A dissertation proposal serves as a guide to use for constructing your dissertation. It is basically an outline that serves as the foundation from which to build your final document. If you complete a good dissertation proposal, your final dissertation will be structured better, and it will be more easily completed.
You should know that if your dissertation proposal is not properly prepared, your dissertation will not be up to par. This is why it is important that you research your proposal well, so that it can be well-written and properly formatted with correct citations and references. To do this, it must contain some essential elements.
Dissertation Proposal Elements:
There are some basic elements that your dissertation proposal should contain to better present the overall structure of your dissertation. These elements include an outline of the scope of your research and objectives. It also includes methods of collecting data and the significance of the research. Your dissertation proposal should focus on the what, how, and why the topic was chosen, as well as where the study will be carried out. The basic elements of a dissertation proposal are as follows.
- Topic, Summary, and Abstract – Be sure to choose a topic that is based on the research question and your summary should reflect this as well. The abstract summarizes what will be in the proposal and should be clear, concise, and focused on conveying the dissertation’s purpose.
- Table of Contents – You will need to include a rough outline of the table of contents, even if it will change later, which it probably will. Include the probable main sections of the proposal with a short synopsis of each section.
- Literature Review – This is a detailed analysis of the research used from scholarly sources. Each literature review entry should be cited and referenced with a summary. These will be expanded upon in the dissertation.
- Methodology – This section focuses on the research tools, instruments, and/or methods that will be used for gathering study data. This section also explains any study limitations and the reasons for choosing each method of research.
- Timeline – Your dissertation should have a specified completion schedule. Using a Gantt chart is a common way to detail the research timeline.
- Conclusion – The dissertation proposal conclusion is a summary of the information such as the topic, summary, abstract, main points, as well as a summary of the literature review and the research limitations and findings.
This is a general guide for writing a dissertation proposal for submission. Presenting a suitable dissertation proposal will put you in the best light when the advisory committee reviews your submission. If you need dissertation proposal help from PhD experts – visit our service Writing-Expert.com.