Finish Your Research Proposal & Get Your Research Approved
What you'll learn
- What to include in your proposal and presentation so you get your research study approved
- Make actual progress on your own proposal by working through the assignments after each lesson
- Position yourself more effectively for the rest of your degree by putting more effort into your proposal
- The importance of lots of background reading and how that helps you confirm what you want to investigate
- Walk through my proposal and see the application of what you have learned in the lessons with a real example
- A proposal requires you to answer 3 questions: what are you going to study, why and how
- A whiteboard lesson will teach you 80% of what needs to go into a proposal
- A thesis statement is like a North Star for your study and the better your’s is, the more successful you will be
- Present your proposal and how to create effective PowerPoint slides to support your presentation
- Read as much as you can about your topic to get a sense of all the different views and issues in that particular field
- Make notes about what you are reading and what issues you uncover that are interesting
- You may also need to include a timeline for your study as well as funding information and ethics clearance if required
- Explain to your readers exactly what you are going to do in your study; background, what problem will it solve, what contribution
- Define some key concepts and definitions, especially terms that come up frequently in the area of your research
- A thesis statement which clearly identifies what you are going to study and how that research will address the problem identified
- What’s the significance of your research; if you need to apply for funding then this will be critical
- You must orientate your research in academic work and show that there is a gap in the literature which you will address
- Your method describes the route you will take through your study to get it done, the techniques you will use
- Describe what instruments you will use as well as any ethical considerations that need to be incorporated in your study
- Your proposal is like a contract; you have written down what you are going to do, your institution commits to supporting you
Requirements
- No course requirements but you should be familiar with graduate and post graduate level study
Description
"Peter brings a wealth of experience from his PhD and presents it in a way that is easily accessible. Focussing on the fundamentals and then drawing those principles through to the final proposal. Especially useful are the real life examples from his own studies." - Prof Ivan Hofsajer
In this course you will learn exactly what goes into a research proposal so that your research will be approved and you will have created an excellent ground work for the rest of your study. The more effort you put in to your proposal document, the better prepared you will be for the next stages of your degree. In this course are lessons, assignments, quizzes and much more; not only will you learn how to complete a research proposal but you will also make progress on your own proposal.
Learn the importance of background reading and how to use questions and note taking to be more effective in covering the relevant literature
What goes into a proposal and a free checklist that you can use to confirm whether you have covered all the requirements
I'll walk you through my own successful PhD proposal document so you can get inspiration and see exactly what I did at that stage of my study
Approach your proposal by answering 3 questions: What are you going to study, why are you going to study it and how are you going to do it
There are lessons and assignments for each of these 3 aspects and you will actually make progress by working on each of these sections
There's a whiteboard lesson which gives you an overall approach to your research proposal and an overview of everything you need to know
In another whiteboard lesson I'll teach you the important of good thesis statements and how to create one
A good thesis statement is like a North Star for your research; if you do it really well it will guide you through to successful completion
Learn how to approach doing a presentation of your proposal; you can even use the assignments you complete in this course as talking points
I'll walk you through my own proposal slides so you can see exactly what went into my presentation with my supervisors and industry experts
You'll be able to introduce yourself and see everyone else's introduction, where they are from and why they are taking this course
Learn the importance of taking notes when you are doing background reading and how this links with questions you have created to guide you
Learn the importance of defining a problem statement, research questions, key concepts, definitions and explanations of what you are studying
Answer the question of why are you doing this research; the motivation for it, the significance of the contribution that you will make
Answer the question of how you are going to do your study; the academic methods, practicalities, instruments, type of research, ethics etc
I look forward to seeing you in the lessons and reviewing your assignments so that you really can make actual progress on your own proposal, while also putting into practice what you have learned in this course.
Who this course is for:
- Anyone who needs to complete and successfully approve a proposal for a research study
Course content
- Preview03:16
- 09:43Whiteboard Overview: 80% Of What Needs To Go Into Your Proposal (3 Main Things)
- 00:16Introduce Yourself To Your Fellow Students And Tell Us What You Want To Learn
Instructor
![Peter Alkema](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 64 64"%3E%3C/svg%3E){kind=avatar}
- 4.4 Instructor Rating
- 5,468 Reviews
- 42,568 Students
- 36 Courses
I am passionate about helping my students achieve their goals, like Flora Makgale: "What an amazing course! After finishing this course, I have confidence. Thank so much Dr Peter Alkema". Or Tulongeni Shilunga: "This is exactly the jump-start I needed. Very clear and concise"
I also help lead digital transformation at FirstRand, the biggest financial services group in Africa. I've been featured on CNBC Africa and won the Gartner CIO Of The Year in 2016. I founded and led the largest banking hackathon in South Africa which was published in 2019 as a case study by Harvard Business School.
I've taught over 17,000 students about business, academics and self-development. In 2020 I completed my PhD at Wits University In Johannesburg. The study introduced a ground-breaking theory of Agile software development teams. My woodworking book was published in 2014 and has sold over 10,000 copies.
Olugbenga Gbadegesin: "Excellent delivery" / Lebogang Tswelapele: "This is what I have been longing for" / Paskalia Ndapandula: "Peter speaks with so much clarity" / Amantle Mangwedi: "It was straight to the point and the sections are cut into nice short segments which made it easier to go through" Kathy Bermudez: "Excellent material. Well organized..."
Werner van Wyk: "Thank you Peter, once again your lesson and course have given me so much knowledge and understanding" / Yvonne Rudolph "I really look forward to take everything i learned in action" / Josephine Mahlangu: "exactly what I needed to know, absolutely valuable and helpful for my personal growth"