Do you know the format of a research proposal? Do you know how many chapters of research proposal are there at PhD level? Yes, you have said it right. There are normally three chapters of a standard PhD research proposal. Those are Introduction, Literature Review, and Methodology. Knowing the names of the three chapters is not important. The important is what goes into these three building blocks of a research proposal.
After seeing the constant failure of students, there is a need to explain all the chapters of research proposal. There is a need to explain what goes in and what does not in these chapters. So, today’s article is here to fulfil this need of students. It is because there will be a detailed discussion on the contents of each chapter. Before moving on to the actual discussion, let’s discuss the importance of writing a proposal at PhD level.
Why is writing a research proposal important?
Many research institutes and academic institutions around the globe require incoming PhD students to submit a research proposal. Ideally, a research proposal demonstrates the research potential and unpacks the research interests of a PhD candidate. Another main reason for universities’ requirement of submitting a proposal is to have a look at your research interests. Also, the way you write the chapters of research proposal reveals a lot about your competence in the proposed area. Hence, all these things make a research proposal an important document at the PhD level. You still have an option to get research proposal help from the best writers.
What are the three chapters of research proposal?
From the discussion above, you know the meaning and importance of a research proposal at the PhD level. It is also evident that you can only write a good proposal when you know the contents of its chapters. Hence, a brief description of the chapters and the content that goes into the above-discussed chapters is as follows:
1. Chapter 1 – Introduction to the research
It is the first section or the 1st chapter of a PhD research proposal. This chapter serves as the opening chapter in which you explain the basic meaning of the research problem by giving definitions of the important concepts and terminologies. The four main things you talk about in this chapter are as follows:
- The background of the research study
- The problem statement you wish to investigate
- Research aims and objectives
- Research questions you wish to address
Background of the study: The background of the study means giving a historical explanation of the issue at hand. This section starts with a broad discussion on the topic and narrows down the research topic. For example, if you wish to choose air pollution in Lahore as your proposed topic. In the background study, you will first talk about the history of air pollution in the world and Pakistan. After giving the concrete facts, you will narrow down your discussion to Lahore.
Problem statement: It is a brief description of the issue that you wish to address. It defines the gap between current and the previous literature and builds your proposal on that gap.
Aims and objectives: Aims and objectives are your statements of intent. They broadly outline what you want to achieve at the end of your research project.
Research questions: These are the specific inquiries you wish to answer through your research. Craft the questions carefully as they will be the guide of the whole research process.
2. Chapter 2 – Literature Review
The second chapter of all the three chapters of research proposal is the literature review. This chapter is a scholarly survey of the available sources such as books, journal articles, and theses related to your research area. This chapter is the core element of a research proposal that situates your research work in relation to the existing knowledge. The literature review chapter also helps you build the conceptual or theoretical framework of your proposed research problem. It does so by letting you know about the research gaps in your research area. To effectively review the literature, as a researcher, you must demonstrate that you:
- Understand the whole context of your proposed research
- Have the ability to identify what is known and what is unknown about the research
- Have know-how of the key variables already established in the literature related to the proposed research area
- Can identify the research opportunities present in the literature
- Have the ability to justify the research questions
3. Chapter 3 – Research Methodology
The research methodology chapter is the third and the last important chapter of a research proposal. In this chapter, you state the research purpose and list of the research methods you wish to adopt. The information related to data collection, like what type of data you will be collecting and how you will collect that data, is also part of this important chapter. Most important of all, in this chapter, you explain all of your research instruments. The explanation of the research instruments with procedures is a mandatory part of this chapter.
4. Chapter 4 – Timeline and budget (If relevant)
This chapter is not often seen in most research proposals. The reason is that this 4th chapter is relevant when you are applying for a scholarship or a grant. In such a case, you need to provide the timeline to tell the admission committee how much time your research will take. Developing a Gantt chart to show the complete timeline of the research project is beneficial. On the other hand, the budget gives the committee an overview of the expenses. My advice when making a budget is to always consider the future value of the things and then craft this section.
Conclusion
Conclusively, this article has briefly explained the three important chapters of research proposal. The above-discussed chapters are the core of a proposal. Therefore, make sure to read the information given above properly and then craft your research proposal. In the end, do not forget to make a Gantt chart if your proposal includes the section on timeline and budget.
