Developing Effective Research Proposals: Edition 4
About this ebook
Developing a research proposal is not about following a template. It involves thinking, planning, and justifying research in ways that stand up to academic scrutiny, including its ethical and societal implications. This definitive guide shows students how to develop rigorous, well-reasoned proposals by focusing on what matters most: clear questions, defensible design choices, and coherent argumentation.
Built around a distinctive framework of preparation, process, product, and plan, this book treats proposal development as the core academic work of planning and justifying research. It places research questions before methods, supports qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods designs with equal authority, and shows how to move from the messy reality of drafting to a polished, assessable proposal. Practical guidance, worked examples, and opportunities for review support both teaching and independent learning.
Ideal for postgraduate students in the social sciences undertaking dissertation, thesis, or research design modules, as well as early career researchers preparing funding or ethics proposals.
About the author
Keith Punch is Emeritus Professor of Education in the University of Western Australia. He is the author of several books on research methods in education, covering quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods, and he has supervised a very large number of graduate students working on dissertations and theses for higher degrees in education.
Alis Oancea is Professor of Philosophy of Education and Research Policy at the University of Oxford. She specialises in research-on-research, including responsible research and impact, research assessment, research and research professional careers, systems, organisations, research education, philosophy of research, tertiary research and innovation, and meta-science. She co-authored textbooks, journal articles and online resources on research methods, and is lead editor of the Handbook of Meta-Research. She has supervised numerous doctoral projects and has extensive experience of chairing and contributing to grant review and funding panels in different countries.
