Research Proposal Template:
1. Title:
You will need to write a statement which reflects the content of the proposal.
2. Research Questions:
Relate to course content: your topic must relate to your degree course.
Research is about questions – you need to present 2 closely related questions that help you
investigate an academic problem worthy of research.
3. Literature Review (aim for around 900-1000 words):
Good research questions evolve as you read.
Many scholars will have published studies in areas related to your chosen topic area. As you
read and review the literature on your topic, think about where your proposed research study
will fit into the research literature.
Can you add something new to what has been done already?
o E.g. you may have critically reviewed a particular area of literature relating to
your chosen topic and discovered that something (e.g. a relationship, effect or
cause) is unclear or not very well understood.
o You may find contradictory results in different studies.
o There may be a lot of research in one industry or country – but not in others.
o Maybe you want to test a theory in a new context?
What will your proposed research study do to help the world understand more about
your topic?
Ensure you make it as clear as possible to the reader how your reading (your review
of literature) helped you design your research questions. During seminars your tutor
may ask you how you arrived at your research questions – your analysis of the
literature should provide reasons for wanting to ask a research question.
The literature review should help you decide what you want to research, and why.
Ensure you:
1. Provide a literature review that is relevant to your research idea
2. Identify the main theoretical concepts (in your chosen topic area)
3. Cover a range of academic sources (including recently published studies)
4. Use the review to present an argument for your own research
