Research overview template
Student ID .................. Student Name ...............................
Contact phone numbers: landline and mobile
PhD Thesis Outline and Overview
Version:19 December 2007
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RESEARCH OVERVIEW
TOPIC: Put a general statement about what the research will be about here.
TITLE: (To be finalised)
PASSION: To save the world. This is what the student likes doing, what the student is passionate about – what drives the student.
POSITIONING (in 5 years): To get a job doing ...
PHD AIM: (list the personal and professional objectives you have in doing the PhD) To contribute to ...
PERSONAL MISSION: This might be hard to do, and it is OK to leave blank at first, but in preparation for jobs etc, it is a good idea to be able to write short statement about your purpose. You can do this by drawing on your passion, positioning and personal aims.
(sub)DISCIPLINE(s): The academic subdiscipline(s) to which the student will make a theoretical contribution too.
RELEVANT DISCOURSES: (the topics & specific bodies of literature that you need to discuss in your lit review). They can be divided into primary and secondary importance.
Primary Discourse(s): natural resource management
Secondary Discourses: Participation, community cultural development, action research
EXAMINERS: (a brief statement about the type of examiners that the student is expecting will examine the thesis)
AUDIENCES FOR OUTPUTS: (who will read the papers that come out of the thesis?)
- Primary audience?
- Secondary audiences?
(a short paragraph outlining the problem that the research seeks to address)
- Why is it so?
Topic A
- What is NRM?
- How is NRM done?
Topic B
- Is there NRM?
- How do NRM?
HYPOTHESES: What are the likely conclusions/results? Please speculate.
LIKELY RECOMMENDATIONS: >What are the likely recommendations to come out of the research? Who are they directed to?
METHODOLOGY: Give a brief outline of the methodology that the student will use
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK: Give a brief outline of the theoretical framework that the student intends to use
An abstract of the thesis (say around 200 words) is needed for many reasons. It might be needed for putting on a website, or for including in the School’s annual report. The supervisor might need to report to the Head or to the Dean. Ultimately, of course, it is needed for including in the thesis, and before that for sending to examiners to see if they will accept being an examiner. Early on it is handy to have as a coherent statement of the student's project. A good abstract contains much of the material above: an indication of the research question, why the question is important, what issue is being addressed, what methodology and theoretical framework is being used.
PUBLICATION PLAN: Outline the papers that the student intends to publish from the student's research and the likely journals. For each proposed paper provide:
Working title:
Proposed authorship:
Topic/objective of proposed paper:
Target readership:
Target Journal:
Other potential journals:
Planned Submission Date:
Keywords:
Rough Outline: