School of the Arts and Media, UNSW

Framework for Research Proposal

for Masters and PhD students preparing for their Confirmation Review

You are expected to submit a Research Proposal document which addresses the elements of your
research listed below. These elements may be incorporated into a single draft introduction, or addressed
separately under each sub-heading (in any logical or appropriate order):

Title: What title reflects the focus of your research? Deciding on a title helps you to
refine and direct your research. Try to keep it short but relatively descriptive. A
title and sub-title may help your focus.

Literature / Field
of Study Review: What have other people said about the topic? What are the major
assumptions and ongoing debates which organise scholarship in this field?
What is the gap in existing knowledge which you have identified and why does
this gap need to be filled? If you are a Creative Practice candidate, you should
also consider assumptions and gaps in existing artistic practices within your
field of study.

Aims and Justification: What is your object of study given the findings of your critical review of the
field of study? What disciplinary or interdisciplinary field of research are you
working within and contributing to? Why is your research important, and what
original argument do you wish to make in your Thesis/Dissertation? If you are
a Creative Practice candidate, what original contribution do you wish to make
to an aspect of artistic practice?

Research Questions: What are you trying to find out? What questions will guide your investigation of
the topic or practice, or what hypotheses do you intend to test? What
problems or issues will you address or attempt to resolve?

Methodology: How will you seek to answer your research questions? What scholarly or
creative framework, or theoretical or artistic assumptions will guide your
research? What analytical tools will you employ to help you conduct your
investigation of the topic and analyse your findings (i.e. theoretical paradigms,
critical reading practices, archival or performative research, interviews, etc.)?
If it is relevant to your research project, you can incorporate part of a case
(pilot) study into your Research Proposal.

Timeline: Provide a timeline for completion which maps out a series of milestones to be
achieved in order to realise your projected submission date.

Ethical Considerations: Are there any ethical issues arising from your research? How will you deal
with these issues? Will you need to obtain ethics clearance from the HREC or
the HREA?

Anticipated Problems: Can you anticipate any problems or constraints in undertaking your research?
What are the financial implications of your methods? Some Creative Practice
candidates may wish to include a budget plan.

Chapter Outline: Provide a list of chapters and their provisional titles to indicate how you will
structure your Thesis/Dissertation. What will be the focus of each chapter and
how will their progression develop the argument of the Thesis/Dissertation?

References: The Bibliography of your Literature/Field of Study Review plus a range of

primary and secondary sources which you are drawing on.

If you are Creative Practice Doctorate or Creative Practice Masters by Research student, your Research
Proposal will be 5,000 words in length. All other candidates will submit a 7,000-word document.
 School of the Arts and Media, UNSW

Framework for Research Proposal

for Creative Practice Masters & PhD students preparing for the
Confirmation Review

A research degree in Creative Practice requires candidates to complete a Thesis comprised of two
separate but related components: the Creative Project and the Dissertation. Creative Practice students
should submit:

- a 5,000-word research proposal – AND

EITHER

- a 2,000-word report on the Creative Project with documentation of work in progress

OR

- if the Creative Project is Creative Writing, then a 3,000-word sample of writing from their Project (the
equivalent in poetry could be around ten pages of poetry)

OR

- if the Creative Project is Music Composition, then a 15-minute sample of compositions (e.g. sketches
for the types of pieces that will comprise the Folio)

The Research Proposal should follow the same Framework provided above. In the ‘Aims and Justification’
section of the Research Proposal you should outline both your Creative Project and your Dissertation.
This should include:

1) a synopsis of the Creative Project which describes the formal and conceptual aims of the
project as well as its scope (length, single work or series or folio or portfolio etc.)
2) an account of the aims and justification of the Dissertation and its length
3) a discussion of how your Creative Project and your Dissertation will be related. In what ways
do they inform or complement each other?

In your Research Proposal you may also like to consider, if relevant, how your Creative Project:

a) contributes to, reworks or advances one or more of the following: existing conventions, artistic
and/or critical traditions, a genre, movement or body of work, theoretical positions, methodologies
and approaches, or forms of practice;
b) engages effectively with one or more of the following: theoretical concepts, thematic concerns,
philosophical, social and political issues, and/or public discourse;
c) offers an original and timely contribution to a significant area of practice
d) opens up and/or articulates insights into an existing practice, and/or opens up an area of practice
to new interpretations or methods;

The research questions, literature / field of study review, and methodology should elaborate the
Dissertation (although you may see fit to include a discussion of how these research elements also inform
or are guided by the Creative Project).