So, you are a student of philosophy and about to start working on your Ph.D. dissertation. Sounds good to hear that you have come this far. Well, do you know about another scholarly document that you need to submit before commencing your Ph.D. dissertation? Yes, exactly; you need to submit a philosophy research proposal. Without submitting your proposal and getting its approval from the research supervisor or research committee of the university, you cannot start working on your dissertation.
However, it has been seen that students do not know much about how to write a philosophy research proposal. You are here to learn about the proposal too. Well, you are visiting the right place. Stop a bit, and you will learn all the things about writing a research proposal. In today’s post, we will uncover all the writing guidelines. Before that, let’s define a philosophy research proposal.
What is a philosophy research proposal?
A philosophy research proposal is a simply structured scholarly document that explains what you plan to research in this field. Along with this, it also explains why researching a particular topic is worthwhile and how you are going to research it. It means the research proposal explains the practical approach that you plan to take toward your topic. A research proposal is aimed at convincing your research supervisor that your proposed research topic is worth researching. This document demonstrates the following three things to the supervisor:
- Your intended philosophy topic is worth researching
- The proposed research is feasible and can be completed using the existing approaches
- As a researcher, you can complete it on time.
Guidelines to write a philosophy research proposal
Writing a research proposal in the field of philosophy is not an easy task. It takes time and energy to craft a good proposal because philosophy is a very broad field and requires very fine interpretations of the existing philosophies. To write a research proposal in this field, you must grasp the writing guidelines. A brief description of the primary guidelines is as follows:
1. Selecting the right philosophy topic
To write a research proposal, you need to have a topic. Therefore, the first step asks you to select the right philosophy topic. It is necessary because failure to select the right topic may lead to failure in the dissertation. So, when choosing the topic, make sure that it is neither too broad nor too narrow. Select something in between these two. One thing is sure you must choose a topic that is specific and focused on the explanation of one philosophy.
2. Write a strong introduction
The philosophy research proposal is not a very long document. You have to explain everything in the limited word count and number of pages. So, you must write a strong and clear introduction that explains the chosen topic well. In your introduction, you should give the necessary definitions and explain the key concept and terms. Giving the background and significance of the study is also a part of this section.
3. Conduct an extensive review of the literature
In this section of your proposal, you do not need to explain what you intend to research. You need to explain what other researchers and authors have done in your field or the topic which you have chosen. A solid literature review is the backbone of an excellent philosophy research proposal. To conduct the literature review, you should ensure the use of well-known research databases. However, if you face any difficulty doing so, you can get research proposal help.
4. Explain the research methodology
One of the important elements of a research proposal is the research methodology. It explains how you intend to research the proposed topic. It makes it clear whether you are going to use qualitative research methodology or quantitative methodology. When writing this section, you must also discuss the reasons for choosing a particular methodology and method. It is important to note that in this section, you only need to name the methods only. There is no need to go into procedural details.
5. Discuss the project timeline and budget
Lastly, if your philosophy research proposal is aimed at securing funding, it is necessary to discuss the research project timeline and budget. The Grantmakers want to know this to make a decision about the funding. Gantt chart is used wisely to discuss the project timeline, and you can also make use of it. Also, the estimate of the budget should be very close to reality.
Conclusion
Conclusively, as you write your philosophy research proposal, remember its purpose: to convince. You can only convince your research supervisor if your research is feasible and doable within the projected time. The guidelines discussed above will help you a lot in crafting a compelling and convincing proposal. So, follow them till the last word.
