Typical Structure of a dissertation research proposal

1. Title or Cover Page, including
   • Title of the proposed research project (describing the topic)
   • Name, Previous degree (s), dates and institutions
   • Date of preparation
   • Name of advisor
2. Abstract or Executive Summary
   • 200 words (double spaced) summary of the proposed research
3. The main body of proposal (not to exceed 16 double spaced pages), including
   • Statement of purposed or gap in the current research in your field of study
   • Background Context or context in which the problem arises (review of literature)
     1. In this section, the researcher should review the historical and current state of research in the chosen field and critically analyse the problem and reveal what problem it’s attempting to address
   • Justification (the reason why the problem exists and justification for addressing it)
     1. The researcher needs to state why there is a problem that needs to be addressed. And show how your research fills a gap in the current research.
   • Significance of the research in the specific field, as well as broader relevance in the field
     1. State clearly why this research is important, what the benefits will be, and how your work will practice, a new perspective on an old issue or other benefits to the community.
     2. Theoretical Framework
        1. What theoretical assumptions you are making or questioning. Provide clear justification for the adoption of the particular methodology you will use to conduct your research with supportive literature.
   • Methods
     1. This section should describe in detail how the study will be conducted. For example, what type of methods may be used
        • Interviews
        • Questionnaire
        • Case studies
        • Mathematical modelling
        • Computer simulation
        • Statistical analysis of industrial or economic data
     2. The methods need to be described in detail that shows the connection to the research question and where you are going to get the actual data. A good method chapter describes the data collection in such detail that somebody else could conduct this part as well based on instructions.
   • Expected contribution to knowledge
   • Limitations / delimitations of the study
     1. In this section, the researcher should set out the parameters for his/her research study. It is important to mention what is outside and within the scope of research and reason for the same.
   • Time frame / Schedule (Rough schedule)
     • Literature Review
     • Data Collection
     • Data analysis
     • Conferences
     • Other milestones such as Licentiate thesis
4. References or bibliography
   • List key references here for your study. This list should include all references made in sections justification for research and existing literature but may also contain more topics which may be related to the proposed research.
   • Use standard Harvard style (for automated reference processing, there’s a lot of software available as Word plug-ins, e.g. Biblioscape)
5. Appendices
6. Students curriculum Vitae