Starting writing

•Ensure you are in a good frame of mind before beginning writing

•Be positive, confident & enthusiastic! It carries through in your writing.

•Write in the active tense – it sounds more determined eg “this project will investigate...”

•Avoid “woulds” and “mights”

What do I write about?

• Find your passion – brainstorm subject areas & parent disciplines

• Research something that challenges you, that fascinates you, & that you will be able to stay focused on for a long period of time... i.e. 3-5 years for a Ph.D and from 6 months up to 2 years for an Honours or Masters thesis.

• Think about how you can add to the “gap” in research for a Master or Ph.D

Timing of the proposal

•It will take time and patience

•Start writing long before the due date. Don’t leave it to the week or night before!

•Focus directly on the research topic to investigate the research questions

•Write, re-write & modify it continually

Outline of Intended

Research

•Consult with a potential supervisor or program coordinator.

•It is not the same as a research proposal, which aims to provide very specific details about the intended research.

Intended Research

Should provide information in 3 core areas:

1/ Background to the intended area of research

2/ It should demonstrate through an overview of relevant literature a sound knowledge of past and recent work in the area of interest

3/ Provide a case for its significance and importance in that body of literature

Intended Research

•Explain how the intended research fits with a research program in the Faculty if applicable.

•Consult with appropriate program directors, and search the staff uni website for staff with your research interest to assist you. It will also help you decide on or propose an appropriate supervisor if you haven’t already.

Parent Disciplines

Topic example: “The impact of a cross cultural experience in English language acquisition in the ESL classroom on international students studying in Australia”.

Key elements for the

Research Proposal

•Concept plan – here you justify your research through a gap analysis which follows a literature review

•Scope study – determine what is in & out of the scope. What exactly is the issue that you are trying to address?

•Project Management plan – determine how long it will take to complete the work

Project Management Plan

•What are the milestones?

•What resources do you need to complete it? & are these resources available to you?

E.g. Focus groups/ individuals to interview/

people to survey ...

•Will there be ethical issues?

•A risk analysis. What if things go wrong?

•How would you mitigate it?

Project Management Plan

•Logical progression/ breakdown of tasks or steps needed to undertake or complete your research

•Give a timeline on when these tasks should be undertaken and in what order