The process of writing dissertations begins with the initial dissertation proposal irrespective of whether it is for a research master’s course or for a doctorate course. Uniqueness of the proposal is an essential pre-requisite and outlines the framework of the research to be done and helps you out to chart out a clear path for the final project.

What a Dissertation Writing Proposal is?

To use an analogy a dissertation proposal is like the table of contents of a book. Your basic task is to give out an explanation about the topic it is your intention to research and a rough guide to the methodology or how exactly you want to collect and analyze the data at hand. It does not need to be pitch perfect, but it does need to lead the reader along the path of the intended research. Of course, it is quite natural that the topic might undergo slight change as the research progresses but the dissertation proposal should lay out the directions.

Choose a Topic

The step to take after the task of choosing an initial topic is to make sure that it fulfills two basic requirements. It needs to be suitable for the field of study in which you are engaged and narrow enough so that it may be completed by the time your course ends. The dissertation will enable you to determine as well as define both of these. Apart from that the dissertation proposal also allows the department in which you are studying to determine who is best positioned to aid you in your field of research.

Narrow It Down

Before you make a draft of your dissertation proposal, you have to be careful that you have thoroughly thought out the topic you wish to tackle and have narrowed it enough to have a clear concept and understanding of your aim and its subsequent achievement. It should be about a thousand words and should consist of an outline, the questions you intend to ask as well as answer, the sort of study you intend to undertake and the data type you wish to put into use in the research and the strain of analysis you intend to pursue.

The length and the specifics of information that is to be included along with the preferred structure is something that is dependent on the particular course so you should sort that out at the beginning.

The Bare Essentials

Irrespective of the structure of your research proposal some elements remain common such as the title, introduction, methodology, the objectives and aims, the methodology, the literature review and whatever limitations the proposed research might have. It is also worthwhile to state the resources along with a brief outline of the chapters or sections, a timetable you intend to follow and keep useful references.

To Summarize

As a conclusion we might state that writing the dissertation proposal is only the first step in your research career and as such you want to proceed with caution and approach the task with a clear, balanced and analytical bent of mind.