怎样写一篇好的research-proposal

怎样写一篇好的researchproposal?每个学术研究者必须经历的一道关卡，就是ResearchProposal的写作。它大致对应中文里的“开题报告”、“选题报告”、“研究报告”，是一项研究开始之前的提纲、规划和陈述；既是为了帮助自己梳理文献、整理思路、廓清方向，也常常是写给相关他人的说明：研究动机和意义何在？可能有何成果？为什么它值得你的资助/认可/支持/批准？不知道是否可以说，好的proposal是研究成功的一半。但实际而功利的说，如果你的proposal很烂，可能根本就不会有开始研究的机会。Howtowritearesearchproposal?能否写出漂亮的proposal，本质上取决于你对研究的思考深度和专业水准。但形式也很重要。英文的ResearchProposal自有一套“八股”。程式化和结构化的好处就在于，可以让读者直接集中注意到最本质的内容上，而不是为形式分神。对于非英语nativespeaker的我们，如何理解英文学术世界的规范或曰思维定势，也是写作proposal之前必备的背景知识。下面这篇流传甚广的ResearchProposal写作指南，言简意赅，颇具启发，对我自己的写作有所帮助，也希望能给更多的学界同仁带来便利。[点击这里，查看更多关于ResearchProposal以及GrantProposal、ProjectProposal写作的网上资源]文章作者PaulT.P.Wong,Ph.D.,C.Psych.(ResearchDirector,GraduatePrograminCounsellingPsychology.TrinityWesternUniversityLangley,BC,Canada).题为：HowtoWriteaResearchProposal.全文转载如下：Moststudentsandbeginningresearchersdonotfullyunderstandwhataresearchproposalmeans,nordotheyunderstanditsimportance.Toputitbluntly,one’sresearchisonlyasagoodasone’sproposal.Anill-conceivedproposaldoomstheprojectevenifitsomehowgetsthroughtheThesisSupervisoryCommittee.Ahighqualityproposal,ontheotherhand,notonlypromisessuccessfortheproject,butalsoimpressesyourThesisCommitteeaboutyourpotentialasaresearcher.Aresearchproposalisintendedtoconvinceothersthatyouhaveaworthwhileresearchprojectandthatyouhavethecompetenceandthework-plantocompleteit.Generally,aresearchproposalshouldcontainallthekeyelementsinvolvedintheresearchprocessandincludesufficientinformationforthereaderstoevaluatetheproposedstudy.Regardlessofyourresearchareaandthemethodologyyouchoose,allresearchproposalsmustaddressthefollowingquestions:Whatyouplantoaccomplish,whyyouwanttodoitandhowyouaregoingtodoit.Theproposalshouldhavesufficientinformationtoconvinceyourreadersthatyouhaveanimportantresearchidea,thatyouhaveagoodgraspoftherelevantliteratureandthemajorissues,andthatyourmethodologyissound.Thequalityofyourresearchproposaldependsnotonlyonthequalityofyourproposedproject,butalsoonthequalityofyourproposalwriting.Agoodresearchprojectmayruntheriskofrejectionsimplybecausetheproposalispoorlywritten.Therefore,itpaysifyourwritingiscoherent,clearandcompelling.Thispaperfocusesonproposalwritingratherthanonthedevelopmentofresearchideas.Title:Itshouldbeconciseanddescriptive.Forexample,thephrase,“Aninvestigationof...”couldbeomitted.Oftentitlesarestatedintermsofafunctionalrelationship,becausesuchtitlesclearlyindicatetheindependentanddependentvariables.However,ifpossible,thinkofaninformativebutcatchytitle.Aneffectivetitlenotonlypricksthereader’sinterest,butalsopredisposeshim/herfavourablytowardstheproposal.Abstract:Itisabriefsummaryofapproximately300words.Itshouldincludetheresearchquestion,therationaleforthestudy,thehypothesis(ifany),themethodandthemainfindings.Descriptionsofthemethodmayincludethedesign,procedures,thesampleandanyinstrumentsthatwillbeused.Introduction:Themainpurposeoftheintroductionistoprovidethenecessarybackgroundorcontextforyourresearchproblem.Howtoframetheresearchproblemisperhapsthebiggestprobleminproposalwriting.Iftheresearchproblemisframedinthecontextofageneral,ramblingliteraturereview,thentheresearchquestionmayappeartrivialanduninteresting.However,ifthesamequestionisplacedinthecontextofaveryfocusedandcurrentresearcharea,itssignificancewillbecomeevident.Unfortunately,therearenohardandfastrulesonhowtoframeyourresearchquestionjustasthereisnoprescriptiononhowtowriteaninterestingandinformativeopeningparagraph.Alotdependsonyourcreativity,yourabilitytothinkclearlyandthedepthofyourunderstandingofproblemareas.However,trytoplaceyourresearchquestioninthecontextofeitheracurrent“hot”area,oranolderareathatremainsviable.Secondly,youneedtoprovideabriefbutappropriatehistoricalbackdrop.Thirdly,providethecontemporarycontextinwhichyourproposedresearchquestionoccupiesthecentralstage.Finally,identify“keyplayers”andrefertothemostrelevantandrepresentativepublications.Inshort,trytopaintyourresearchquestioninbroadbrushesandatthesametimebringoutitssignificance.Theintroductiontypicallybeginswithageneralstatementoftheproblemarea,withafocusonaspecificresearchproblem,tobefollowedbytherationalorjustificationfortheproposedstudy.Theintroductiongenerallycoversthefollowingelements:1.Statetheresearchproblem,whichisoftenreferredtoasthepurposeofthestudy.2.Providethecontextandsetthestageforyourresearchquestioninsuchawayastoshowitsnecessityandimportance.3.Presenttherationaleofyourproposedstudyandclearlyindicatewhyitisworthdoing.4.Brieflydescribethemajorissuesandsub-problemstobeaddressedbyyourresearch.5.Identifythekeyindependentanddependentvariablesofyourexperiment.Alternatively,specifythephenomenonyouwanttostudy.6.Stateyourhypothesisortheory,ifany.Forexploratoryorphenomenologicalresearch,youmaynothaveanyhypotheses.(Pleasedonotconfusethehypothesiswiththestatisticalnullhypothesis.)7.Setthedelimitationorboundariesofyourproposedresearchinordertoprovideaclearfocus.8.Providedefinitionsofkeyconcepts.(Thisisoptional.)LiteratureReview:Sometimestheliteraturereviewisincorporatedintotheintroductionsection.However,mostprofessorspreferaseparatesection,w