HOW TO WRITE A PhD PROPOSAL

Millicent Ele
Law PG Researcher, University of Aberdeen, Scotland, UK.
Email: m.ele@abdn.ac.uk

INTRODUCTION

Research proposal for a PhD programme is a pitch to the school to tell them what you intend to work on, why it is important, the gap in the current scholarship you intend to address. You must clearly justify your topic - why does the work matter? For what and to who? You must equally be clear about the method you intend to use and how you plan to accomplish this work within the usual allotted 36 months.

Value is placed on the right language and originality. Be clear and specific and interests the reader right away.

A PhD proposal should include the following:

1.      THE TITLE

This is a provisional title which could be modified as the research progresses. In one or two sentences, give the reason why you choose the topic.

Some schools may require you to give the reason for choosing their school for the PhD programme but this is usually covered in the personal statement.

2.      THE RESEARCH CONTEXT

Briefly give the background to the core problem the research intends to tackle and the general subject area. Give the current state of knowledge and recent thoughts and debates on the issue. In this segment, you should give footnote references of your assertions. This is about the only part of the proposal that requires references.

 

3.      THE RESEARCH ISSUE, AIMS OR QUESTIONS TO BE ADDRESSED 

Based on the background, current knowledge and recent debates on the topic, outline the contributions your research will make to the body of knowledge or in furtherance of the debate.

It is better to clearly outline these intended contributions in form of research questions and or hypothesis.

Here clarity and focus is key. So, your research questions should be clear, simple and straightforward. Often but not necessarily a rule, each question is addressed in a chapter of the thesis.

4.      THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESEARCH 

Say why your research is important; why it is worth working on; what gap it will fill in the existing literature or body of knowledge; what it will help to solve or highlight both nationally and/or internationally (depending on the topic) towards the solution to a problem or in furtherance of a debate. This is usually the longest segment of the proposal.

5.      THE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Say what method you intend to use in tackling the problem and why that method is appropriate.

·         It could be purely doctrinal i.e., a library-based work (most legal research fall into this heading – relying on already existing information on journal articles, case laws, legislation, and treaties etc.)

·         It could also be socio-legal i.e., mostly empirical involving fieldwork in form of interviews, questionnaires, or court observations etc.

·         It could be a comparative analysis involving the study of two or more countries, approaches etc.

·         The research could also be a combination of two or all of the above or an off-shoot from any of them e.g., reform oriented approach, functional comparative analysis etc.

It is important to state how you access your data or information. If the work is library-based, do you get your materials from the library, internet, data bases like Westlaw, LexisNexis etc.? Will your research involve a comparative study that will necessitate travelling to other countries for materials? If yes, explain how you will obtain these materials. If field work is involved in your research, state why that method is necessary, who you intend to interview, how many interviews you intend to carry out; if with questionnaires, your sample size, sampling and/or the category of people to distribute the questionnaires to etc. State how you intend to analyse the information and present the result.

Say how the research will commence and progress and where necessary explain any special skills that will enable you get the information you need e.g., language proficiency. 

6.      TIME TABLE (or Research Schedule)

·         Provide an operational timetable of how you intend to accomplish the task within the usually allotted 3 years.

·         This timetable is not necessarily set in stone. It only provides a guide for the research.

·         So, you need to say what you plan to do from month to month for the duration of 36 months. E.g.,

1 – 6 months

7 – 12 months

13 – 21 months

22 – 27 months

28 – 33 months

34 – 36 months

Advice:

i.                   Choose to work on what you are passionate about. It makes the work a lot easier.

ii.                Visit the law school website to learn what it requires on proposal. For instance, some have limitations on word counts.

iii.              Avoid plagiarism as the originality of your proposal may be tested with a software.