research proposal sample international relations

Every university (and programme within) will have its own guidelines for this, but the resources below give some accessible overviews on how a research proposal works in general, and then lists some examples the E-International Relations team has found useful from universities around the world.

The research proposal is the main way in which we evaluate the quality of your research plans. You should aim to make your proposal about 1500-2000 words long. Your proposal should include the following:

This guide begins by outlines a research proposal’s main elements then discusses each step in more detail. It then highlights challenges we often face when writing research proposals generally as well as specific challenges you may face when writing a research proposal for my class.

MSt in International Relations - Research Proposal Guidance. It is important in preparing any research proposal to have a topic area in mind that is beginning to become well-focused and that engages you in both personal and/or professional ways. This is a good start.

Explain the meaning of methodological plurality in IR. Understand how theory and methodology are interrelated. Explain methodological positions of positivist, interpretive, critical and normative research in IR. Understand how methodology, research design, and research methods relate to one another.

A strong research proposal usually requires you to survey the research that already exists in this field, formulate a provisional research question, lay out the research methods you will use to answer your research question, and make a provisional argument for what you think you will find.

A Research Proposal in the field of international development consists of a plan for research and for writing a thesis, including: (a) the specification of a set of research questions or a statement of problems to be analysed, (b) a discussion of relevant existing scholarship and theoretical approaches within an inter-disciplinary framework, (c ...

The research proposal constitutes the main way in which the department evaluates the potential quality of your PhD plans. The proposal should be approximately 1,500 words in length and include: A provisional title. Question or hypothesis. Aims. Value of the PhD. Existing literature. Resources. Methods of work.

What is the main research question or aim that you want to address? What are the specific objectives for the proposed research that follow from this? Why is the proposed research significant, why does it matter (either theoretically or practically), and why does it excite you?

You need to formulate your research questions clearly and concisely. You should have an answerable question that can be investigated thoroughly within the available timeframe. (You will need to judge whether these are most clearly expressed before or after the theoretical framework.)