Thesis and Dissertation Proposal

The objective of a thesis or dissertation proposal is to ensure a definite outline of expectations and scope of anticipated research. Once approved by the Supervisory Committee, the proposal becomes an informal contract between the student and committee. In addition, a proposal serves as:

• A basis for discussions between student and Committee regarding experimental design, data analysis, outputs, and focus of the coursework; and
• A clear statement of the amount of effort anticipated to produce an acceptable thesis or dissertation.

While the thesis or dissertation proposal serves as an agreement between student and Committee, both parties also must recognize that flexibility is needed to include later changes as experiments may fail and new opportunities may arise.

The length of the proposal should be the minimum needed to adequately address the topics listed below. For a M.S. thesis proposal, 8-10 pages including references would be appropriate. For a Ph.D. dissertation proposal, 10-15 pages are probably realistic. The intent is to write the proposal early in the degree program. If written too late, it will begin to resemble the thesis in size and scope, and its primary purpose will be lost.

Format

The thesis or dissertation research proposal should follow the general features of a research proposal. A typical format is as follows:

Introduction

General background, importance of the subject area; for a Ph.D. dissertation proposal especially, there should be a substantial literature review.

Objective(s)

A concise statement of the purpose(s) or objective(s) of the project; this should flow logically from the introduction and be short and specific.

Methods

General plan, specific methods, sampling or experimental design, and projected procedure for data analysis; these methods should be appropriate for directly addressing the purpose(s) or objective(s). Ordering the methods section around each purpose or objective, perhaps by indicating the likely chapters of the thesis is encouraged and assists with later writing of the thesis or dissertation.

Interpretation

How will the results be interpreted in the context of the research questions identified in the purpose and objectives section? There should be explicitly stated inferences that would be drawn from all outcomes; outcomes that cannot be interpreted imply imprecise objectives or inappropriate methods.

Significance

Why is this investigation justified? What is the scientific or practical contribution? For a dissertation proposal especially, the case eventually must be made that the results will be a significant contribution to knowledge, regardless of the experimental or observational outcomes.

Timeline/Workplan

The timeline helps to assess whether the proposed research is feasible as planned and establishes milestones. The timeline/work plan should be summarized using, for example, a Gant chart. It should indicate when sampling and analyses will be conducted, organized by purpose or objective, with clearly stated milestones. Periods when there are activities which could slow progress (e.g. taking written and oral examination for Ph.D. students) should be highlighted and accounted for when selecting milestones. The timeline should also indicate when likely outputs (e.g. scientific paper and reports) will be produced.

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