ABSTRACT
Research proposals are used at a variety of levels, from undergraduate students planning research projects to proposals for funded research being made by experienced researchers. The research proposal allows readers to understand the research to be done and make decisions about it. This chapter, like the rest of the book, is aimed at university students doing research projects leading to dissertations. Producing a research proposal is important because it enables students to firm up their research project and enables university staff to scrutinise research proposals and allocate supervisors to students. The chapter discusses the process of considering research topics, selecting a topic, learning about it, identifying a research project that is needed, turning this into a specific research question and writing up the research proposal.
