Dealing with a dissertation proposal problem statement

The problem statement in any dissertation is the actual root of the study, making it the most important statement in your paper. In your proposal, you must clearly identify this statement to your examiners. Aside from this statement, the proposal can pose many other challenges to students that they must also overcome.

Writing a dissertation involves many steps, the proposal is just one of them. For your proposal, you are required to present your research idea to the examination board in order to gain their approval. This can be quite trying and it can sometimes take many submissions before approval is gained.

The problem statement, being the most important part of your proposal, must be stated properly. To help you with this, I have compiled a list of helpful hints on task, as follows:

  1. Proper topic selection
    The problem statement for a dissertation consists of the issue under investigation, summarized into a concise statement, sometimes called a hypothesis. This statement is used to develop the topic since it usually presents itself first. Select a topic that reflects the true intentions of your problem statement, this will tell readers exactly what your paper is about.
  2. Hypothesis
    This is your problem statement and it must be formed carefully. Since the purpose of presenting this statement is to carry on to further test it and prove whether or not it is true, it must be formed practically. This means that it must not demand non existing methods or resources in order to be tested, it must be something that you as the researcher, can accomplish.
  3. Understanding your purpose
    Your purpose is important when presenting your problem statement. Without a clear purpose, it is highly likely that your examiner will reject your proposal, on the grounds that your research will not accomplish anything of significance. To avoid this, make sure your problem statement deals with an issue that is beneficial to delve into, this way you examiners may share your interest, or can at least relate to the potential practical uses of your study.
  4. The goal of your paper
    Your paper must have a clear goal, whether it be to prove the truth of your statement, or to uncover the mystery of an unknown. In your proposal, you must make this clear to your examiners without any vagueness. To do this, take example from published proposal samples that can be found online, through a simple web search.
  5. How you intend to accomplish this goal
    The methods by which you intend to test you problem statement are important and your examiners will want to see this. The safer route is to find examples from professional researchers and make use of their methods to make your proposal a credible one.
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