Before the actual dissertation writing, the initial steps for the authors of the dissertations are having and applying the knowledge for writing a dissertation proposal, which is the document that presents and summarises the goals or objectives of the research study and the proposed research methodology or methods of investigation for the research. Hence, the dissertation proposal is very important because it is the document to be presented to the dissertation committee and convince them that your research study is worth pursuing and you are qualified to do it.

Therefore, it is important that you know and apply the general rules for writing a dissertation proposal. The first set of general instructions are the major parts or sections of the dissertation proposal. The major sections are:

Introduction – This section specifically states the problem, the reasons for the importance of the problem, and the particular research questions to be solved or answered. The introduction also has a brief and concise summary of the goals and major questions for the research study, and provide the context for those questions around a bigger academic framework.

Literature review – This section addresses the scope of research and the major finding or results of the study. The literature review specifically explains the importance of the findings within the context of the problem and the research question.

Research methodology – This section describes the methods of investigation for the study, the explanations on why you chose those specific methods, and the procedures you would do to achieve to carry successfully out those methods. You should mention the specific details of the methods of investigation and prove on how the methods are related to the research question.

Bibliography – This section lists down the source materials for research study, include the materials used for the literature review and methodology. The bibliography should be written in the format of the style guide specified by the dissertation committee.

Other instructions for writing a dissertation proposal include devoting enough time for the proposal writing process because it could take an average of six months to complete a final proposal, and you should also have regular communications with the dissertation committee.

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