heider center
school events

demonstrate the ability to write academic level work in your PhD thesis

Show me how to write a dissertation proposal

Writing a dissertation proposal is sometimes just as stressful as the actual dissertation.  There are things that have to be included and writing in such a specific manner that it can be just as stressful as the rest of the process.  Sometimes it’s just easier to have someone tell them just how to do it.  Unless the student has a personal assistant to stand over their shoulder telling them each and every step, a student has to know how to do it on their own.  In order to do that, here is a step by step directions on how to write the dissertation proposal.

Steps

Title Page:  This is the first part of the proposal, and it needs to be labeled as the dissertation proposal and not a dissertation.

Abstract: The second part of the proposal should be short, under 350 words, summarizing the major parts of the dissertation.

• Introduction
• Statement of the Problem
• Background of the Study
• Research questions
• Methods and Procedures

The next part of the proposal is each of parts explained more thoroughly.  

• Introduction

An overview of the issue and background of the problem.

• Statement of the Problem

This section is where the student talks about the problem.  It will give the lack of knowledge in the field about the problem and identify how it will advance the field knowledge.  

• Background of the Study

This is where the student will talk about the relevant and theoretical ways of the history of the subject.  Showing the link between the body of knowledge and the current studies.

• Research questions

This is where the student will state the question that they are striving to answer.

• Methods and Procedures

This is where the student discusses the measures that they will use to answer the questions.

Limitations: This gives the students an area to address what their own weakness are about the paper and study.

Reference: This is where the student will list the sources that they will use in the dissertation.

Using these steps any student will be able to just work done the list and complete the proposal for their dissertation.   The student doesn’t need to have a personal assistant to stand over their shoulder and tell them how to do it.  They will be will able complete the process and then use the process to work on their dissertation when the time comes.  Writing a dissertation proposal can be easy if the student knows how to do it.