the ldquo ideal rdquo research proposal general recommendations a proposal should be as general as possible in order for it to be reviewed by and capture the attention of any social scientist, but it should also be as specific as possible in order to trigger the interest of the faculty member s who could potentially become your supervisor s. Try to make clear which parts of your project are conventional wisdom, and which are innovative. Highlighting paradoxes and unexpected results can also be a powerful tool to motivate readers whose research interests are far from yours. Try to keep the spotlight on the main idea s of your project along the whole text while clearly spelling out your concrete plans. The 100 word abstract will be included in the summary of your dossier separately from the research proposal, and most faculty members will make a first pre selection of the proposals they want to read more carefully on the basis of the abstract.

Try to focus there on your research question and to explain why it is an innovative and interesting question to ask. Proposals should be in either good english or french proofreading is always a good strategy , well structured with suitable headings, and be clear and legible. the introduction why? begin the proposal by clearly stating either the central problem or puzzle which the dissertation will address, be this empirical, theoretical or both. Another good way to begin a proposal is by stating, where possible, your central point, idea, or claim. This means that purely descriptive proposals should be avoided, however interesting and useful they are.

Ideas for An Argumentative Research Paper

Tell the reader why you want to study what you are studying, and why it is worth doing so. If your topic or theory or method has been very widely discussed in your field, you should highlight the novelty theoretical, empirical or both that your project represents with respect to previous works. The feasibility of the project is not an issue in many proposals, but could become a potential concern in some of them. This is also probably a good moment to make explicit any caveats and limitations of your project. You should not, however, attempt to explain either the whole history of the world or one single and particular small case. the state of the field present and discuss the answers that the available literature offers the research question addressed in the proposal succinctly. Describe any key conceptual issues that have already been addressed by work on the question.

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Explain the central arguments/debates in the literature on the question, and show an awareness of alternative points of view by highlighting the combination of literatures. In sum, make clear: first, what we already know and what we do not yet know about your research question second, how your work will build on previous research. the project description what? formulate a theory in more conceptual work or a series of hypotheses subject to falsification in empirical studies.

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There is nothing wrong with using a ldquo hunch rdquo as your starting point, as long as you argue and use the relevant literature appropriately to justify it. You will have time within the next four years to refine, amend or completely change your hypothesis if necessary. You should avoid using highly abstract and complicated terms in your conceptualization.

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Try to employ some concept that everyone in your discipline uses and seems to agree on with regard to its meaning or justify why you are not using it and provide your own definition. Operationalize key terms by defining them in terms that can be measured or observed. Good maybe not ideal indicators are those available, close to the concept you want to measure, and widely accepted. All the other possible factors that might influence the phenomenon you want to explain in order to avoid setting up any spurious relations. We would also strongly recommend that you explicitly specify the existence of any intervening conditions that at the very least change the production of the expected effects and at most need to be present for the hypothesized relations to hold. the research design how, where and when? list the research operations you will conduct, and justify why these are the best solutions to tackle your research question.

If you choose to examine only one case, you should provide a careful indication of the relevance of your case and its potential for generalization. Case studies are fine as long as you demonstrate a good command of the case, and strongly argue the non triviality of its analysis. Explain what kind of case it is and provide some theoretical reasons for looking at it n.b. Not just because it has been in the news recently, or because this particular case has not yet been covered in academic research. Remember that a research gap is not yet a research puzzle that is worth answering.

The comparison of units is particularly appreciated in our department, be it sub national or cross national. If you intend to examine more than one case, you will also be asked to justify the selection of your geographical and temporal span, even though you can do this more briefly when they have chosen a ldquo large n rdquo design. Elaborate on the logic and strategy behind case selection and comment on the inherent disadvantages if any. With regard to methodology, mixed approaches that combine both quantitative and qualitative methods are particularly welcome in our department. Do not hesitate to include as many details as you can with regard to the datasets, the respondents, or the techniques of analysis you are planning to employ. Being precise about how you think you will develop your research is always welcome and helpful.

Bibliography Format

statement of fit why the sps department at the eui? explain how your background and life experiences including social, economic, cultural, familial, educational , or other opportunities and challenges motivated your decision to pursue a phd in political and social sciences at the sps department of the eui. Make sure you include an explanation of why you believe the sps department is a good fit for your professional aims and research interests, as well as with which of its faculty members you might wish to work. Avoid sending a purely generic statement of purpose that fails to identify why the eui is a good fit for your training. Discuss any research skills such as language training or methods/data familiarity that could be useful in the completion of your thesis. If you have already begun your doctoral study, it is important that you give some indication of the work you have undertaken to date. A well composed proposal usually finishes by alluding to the original research question, reminding the reader about the main theoretical claim in normative works /falsifiable hypothesis in empirical ones , and speculating on the final product of the thesis: what kind of impact could your research have if it is successful? bibliography this should be focused and updated but sufficiently comprehensive and grounded in classics. For the disciplines covered by our department, you can use annual reviews, field oriented handbooks or on line databases.

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We also recommend looking for personal web pages of leading scholars on your research question. We advise you to use any reference management software package to cope with bibliographies and references when writing the proposal. All doctor of philosophy dphil students must write an acceptable research proposal. This has a clear and explicit purpose: it makes certain that you have a worthwhile research project you have a good grasp of the relevant literature and the major issues, and that your methodology is sound it will show that you have the competence and work plan to complete the research it includes sufficient information for us to evaluate the proposed study and we can be certain we have the right staff expertise to supervise you. All research proposals must address the question of what you plan to accomplish and why you want to and how you are going to do it. A research proposal is usually around 2,500 words long although there is no upper or lower limit to this. In preparing a research proposal, the first thing that you have to do is to decide what it really is that you want to know more about.

The questions that you want to research have to viable as a research project and lead to the creation of new knowledge and understanding. Your research proposal should include a section on each of the following areas: this should be concise and descriptive. background and rationale this section needs to explain the background and issues of your proposed research how you came to be interested in this subject.

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You can summarise what you know of the existing literature in this area, perhaps identifying where it does and does not provide enlightenment on what you are interested in. Most importantly, you must make a convincing case as to why your research would create valuable and useful knowledge. research questions here you need to formulate your research questions clearly. You should have an answerable question that is clear and sufficiently well defined/focussed for you to do the research implied within an appropriate time frame. In this section you need to clarify what theoretical resources you will be drawing on and why.

You should demonstrate your knowledge of the research problem and your understanding of the theoretical and research issues related to your research question and their relevance and usefulness to your particular project. Give consideration to the larger issues within your chosen theoretical framework and how they will affect the research process. This section is very important as it informs the admissions committee how you plan to tackle your research problem. It is your work plan and describes the activities necessary for the completion of your project and should consist of a description of how you intend to go about the research.