Dissertation Proposals: Journey Map for Dissertations

Those who are already highly experienced at writing dissertations are all of the opinion that the contents of a dissertation proposal are subject to a lot of modifications once the actual research has begun. Therefore, one would wonder, “What's the point of writing a dissertation proposal if it's going to undergo a lot of changes anyway?” Well, the answer is that it will be the guide which will point the writer of dissertations to the right direction. Taking the metaphor of travel, a dissertation proposal serves as the map that will help the student determine the starting point of the journey, the landmarks along the way and the end point. The actual experiences of the travel, which will not be known until the trip itself, represent the dissertation project.



Below are the important parts of a dissertation proposal:

• Problem Outline. The proposal should begin with an outline of the topic. This part is where you present the topic, describing its details, its scope and limitations, its relevance and even its practical applications, if there are any. However, refrain from making bold statements and strong claims; at best, make the tone of your writing as objective and informative as possible.
• Review of Literature. This section contains a summary of studies which are relevant to the topic of the dissertations. Do not just give a summary of previous studies. Instead, give an analysis of how each study is connected to your dissertations in some way. Otherwise, the literature will not be considered relevant.
• Methodology. This part explains what your plans are in terms of studying the problem. This may involve the use of tools in gathering data such as questionnaires and interviews. Then, you will need to give an overall idea of how they will be used to gather data in a way that will not create bias and following standard statistical procedures.