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Common mistakes to avoid in your PhD research proposal

20 Aug 2016 admin Leave a comment

Prior to undertaking any PhD research project, your research proposal is the first document that you submit to your university for funding purposes. Although the submitted proposal is not expected to be “perfect” in all respect, it must provide clarity on the type of research that you will undertake. Your supervisors or project funder should also learn about the scope of your research and its viability, by reading your proposal.

Listed below are some common mistakes that you can avoid when writing your PhD proposal:

  • Communicate the importance of your project with aggression.
    Most research proposals do not communicate the student’s interest in the selected subject aggressively, neither do they convey the overall importance of the research work.
  • Not more than 1,500 words long.
    Though there is no word limit, do not make your proposal more than around 1,500 words long. Ensure that your proposal should include the proposed project title, abstract, research questions, basic concepts, methodology, and the time scale of your research. Avoid overuse of jargon in your proposal.
  • The subject of your research is ambiguous.
    A common mistake in most proposals is the research subject is either not clear or specific. Your research title must focus on the specific nature of the research.
  • Failure to interest the project funder.
    Most proposed research, though important, fail to raise the interest level of the funder. Ensure that your research topic is of interest to your funder, and is able to convince them on why you are qualified to carry out this research work. Research projects that are out of scope for your overall program or require unrealistic budgets can also get rejected by the funder.
  • Lack of planned time
    Your proposal must also contain the rough timeline of how you plan to complete your research within the deadlines. Include a monthly or quarterly estimate of the tasks that you plan to complete.
  • Poor presentation
    In the case of PhD programs where there are no personal interviews, your submitted proposal is the sole document that will determine the approval or rejection of your proposed research. Submit a neat document with good presentation to reduce the risk of rejection.
    A good research proposal always evolves in its content with the progression of your research. Consider your initial submission as the first draft and be prepared to revise it, based on suggestions and comments provided by your project supervisors.

The art of chapter writing in your PhD thesis

5 Aug 2016 admin Leave a comment

Writing a PhD thesis or a dissertation can be challenging for students, especially when it includes a number of independent chapters. Additionally, the combination of all these chapters must support and build on your overall research question. Most readers would feel lost going through chapters with around 80,000 to 1,00,000 words.
Irrespective of the chapter content or the research topic, each chapter can have some basic building blocks that writers can use for conveying their information:

  1. Linking to the previous or next chapter.
    You can start (or even conclude) every chapter with a brief of your previous (or next) chapter respectively. Do not make it too lengthy to sound repetitive to the reader. Alternatively, concluding any chapter with a summary of the discussion in the next chapter enables you to start each chapter on a fresh note.
    Additionally, link the discussion in each chapter with the overall research question and how it contributes the overall argument. Links to prior material in your thesis can elaborate how this chapter builds on your arguments in the earlier chapters.
  1. Include the focus point of each chapter.
    Inform your reader on what is the focus of each chapter and its objective. Build an argument of how each topic in your chapter can lead to your discussion in the next topic. The combined set of topics can ultimately contribute to your overall chapter focus.
  1. Break up your chapter into sections.
    Each section of text must have an appropriate heading (and sub-headings) that can indicate the purpose of the section. Do not use redundant headings like “Introduction” or “Overview” in chapter beginnings, as the start of any chapter always serve this purpose.
    Include a paragraph (or two) of a framing text before getting into the main body of the section. Chapters with 8000 to 12000 words can usually have 2, 3, or even 4 sections in the main body.
  1. Provide a summary or conclusion.
    Each chapter must include a substantial summary or conclusion of the discussion points and findings. Assuming that the reader has limited time to read through your entire chapter, the summary can be a brief collection of the key points that you want the reader to remember.
    Chapters with a consistent flow and structure can not only be helpful to readers, but also help you, as a writer, to not navigate away from the central focus point of each chapter.