The purpose of the research proposal – to be handed in after Research Seminar 3 – is to make sure that the proposed dissertation research is relevant and feasible, and is sound research methodolically. It is a requirement to have an approved research proposal before the Comprehensive Exam, as it is to be discussed there, and as it is to serve as a guide for the research activities in the “Research and Dissertation Module” in semesters 5-8.

The research proposal is a summary of the aim and relevance of the planned dissertation topic and its context along with the research approach and methods intended to be used. It also puts forward the research questions aimed to guide the research as well as any preliminary results from validation or pilot studies if these were conducted.

The research proposal should

• state the problem or area being researched and why it is of interest
• present the aim(s) and the research question(s)
• present a brief overview of the relevant literature/theoretical background
• present the implications for the research from the literature review, and design either some procedure for preliminary data analysis based on the literature, or a design for a pilot study
• (where already conducted) report on the pilot study or a preliminary analysis
• draw conclusions for the main study or the full analysis on the basis of the experience of the pilot work
• present and justify the detailed design of the research along with the methods of data collection and analysis
• describe ethical considerations regarding the research
• present a detailed schedule of the work to be done, with milestones and a timetable
• indicate the significance of the research for language pedagogy or English applied linguistics

It has to

• be related to language pedagogy or English applied linguistics
• be connected to and draw upon current theory or issues of a theoretical nature
• be written in a suitable academic style
• be feasible in terms of scale, time-schedule, instrumentation, access to data sources, and time for analysis and writing up
• show evidence of having been piloted and revised where appropriate
• show evidence of awareness of the need for valid results in the research paradigm used
• show evidence of having received supervision, and of having heeded advice
• show all the research instruments already designed

An important criterion for the adequacy of the proposal is that it should be “reviewer-friendly”, that is, it should contain all the necessary information required for the evaluation of the intended dissertation. A good proposal is

• accurate, i.e., correctly reflects the purpose and content of the planned work;
• self-contained, that is, defines all the key terms and concepts, abbreviations and acronyms;
• concise and specific.

The length of the proposal (i.e., the body of the text excluding the references and appendices) should be a minimum of 80 000 characters, i.e., 13 – 14 000 words. However, it should not exceed 16 000 words.

The research proposal must be submitted electronically as a Word document and in pdf to the tutor of Research Seminar 3 and must be endorsed by the supervisor. (If a reviewer prefers to read a hard copy, it has to be supplied upon request.) The submission deadline is normally the middle of January following Research Seminar 3 in the autumn semester. Should the proposal have to be re-written, it will have to be re-submitted in the first tier of Research Seminar 4 in the spring.  The accepted proposal is a prerequisite of registering for the comprehensive exam.

Assessment