This document provides guidance on writing a thesis proposal. It explains that a thesis proposal aims to demonstrate that a research idea is important, the relevant literature has been reviewed, major issues are understood, and the proposed methodology is sound. The proposal should address what will be accomplished, why, and how. It then outlines the key sections of a thesis proposal, including the title, abstract, introduction, literature review, methods, results, and discussions. The introduction presents the research problem and justification. The literature review evaluates prior work and shows how the proposed research contributes new insights. The methods section explains the research design. Finally, the proposal acknowledges limitations to set appropriate expectations.

1. THESIS

2. • A thesis is a statement in an essay that you
plan to support, discuss or prove.
• Not all thesis statements can be empirically
proven, but many of them represent an
argument

3. Why Thesis is written
• Researchers are expected to review the field
and attempt to add an element of original
research to it
• This may simply mean that they adapt
someone else's research plan for the situation
they want to investigate; in this way they can
extend the knowledge about an area.

4. How to Write a Thesis Proposal

5. Information to Contain
• Sufficient information to show …
–You have an important research idea.
–You have a good grasp of the relevant
literature.
–You have a good idea of the major
issues.
–Your methodology is sound.

6. Questions to Address
•What you plan to accomplish.
•Why you want to do it.
•How you are going to do it.

7. The Writing
•Title
•Abstract
•Introduction
•Literature review
•Methods
•Results
•Discussions

8. Title
•Concise
•Descriptive.

9. Abstract
•A brief summary of 150-300 words.
–The research question.
–The rationale for the study.
–The hypothesis.
–The method.
–The main findings.

10. Introduction
•Provide the necessary background for your
research problem.
–Begin with a general statement of the
problem area.
–Focus on a specific research problem.
–Be followed by the rationale or
justification for the proposed study.

11. •Key elements
–State the research problem.
–Provide the context to show its
necessity/ importance.
–Briefly describe the major issues of your
research.
–Specify the phenomenon you want to study.

12. –State your hypothesis or theory.
–Set the boundaries of your proposal in order to
provide a clear focus.
–Provide definitions of key concepts, if
necessary.

13. Literature Review
•May be incorporated into the Introduction
section.
•Functions
–Ensure that you are not “reinventing the
wheel.”
–Give credits to those laying the
groundwork.
–Demonstrate your knowledge of the
problem

14. –Demonstrate your understanding of the
theoretical and research issues related to your
research question.
–Show your ability to critically evaluate relevant
literature information.
–Indicate your ability to integrate and synthesize
the existing literature.

15. –Provide new theoretical insights or develop a
new model as the conceptual framework for
your research
–Convince readers that your proposed research
will make a significant contribution.

16. •Make use of subheadings to bring order.
•Focus, unite, and cohere your discussion.
•Cite influential papers.
•Keep up with recent developments.
•Evaluate critically cited papers.
•Depend on first sources.

17. Methods
•Show how you plan to tackle your research
problem.
•Contain sufficient information for the reader to
determine if it is sound.
•Demonstrate your knowledge of alternative
methods and show that your approach is most
appropriate

18. Results
•Of course, you do not have results at the
proposal stage.
•You need to have some idea about what is
expected.

19. Discussions
•Mention the limitations and weaknesses of the
proposed research.