Abstract

Before starting a dissertation, it is common practice to have to write a research proposal. Not only does a research proposal help make sense of the student’s own project and what it will look like, it also allows he or she to connect research idea to a wider audience so that other people can give advice about whether, and how, it makes ‘research sense’. Often submitted alongside an ethics application, the research proposal is sometimes a requirement of the dissertation process, needing ‘approval’ before undertaking the research project. This chapter details what research proposals look like and why they are important, before outlining the requirements of a typical research proposal.