In the spring of 2019, the Grierson Research Group held a studio session on preparing doctoral dissertation proposals. Our discussion also applied to the genre of research proposal more generally. Here is what we came up with:  

 

How to Propose 

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Research proposals are a fact of life for academic and non-academic researchers. Good proposals are part of doing good research. In many cases, proposals are subject to specific formal requirements, depending on their purpose and audience. However, proposals tend to have standard elements, roughly as follows (order and weighting may vary):  

 

1. Introduction  – summary introduction of the following sections  

2. The object of research 

  • Description (the primary object; its constituent parts; its location; its boundaries) 

  • Context (historical, social, material, discursive, intellectual etc. context in which the object is situated) 

  • Conceptualization/construction (what sort of thing is this object? how does your construction of the object relate to or differ from its “pre-construction” in the relevant context?)  

  • Situation (relative to similar, related scholarly/disciplinary objects and inquiries) 

  • Significance (social, political, historical, “scientific,” etc.) 

3. Literature review 

  • Comprehensive review of literature directly pertaining to the object of research (within and beyond the discipline)  

  • Selective review of other related/relevant scholarly literatures 

  • Identification of key orientations, problems, questions, gaps in the above literatures; situation of your project relative to these (the “originality” statement) 

4. Approach  

  • Description of the approach(es) to be taken to the object of research. An approach can be defined in epistemological, categorical/disciplinary, theoretical, and/or methodological terms 

  • Reference to significant/relevant scholarship pertaining to selected approach(es) 

  • Justification of approach(es) – appropriateness/suitability of approach to the object  

  • Positioning and responsibility of the researcher relative to selected approach(es) 

5. Research questions/problems/propositions  

  • Identification and elaboration of questions, problems, and propositions that will guide inquiry into the object (including sub-questions, subsidiary propositions) 

  • Note: questions, problems, propositions must be “researchable” – i.e., they must be open to inquiry via the research methods set out in the proposal 

6. Methods  

  • Concrete description of method(s) of inquiry to be undertaken in relation to research questions and object (a direct account of what you will do with materials/data/ informants, operations you will perform, etc.) 

  • Indication of the relevance/appropriateness and feasibility of selected method(s) 

  • Positioning/qualification of the researcher relative to selected method(s); indication of any required training, equipment, travel, approvals, etc. 

  • Identification of data sources, archive, corpus, materials, locations; indication of the availability of these 

7. Plan  

  • Timeline – tentative timeline for research and writing (typically indicating monthly and/or other relevant intervals and milestones)  

  • Publication – plan for the publication of findings and knowledge generated by the project, including potential venues (conference; journal; edited volume; monograph; electronic publication) and knowledge reciprocation with collaborators, informants and affected communities 

  • Budget – in cases of funded research, an itemized budget estimating research and dissemination related costs (including equipment, materials, travel and research assistance) for the duration of the project, with justification 

8. Bibliography 

  • All cited sources and selected/relevant non-cited sources