RP怎么写?来自悉尼大学网站的建议

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Advice on constructing a research proposal for projects in Education and Social WorkResearch Proposal Guidelines

In order to be considered for registration for a research degree, you must submit a proposal that outlines your intended research. The list of references and the points covered below will help you with this. Your proposal should be presented under headings that provide the following information.

• Proposed title of the study
• Summary of the proposed study
• Purpose of the proposed study
• Relevant background literature
• Research questions or hypotheses
• Definitions of key terms used in the proposal
• Research methodology
• Significance of the research
• Ethical considerations
• Timetable for the research
• Anticipated problems and limitations
• Resources required for the research
• Bibliography
• Appendix

Details to include in a research proposal
Below are a list of points that are often covered in research proposals. You should refer to this list while preparing your research proposal.

• A clearly focused statement of the overall purpose of the proposed research.
• A clearly focused research question/hypothesis that is (i) worth asking and (ii) capable of being answered.
• Precise definitions of the key terms in the research question/s or hypothesis that will allow them to be clearly observed, measured and identified throughout the study.
• An awareness of key research which as has already been carried out in the particular area.
• An appropriate choice of research approach for the particular question or problem, including a well-defined list of procedures to be followed in carrying out the research. This should include the method of data collection and analysis, and if appropriate (i) a broad description of any particular theoretical framework to be used in this analysis and the reasons for its use in the study, (ii) a breif statement describing how the sample population will be selected for the study and the reason for the approach to selection, and (iii) a pilot study in which the research instruments are trialled and evaluated and an analysis is carried out of the trial data.
• A section that highlights any anticipated problems and limitations inthe proposed study, including threats to reliability and validity and how these will be countered.
• A statement that illustrates why the research question or hypothesis is worth asking.
• Consideration of ethical issues involved in carrying out the research such as whether informed consent needs to be obtained and, if so, how this will be done.
• A proposed timetable for the research. This is extremely important because it gives an indication as to the practical feasibility of the proposal.
• A proposed budget for the research (if appropriate). This is also important because it gives an indication of how realistic the proposal may be in terms of financial requirements and whether the research might need to be adapted.
• A list of references relating to the proposal, and
• Appendices (if appropriate), which contain any material that will be used or adapted for the study, including any permission that might need to be obtained to use it.

Ways to refine a research question

Many students have difficulty refining their research question. The suggestions below should be helpful. They are taken from Stevens and Asmar (1999), Doing Postgraduate Research in Australia. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press.

• Read broadly and widely to find a subject about which you are passionate. Immerse yourself in the literature, use your library, read the abstracts of other recent theses and dissertations, check dissertations on the web at, for example, Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations and ProQuest Digital Disserations (a subscription is required for full access to this service).
• Narrow your focus to a single question: be disciplined and not over-ambitious.
• Be prepared to change or modify your question if necessary.
• Be able to answer the question 'Why am I doing this project (and not a different one)?'
• Read up-to-date materials to ensure your idea is achievable and no one else has done or is doing it.
• Consult other students who are further down the track than you.
• Discuss your ideas with a possible supervisor (our staff directory allows you to find an expert in your particular research area).
• Attend specialised conferences in your area so that you can observe where contemporary research is focused and learn from the experts in your field.
• Work through the implications of your research question by considering the existing materials and ideas on which it is based. Check the logic, spell out the research methods to be used.
• Condense your research question into two sentences: write it down, with pride, above your working area.
• Ask yourself: 'What will we know at the end that we did not already know?'

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