Before conducting research, whether this is for an undergraduate project/essay,or a dissertation or thesis, it is important that you design a research proposal first. This will serve as a plan to orient you as you conduct your research and seek to answer the question(s) you have set. Every university (and programme within) will have its own guidelines for this, but the resources below give some accessible overviews on how a research proposal works in general, and then lists some examples the E-International Relations team has found useful from universities around the world.
The resources below have been curated by the E-International Relations team. You can find more resources on our methods homepage.
Overviews
How to Develop a Good Research Topic by KStateLibraries (YouTube)
How To Write A Strong Research Proposal by Dr Amina Yonis (Youtube)
‘The Perfect Proposal’ by Dr. Hastings of the Texas A&M University Writing Center (YouTube)
Doing a Literature Review
An essential part of any proposal is a review of the relevant literature already published on the topic you are researching. This shows that you understand where the existing debates are focused and (for more advanced works) can identify any gaps in the extant research that your work may address. Generally, literature falls into two broad categories: (1) Academic literature – this is books, journal articles and academic PhD theses… anything peer reviewed. (2) ‘Grey’ Literature – essentially anything not peer reviewed but useful to your research. this is a broad category that incorporates Newspaper/Magazine articles, policy or technical reports, government publications/archives, multimedia content (Podcasts, videos etc.) etc. Both academic and grey literature can be online or physical/in print and the distinction is less important than the nature and use of the materials in your literature review.
Get Lit: The Literature Review by Dr. Candace Hastings (YouTube)
Literature Review by University of Waterloo (website).
Andrew Booth, Diana Papaioannou, and Anthea Sutton, Systematic Approaches to Successful Literature Review (SAGE, 2012), pp.1–16. https://www.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/43465_Booth_et_al.pdf
Robin Kiteley and Chris Stogdon, Literature Reviews in Social Work (SAGE, 2014), pp.5–22. The Selection of a Research Approach. https://www.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/58106_Kiteley_&_Stogdon.pdf
Examples of different university guides for research proposals
Types of Research Design. – University of Southern California. https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/researchdesigns
Guidelines for the Preparation of Research Project, Dissertation and Thesis – University of Malaya. https://inpuma.um.edu.my/Guidelines_for_Preparation_of_Research_Project_Dissertation_and_Thesis.pdf
Organizing your Social Sciences Research Paper. https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide
The Open University. (2021). “Postgraduate Study Skills”. The Open University. https://help.open.ac.uk/conducting-an-interview.
Types of Research Designs. University of Southern California Libraries. https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/researchdesigns
