{"id":1071,"date":"2012-06-22T01:18:44","date_gmt":"2012-06-22T07:18:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.comm.utoronto.ca\/dkundur\/?p=1071"},"modified":"2014-08-12T13:34:03","modified_gmt":"2014-08-12T19:34:03","slug":"guidelines-for-writing-an-effective-thesis-proposal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comm.utoronto.ca\/dkundur\/2012\/06\/guidelines-for-writing-an-effective-thesis-proposal\/","title":{"rendered":"Guidelines for Writing an Effective Thesis Proposal"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a title=\"Guidelines for Writing an Effective Thesis Proposal\" href=\"\/dkundur\/2012\/06\/guidelines-for-writing-an-effective-thesis-proposal\/\">Guidelines for Writing an Effective Thesis Proposal<\/a> is primarily meant for graduate students, but can also apply to undergraduate researchers whose report is typically more focused.<\/p>\n<p>A thesis proposal is an essential element in the development of a masters or\u00a0doctoral thesis. Depending on the department or group, a proposal may be mandatory\u00a0or optional (it is almost always mandatory at the doctoral level, but at times\u00a0optional at the masters).<br \/>\n<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>The proposal serves many objectives including the following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Effectively communicates the intentions of your research to your technical\u00a0advisors and peers, so that they in turn may provide critical feedback.<\/li>\n<li>Convinces your technical advisors that your plan has sufficient value and\u00a0is realistic.<\/li>\n<li>Helps focus and structure your work, so that you have a clear idea of the\u00a0thesis or hypothesis you intend to investigate.<\/li>\n<li>Ensures that you have the \u201cbig picture\u201d of the work you are\u00a0doing through a critical assessment of the motivations and applications of\u00a0your problem and by investing in a survey of the research area.<\/li>\n<li>Allows you and your advisor to negotiate a good plan for your work so that\u00a0you know how to begin and may also compare to your progress for useful \u201cself-evaluation.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>Answers the following questions:\n<ul>\n<li>If your thesis works out, how will applied science be better off or\u00a0have changed?<\/li>\n<li>What societal impact will this research have (as engineers our work\u00a0always has intrinsic societal impact, but we need to be explicit regarding\u00a0how our work will positively affect the community at large)?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There are many styles to a thesis proposal (and in doing research), but I\u00a0suggest the following structure to my students. If you have another preference,\u00a0please go ahead (be creative), but just make sure that all the following elements\u00a0exist in your document. In my opinion, a good proposal can be easily reworked\u00a0into the first chapter of your final thesis. Please note that a thesis proposal\u00a0takes much planning and time (the research plans and literary presentation are\u00a0both very important).<\/p>\n<h5>Introduction<\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Problem Formulation<\/strong> \u2013What is the specific problem\u00a0that you are trying to solve (be exact)? Provide a mathematical description\u00a0wherever possible and illustrate with figure(s) to help elucidate what you\u00a0are doing. The problem can be formulated as a question. One of the biggest problems I have observed\u00a0with formulation of the thesis problem involves scope. Often the problem statement\u00a0is too broad (usually as a result of not being specific enough in the selected\u00a0framework to describe the problem &#8212; i.e., the problem has been sufficiently\u00a0narrowed down), or involves too many\/ too few things to be solved in the given\u00a0time frame of the thesis.<\/li>\n<li><a id=\"motivation\" name=\"motivation\"><\/a><strong>Motivation<\/strong><br \/>\n\u2013 Why are you investigating this problem? Why is at an important issue?\u00a0You need to discuss the reasons you are going to spend years of your life\u00a0solving this problem. You can motivate the problem by:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Discussing trends in research, current events and industry, among other\u00a0areas. The more specific the examples and motivation you have, the better.<\/li>\n<li>Describing the technical deficiencies of existing solutions (or lack\u00a0of existing solutions) to address the problem. This should involve general\u00a0conclusions that you have formed about the fundamental problems with existing\u00a0work. Existing work is not described here, but the conclusions should\u00a0be stated.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Applications<\/strong> \u2013 Describe what the existing applications\u00a0are that would benefit from finding a solution to the problem you have specified.\u00a0You will find many applications in your literature survey. <span style=\"color: #990033;\"><strong>What\u00a0gives this section (and your proposal) even more merit is if you discuss novel\u00a0applications that others have not considered. Can you see any other extended\u00a0uses of the work?<\/strong><\/span> As a student (and in most cases someone\u00a0who is new to the area), you have an advantage that you can see things from\u00a0a new perspective. In addition, keep in mind a target application for your\u00a0work. Families of solutions exist to problems. Selection of the right solution\u00a0must be suited to a specific application.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5>Survey\u00a0(a.k.a Literature Review) of Previous Work<\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Classification of Existing Techniques<\/strong> \u2013 The purpose\u00a0of a survey is to convey to the reader (in a reasonably succinct form) what\u00a0has been done in the previous literature. A good way to provide the &#8220;big\u00a0picture&#8221; is to provide a classification of existing methods\/analysis\u00a0(remember biology &#8212; genus, species?). A classification is by no means unique;\u00a0there are different taxonomies that can be used. However, your job is to find\u00a0the best one that suits your thesis formulation. For example, if you are researching\u00a0new transform domains in which to hide steganographic data, then your taxonomy\u00a0can be effective by dividing existing techniques according to the transforms\u00a0they use. Please note that newer areas (especially at the ad hoc stage) are\u00a0sometimes harder to find solid taxonomies for. However, it can be done through<br \/>\ncreativity and insight.<\/li>\n<li>A <em>classification map<\/em>, which should be included in this section, is\u00a0an overall diagram starting with a node representing &#8220;all techniques&#8221;\u00a0and then splitting the node into category nodes that are further split, and\u00a0so on. The leafs of the tree can represent fundamental classes of techniques\/analyses\u00a0(that don&#8217;t make sense to break down any more) or the techniques\/analyses\u00a0themselves (in areas that are relatively new without many existing contributions).\u00a0The tree can get quite complex depending on the taxonomy selected and at times\u00a0some techniques may seem to fit in multiple categories. However, modifying\u00a0your classification can help simplify things.\u00a0A description of the map is necessary to describe how the techniques are divided\u00a0and to provide insight into why this is a good methodology.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Literature Review<\/strong> \u2013 The actual description of each\u00a0approach should reflect any differences in the problem solved (compared to\u00a0that formulated in the thesis), any assumptions made, the novelty of the work\u00a0(i.e., the contributions of the method\/analysis to the body of research),\u00a0the advantages and limitations as well as any fundamental trade-offs observed.\u00a0If you are dealing with a very large body of existing work, be selective in\u00a0what you survey. Also, in your description, you can group methods that build\u00a0on top of each other to simplify this section.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Trends and Areas of Future Development <\/strong>\u2013 A literature\u00a0review should be greater than the sum of its parts. One way in which to achieve\u00a0this quality is to identify general trends and insights in the work you have\u00a0read. Based on how things are evolving, do you see a natural evolutionary\u00a0step? Research almost always builds on itself. Does all existing work have\u00a0similar characteristics that are limiting in some way? Your answers to these\u00a0questions should enable you to identify both trends and necessary areas for\u00a0future development. This also provides the <a href=\"#motivation\">motivation\u00a0discussed in the previous section<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Tip <\/strong>\u2013 It&#8217;s important to be on top of the research\u00a0in your area, so it is recommended that you do as thorough a review as possible.\u00a0Also, keep in mind what other researchers say about different work to identify\u00a0how different contributions are interpreted and have impact to a general area.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5>Proposed\u00a0Solution<\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Chacteristics of a Good Solution <\/strong>\u2013 Make a list of\u00a0what an &#8220;effective&#8221; solution looks like and prioritize the characteristics\u00a0if you are targeting a given application.\u00a0Define what the characteristics mean to your problem formulation and discuss\u00a0the necessary fundamental compromises and why you prioritized as you did.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Tool-Sets<\/strong> \u2013 As engineers we often borrow existing\u00a0tools to solve a problem or we develop novel tools to do the job. Application-oriented\u00a0work often borrows tools whereas pure research can, to some degree, invent\u00a0them. Describe what types of tool-sets that you expect to use in your work\u00a0and why you believe they are a good fit. The tools may include analysis techniques, previously proposed algorithms.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Hypotheses<\/strong> \u2013 Discuss <em>why<\/em> you think the proposed\u00a0tool-sets will solve the problem and improve upon any previous work. You should\u00a0defend your hypotheses with both evidence based on previous work (you can\u00a0reference instances, which may not be related to your exact problem, where\u00a0the tool-set has worked well), and intuition (this is where it helps to predict\u00a0and infer new directions from existing work. This part will not be simple\u00a0to do. If this part was easy, then your scope may be too specific. After all,\u00a0as Albert Einstein said, &#8220;If we knew what we were doing, we wouldn&#8217;t\u00a0call it research.&#8221; Proving your hypothesis is the objective of your thesis.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The Solution<\/strong> \u2013 Present your actual methodology to\u00a0address the problem. Start with a global perspective with block diagrams and\u00a0then break each component of the block diagram into parts that you discuss\u00a0more specifically. If there are elements that are as of yet undecided, state\u00a0what they are. These elements will comprise the tasks in your research milestones.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Preliminary Results<\/strong> \u2013 Here is where the results of\u00a0naive or partial implementations of your ideas go. You have suggested a particular\u00a0solution for a number of reasons. These reasons should ideally not just be\u00a0based on what previous work has said. It is also good to do your own analysis\u00a0(even if in the beginning you have to assume everything is Gaussian!) or simulations\u00a0(even if you must assume the most ideal conditions) to help justify your approach\u00a0to solving the problem.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5>Research\u00a0Milestones<\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Tasks<\/strong> \u2013 Determine the effective problems you intend\u00a0to pursue in your thesis. What will you design? What will you analyze? What\u00a0will you experiment with? What will you simulate? You must list these in chronological\u00a0order and show the relationship between the different stages. These must be\u00a0specific. Just saying &#8220;I intend to analyze the algorithm&#8221; is insufficient\u00a0for a proposal. You should discuss how exactly you will approach the analysis\u00a0process and discuss the tool-sets you intend to try.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Milestones<\/strong> \u2013 List and elaborate in chronological\u00a0order how you will work on the various tasks you have set out to do. These\u00a0may be overlapping in time. What is important here is that you give yourself\u00a0enough time to do everything including writing up the thesis which will take\u00a0months (and of course make sure it is within the timeline of your degree requirements).\u00a0Take into account if you will be TAing, working, or taking courses. Any of\u00a0these tasks can reduce your research time by at least a factor of two. For\u00a0those who must build chips, you must take into account fabrication times,\u00a0etc.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h5>Length<\/h5>\n<p>If your thesis proposal is an official component of your degree requirements,\u00a0then the length may be set. Different schools have different guidelines, so check the length at your graduate office.<\/p>\n<h5>Other Tips<\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li>Research, especially for those who come directly out of an undergraduate\u00a0program, can seem deceptively easy or low-volume. It truly is the result of\u00a0persistence, hard work and accountability. Your consistent efforts will shine\u00a0through in a good proposal.<\/li>\n<li>If you are stuck, try going outside your area for inspiration. There may\u00a0be potential in borrowing tools\/solutions from other areas.<\/li>\n<li>Get to know your library resources (especially the electronic ones). <a href=\"http:\/\/scholar.google.com\" target=\"_blank\">scholar.google.com<\/a>, INSPEC\u00a0and IEEE\/IEE Databases are excellent must-use resources.<\/li>\n<li>Write your proposal well. Make sure it is organized, easy to read, has proper\u00a0grammar and conveys what you intend to say in the simplest possible way. Do\u00a0not use complicated words. Think before you write any paragraph to make sure\u00a0there isn&#8217;t an easier more straightforward way to convey the information.\u00a0Your ideas will not be accepted as easily and you will not be necessarily\u00a0given the credit you deserve if you frustrate the reader. One way to do this\u00a0is to make it possible to read the first sentence of every paragraph and understand\u00a0the document. Each paragraph may start general and go specific. Writing is\u00a0a personal thing, so it is important to practice writing, pay attention to\u00a0others&#8217; writing in order to develop a style that is comfortable for you.<\/li>\n<li>Have a peer read over your thesis before you give it to your advisor.\u00a0Their feedback will be invaluable for the presentation of the work and to\u00a0help you identify if any part of the document needs more justification.<\/li>\n<li>Feedback from advisor during the formulation of a thesis is often invaluable.\u00a0However, the quality of the feedback you get is a function of the quality\u00a0of the work you present to them. Instead of saying &#8220;I have no idea what\u00a0to do&#8221; (which, believe me, will anger even the most kind advisor), try\u00a0working through the problem and come up with a number of potential solutions\u00a0that you can discuss with your advisor. Also, if your advisor is busy, be\u00a0persistent, and keep up by arranging periodic contact hours if you don&#8217;t have\u00a0regular meetings.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Guidelines for Writing an Effective Thesis Proposal is primarily meant &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1071","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-research"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":false,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pfR3Ra-hh","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comm.utoronto.ca\/dkundur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1071","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comm.utoronto.ca\/dkundur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comm.utoronto.ca\/dkundur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comm.utoronto.ca\/dkundur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comm.utoronto.ca\/dkundur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1071"}],"version-history":[{"count":42,"href":"https:\/\/www.comm.utoronto.ca\/dkundur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1071\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3118,"href":"https:\/\/www.comm.utoronto.ca\/dkundur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1071\/revisions\/3118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comm.utoronto.ca\/dkundur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1071"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comm.utoronto.ca\/dkundur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1071"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comm.utoronto.ca\/dkundur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1071"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}