MSc dissertation CO72008

1. 1 MSc dissertation CO72008 Proposal writing Hazel Hall School of Computing, Napier University

2. Presentation content The importance of getting your proposal right And why we are strict about the process The link between the proposal and research undertaken at Masters level The proposal, the work undertaken, the final dissertation How to fill in the proposal form And how not to�

3. The importance of getting your proposal right To get the work started on time You will not be registered for the MSc by the module co-ordinator (Hazel) until your proposal is approved by your Programme Leader If you hand in a proposal which does not meet the standard required by your Programme Leader, you will be asked to revise it until it does To make the rest of the process as straightforward as possible Hard thinking at this stage will make the rest of the process easier

4. Proposal writing is part of the research process You should indicate Appreciation of what has been done in this domain before Identification of appropriate research aims and questions Methods to be deployed, for example how empirical work will be conducted special equipment required how results will be analysed and interpreted

5. Good proposals to good research The output The antecedents of the work produced are clear Tackles a focused problem Methods deployed can be replicated Claims made are supported by evidence Implications of what is found are explained Wider applicability of the work is indicated

6. Good proposals to good research The output The antecedents of the work produced are clear Tackles a focused problem Methods deployed can be replicated Claims made are supported by evidence Implications of what is found are explained Wider applicability of the work is indicated

7. The research cycle

8. The research cycle

9. Your dissertation

10. You are ready to start writing a draft proposal when You have a topic that is Related to your degree programme Feasible: for example, narrow enough to be manageable at MSc level, yet non-trivial Novel/original Will interest you for the duration of the project You have done some preliminary reading Material on the topic to check feasibility (and cite in proposal) Material on research approaches so that you can outline a possible approach

17. Completing the proposal form Fill in the sections The order of filling it in is unlikely to be linear Make sure that it all makes sense as a �whole� document Attention to writing style Academic tone Logical ordering of elements Attention to detail, e.g. Harvard for in-text citations, APA for listed references

18. Reasons why your proposal may be returned to you for further work Failure to do the preparatory reading, for example No evidence of familiarity with the literature of the research domain Methods proposed do not make sense Inappropriate �research� proposed, for example Research questions too broad, too trivial, impossible to answer Aims not linked to research questions Proposal is focused on development, rather than Masters level research Poor presentation, for example Written style (use of �I�, contractions, journalistic tone), formatting

19. Convince your Programme Leader Why it is worth undertaking this project What you propose to do How you intend to go about it What it will deliver The potential impact/importance of this proposed work