What Concept Papers Are

Concept papers are summaries of projects or issues that reflect the interests, experience and
expertise of the writer or organization. Concept papers generally serve the purpose of providing
in-depth discussion of a topic that the writer has a strong position on, usually with the intent of
obtaining funding for that project from donors. The terms "concept paper" and "proposal" are
often used interchangeably as they can be used for the same function. The concept paper may
also be used as an instructional tool that may have developed as a result of extensive research,
committee input and/or as a result of the outcome of a current project. In addition to providing
guidance for implementation of a program, a concept paper could also discuss best practices,
philosophies and other related issues that the writer believes action should be taken on in the near
future.

How to Write Concept Papers

In the cases where the concept paper is written with the intent of receiving funding, most
grantors publish guidelines that instruct the writer(s) on how to write the concept paper that they
will consider funding. Despite the individual guidelines that may be published, the format and
many of the key elements are consistent between organizations. Therefore, it is suggested that
writers develop "boilerplates" or standard templates of concept papers that they can personalize
and submit based on specific guidelines. This practice eliminates the extra time added to the
process by completely starting a new concept paper from the beginning each time. For concept
papers that are used more as an instructional or educational tool, the format may be similar with
the exception of the exclusion of charts, graphs or budgets that may be geared toward the
solicitation of funding.

Concept Papers - Writing Steps

There are steps to concept paper writing that are universal and can be applied in most situations
in order to develop the boilerplate. First and probably most important, the writer must ensure that
the mission, requirements, funding patterns and other specific information about the target

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grantor or audience match with those of the organization or individual project in need of funding
or assistance. Grantors are very specific about what types of organizations and projects they do
and do not fund so, it is important to understand that thoroughly in advance to avoid wasting
time. The second step would be to summarize the project by stating the problem to be
discussed/solved, the goal of the project, the objectives, the anticipated outcomes, procedures for
determining whether the goals and objectives have been achieved, the population served and the
theoretical model upon which the project is based. Third, the writer must develop a list of
references that discuss the model to which the project will be directed. Fourth, there should be a
budget developed for the project, if applicable. This would include all billable costs associated
with planning and executing the project. Whether the concept paper is for the purpose of
obtaining funding or merely for the purpose of conveying information, a budget may be
necessary if there are costs and resources associated with the project, such as hours devoted to
research and information gathering. The fifth step could entail obtaining the necessary approvals
by individuals authorized to do so prior to submission. In the case of a purely informational
concept paper, this may be committee input. This step may occur much earlier in the process. In
addition, one must consider the timing and deadlines that submission of the concept paper must
adhere to. Expect deadlines to be strict whether funding is being sought or not. There may be a
bit more flexibility in due dates for those concept papers that are designed solely for
disseminating information

How to Write a Research Proposal?

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A research proposal is essentially a brief statement of a question or issue and a synopsis of how
the question or issue is to be answered or addressed. This paper discusses how to write a research
proposal for a regular college paper, a dissertation and for the purposes of funding, institutional
review or ethics approval. For a regular college paper the research paper consists of the title,
question, and a summary of the research performed or research leads. For a dissertation, the

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research proposal is constituted by the title, statement of the problem, review of the literature and
defining of research methodology. A custom research proposal to obtain funding or for the
purposes of institutional review or ethics approval consists of the title, literature review, methods
and ethics, budget and work plan. Following is a detailed discussion on the aforementioned types
of research proposals.

For a college paper, the research proposal presents a problem and the research already conducted
or needed to answer it. Essentially, it lets the professor know that you have chosen a paper topic
and have spent some time and effort on its research. The problem can be chosen by either the
professor or the student and should be reasonably broad enough to encompass the issues and
themes covered in the paper and reasonably narrow enough to warrant discussion with a specific
direction. In addition, the student should have already formulated a thesis, a statement that
defines the problem. The second part of the research proposal consists of thoughts on how one is
to go about answering the question. The student may or may not have already conducted research
on his/her topic. This section could include a summary of sources consulted or analytical
arguments that support the thesis. Sometimes, a student is allowed the option of including an
annotated bibliography. Thus, a research proposal for a college paper presents a question and the
steps taken to answer it.

A research proposal for a dissertation is similar to a research proposal for a college paper;
however it is more in-depth and requires a higher level of analysis. The statement of the problem
includes the research question. The review of literature includes a summary and analysis of
related research and indicates that the PhD student is well versed in research conducted in his/her
field of inquiry. It is intended to set the stage for his/her own research. Finally, it includes a
defining of research methodology. This section is devoted to discussing how one obtained the
research necessary to answer the problem presented. This can include a discussion on research
design, subjects, instruments and procedure. The subject sub-category refers to the "who" of the
research and includes a discussion of the sampling procedure, if applicable. The instruments sub-
category refers to the methods of measurement and answers the "why" element of the research
and discusses whether the instruments are reliable and valid. The procedure sub-category
answers the questions: "how long did it take to carry out the study?, "what activities were

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performed?". Thus, custom written research proposals presents a synopsis on the research
conducted to answer the problem presented in the dissertation.

To obtain funding or for the purposes of institutional review or ethics approval, a research
proposal is required. The first part of the proposal consists of the title, literature review and
research question. The literature review summarizes and analyzes related research. The research
question includes the objective and hypothesis. The second part is constituted by a discussion of
methods. The sub-categories of the method section are: design, subjects, instruments/measure,
sample size and analysis. The subject sub-category answers the questions "who?," "how were
subjects recruited?," "how were study groups formed?." The instruments refer to the objective,
concept and measuring model, reliability, validity, sensitivity, and interpretability. The data
analysis sub-category refers to the shape, central tendency, variability, analytical/inferential
statistics, and hypothesis test. The section on ethics, budget, and work plan refer to the respect,
beneficence and justice of the research and the budget. The ethics part of the section refers to the
recruitment process and participation, harms and benefits and the issue of informed consents.
The budget part of the section refers to itemization of costs, costs of consultants and equipment
and indirect costs. This is one possible model of a research proposal for funding, institutional
review or ethics approval.

In essence, the research proposal aims to define a problem and summarize research findings
related to answering it. For a college paper, it can include a brief discussion on the problem and
sources consulted. For a dissertation, it can include a discussion of the problem, review of
literature and methodology. For funding, institutional review or ethics approval, it can include a
statement of the problem, literature review, methods and ethics, budget and workplan. Each of
these proposals is similar in that they present a problem and research necessary to address it.
They also each have their specific differences. This paper is meant to provide possible models
for research proposals for custom college essays, term papers, research papers, dissertations, and
for the purposes of funding, institutional review and ethics approval.

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 A Guideline for Preparing Ph.D. Thesis and Dissertation Proposals

Many consider writing the dissertation proposal to be the hardest part of the entire dissertation
process. The student must have a firm grasp on the proposal topic, must put in countless hours
performing a literature review, come up with his or her own view of that particular topic, and
then submit the results in writing. A difficult task, to say the least. However, these guidelines
provide prospective proposal writers with the necessary information to make this job a bit easier.

I. Dissertation or PhD Thesis Proposal Length

There are varying ideas about how long or how short a dissertation proposal should be. However,
if all of the important parts of the proposal are addressed during its preparation the proposal will
generally end up being around 20 pages. It is okay if the custom-written proposal is a bit more or
a bit less; the most important thing is that all the major points are addressed.

II. Major Parts of the Thesis or Dissertation Proposal

 A. INTRODUCTION
The introduction should include a short summary of the major questions behind your
research, as well as provide the context of those questions within a larger academic
framework. Those who read the introduction should be able to understand what you are
attempting to discern through your research and writing.
 B. PROBLEM STATEMENT
Describe your research issue is depth, and provide the background and particular context
of the problem in relation to the particular academic field.
 C. LITERATURE REVIEW
This portion should address the scope of your research and list your major findings.
Whether or not you set out a specific portion of the proposal for a literature review is up
to you. Some proposal writers do, while others simply interweave the results within the
other major portions of the proposal. Regardless of how you go about presenting the
literature review, you must make sure that you describe why the findings of the review
are important to your area of custom research.

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  D. METHODOLOGY
In this section you will describe what you plan to do, why you plan to do it, and how you
are going to go about doing it. Be sure to include all the details of your methods of
research and demonstrate how the methods relate to your research question.
 E. BIBLIOGRAPHY Make a list of all your source materials, making sure to properly
format them in whatever academic style is required.

III. Tips For Preparing the Dissertation Proposal

 GIVE YOURSELF PLENTY OF TIME

The last thing you would ever want to leave to the last minute is a dissertation proposal. It
has been estimated that a proposal takes around six months to complete, once a topic has
been selected and an adequate amount of literature has been gathered. If the topic
selection and literature review has not yet been completed, it will take even longer. Be
sure to give yourself adequate time when tackling the dissertation proposal, otherwise
you will be experiencing a lot of sleepless nights.
 COMPLETE A THOROUGH LITERATURE REVIEW
By being as thorough as possible during your literature review, you allow for a broader
understanding of your research topic. Too many potential proposals are shot down before
they even get off the ground because the writer does not complete an adequate review of
the existing literature.
 COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR COMMITTEE
It is vitally important that you keep in regular contact with the members of your
committee while you are preparing your dissertation. Keep them informed of any changes
in direction that you may decide to make, and be open to any advice that they may be
willing to give. If possible, ask for copies of past dissertations that the advisors have
approved. Having a sample of a successful dissertation can make preparing your own
much easier.

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 Advice on How to Choose a Dissertation
Topic
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Choose a Subject That You Are Interested In - Your dissertation will show your lack of
interest if you are doing it just to pass your course rather than because you genuinely want to find
out about it.

Make Up Your Own Mind - Get ideas straight in your head before you allow yourself to be
influenced by authorities on the subject. Often it is best to form your own opinions first then look
to experts who have proven research to back up your ideas. You can then perform your own
quantitative and qualitative research to back up your findings.

Use a Mind Map - A mind map or skeleton diagram is a useful way of harnessing the thoughts
and areas that you are interested in and the direction your research might take.

Ask Questions - The aim of your research should be to answer your questions and those of
others. You are proposing an argument and will be justifying that argument with academic
research methodologies.

Decide on the Scope of Your Research - The dissertation abstract and dissertation proposal
should focus the parameters by which your research should be bound.

Methodologies - Do not let your fear of statistics disbar you from carrying out quantitative
research. There are many statistical packages available now that will assist you with interpreting
and performing statistical analysis and your tutor should be able to advise you of training courses
available in for example SPSS. You may well find that qualitative research, in the form of
interviews with primary sources, maybe considerably more time-consuming than performing
quantitative analysis of existing research.

Set and Review a Timetable - Be realistic about how long each stage should take and draw up a
realistic timetable to help you. This will also help you to decide on your thesis.

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Research Interests of Your Professors - Do your college professors have a particular
specialism in a research area and do you admire them because of it? Have you enjoyed their
lectures more because of their enthusiasm for their subject area? If you are enthusiastic about
their research, they will be the same about yours. It is flattering for an academic to feel that they
have inspired their students.

Choose a Subject That You Can Readily Research - If a subject is difficult to get hard data
on, then your dissertation may prove more difficult if not impossible.

Choose a Subject That You Have to Do Primary Research For - If there is little research
material on the subject that you are interested in you will be a trailblazer if you have to perform
your own primary quantitative or qualitative research. You may as a result of your very own
ground breaking research be asked to present a paper on your research with a possibility of being
offered further research work and a further career in academia.

What Career do You Intend to Follow - What Will You Specialize In? - Your research for
your dissertation should reflect your special interest and should be a showcase for your
knowledge and interest in a particular specialism. You should choose a broad topic area to
research into and then narrow it down when you have carried out further research.

Do a Literature Review - Find out what materials are available on your possible areas of
research. This will cut down on any duplication in your work.

Read Industry Magazines and Journals - Current popular journals in your area of study often
indicate what the current thinking is and what research areas are popular. This means that if you
are doing a meaningful piece of research, which is relevant to industry need, you will be more
likely to use it to get a job at the end of your studies.

Listen to and Take Advice - From previous students, from tutors, family and people who are
working in your chosen field. All advice helps to build up a picture of how your research could
be applied in the employment arena which should ultimately be your main focus.

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Be Wary of Being Too Ambitious - It is important to enlist your tutor's support early in the
project. Many students fail to complete their dissertation because they have ignored their
mentor's advice on their choice of dissertation topic. Tutors are there to help you and have vast
experience in advising students and in their research field. If they tell you, you are going to have
difficulties with your thesis because of its direction, Listen! No one likes a rookie who is over-
confident. Remember Icarus had ambitious ideas too!

Choose a Dissertation Tutor Wisely - Choice of tutor is vital. If you do not see eye to eye with
your tutor, your relationship throughout your developing thesis will be fraught. Your choice
should primarily focus on his/her specialism in a particular field of research. If your tutor is not
interested in your research topic, they will be able to provide less direction and will be less
enthusiastic toward you. Remember, good tutors, are popular tutors and you will need to act
quickly to be considered by them as students are often allocated on a first come first served basis
and tutors will be reluctant to extend their workload for students who cannot even submit their
proposal on time.

Get to Know Key Players - Familiarise yourself with experts in the fields that you are studying.
Your university may even call upon these experts to examine you on your thesis if it is a
particularly specialist area and there no appropriate academics at your university. If they are the
leading light on paediatrics, you need to ensure that you have read their research or risk major
insult!

Have Previous Students Carried Out Similar Research? - You need to get a copy of their
dissertation. This can be useful starting point as it will also help you to do your initial literature
review. Be wary of reading it and feeling overwhelmed by the task ahead, you are as capable as
any other student (you wouldn't be on the course if you were not!) and you should set your
standards high.

Showcase - Your dissertation should seek to demonstrate your skills as a researcher. It should
showcase your knowledge and skills and be the swan song for the culmination of your course
and what you have learned.

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Schools of Thought - You will likely read sources which advocate opposing schools of thought.
It is highly unlikely that at undergraduate level you will be proposing a radically new school of
thought. Therefore, you will probably be using your dissertation to prove your argument about
why you personally agree with a particular school of thought and the weaknesses of the
opposition.

Dissertation Grants - Many charitable organisations fund research into areas which it considers
relevant. You may wish to explore this and your advisor should be able to direct you to
scholarships. The university website should also have a list of scholarships available for
research. You may find that your choice of dissertation maybe heavily influenced by the
opportunity to gain funding for your research.

Take Your Time to Decide - Don't take the first suggested research topic that is offered to you.
Your choice of dissertation may potentially have an influence on your career for years to come.
One of the favourite questions for interviewers to ask is about your dissertation. If you feel that
you do not want to talk about your research, the panel may conclude that you were not interested
in it and merely did it to pass your course. In which case you would have missed a golden
opportunity to impress and enthuse about your work

Tips for Writing Great Observation Essays

What separates an average writer from a good writer? What separates a good writer from a great
writer? While the nature of writing is so complex that there cannot be just one answer to these
questions, there is one quality that plays a significant role in a writer's overall ability.

Observation.

Great writers are often lauded for their keen observation. What these writers are able to do, what
makes their work so great, is present material on a subject that allows the reader to see things in
their mind as clearly as if they were seeing it with their own eyes. In fact, a great writer will
present a subject so well that a reader may be shown certain details that he or she had never
noticed before.

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But how can a writer develop such talent? One tried and true method is through the writing of
observation essays. The following is a grouping of hints and tips to help budding writers put
together excellent observation essays.

 CHOOSING A TOPIC
Considering the observation essay requires actual observation of a subject, it is a good
idea to choose a topic that you can actually see, including people, places, and things. This
can include your grandmother, a rock concert, or a banana tree. The possibilities are
literally endless.
 WRITE IN THE PRESENT TENSE
Virtually all observation essays are written in the present tense. That is to say, the writer
will be providing description of what he or she is seeing at the moment. In other words,
observation essays are not written from memory (past tense) or from conjecture of an
object's potential qualities (future tense.)
 DETAILS, DETAILS
The strength of an observation essay depends upon the level of detail the writer provides.
Details allow the reader to see in his or her mind what you are writing about. For
example, if an artist did not provide details in a painting, or a sculpture, you wouldn't
know what he was trying to portray. The same principle applies for observation essay
writing.
 USE YOUR SENSES
Sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell; these are your primary weapons when creating an
observation essay. Writing using the five senses to interpret detail is a common practice
among writers of all types. However, this technique is absolutely crucial to the writer of
an observation essay. While all five of the senses might not be used in the observation
essay (it probably wouldn't be a good idea to describe how your grandmother tastes), use
as many as possible to create a vivid image in the reader's mind.
 USE COMPARATIVE TECHNIQUES
There is a natural tendency for people to use comparison in order to better understand
something. One thing is related to another in order to quantify its characteristics. For the

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 writer, the techniques of similes and metaphors allow for these comparisons. Don't be
afraid of using these techniques in your observation essay.
 CHOOSE RELEVANT DETAILS
In the search for details to strengthen the overall level of description, writers of
observation essays often fall into the "over-description" trap. They will describe every
detail imaginable in hopes of painting a clear picture in the reader's mind. Unfortunately,
adding in details that has no relevance to your subject only serves to clutter up the essay.
Make sure that every detail you choose to include is relevant to your topic.
 SEARCH FOR PRECISE LANGUAGE
As we have stated throughout this article, the goal of an observation essay is to be as
descriptive as possible. In order to accomplish this, writers should choose the most
precise words when constructing sentences. For example, describing something as
"small" can lead to a wide range of images, but calling something "microscopic" is much
more precise.
 Common Obstacles in Writing The Research Paper
 Writing the research paper is not as overwhelming as some may initially think. The
research paper essentially is a search on work that has previously been studied by usually
an expert in the field. The only task that is required of you is to unearth their work. Even
though this task may seem simple, many students encounter problems organizing and
writing the research paper because they fail to research the general topic before they
decide on a thesis statement; they fail to provide an appropriate thesis statement; they fail
to provide a connection between the thesis statement and all of the topic sentences in the
paper; they fail to support the paper with adequate information that is relevant only to the
topic of the paper; or they fail to correctly cite their sources.
 To begin, many students encounter problems with the research paper because they do not
fully review all of the information available. As a result, the student may choose a topic
that is too general or too specific for the number of pages that required. For example, the
topic of capital punishment maybe be appropriate for a 100-page dissertation because
there is a plenty of information available on the topic, and the length of the paper permits
for an in depth discussion of the topic. However, the general topic of capital punishment

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 is too large for a 15-page paper. The length of the paper does not allow for everything to
be covered.
 After researching and narrowing down your topic, choosing an appropriate thesis
statement is necessary. Sometimes, the instructor will assign a research topic, but there
are some instructors that will allow you to choose your own topic. If you are allowed to
choose your own topic, make sure that it is appropriate to the assignment. When writing
an argumentative essay, the thesis statement should be a statement that persuades the
readers to change his/her mind about a particular subject. An informative research paper
just informs the reader about a topic. To make sure your topic is appropriate, clear it with
the instructor.
 Another issue that is problematic in writing the research paper is connecting the main
points of the paper to thesis statement. This connection is important because the reader -
your instructor - has to be able to relate your main points or topic sentences to the overall
point of the paper or the thesis statement. This can be accomplished by providing
transitions between paragraphs and by always reminding the reader why this point is
relevant to the discussion. Take care, though, to avoid redundancy in writing.
 A related problem to connecting the main points to the thesis statement is failing to
provide adequate and relevant support for the assertions made in the custom research
paper. First, especially in persuasive research papers, it is necessary to substantiate all
assertions made so that the argument is strong. Combat this problem with some of the
research that you have already reviewed while choosing your topic. Also remember just
because there is research that is interesting and is closely related to your topic it does not
mean that it necessarily belongs in your paper. Choosing research that is appropriate to
the point you are making is just as important as providing substantial information on the
topic.
 Of all the mistakes that students make when writing a research paper, properly citing
sources within the texts is a major one. When a paper is incorrectly cited or fails to give
credit altogether to the person whose ideas they borrowed, the student has committed
plagiarism. Plagiarism can involve blatantly copying ideas and passing them off as your
own, or can be committed unintentionally by not providing parenthetical citations at the
end of each statement that covers the material that you borrowed. Whether you

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 summarize, paraphrase or directly quote a source, failing to provide adequate source
citation is plagiarism. Avoid plagiarism by investing in a style guide that explains all
three major methods of citation: MLA, APA, and Chicago. Taking a chance on possibly
committing plagiarism cannot only earn you a failing grade for the assignment and the
course but also expulsion from the school.
 Ultimately, completing a research paper takes time, effort, and proper planning. In order
to prevent major mistakes, you must give yourself enough time to do research and write
the paper, choose an appropriate thesis statement, support your thesis with adequate
research and facts, and ensure your paper is in the correct format, to include properly
citing sources within the paper and in the reference page.

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