PhD Research Proposal: 10 Problems You Could Face

A proposal is a short document that outlines a research project. It proposes ways that a scholar can follow to solve a research problem. By definition, it is a concise summary of all steps that you can follow to complete a research project. Writing a proposal is one of the preliminary steps of starting a doctorate degree program. However, other steps include passing GRE with good scores, deciding on an area of interest, and getting acceptance from the supervisor. This article will not guide you about the remaining steps, but merely focuses on PhD research proposal writing problems.

PhD Research Proposal writing problems

PhD cannot be completed without encountering a series of problems, one after the other. Each time the nature or type of problems varies to a great extent. To further understand the process of PhD research proposal writing, sample work done by an expert working at a PhD Dissertation Writing Service will be helpful for you. Thus, if you think of yourself as a man with strong nerves, you must look forward to getting a doctorate degree. However, our topic of discussion for this article is to only highlight the problem that a novice PhD scholar has to face in the early stages of research, such as in research proposal writing. Thereby the following are a few of them:

Problem #1: Selecting the area of topic:

The main problem that you may face is choosing a research topic that is neither too long to be handled effectively nor too short to meet the standards of doctorate-level research.

Problem #2: Refining the research problem:

Research problem defining is another PhD research proposal problem that you may face. However, if you discuss your area of interest with the supervisor, you can easily solve this problem. 

Problem #3: Defining research questions:

Research questions provide a roadmap to conduct the research. In formulating research questions, novice PhD scholars often face problems in linking different variables involved in the study. The irrelevant association between the variables suggested by research questions may take you far away from achieving your research goals.  

Problem #4:  Defining the level of complexity for a PhD research:

A PhD research must be complex enough so an ordinary man cannot understand it in one go, it is nothing more than a misconception. This misconception, if not corrected, may trigger a cascade of problematic events.

Problem #5: Getting updated information about the selected research problem:

Finding the best tool to find the research material is still a big problem that students may face while writing a PhD research proposal. This is because; a PhD is all about originality in research, and in an effort to conserve originality in research, finding material that supports your research becomes a major problem.

Problem #6: Navigating the shortest path to solve a problem:

During writing a PhD research proposal, you mostly do not have enough in-hand data to know how to solve a research problem. Thus, navigating the easiest path to reach the destination is another important problem that the majority of students face.

Problem #7: Specifying the tone for writing a PhD research proposal:

In academic writing tasks, deciding the most appropriate tone of writing is a bit difficult, especially for a student. Your previous master’s dissertation writing experience suggests you write in the past tense, but the tone of writing a research proposal is not similar to that of a dissertation writing tone.

Problem #8: Getting aware of the scope of a research problem in a local setup:

This is the problem that is the most difficult to address. Being a student, especially a first semester student, you actually do not know what facilities your university will offer you for research. This fact confuses you in taking any vital decisions while writing PhD research problems.

Problem #9: Lack of understanding about the proper structure of a research proposal:

 The structure matters greatly if you want to remain on track throughout a research proposal. If you don’t know the formatting and structuring guidelines, then you cannot smoothly pass through the proposal writing phase.

Problem #10: Predicting the proposed outcomes of a research project:

  The proposed outcome is the last but most important part of the PhD research proposal. But a detailed understanding is required to propose outcomes before practically performing doctorate research. 

Dissertation writers working at reputed research proposal writing platforms can share a few golden words with you for solving any of these problems. All you need to do is, use your smartphones, tablets, and laptops to get access to these writers and solve all your problems within a fraction of the time.  

Final Thoughts:

The article has described ten common problems you could face while writing a research proposal. But you do not need to worry as all these problems can easily be eradicated. All you need to do is to adopt a problem-solving approach instead of being depressed.