The HDR research proposal

Top tips for completing your research proposal

The following are some tips to help you develop your research questions, aims and objectives:

  1. Read the Research Proposal Factsheet provided by the Curtin Graduate Research School, and look at the M1 Reviewers Report to see the kinds of things they will be looking for when reviewing your proposal.
  2. Ask your Research Engagement Librarian for help with searching the library’s databases for literature.
  3. Get organised from the start with a good notetaking system (Obsidian is a useful free notetaking app).
  4. Use visual tools like Mindmaps to brainstorm or outline your ideas (Curtin offers a free subscription to GroupMap)
  5. Regularly attend the Library’s focussed writing sessions like Shut Up and Work and Thesis Bootcamps to help stay motivated alongside other HDRs
  6. Connect with other HDRs through events like Find Your Tribe and Thesis Bootcamp

Final thoughts

It’s important to keep in mind that your candidacy is a proposal for research, not the final thesis. You are at the beginning of your research journey and so are not expected to have all the answers. Your Milestone 1 examiners may have suggestions on your topic or recommend literature or methodologies that you previously hadn’t considered, and this is a normal part of the process. Undoubtedly, your project will change to some extent as you engage with further research - a narrowing of the scope is quite common.

See our other modules for more in depth information on research questions, research methodology and quantitative, qualitative and mixed research methods.