Guidelines for the Ph.D. prospectus
1. Abstract: One page. This will help the student organize the project and its parts, and communicate the project concisely.
2. Introduction to the Subject: Orient the reader as to the nature of the undertaking. Provide some background information on the subject.
3. Purpose of the Research. This section includes:
- The question(s) that are being addressed. The question needs to be stated quite clearly either in hypothesis form or in regular prose. Moreover, it should be elaborated upon if any terms in the question are unclear.
- Identify the importance of your question(s).
4. Literature Review: In this section, a synopsis of the literature is presented, with an eye toward showing how the dissertation will contribute to the literature. Does it fill gaps in current knowledge? Does it amend or test a theory, or aspects of empirical knowledge? In other words, in answering the question, what will the dissertation show that we do not understand presently?
5. Methodology: This section explains the methods that you will use in trying to answer the central question(s) of the dissertation. Methods such as case study, statistics, qualitative approaches, theory, and interviews may be relevant to your project. You should establish how the methods are relevant to your work and how they will be used. The methods should clearly be able to allow you to present a defendable answer to your central question(s).
6. The Set-up of the Dissertation: Briefly describe the proposed chapters of the dissertation. This will help you organize your research and the final product, and ensure that your chapters are coherent, related, and help present your research effectively.
7. Timeline of Research: While it is difficult to predict how long a research project will take, it may be useful to outline what you seek to accomplish at particular junctures in the course of your project.
