A research proposal is a concise and
coherent summary of your proposed research. It sets out the central issues or
questions that you intend to address. It outlines the general area of study
within which your research falls, referring to the current state of knowledge
and any recent debates on the topic. It also demonstrates the originality of
your proposed research.
- · The proposal is the most important document that you submit as part of the application process.
- · It gives you an opportunity to demonstrate that you have the aptitude for graduate level research.(example, by demonstrating that you have the ability to communicate complex ideas clearly, concisely and critically.)
- · The proposal also helps us to match your research interest with an appropriate supervisor.
Regardless of whether you are applying
for the PhD programmes, your research proposal should normally include the
following information:
This is just a tentative title for your
intended research. You will be able to revise your title during the course of
your research if you are accepted for admission.
Examples of the thesis titles of some
of our current and recent research students can be seen on our Current Projects page
The proposal should include a concise
statement of your intended research of no more than 100 words. This may be a
couple of sentences setting out the problem that you want to examine or the
central question that you wish to address.
You should explain the broad background
against which you will conduct your research. You should include a brief
overview of the general area of study within which your proposed research
falls, summarising the current state of knowledge and recent debates on the
topic. This will allow you to demonstrate a familiarity with the relevant field
as well as the ability to communicate clearly and concisely.
The proposal should set out the central
aims and questions that will guide your research. Before writing your proposal,
you should take time to reflect on the key questions that you are seeking to
answer. Many research proposals are too broad, so reflecting on your key
research questions is a good way to make sure that your project is sufficiently
narrow and feasible (i.e. one that is likely to be completed with the normal
period for a PhD degree).
You might find it helpful to prioritize
one or two main questions, from which you can then derive a number of secondary
research questions. The proposal should also explain your intended approach to
answering the questions: will your approach be empirical, doctrinal or
theoretical etc?
The proposal should outline your
research methods, explaining how you are going to conduct your research. Your
methods may include visiting particular libraries or archives, field work or
interviews.
Most research is library-based. If your
proposed research is library-based, you should explain where your key resources
(e.g. law reports, journal articles) are located (in the Law School’s library,
West law etc). If you plan to conduct field work or collect empirical data, you
should provide details about this (e.g. if you plan interviews, who will you
interview? How many interviews will you conduct? Will there be problems of
access?). This section should also explain how you are going to analyse your research
findings.
The proposal should demonstrate the
originality of your intended research. You should therefore explain why your
research is important (for example, by explaining how your research builds on
and adds to the current state of knowledge in the field or by setting out
reasons why it is timely to research your proposed topic).
· The
proposal should include a short bibliography identifying the most relevant
works for your topic.
· The
proposal should usually be around 2,500 words. It is important to bear in mind
that specific funding bodies might have different word limits.