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Considering a UK PhD: Your Next Steps

WritingaPhDresearchproposal:A6stepgeneralguideforprospectivePhD researchers
Introduction Thisshortguideisaimedathelpingyoutowriteagoodresearchproposal.Itisintendedtohelpyou tothinkaboutyourproposedPhDresearchinaclear,structuredandmeaningfulway. Itshouldbestressedthatthefollowingisonlyageneralguideanditdoesnotguaranteeacceptance ontoaPhDprogramme.AcceptingPhDstudentsontoaresearchprogrammedependsonmany factors,includingthenatureofyourproposedresearch,thequalityofyourideas,yourabilityto committoanintensiveperiodofresearchstudy,theeffectivenessofyourresearchproposalin communicatingyourideas,thematchbetweentheproposedresearchandthepotentialsupervisor andthecapacityoftheresearchdepartment. Thekeymessageinthisguideisthatitisyourresearchproposalandthequalityofitwillbea considerablefactorusedintheuniversitysdecisiontoacceptyouontoaPhDprogramme. Inshort,thebetteryourproposal,thebetteryourchancesofbeingaccepted. Note:Ifyouareapplyingforaspecificpredefinedresearchprojectinscience,technology,

engineering,mathematicsormedicineyoumaynotneedtosubmitaproposal.
Whyagoodresearchproposalisessentialtotheapplicationprocess Asoutlinedabove,yourresearchproposalisanintegralpartofthePhDapplicationprocess,soitis certainlyworthinvestingtimeandenergyintoit.Itneedstooutlinethenatureofyourproposed PhDstudyandgivesomeindicationofhowyouwillconductyourresearch. Rememberthataresearchproposalisaboutwhatyouwanttostudy;itimmediatelyreflectsyour initialunderstandingof,andcommitmentto,PhDstudy.Aresearchproposalcanandshouldmakea positiveandpowerfulfirstimpressionaboutyourpotentialtobecomeagoodresearcher. Importantly,themainpurposeistoenabletheuniversitytoassesswhetheryouareagoodmatch foroursupervisorsandourareasofresearchexpertise. Therefore,inagoodresearchproposalyouwillneedtodemonstratetwomainthings: 1. thatyouarecapableofindependentcriticalthinkingandanalysis 2. thatyouarecapableofcommunicatingyourideasclearly ApplyingforaPhDislikeapplyingforajob,youarenotapplyingforataughtprogramme. WhenyoustartaPhDyouwillbecomeavaluedresearcherinanacademicdepartment.Through yourresearchproposalyourcolleagueswanttoknowwhethertheycanworkwithyou,andwhether yourideasarefocussed,interestingandrealistic.Tryandimpressthem!

Considering a UK PhD: Your Next Steps

SinceyouaregoingtobeinvestingaminimumofthreeyearsofyourlifeworkinghardonyourPhD, afewdaysspentresearchingandwritingathoroughresearchproposalisasmallinitialinvestmentto make.Inshort,aresearchproposalisanessentialfirststepinyourPhDjourney.Makesureyougive ityourfullestconsiderationandeffort. Youarenotexpectedtobetheexpert Remember,youdonotneedtohaveaPhDtowritearesearchproposal!Yourproposalshouldbe indicativeanditshouldoutlineyourareasofinterestandyourgeneralinsightintotheresearch topic.Youarenotexpectedtobeanexpertandtobefamiliarwithallthespecificdetailsofyour subject.However,youareexpectedtohaveagoodlevelofknowledgeaboutthesubjectandwhere youmightmakeavaluablecontributiontoresearch. 6stepstoasuccessfulresearchproposal Somepeopleseemtothinkaresearchproposalistoocomplicatedandaninconvenientpartofthe applicationprocess.Agoodresearchproposalshouldnotbecomplicated.However,itcanbe challengingtowriteanditisimportanttogetright.APhDischallenging,soitisgoodtraining workingonyourresearchproposal. Althoughthereisnoexactprescribedformatforageneralresearchproposal(acrossallsubjects),all ofthefollowingaredeemedimportanttoconsider.Youneedtocheckyourownsubjectsparticular conventionsandexpectations(bylookingontheappropriateExetercollegewebsite).Insummary though,aresearchproposalshouldgenerallyincludesixmainsections,asdetailedbelow: 1) aclearworkingtitleforyourresearchproject o whatwillyoucallyourproject? o whatkeywordswoulddescribeyourproposal? 2) aclearstatementaboutwhatyouwanttoworkonandwhyitisimportant,interesting, relevantandrealistic o whatareyourmainresearchobjectives?thesecouldbearticulatedashypotheses, propositions,researchquestions,orproblemstosolve o whatdifferencedoyouthinkyourresearchwillmake? o whydoesthisresearchexciteyou? o whatresearchgapswillyoubefillingbyundertakingyourproject? o howmightyourresearchaddvaluetothesubject? o isyourresearchachievableinthetimeallocated?(e.g.3yearsfulltime) 3) somebackgroundknowledgeandcontextoftheareainwhichyouwishtowork,including keyliterature,keypeople,keyresearchfindings o howdoesyourworklinktotheworkofothersinthesameorrelatedfields? o wouldyourworksupportorcontesttheworkofothers? o howdoesyourworkrelatetotheexpertisewithinthedepartmentyouareapplying to?

Considering a UK PhD: Your Next Steps

4) someconsiderationofthemethods/approachyoumightuse o howwillyouconductyourresearch? o willyouuseexistingtheories,newmethods/approachesordevelopnewmethods/ approaches? o howmightyoudesignyourprojecttogetthebestresults/findings? 5) someindicationofthestrategyandtimetableforyourresearchprojectandanyresearch challengesyoumayface o whatwouldbethemainstagesofyourproject? o whatwouldyoubeexpectingtodoineachyearofyourPhD? o whatchallengesmightyouencounterandhowmightyouovercomethese? 6) alistofthekeyreferenceswhichsupportyourresearchproposal o referencesshouldbelistedintheappropriateconventionforyoursubjectarea(e.g. Harvard).Suchreferencesshouldbeusedthroughoutyourresearchproposalto demonstratethatyouhavereadandunderstoodtheworkofothers. o otherrelevantmaterialthatyouareawareof,butnotactuallyusedinwritingyour proposal,canalsobeaddedasabibliography Alloftheabovesixsectionsareimportant,butsection2isparticularlyimportantbecauseinany researchproject,establishingyourmainpurposerepresentsthewholebasisforcompletingthe researchprogramme.Therefore,thevalueofyourproposedresearchisassessedinrelationtoyour researchaimsandobjectives. Theappropriatelengthofaresearchproposal Agoodresearchproposalisaslongasittakes,butaguidewouldbe10002000words.Remember thatitismeanttobeanaccurateoverview,notathesis,soyouneedtoprovideenoughdetailforthe readertounderstandit.Itshouldnotbetoolong,ortooshort.Aparagraphwouldnotbeenough, and5000wordslikelytoomuch. Theperfectresearchproposal Inadditiontotheabove,anexcellentresearchproposalalsoneedsto: o followanyuniversityandcollege/departmentalguidanceonwebsites.Conventionscan, anddo,differacrosssubjectsandthereforeacrosstheUniversityofExeter.Therefore,you mustcheckthecollege/departmentwebsiteforspecific(subject)adviceandguidance. o berefinedandeditedanumberoftimesbeforeitissubmitted.Youmustdemonstratethat youhavegivenyourproposalalotofindividualattentionandcare.Makesureitiswell written,withoutanyerrors.

Considering a UK PhD: Your Next Steps

o leavethereaderwithaclearsenseofthepurposeanddirectionofyourresearchproject. Thereadershouldnothavetoreadittwicetounderstandit. o leavethereaderinterested,excitedandwantingtofindoutmoreaboutyourideas,and aboutyou! Followthe3Csrule: Whenyouhavewrittenyourresearchproposal,askafriendtoreaditcriticallyandprovideyouwith feedback.Also,askyourselfwhetheritfollowsthe3Csrule: CLEAR:iswhatyouhavewrittenintelligibleandclearlyarticulated?Doesitmakesense,orisitvague andconfusing? CONCISE:haveyouwrittenyourproposalinasuccinctandfocussedway? COHERENT:doesyourproposallinktogetherwellsothatittellsthereaderashortstoryaboutwhat youwanttodo,whyyouwanttodoitandhowyouwilldoit? Ifyoucananswerallofthese3Cquestionswithconfidence,youhaveprobablyputtogetheragood proposal. Lastthoughts Rememberthatyourresearchproposalshouldleaveapositivefirstimpressionuponthereader aboutyourfitnesstostudyaPhD.Itisyourproject,soitisimportanttodemonstrateleadershipin thisfirststageoftheapplicationprocess.Anidealproposalshouldleavethereaderfeelinginno doubtthatyouhavedonesomepreliminaryresearchaboutyoursubjectandthatyouare knowledgeableandreadytotacklethechallengesofthePhD. Giveyourproposalyourutmostattentionandtime,butalsoberealisticyouarenotexpectedto knoweverythingatthisstage.Yourproposalcanalsobeflexible.Itisnotacontract.Alwaysask someoneelsetoreadyourproposalbeforeyousubmitit,andtoofferyousomecriticalbut supportivefeedback. Finally,rememberthataresearchproposalinstantlyreflectsyourpotentialcompetenceto undertakeaPhDeffectively.Aproposalisultimatelyaboutyourabilitytodemonstratethatyouare capableofPhDstudy,soyoushouldputtimeandeffortintoit.

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