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    Writing A Research Proposal: A Guide For Science and Engineering Students

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    The document provides guidance on writing an effective research proposal. It discusses the key elements that should be included in a research proposal such as an introduction outlining the problem being addressed, research questions or hypotheses, a description of the proposed methodology, a timeline or plan, and significance and implications. The introduction presents relevant background information and identifies a gap in existing knowledge. The methodology section describes the planned data collection and analysis methods in sufficient detail. An effective research proposal demonstrates a reasonable thesis idea and proposes a methodology to investigate the problem and draw useful conclusions.

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    Writing A Research Proposal: A Guide For Science and Engineering Students

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    xutem
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    The document provides guidance on writing an effective research proposal. It discusses the key elements that should be included in a research proposal such as an introduction outlining the problem being addressed, research questions or hypotheses, a description of the proposed methodology, a timeline or plan, and significance and implications. The introduction presents relevant background information and identifies a gap in existing knowledge. The methodology section describes the planned data collection and analysis methods in sufficient detail. An effective research proposal demonstrates a reasonable thesis idea and proposes a methodology to investigate the problem and draw useful conclusions.

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    The document provides guidance on writing an effective research proposal. It discusses the key elements that should be included in a research proposal such as an introduction outlining the problem being addressed, research questions or hypotheses, a description of the proposed methodology, a timeline or plan, and significance and implications. The introduction presents relevant background information and identifies a gap in existing knowledge. The methodology section describes the planned data collection and analysis methods in sufficient detail. An effective research proposal demonstrates a reasonable thesis idea and proposes a methodology to investigate the problem and draw useful conclusions.

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    130 views2 pages

    Writing A Research Proposal: A Guide For Science and Engineering Students

    Uploaded by

    xutem
    The document provides guidance on writing an effective research proposal. It discusses the key elements that should be included in a research proposal such as an introduction outlining the problem being addressed, research questions or hypotheses, a description of the proposed methodology, a timeline or plan, and significance and implications. The introduction presents relevant background information and identifies a gap in existing knowledge. The methodology section describes the planned data collection and analysis methods in sufficient detail. An effective research proposal demonstrates a reasonable thesis idea and proposes a methodology to investigate the problem and draw useful conclusions.

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    Academic Skills

    www.services.unimelb.edu.au/academicskills 13 MELB [email protected]


    Go for excellence
    1. Your proposed topic should address a significant
    problem and, therefore, advance the state of
    knowledge in that field.
    2. You have identified an appropriate methodology and
    underlying theory to address the problem, including
    data collection methods and equipment, if required.
    3. Your methods of data analysis are outlined and
    appropriate to your data set so that you can draw
    useful conclusions from your work.
    4. You have an organised plan for your work, including a
    timeframe.
    Writing a Research Proposal
    A guide for Science and Engineering students
    A Research Proposal has several inter-related purposes:
    Writing an effective research proposal also trains you in a
    valuable skill required to operate effectively in both
    academia and industry after you graduate. You are
    presenting a reasonable thesis idea or hypothesis, the
    significance of which you have demonstrated by relating it
    to relevant literature in the field of enquiry. You are also
    proposing a methodology to investigate the problem with
    clear steps leading to a reasonable conclusion.
    The main criterion for the award of a PhD is that your thesis
    constitutes an original contribution to knowledge in a
    particular field. Remember that you may eventually refine or
    even abandon your initial topic as your research progresses,
    but the proposal demonstrates that you are aware of the
    process of enquiry and experimentation that leads to a
    thesis outcome.
    Finally, the research questions, significance and
    methodology that you write in your Research Proposal will
    help you refine your Themis ethics research application.
    The structure of a thesis proposal
    The structure and size of your Research Proposal will vary
    depending the requirements of your Faculty or School so
    the initial step is to find out departmental guidelines and
    requirements. Nevertheless, there are certain elements
    that any Research Proposal requires and these should be
    presented in the following order.
    Title or Cover Page: identifies the research project title,
    the student researcher, the institution, department, and the
    project mentors or supervisors.
    The title should be brief and descriptive and may use a
    colon (:) to separate the topic from the focus (e.g.
    Stormwater Harvesting: managing the hazards of surface
    water pollution by run-off).
    Table of Contents: lists the sections of the Research
    Proposal (headings and indented sub-headings) and the
    corresponding page numbers.
    Abstract: outlines the essence of the research project in
    around 150200 words. It describes the purpose and
    motivation for the study, and a statement of the problem,
    the data collection methodology and analysis, and the
    significant results and implications of the research.
    Introduction: provides background information for the
    research (i.e. the problem being addressed) and is typically
    structured from general information to narrow or focused
    ideas; whereupon your research question/s or hypotheses
    are presented.
    The Introduction should be about 10% of your proposal.
    Imagine you are writing for a general science reader rather
    than an expert audience.
    The Introduction includes a brief review of relevant
    literature or knowledge in the field, so that you are able to
    present the gap in the existing knowledge and, therefore,
    the significance and originality the purpose and aims of
    your research.
    Finally, articulate the scope of your research; or what you
    will not be doing, so as to limit your task.
    Research Question/s: what is the primary question you are
    trying to solve? It may be a hypothesis/hypotheses or
    research question/s and is usually a few sentences (in
    statement and/or question form) that articulate the essence
    of your project and its scope. E.g. Land use and terrestrial
    carbon storage in western Victoria from 1890-2020: A
    historical reconstruction and simulation study.
    Research Design or Methodology: includes a description
    and rationale for the methods of data collection and
    analysis, and the materials used when solving the problem.
    When and how will you know, for example, that sufficient
    experimentation has been done, and sufficient and valid
    data analysed, to support or invalidate the original
    hypothesis?
    This section includes the dataset/s, calculations, equipment,
    calibration graphs, and procedures to be used, lists project
    limitations and outlines how ethical considerations of the
    research have been considered.
    Typically, it uses subheadings (i.e. Subjects,
    Instrumentation, Data Collection, Methods of Analysis etc.)
    and is written with a future aspect, e.g. The research will
    initially examine water treatment processes in...
    Preliminary Results: details any results that you may
    already have as a result of previous Honours or Masters
    research work, perhaps also from a pilot study. It is
    important to relate these results to the critical framework of
    your intended PhD research.
    Timetable / Plan: lists the stages of the research project in
    timeline, spreadsheet or tabular format, and the deadlines
    for completion of these stages or tasks. You should include
    any challenges to completion that you anticipate facing.
    Thesis Outline or Structure: outlines the proposed
    chapters of the thesis and the content of each chapter in
    several lines or a paragraph, including a Table of Contents.

    Academic Skills
    www.services.unimelb.edu.au/academicskills 13 MELB [email protected]
    Go for excellence
    V2 1012 JH
    Significance and Implications of the Study: relates the
    intended or expected outcomes of your research to the
    original aims expressed in the Introduction so that the
    significance of the study and the contribution to knowledge
    is apparent.
    List of References: lists all the resources cited in your
    resource proposal using a referencing format appropriate to
    your faculty or discipline. Do not list resources that are not
    referred to in your proposal. This is a good time to begin
    using a bibliographic tool such as EndNote to track all the
    references for your study.
    See http://www.lib.unimelb.edu.au/endnote/ for further
    information about EndNote.
    Writing the Research Proposal
    How to write: Remember that you do not need to write
    your Research Proposal in the order in which it will be read.
    In fact, you might begin the writing process with a concept
    map drawn up on large-size paper in landscape orientation.
    Give your concept map a title at the top of the paper and
    then write appropriate headings for the different sections of
    the Research Proposal (e.g. Introduction, Methodology,
    Conclusion) and draw boxes around these headings so they
    look like pages of a book.
    Now, add anything you think you will need in these boxes
    (e.g. figures, graphs, references, topic sentences) and use
    colours to highlight different kinds of content. Because this
    is a creative brainstorming session dont restrict your ideas
    and dont be concerned with neatness. The idea is to gain
    an impression of the whole proposal and to draft your
    chapter outline.
    The next step is writing the rough draft. Start with the
    Methodology section and remember to provide enough
    information for the experiments and data collection to be
    replicated by someone else, but nothing more. Then, ask
    yourself, what is different about your proposed method?
    What kind of research are you proposing? This will give you
    your sub-headings.
    Experimental equipment, materials, method
    Modeling assumptions, mathematical tools, method
    Computational inputs, computational tools, method.

    Next, write up the implications and significance of your
    research in bullet-point form. Then, write your Introduction,
    remembering that the conclusions you draw from your
    research (i.e. the significance and implications) are related
    to the aims and objectives of the research which you state
    in the introduction.
    Finally, distil everything you have written down to its
    essence and write the Abstract for your proposal.

    Tips and common problems
    Use well-labelled figures and self-made drawings (i.e.
    sketches) to illustrate key aspects of your proposal, to
    reduce overall text length, and to clarify your own
    thinking. Each figure or drawing should have a title and
    informative caption. Most engineers and scientists are
    visual learners, so your pictures are indeed worth 1000
    words.
    Edit and revise your writing thoroughly; poor grammar
    and inappropriate style detract from your message and
    compromise your credibility as a researcher. Use spell
    check and grammar check applications.
    Make an appointment with Academic Skills; and read
    your proposal out aloud; errors often get picked up this
    way.
    Use transition language (e.g. In other words, In
    contrast) to signal to the reader what is happening in
    your text.
    Avoid language that is overly hesitant or tentative
    (e.g. It seems that, It is hoped that ).
    Break up large blocks of text into smaller sections using
    sub-headings and bullet-points.
    Anticipate possible problems with, or limitations of, the
    research. Address such issues directly for your own
    benefit as much as for the benefit of the proposal.
    Dont confuse the rationale for the research with the
    research question/s: dont confuse the big questions
    that rationalise the research with the smaller and more
    precise research questions.
    Ensure that the proposal is easy for readers to skim
    read. Never assume the reader has read the previous
    section. Use headings and restate key ideas
    throughout.
    Obtain copies of other research proposals in your field
    and study the ways they, a) devise titles; b) structure
    their proposal; and c) use technical language. You might
    ask your supervisor for previous examples, or simply
    Google for examples.
    Check that your objectives are expressed in terms of
    measurable, quantifiable outcomes and not just
    methods or activities.
    Check that your referencing style is appropriate to your
    faculty or discipline and consistently used. The
    University of Melbourne library website
    http://www.lib.unimelb.edu.au/cite/ is an excellent
    authority for referencing styles as well as past RHD
    theses.
    The university library LibGuides site is also a fantastic
    resource for discipline-specific materials. Go to
    http://unimelb.libguides.com/index.php
    Finally, draw up a check-list from the relevant
    application form and make sure that your research
    proposal fulfils all criteria.
    Further Resources
    The following resources contain advice on writing and
    evaluating Research Proposals in various areas of Science and
    Engineering.
    These North American university sites provide advice on the
    stages and strategies of academic and industrial research
    proposal writing:
    http://facstaff.gpc.edu/~ebrown/infobr3.htm
    http://www.ecf.utoronto.ca/~writing/handbook-proposals.html
    The following document from the University of Cambridge
    Engineering department outlines strategies for writing
    effectively in the sciences:
    http://www-mech.eng.cam.ac.uk/mmd/ashby-paper-V6.pdf
    This site provides an example of a research proposal for
    research into the role of research proposals in undergraduate
    biochemical and biological engineering courses:
    http://aiche.confex.com/aiche/2005/techprogram/P27927.HTM

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