All HDR candidates are required to prepare a research proposal and literature review for their first Research Progress Review. If you are a PhD candidate, this will be your Confirmation Review.
Your research proposal and literature review should be a comprehensive outline of your research topic and show how you will make an original contribution to knowledge in your field. Your Review panel will use your research proposal and literature review to assess the viability of your research project, and to provide you with valuable feedback on your topic, methodology, research design, timeline and milestones.
UNSW Academic Skills provides a detailed description of how to develop and structure your research proposal.
Your Faculty and/or School may have particular requirements, and you should contact your Postgraduate Coordinator or your supervisor if you’re unsure of what is required.
Additional Resources
All disciplinary areas
A guide for writing thesis proposals - UNSW Academic Skills
Confirmation – not as big a deal as you think it is? - the Thesis Whisperer
Humanities and Social Sciences
Essential ingredients of a good research proposal for undergraduate and postgraduate students in the social sciences – Raymond Talinbe Abdulai and Anthony Owusu-Ansah, SAGE Open, Jul-Sep 2014
Template for writing your PhD Confirmation document in Sociology and Anthropology - S A Hamed Hosseini
Science, Technology, Engineering and Medicine
How to prepare a research proposal – Asya Al-Riyami, Oman Medical Journal
Writing a scientific research proposal – author unknown
