provide a choice between a
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limited number of options. An advantage of this method is that many

participants can be studied at once, and the information gathered can be
easily collated. A disadvantage is the closed nature of the
questions. For example, a question may ask if the test-taker is going
to vote for the Republicans or the Democrats in the next election,
providing no option for those who wish to vote for an independent.

Quantitative Research: Experimental

Scientific experiments can be used in many ways to produce quantitative

results for a study. Experimental studies test the effect of a variable
on an outcome. For example, to test the efficiency of a new diabetes
drug, participants would be randomly split into two groups. One group
would be given the drug, and the other would be given a placebo. A
numerical result, such as blood sugar level, would be recorded after the
test to determine whether the drug had an effect. Performing
experiments can provide strong support for a hypothesis, because of
the scientific methodology, but each experiment is limited to testing
that one variable. For example, in the hypothetical study described
above, the participants could have wildly different diets, which also
affects blood sugar levels. Therefore, the results might not really say
anything about the drug's effectiveness. However, if all variables are
properly controlled -- for example, if the participants were required to eat
a set diet during the experiment -- the results can provide compelling
support for a hypothesis, or can disprove it altogether.

Comparison of Qualitative
Research Methods

and

Quantitative

By Bill Varoskovic,
Weighing an object is an example of a quantitative measurement.
When creating a research design, it is important to decide what methods you are
going to use to collect data. There are two main types of research methods:
qualitative and quantitative. Scientists debate on the effectiveness of each type as
a way to record data. By weighing the pros and cons of qualitative and quantitative
research, you can select the best method for your study.

1. Advantages of Qualitative Research

Qualitative research if often implemented as an exploratory form of

data collection at the start of a research project. A researcher makes
subjective recordings, descriptions or sketches on what is going on
during an observation. Qualitative data can give the researcher a better
idea of what to look more closely at for later trials. This type of data often
contains more substance than quantitative methods because the
researcher can take into account the experiment`s context or bigger
picture.

Disadvantages of Qualitative Research

Qualitative research methods become less useful during later portions of

a study, especially when trying to test hypotheses. The data is
subjective, meaning it is in the opinion of the researcher whose
judgment could be variable. It is difficult for someone else to try and
duplicate a study based on qualitative data. For example, a
mixture that is blue to one person might look more like green to
someone else. Trying to explain how the measures were taken might
require more effort than the study itself.

Advantages of Quantitative Research

Quantitative research focuses its attention to numeric qualities that can be

recorded. Weight, size and time are examples of quantitative measurements.
Because they are standardized, quantitative measurements are objective
and can be duplicated by other researchers. It is best to use
quantitative methods in the latter phases of a research project, when
you know exactly what you hope to find. With quantitative data, you can
test your hypothesis and make general conclusions.
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Disadvantages of Quantitative Research

A disadvantage of quantitative methods is that it can be difficult to

provide context within your results. For example, you can quantify the
ticket sales of a movie premiere, but that information does not
help you know if the movie was good or bad. Quantitative data
often feels colder or more detached than qualitative measures;
therefore, while quantitative data can prove a hypothesis and draw
conclusions, it cannot always give meaning to what is being examined.

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