A very useful article recently appeared (see attached) in a journal which provides some very useful guidance into writing a doctoral proposal.
We also know there is increasing diversity in doctoral programmes, in terms of disciplinary focus, but moreso, practice-oriented or professionally oriented doctoral programmes.
For example, within such programmes one of the outcomes might includes a significant and original contribution to practice (perhaps in place of or in addition to scholarly knowledge).
So for example, rather than starting with the gap in knowledge, it might be starting with the gap in practice.
Or, another example, is where the significance of the study is not in terms of theoretical contribution, but impact or change in practice.
Here is another example of a reference with a different perspective:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/260758834_Transforming_Research-Learning_Performance_With_Professional_Lifelong_Learners
There is such diversity that 'one size does not fit all'. So, what advice might we give to people seeking advice in writing a proposal for a practice-oriented or professionally oriented doctoral proposal?
Article Transforming Research-Learning Performance With Professional...
Article How to Write An Effective Research Proposal For Higher Degre...
Before you can write a proposal, you need the IDEA about what you will study.
I think this is best done by considering all of your coursework and deciding which broad topic interests you. You should do this early in your graduate career. Maybe you will start with more than one area and narrow it.
As you continue taking courses, incorporate your interest into the various papers you write for your classes. This will help you narrow your interests.
Then finally, ask yourself what area related to your topic is not well addressed in the literature. As yourself how you might collect and analyse data to provide more information on this poorly-addressed area.
Thank you Michael. You're absolutely right. I find that some people have an idea about a topic they are passionate about. Whereas others struggle to find or develop the idea.
This one reason I invented The Artful Inquirer process to help explore possibilities.
Additional thoughts on generating ideas for doctoral proposals:
- Gaps
- Joining two ideas, fields, concerns
- Combining a topic with a theoretical perspectives (e.g. equality and complex adaptive systems)
- Metaphors, allegories, simillies, etc, which encapsulate an idea (e.g. equality maturity as a caterpillar)
Any others welcomed!
Hi Tony
Think the word "Gaps" mentioned above can include the following forms:
Hello Han - that's a very useful addition. I agree with these, especially point 3 - we might have had attempts at filling a gap, but they might not have been done particularly well!
I was at a session recently where journal editors said that the outcomes of research fall into three broad categories:
Although I like the idea of gaps, another set of editors recently said that they were not interested in gaps as such, but were more interested in unconventional angles or perspectives. So it's interesting to see how 'gap' and 'angle' are understood.
Kind regards, Tony.
Hi Tony.
Have you heard of a book, titled: Student Companion? It read it and it helped me a lot to write scientifically. In what follows I provide you with some hints I often use with Ph D students. Their order is not operative:
1) Avoid writing long sentences.
2) write clean and clear.
3) Substantiate your main affirmations.
4) The several paragraphs should be articulated, not only appear one after the other.
5) Check the references in the test and in References, such that there is a perfect correspondence between them.
6) Avoid plagiarism.
7) See if your thesis and writing revolves around what may be called, as it were, "irritating" questions and doubts, that is, questions that are new and original and whose response increases our knowledge in the topic at issue.
8) Look for possible inconsistences throughout your paper or thesis.
9) If your thesis is empirical, do not run experiments whose proposition or propositions are true by definition and, hence, untestable. So, you have to be, say, a student logic before you are a student of nature.
10) Do not use ill-defined and unclear concepts. Note that Wittgenstein in his famous Philosophical Investigations, astutely remarked that in psychology there are experimental methods and confusion. Unfortunately psychology is not alone regarding this issue.
11) If your thesis is empirical, do not overuse of tabular asterisks (i.e., *. **. ***) at the cost of theoretical risks. See, for this respect, P. Meehl's paper, published in 1978 in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology and titled: Tabular asterisks and theoretical risks: Sir Karl, Sir Ronald, and the slow progress of soft psychology.
12) Avoid redundancy and be instead parsimonious. See, for this respect, Ockam's razor idea.
I am aware that this list could be longer than it is (see, for this respect, previous answers to your question). Even so, I hope that this helps.
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