What is a Proposal--From UST

加菲熊UID: 103463

发信人: tangwanluyou (黄藤酒), 信区: HongKong
标  题: What is a Proposal--From UST
发信站: BBS 大话西游站 (Mon Jan  5 21:05:51 2004), 转信

What is a Proposal ?
Think of a proposal as a blue-print--a mini-version of the thesis that you would like to eventually write. The proposal
should be written in the form of an essay, not a list. It should contain:
1. Statement of Purpose
2. Research Questions
3. Literature Review
4. Research Methodology
5. Statement of Significance

Statement of Purpose
Be specific, rather than general. A proposal that reads, "I intend to study China's social and economic development"
is too general. A statement that proposes "to look at the change of women's roles in China by studying women who
started their own businesses in Jiangsu province" is specific. Include in your statement something that you already
know about the topic you intend to study.
Research Questions
These should be framed as questions, or hypotheses. They should not be statements or descriptions. Here are some
examples for phrasing questions :
What are the major determinants of women's success in the job market?
What is the relationship between men's earnings and their educational attainment?
Why are there variations in women's earnings across three provinces?

Literature Review
Say how other scholars have tried to answer the questions that you mention above. The literature review must be
relevant to the questions you are asking. For example, if you want to know how women's lives have changed as a
result of starting a business in China, you do not need to review all the literature on China's political and economic
reforms. Instead, you want to locate the literature on how women's lives are affected by market economies.

Research Methodology
Research methodology concerns the ways how data are collected. Documentation, observation, in-depth interview,
survey, and statistical data are the main methods of data collection in the social sciences.
Your methodology must be appropriate to the questions you are asking. That is, you must show how the methods
you use will answer the questions you are asking. If you want to study recreational drug use in Hong Kong, it
would not be appropriate to study only youth in your housing estate who do not take drugs.
Further, your methodology must be feasible. A proposal to interview workers from 500 factories in Shenzhen is not
feasible--in the time that you have to complete the degree. It may, however, be feasible to interview workers from
ten factories, or obtain production statistics from 500 enterprises.
Finally, your methodology must be detailed. For example, if you plan to do a survey, how many people do you plan
to include in your sample? And how will you decide which people to sample?




Statement of Significance
Think about the overall implications of your work. Look beyond how undertaking the degree will help you personally.
PhD or MPhil theses may have several implications. Consider the following:
1. They may contribute to a body of academic literature. They may, for instance, advance a neglected theoretical
position.
2. They may have practical or policy implications. For example, they may change the way that a certain group of
people practice their occupation, handle their clients or deal with their work.
3. They may make a political statement. They may point to an injustice, an inefficiency, or a contradiction.
But be realistic. It is not realistic to claim that your work will, say, transform the educational system in Hong Kong.
It may be realistic, however, to say that your thesis will help explain why students often fail to live up to teachers'
expectations.







Further Reading
Applicants may wish to consult the following texts for more ideas about writing a proposal and other aspects of
thesis writing.
Becker, Howard S., Writing for Social Scientists: How to Start and Finish Your Thesis (Chicago: The University of
Chicago Press, 1986).
Sternberg, David How to Complete and Survive A Doctoral Dissertation (New York: St. Martin's: Press, 1981).
ISBN 0-312-39606-6
Davis, Gordon and Clyde Parker, Writing the Doctoral Dissertation: A Systematic Approach. (Barron's Educational
Series Inc. 1979). ISBN 0-8120-0997-5

加菲熊UID: 103463

发信人: lykate (kate), 信区: HongKong
标  题: research proposal的写法
发信站: BBS 大话西游站 (Wed Dec 31 10:36:25 2003), 转信

我一个在香港的师姐发给我一份她们上研究方法课时一份写research proposal的要求，
她说对于我们申请来说这个要求可能太高了，但可以作为参考。大家不妨看一下。
The proposal should cover the following topics, in roughly this order:
1. Statement of the problem: Indicate concisely what you want to study and w
hy.  What is it you wish to know or explain?  Choose a topic you know someth
ing about and are interested in (e.g., something from another course), and k
eep it focused.
2. Literature review: Briefly review three significant examples of previous  
social research related to your topic (be sure to use some appropriate citat
ion format).  Show how they are related to your study.  That is, how are the
hypotheses, methods, or findings of these studies relevant or useful for yo
ur proposed study?
3. Theory: Define the major concepts relevant to your research, and introduc
e your operational definitions for creating variables to measure these conce
pts.  What are your research hypotheses about empirical relationships among  
your variables?
4. Research design: Choose a general method (or more than one method, if you
wish) for gathering data to test your hypotheses -- content analysis, surve
y research, field observation, etc. (do not use an experimental design). Dis
cuss the reasons for your choice, including both advantages and disadvantage
s for your study of the method you have chosen.  Why do you believe that the
method you have chosen is the most appropriate one for your purposes?  Also
, discuss the more specific choices to be made for each of the following:
        (a) Measurement: What measurement instrument(s) will you use (questionnaire
, interview, content coding, filed diary, etc.)? How will you operationalize
your key concepts?  Give specific examples of interview questions, scale it
ems, coding categories, etc.  If using available data, show that the data yo
u need are available in the form you need it.  What sources of measurement e
rror will you have to contend with?  Indicate how you will assess and maximi
ze validity and reliability.
        (b) Sampling: From what population will your sample be drawn? How will you  
draw the sample (be specific about the sampling design)? What sources of sam
pling error will you have to contend with? Show that your proposed sampling  
design is feasible and that it will allow you to generalize to the populatio
n of interest to you.
        (c) Data collection: How will you contact the units (individuals, organizat
ions, etc.) in your sample?  What factors will affect your response rate, an
d what steps will you take to increase response rate?  Are there any special
problems to be dealt with in training interviewers, coders, etc?
5. Data Analysis: Briefly discuss how you will use the data you collect to t
est your hypotheses.  You do not need to go into detail on statistical proce
dures.  Rather, discuss the nature of your data and of your analytic logic (
e.g., in terms of the "elaboration paradigm") to indicate how your research  
will allow you to test your hypotheses and the explanations for them.

加菲熊UID: 103463

发信人: millyren (花朵·i only want to fly away), 信区: HongKong
标  题: 关于PR的写作（文科）
发信站: BBS 大话西游站 (Tue Jan 13 18:59:37 2004), 转信



说实话，我自己的开没开始写。不过自己以前有开题报告的经验，加上参考了网上
、学校网页、香港PHD在读学生、以及JALLY MM的RP指导电子书。综合而成，大家
一起来讨论讨论吧。看还需要注意什么。




一般来说跟我们说的开题没什么本质上的区别，只不过国内的文科在理论方面不是
很强调。
而那边很看中理论和方法论。
首先你得确定你的TOPIC和欲研究的问题。这个很关键，首先要给
看的人一个好印象，TOPIC要精练，能一眼明了你的研究对象，所以要在尽量少的

内容中包含尽量多的信息。这些信息中关键的是你的研究内容和对象，如果是在
文学和文化研究方面对象就是你的文本，而在社会学方面就是你的研究社区和人群
。
关键是说明你研究问题的重
要性，价值所在
其次就是对前人的研究做一个梳理和综述。不能仅仅是文献的罗列，
关键是既要说明前人研究中那些是对你自己的研究有启发和帮助的，那些又是别人
没有做到位，
你的研究正好可以补充和发展的。

然后就是你对自己研究的一个设计了。
理论和方法论，你会用什么理论来支持你的研究，用什么方法把具体的研究做到位
，
在人文方面主要的方法有文献研究，问卷调查，访谈，参与式观察，历史资料的考
据
心理学还有专门的实验方法。

同时还要对你设计的方法论做一定的自我检讨，对可能出现的失误和困难
做一个估计，并设计处理这些困难和失误自己的应对措施。
失误的

最后最好是把自己的课题的结构框架搭好，
比如你的课题分几个部分，各部分又准备从那些方面入手。

最后的最后，参考书目

另外最好还是付上自己的CV，用来证明自己的研究能力。使研究的可完成性更强。