The document provides guidance on developing a strong thesis or dissertation proposal. It emphasizes that the proposal process is the least institutionalized part of graduate school, requiring students to independently develop their own research paradigm and path. Developing a clear problem statement, conceptual framework, data collection methods, analytical plan, and timeline are key elements to include. Continuous communication with one's committee is also stressed to ensure the proposal will pass muster. Overall, the proposal should demonstrate a clear research design that effectively evaluates the student's hypotheses.

1. Proposal Development
GRC || RWJF
"[T]here is too little emphasis ... on what it means to do independent research."
-William Bowen and Neil Rudenstein
In Pursuit of the Ph.D. 1992

2. Proposal Development
• Developing your thesis/dissertation proposal is
one of your most important moments in grad
school
• It also happens to be the least-institutionalized
part of grad school

3. Proposal Development
• What you’ve done to get this far:
• Excel in academic programing
• Follow a course list provided to you
• Work though a program made for you

4. Proposal Development
• Your Academic program has been like riding
on a plane. Difficult, but the path has been
prepared.

5. Proposal Development
• From now on, you must
• Develop your own research paradigm
• Set your own path & schedule
• Determine your own criteria for success

6. Proposal Development
• Your proposed research is like skydiving - you
are in control, and your path is (mostly) your
decision

7. Proposal Development
• And as everyone knows, the hardest part about
skydiving is jumping off a moving plane

8. Proposal Development
• Two important things to always consider on
every paragraph in the proposal:
• Are you staying focused on your research
question?
• Do you have the concerns of your
committee in mind?

9. Proposal Development
• Make sure you keep your committee
informed of every decision you make
regarding the proposal - and make sure
you clear both the big picture and details
of your proposal before you put pen to
paper

10. Proposal Development
• A good proposal has only one criteria for
success - passing muster by the members
of your committee

11. Outline
• Sketch out an outline of your proposal:
• Include page length estimates, content,
even citations
• A detailed outline can form a useful
roadmap

12. Mechanics
• What’s in a proposal?
• Introduction
• Problem Statement
• Conceptual/Theoretical Framework
• Data Collection & Analytical Methods
• Significance
• Timeline

13. Mechanics
• Introduction
• The easiest part - a simple statement of
the field, the problem, and a hint at your
research.

14. Problem Statement
• What is the outstanding issue in your field that
you seek to address?
• What is missing from the status quo?

15. Problem Statement
• In other words, you need to pass the “so what?”
test - how do you capture your audience’s
interest?

16. Conceptual/Theoretical
Framework
• What literature is relevant to the problem?
• Have a good mix of old and new articles
• Any gaps that you see in important papers?
• The most important part of this section is your
analysis

17. Conceptual/Theoretical
Framework
• This section does two things.
• First, it establishes the context of your
work
• Second, it demonstrates how much you
are invested in it.

18. Conceptual/Theoretical
Framework
• Make a space for your work in your field.
• Put elegance over expanse - keep the
discussion as succinct and focused as
possible.

19. Data Collection Methods
• Where are you getting data?
• From who?
• Do you have permission?
• IRB?

20. Data Collection Methods
• This section should clearly convey the raw
materials you will use in your work.

21. Analytical Methods
• Quantitative? Qualitative?
• How will you assess significance?

22. Analytical Methods
• Your methods should do two things:
• Reinforce your potential contributions to
the field
• Set expectations for what you can deliver

23. Significance
• What are the broader impacts of your
research?
• What changes?

24. Significance
• The significance section helps demonstrate
that you understand the broader impacts of
your work - a critical factor in any professional
researcher

25. Timeline
•“In preparing for battle, I have always found
that plans are useless but planning is
indispensable” - Dwight D. Eisenhower

26. Proposal Development
• All of these concepts are fundamentally
different than anything college or primary
education has prepared you for

27. Proposal Development
• How to get started?

28. Proposal Development
• Take a moment to write down your ideal
graduation schedule. Important landmarks:
• Proposal Defense
• Completion of Data Collection
• Completion of Data Analysis
• Completion of Writing
“In preparing for battle, I have always found that plans are useless but
planning is indispensable” - Dwight D. Eisenhower

29. Proposal Development
• Take a look at your schedule post-proposal -
this will form the baseline for your data
collection and analytical methods
• Can you accomplish your desired
methodological goals with the timeline
you have?

30. Proposal Development
• Every literary agent and book publisher knows
that the author will always be late on turning in
a manuscript after a timeline is settled upon - it
is no different for Masters/Doctoral students

31. Proposal Development
• Give your self more time than you think you’ll
need when negotiating a timeline - it is better
to overestimate and then overachieve than to
underestimate and underachieve in the eyes of
your committee

32. Research Design
• Your proposal is code for research design
• What are your hypotheses?
• Will the data you gather help evaluate
those hypotheses?
• Will the analytical methods you use help
assess the hypotheses?

33. Research Design
• Your proposal should serve as foreshadowing
of how you will write a grant proposal, or
oversee a larger project.

34. Proposal Development
• Develop an Outline
• Develop a Timeline
• Keep a continuous dialog with your Committee