Thesis Proposal Template
This is to be a word document that will be evaluated by the research committee of the Faculty of Business and Enterprise. It is recognised that under supervision, the candidate, within university policy guidelines, may change the scope and content of their research project. The proposal should cover/include the following components. 1) Title (up to 25 words) The title can be a working title in that it can be changed at a later date. It should convey the essence of the pr oposed work 2) Background (up to 4 pages) The background section should be a brief review of the extant research leading to the research question. It will contain the most recent leading peer-reviewed research in the discipline/topic being proposed. A student without current access to a library may not have access to recent journals; however, a scholarly resource such as www.scholar.google.com might be sufficient for a draft proposal. The background will identify a specific purpose for the conduct of the research. Research conducted at Swinburne University is expected to contribute to the body of knowledge. This means that candidates must demonstrate an understanding of the existing body of knowledge that will be contributed to by this research. The background will clearly identify gaps in existing knowledge as well as outline why the research is important and should be conducted. 3) Research Question(s) or objectives (½ page) The research questions or research objectives are broad statements of the goals of the research. They are directly related to the gaps in existing knowledge identified in the previous section. The objectives would cover what the research is attempting to find out (in broad terms). For example: • This research aims to o Identify the entrepreneurial behaviours of small business owners in Australia o Understand the impact of such behaviours on business