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Writing a Competitive Preliminary Research Proposal for an Engineering

Ph.D. Degree

Article  in  IEEE Potentials · May 2014

DOI: 10.1109/MPOT.2013.2290230

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Mudathir Funsho Akorede Sulyman Amuda

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Writing a competitive preliminary

research proposal for an
engineering Ph.D. degree

M.F. Akorede and S.A.Y. Amuda

A
research proposal is an obvious are confused and do not know how to go Remember, a high-quality research pro-
and essential part of a Ph.D. about this initial academic task. As a posal increases your chances of having a
application in most parts of the result, many students circumvent this successful application. Therefore, you
world. It is an outline of your proposed hurdle by employing the services of pro- must put your best into it.
project, whose aim is to present and fessional thesis writers. Using Internet search engines such as
justify your research idea and explain Many times, applicants who meet the Google and Yahoo, you can find free
the practical ways in which you think minimum entry requirements fail to be Ph.D. research proposal samples on dif-
this research should be implemented. It accepted as Ph.D. candidates as a result ferent research topics. Plenty of research
is often the first opportunity for you to of some weakness in the research pro- proposal databases offer access to Ph.D.
communicate your ideas to attract inter- posal submitted along with their applica- research proposal templates in many
est from faculty members of your cho- tion. While writing your proposal, it is fields of endeavor. Similarly, a number of
sen university. Since a Ph.D. is awarded important to bear in mind that you are custom thesis writing companies are
mainly as a result of making a genuine competing with several other candidates available and could be consulted online
contribution to the state of knowledge jostling for the limited vacancies in the via their Web sites. These companies
in your chosen field, it is crucial to cre- department, just as in job vacancies. offer research proposal writing services to
ate a positive first impression on your Hence, you must come up with a clearly students and charge them for the services.
potential supervisor. written and well-structured document, Lazy students who cannot face the initial
Similar to the preliminary research which easily passes your message across challenge usually contract out the work
proposal in purpose, especially in univer- and, consequently, has a great impact to custom thesis writers and present well-
sities in the United States, though not as upon the reader. One should not have to written research proposals to the school
detailed, is the statement of purpose read it twice to really understand it. of graduate studies. Nevertheless, many
(SoP). An SoP is a personal statement
about who you are, what has influenced
your career path so far, your professional
interests, and where you plan to go after
the completion of your study. Like a
research proposal, an SoP is an important
requirement in the graduate application
process, which influences the decision of
the admissions committee as it deter-
mines your candidacy for admission.
Short-term projects such as those
undertaken at the undergraduate or post-
graduate diploma level are essential train-
ing for graduate research. The transition
into a graduate research degree, such as
a Ph.D., involves a much higher level of
independent thinking and activity than
most students realize. A large number of
students usually find this transition very
challenging and daunting. The challenge
starts from the time of application when
applicants are required to write and pres-
ent a research proposal. Most students

Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MPOT.2013.2290230

Date of publication: 30 April 2014 © can stock photo/everythingpossible

MAy/June 2014 0278-6648/14/$31.00©2014IEEE 13

do not realize that all already-written a Ph.D. degree. The intent is to help rying out your research. One of the key
research proposals are not original them think about the proposed research skills involved in choosing a topic is to
papers. You are therefore strongly advised in a clear, structured, and meaningful pick one of the appropriate size—neither
not to use them as your Ph.D. research way. However, it should be noted that too big nor too small—and achievable
paper, as this option is considered aca- following the guide given in this article within the time, space, and available
demic dishonesty—a breach of ethics in does not guarantee acceptance into a resources. The title of research project
academia. Ph.D. program, as other factors such as given at proposal level is often referred to
Usually, Ph.D. research proposals are your previous qualifications, experience, as a working title. The reason for this is
written and presented at two different and your communication of the quality that it is most likely to change as the work
times in most universities. The first one is of the anticipated work, as presented in progresses. It is normal for students to
written and submitted along with other your proposal, are also important. refine the original proposal in light of
application documents at the time of detailed literature reviews, further consid-
application. This one is tagged as the pre- The need for a research proposal eration of research approaches, and com-
liminary research proposal in this article. in a Ph.D. application ments received from the supervisors and/
The other is usually presented to the fac- Research proposals are required in or other faculty members in the course of
ulty members in the department after the Ph.D. applications to allow potential the study. Nevertheless, you need to
student has been admitted. The time of supervisors to assess the quality and include important key words that will
the oral presentation/defense of the originality of your ideas and critical relate your proposal to relevant potential
research proposal varies from university thinking skills as well as the feasibility of supervisors. Try to ensure that your title
to university and even from department the research project. Ph.D. programs are does not only simply describe the subject
to department. On a whole, it is done commonly designed to be completed in matter but also gives an indication of your
when the student would have been three to four years (full time) or six to intended approach. For example, “Opti-
40–80% of the way through the program. eight years (part time) in most universi- mization of Distributed Generation in
In such a case, the student is expected to ties across the globe. As a result, you Electric Power Systems Using Fuzzy-
have accomplished at least one major need to think very carefully about the Genetic Algorithm Approach.”
result, together with one publication sub- scope of your research and be ready to
mitted to or accepted by a journal. The explain how you will complete it within Overview of the research
latter is not covered in this article. the time frame and available resources. A brief overview of your research,
In choosing your research area, it is In addition, research proposals are used and the context into which it fits within
crucial to be very careful when consider- to evaluate your expertise in the area in the existing academic literature, should
ing what you want to be provided in this section. Be as spe-
research. The best proposals cific as possible in identifying influences
deal with something that has or debates in which you wish to engage.
not been previously studied. While writing your proposal, it is Be sure to establish a solid and convinc-
Sometimes this is not possi- ing framework for your research in this
ble, but at the very least you important to bear in mind that you are section. This should include a clearly
should steer clear of subjects competing with several other candidates articulated research problem, which typ-
that have been exhaustively ically takes the form of concise ques-
discussed. For your applica- jostling for the limited vacancies in the tions regarding the relationship between
tion to be successful, it is department, just as in job vacancies. two or more variables. In this section,
important that you should one to three research questions should
be able to communicate suffice, and the reason for asking them,
some contributions of your as well as the significance of the research.
research and how you plan to carry out which you wish to conduct research, The research problem should be capable
your work. These aspects enable the fac- your knowledge of the existing litera- of being tested empirically.
ulty member concerned with your appli- ture, and how your project will enhance
cation to judge whether the proposed it. They are also used by the department Review of literature
research would be of benefit, not only to to assess and assign appropriate supervi- The primary purpose of a literature
you as an applicant but also to the sion teams to the student. review is to help you become familiar
research interests of faculty members. with the work that has already been
However, it is worth mentioning that Essential components of a carried out in the selected topic area. It
research proposals are not only judged research proposal is absolutely indispensable when plan-
on content, they are also judged on The following components are essen- ning a research study because it would
form. Your research proposal must look tial in a research proposal, and you are guide you in the appropriate direc-
professional. It should be typed and advised to ensure that all are present in tion by answering several questions
written with good syntax and grammar. your version. However, this is not to say related to the topic area: Has anybody
It should be well structured, with section you cannot add a few other details that worked on this topic area before? If so,
headings clearly indicated. Make sure it you feel may be necessary. what suggestions can you make from
is well written and devoid of any errors. the results of the earlier studies? Did
The focus of this article is to provide uni- A clear working title he/she encounter any methodological
versity students, who are willing to fur- Choosing your research topic is prob- difficulties of which you need to be
ther their studies, with information on ably the first step and most important aware of when planning your own
how to organize a research proposal for single decision you have to make in car- research? Is more research required to

14 IEEE POTENTIALS

be carried out on this topic? If so, in ologies. You need to specify the approach research proposal by indicating how you
what specific area? you feel will be most appropriate for envisage the contribution that your
The literature review section should your research. Most doctoral work research will make to debates and discus-
discuss the texts that you believe are involves empirical research. The success- sions in your particular subject area. This
most important to the project, demon- ful completion of Ph.D. work in the time means providing an indication of the
strate your understanding of the research allotted thus often depends on the ability original contribution that you feel your
issues, and identify existing gaps that to obtain the data needed. If your pro- research will make, suggesting how it
your research intends to fill. Identify posed research involves empirical work, may fill gaps in existing research, and
some leading scholars in the field, par- you should provide an indication of the showing how it may extend the under-
ticularly those whose published works form and location of that empirical work standing of particular topics. Conclusions
you have studied. and where and how you might collect should reflect the quality of your ideas as
A critical literature review expressed in your writing.
is crucial to ensure that your
project does not duplicate List of key references
work already done without Your references should provide the
having any knowledge that The transition into a graduate research reader with a good sense of your grasp
the same study has already degree, such as a Ph.D., involves a much on the literature and how you can con-
been carried out. You can tribute to it. Be sure to reference the most
often save yourself a good higher level of independent thinking and recent texts and resources that you think
deal of time, money, and activity than most student realize. will play a large role in your analysis. It
above all, the embarrass- should show critical reflection in the
ment that might later ensue, selection of appropriate texts and be used
by quickly changing the throughout your proposal to demonstrate
direction of your study if you that you have read and had a fair under-
discover, from your literature review, that any relevant data. You should give spe- standing of the work of others. Literature
the research questions you are planning cial attention to the feasibility of collect- not cited in the text should not appear
to conduct have already been answered. ing the data. Generally, data acquisition here and vice versa. It is also important to
Also, the review of recent related litera- techniques include direct approaches follow a particular standard formatting
ture could help you discover the latest such as interviews and questionnaires, style in your proposal. The IEEE format is
facilities that are more efficient than ear- participant observations and indirect well known in engineering.
lier existing ones, in carrying out your approaches such as instrumenting sys-
work. Though literature review could ini- tems and fly on the wall, and indepen- Average length of a research
tially tend to be intimidating, most other dent approaches such as static and proposal
things relating to research become easier dynamic analysis and documentation Research proposals vary in length,
when it is done thoroughly, especially as analysis. Of these techniques, the first however, a good research proposal
you gain experience. one is often not used in engineering, as should neither be too long nor too short.
most data are usually system generated. In most cases, it is specified in the appli-
Research methodology cation form or on the Web site of the
The methodology section is a hugely Facilities required department to which you are applying.
important part of your research pro- Remember to explain the facilities to If not, the length should typically be
posal. It chronicles the approach(es) you be used for the research in your pro- kept to between 1,500–3,000 words as a
will use to achieve your research results. posal. Usually, the list and description of guide. This is based on our previous
Incidentally, it is the portion of the pro- the available facilities are available on experience as former Ph.D. students, as
posal that most students find the most the Web site of the department to which well as the studies carried out on this
difficult. For that reason, you may wish you wish to apply. If all of the necessary subject as contained on the application
to take a look at some past related Ph.D. facilities (hardware/software) required guidelines of a number of universities
theses to ensure that you know the for your research project are not at the worldwide. In fewer words it can be
appropriate way to do things. In any current facility, include how they will be really tough to write a good research
case, this section should lay out, in clear acquired and the time it may take to put proposal and, with more, you might
terms, the way in which you will struc- everything in place. Do not go for the bore your readers, which you must try to
ture your research and the specific meth- most expensive facilities when less avoid, since it is not meant to serve as
ods you will use. A well-developed expensive ones could be adapted and the initial draft of your thesis.
methodology section is crucial. Make used for the same purpose. At the same
sure to include specific techniques and time, you must think of an alternative in Useful advice while writing a
not just a general approach. This should case your department may not be ready research proposal
include the types of resources consulted, to purchase the quoted facilities in good The following advice is of benefit
methods for collecting and analyzing time, which could in turn affect the com- while writing a proposal:
data, and you must be able to justify why pletion time of your program. •• Make sure that your research idea,
you adopt the chosen method over other question, or problem is clearly stated,
existing approaches. Conclusion very persuasive, and addresses a de-
Your approach may involve forecast- Although no indication of the research monstrable gap in the existing literature.
ing or statistical modeling, and in other findings can be presented at this stage, it Put time into formulating the questions
cases you may wish to combine method- is often beneficial to conclude the in the early stages of the project.

MAy/June 201415
 •• You are strongly encouraged to way” should be avoided in describing • (2011, Mar. 11). How to write a
identify a prospective supervisor and your research ideas. research proposal. [Online]. Available:
get in touch with him/her to discuss http://www.eastchance.com/howto/res_
your proposal informally before you Conclusion prop.asp
make a formal application. This would A research proposal is an integral • (2011, Mar. 11). Ph.D. Research
ensure it is of mutual interest and en- part of the Ph.D. application process in proposal guidelines. [Online]. Available:
able it gain input on the design, scope, most parts of the world. Its quality is a http://dmst.aueb.gr/gr2/diafora2/YPD2/
and feasibility of your project. Re- considerable factor used by the univer- PhD%20Proposal%20Guidelines.htm
searching the department to which you sity to arrive at a decision either to • (2011, Mar. 11). Guide to writing
are applying would ensure that there reject or accept you into a Ph.D. pro- a research proposal for an engineering
is a faculty member interested in your gram. The aim is to provide information Ph.D. [Online]. Available: http://www2.
subject area and he/she is available to about the intended research project, in warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/eng/pg/apply/
supervise your project. terms of content and methodology, to proposal/
•• Ensure your proposal is well evaluate its feasibility. The quality of the • L. T. Wright. (2011, Apr. 20). A
structured, as poorly formed or ram- proposal is also important in gaining guide to writing a research proposal for
bling proposals could give MPhil or Ph.D. [Online]. Available: http://
the impression that the pro- w w w.dmu.ac.uk/research/graduate-
posed project may suffer school
the same fate. • G. Marczyk, D. DeMatteo, and D.
•• Make sure that the You can often save yourself a good Festinger, Essentials of Research Design
scope of your project is and Methodology. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley,
reasonable. Remember that
deal of time, money, and above all, the 2005.
there are significant limits embarrassment that might later ensue, • (2011, June 10). Writing Ph.D.
to the size and complex- proposals. [Online]. Available: http://
by quickly changing the direction of
ity of a project that can be www.socialsciences.manchester.ac.uk/
accomplished and written your study if you discover, from your d i sc ipl i nes/p ol it ic s/p o st g r adu ate/
up in three to four years. literature review, that the research research/proposal/
It should be noted that • (2011, June 10). What is a state-
proposals are not only as- questions you are planning to conduct ment of purpose? [Online]. Available:
sessed for their intellectual have already been answered. http://www.statementofpurpose.com/
ambition and significance whatis.html
but also for the likelihood
that the candidate can com- About the authors
plete the project. M.F. Akorede (makorede@ieee.org)
•• Try to display your passion for acceptance by the university’s higher earned his B.Eng. and M.Eng degrees in
the subject matter in the structure and degrees committee six months from the electrical engineering in 2000 and 2006,
arguments presented within your pro- time of your enrollment as a research respectively, in Nigeria. He earned his
posal. This could make your project student. Though you are not expected Ph.D. degree in electrical power engi-
and subject matter engaging to your to be an expert at this stage, you are neering at Universiti Putra Malaysia in
readers. strongly advised to approach it as a per- 2011. He is currently with the Electrical
•• If applying to multiple depart- suasive essay to establish the attention and Electronics Engineering Depart-
ments, be sure to tailor a unique pro- of readers and be able to convince ment, University of Ilorin, Nigeria. He is
posal to each department. Do not them of the significance of your project. a Member of the IEEE, the Nigerian Soci-
produce a research proposal for mass Remember that a first impression counts ety of Engineers, and a registered profes-
consumption! and you can never get the second sional engineer with the Council for
•• Avoid broad research areas that chance to make it. A poorly written pro- Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria.
would be unmanageable as a Ph.D. topic posal is likely to end up with your S.A.Y. Amuda (saamuda@unilorin.edu.
or that have no relevance to the research application being rejected. ng) is currently a researcher and lecturer
areas of your intending university. This in the Electrical and Electronics Engineer-
could lead to the rejection of your appli- Read more about it ing Department, University of Ilorin,
cation. For this reason, ensure that you • (2011, Apr. 20). Writing a Ph.D. re- Nigeria. He earned his M.Eng. and Ph.D.
visit the appropriate Web sites to find out search proposal: A 6‐step general guide degrees in 2004 and 2013, respectively.
about existing research taking place in for prospective Ph.D. researchers. [On- Dr. Amuda was a visiting researcher at the
the department and how your project can line]. Available: http://www.exeter.ac.uk/ Center for Robust Speech System, Univer-
complement it. media/universityofexeter/webteam/ sity of Texas, Dallas, in 2009–2010 for
•• Finally, avoid vague descriptions shared/postgraduate/pdfs nine months as a Fulbright Scholar. He is
of your research interests. This would • A. Mitchell. (2011, Mar. 11). a Member of the IEEE, a registered pro-
give the impression that you are not cer- Writing a good Ph.D. proposal. Univ. fessional engineer in Nigeria (with the
tain about what you intend to do. In like York. [Online]. Available: http:// Council for Regulation of Engineering in
manner, the use of conclusive phrases w w w.findaphd.com /st udent/st udy/ Nigeria), and a member of the Nigerian
such as “the best way” and “the only study-33.asp Society of Engineers.

16 IEEE POTENTIALS

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