Tips for writing a robust dissertation proposal

A dissertation proposal builds the foundation for your dissertation; hence, it should provide an accurate description of the objectives of your dissertation and the research methodologies you aim to undertake. Student should aim for three objectives; if you have more than three objectives in your dissertation proposal, it means that your area of research is too broad and you need to make the scope of the research narrower. After listing the objectives, you should throw light on the literature you plan to review. Some universities expect students to list specific references, in which case you should aim to provide details of the books, articles and journals that will help strengthen your dissertation statement. 

In the next section of the dissertation proposal, you should enlighten your supervisor on the research methodologies you intend to undertake, such as quantitative and/or qualitative research methodologies. It is also important to state how you will be collecting the necessary data (e.g. through interviews, questionnaires, surveys, or focus groups). This way, your supervisor will be able to suggest better ways of collecting data before you conduct primary research.

Last but not least, you should provide a detailed timeline of the activities you intend to undertake and the amount of time you plan to spend on each of the activities. This way, you will not fall short of time when you start writing your dissertation.