What you should not do to your dissertation prospectus
The sooner you meet the eligibility criteria and win the candidacy examination for the doctoral degree, the more important it becomes to prepare a well-defined dissertation prospectus for getting started. Dissertation prospectus is the defined outline of your proposed research and dissertation. It would consist all the relevant details regarding the innovative research you would like to conduct during your PhD. Because your doctoral chair permits you to proceed with the PhD research by examining the prospectus, it becomes a must to write it in a descriptive yet precise manner.
A deficient prospectus that lacks the conscision and necessary details of your research gets easily rejected by the chair. The rejection at very first step may demotivate you to work further with the research. As per the recent studies, it has been found that the number of candidates who complete their doctoral degree is very less in comparison to the number of people enrolling for it. The drop in the number is majorly because of the rejection of the prospectus and lack of motivation to rectify and submit it again.
As a rookie, you must have read multiple articles if discussed with your seniors, friends, and colleagues on how to develop your prospectus and what to include in which section of it. But have you got a clear picture of what is required and what is not in your PhD dissertation prospectus? If not, then here’s what you should not do to your dissertation prospectus for gaining instant approval :
- The first page of your document which your supervisor or the committee sees, covers the title of your research. The title should not be fancy. You are not doing a school project that your title should be tricky for your teacher, rather it should be as clear and concise as it could be. The title has to be to give a clear idea of the prospectus to the committee to look further into the document whereas a complex title would drop the supervisor’s interest in your formal document.
- Next comes the central question of your research paper. The central question should not exceed more than a paragraph. The paragraph should succinctly address the central question on which your research will be based on. Your prospectus has to end within a maximum number of 10 pages and so the introduction, should not be of more than a page or two. A lengthy central question can not hold the grip of the reader’s interest. It should not lead or dictate the complications of the research or divert it from the topic.
- The literature review of your prospectus should not be irrelevant and contain unnecessary criticism or pointless new ideas of the previously researched papers. It should highlight the relationship between your proposed research and the literature you reviewed indicating a relation between the history and recent issue. You may also cite examples from the current situation, building the interest of your reader. Irrelevant history of the research will not define your reason to work on this topic and unnecessary criticism will not be considered healthy for your prospectus to be approved.
- While writing the methodology, you should be clear with the research method (qualitative or quantitative) you are going to use to carry the research forward. You should not be suspicious with the way you are going to collect the data. The methodology should define the study you are going to make progress with. You should be apparent with the plan you have in your mind with the required tools and feasibility to research. Not mentioning the tools, fees, and timeline to complete the research shows that the candidate is less studied for the chosen topic.
- Your prospectus should never miss the bibliography. A bibliography is a list of references used to collect the material written in the document. The list of references is as important as the title of the prospectus. Your bibliography cites the primary and secondary sources you used to develop the prospectus. You may also include additional readings with it mentioning the papers, articles, or journals you read for the study of the research.
- Your prospectus should be appealing as well as simple for the committee to read the whole and approve. It should not be messy and complex as it would confuse the reader and your supervisor could reject it as he reviews your academic document.
Your dissertation prospectus is the final binding for the committee to approve and your chance to prove that this research will bring growth in your academic field. you should finish the process of editing and proofreading before submitting it to your committee.
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