h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Khamsin (my other half) is trying to write an outline proposal for a phd
the advisor (who will decide if he gets on the course) likes it so far but it needs some more work,

so I appeal to you great citizens of h2g2,
is there some way you are meant to write these things,
are there any hints and tips, do's and dont's?


Anthea

Well, it can all be very subject-specific and expectations will vary hugely for different subjects and different institutions. Some will expect a fully worked up research proposal that's ready to go, while others may be happy with a broad sketch of the area of interest.

The problem with a PhD proposal is that a PhD has to make an original contribution to knowledge, but it's hard to know where the gaps are without doing a PhD to look for them.

I think the key things to demonstrate are intellectual curiosity, academic ability, and a willingness to work doggedly to improve the outline. If an applicant won't do that, they're not going to stick it out for a full PhD.

It's also worth finding out who the response has come from. Is it the potential supervisor, or from the Director of the PhD programme? "Like it, but needs more work" is fairly content-free by way of response, unless all that's been submitted so far are some key words or a very rough area of interest....

>> the advisor (who will decide if he gets on the course) likes it so far but it needs some more work <<

I have heard of a prospective supervisor ... not sure what you mean by an advisor.
The key question is who is supplying the grant ... presumably it is not a tied studentship (tied to a fixed project) ... so it must be a competitive scholarship of some form? Presumably the other half doesn't have sufficient funds to fund himself?

If the advisor is going to be the PhD supervisor then clearly the project has to fit in with the supervisors expertise (which might be quite narrow) as well as the available equipment & technical support.

This might be a silly question - but which country are you in?

Even though the US, UK, Oz and Germany have very different expectations about what you will do in your (1->3) years before your next qualifying piece is due they will all want to know:

1. Do you know what you are talking about both in research background and personal views

2. Can it actually be completed in the time/money/labs available

3. Does it match the skills/interests/resources of the department - i.e. can they supervise you

Rarely do you have to show that there is a gap in the field or that your work will be original. There will be plenty of time for that as you actually do the work.

I, for one, will be interested to see how you get on.

Looking up the various H2G2 profiles I would hazard a guess we are speaking of the UK (England) and a PhD in English Language or Literature or related ... moving into journalism perhaps. If that is the case I would guess the prospective student has more scope to be flexible ... it could be something modern or something more arcane: thirteenth century poetry in the highlands of Scotland (should have a number of competing influences). Something more modern could be an examination of the popularity of vampire and wizard literature ...

Lots of relevant stuff can be found here:
http://www.findaphd.com/student/study/study-33.asp
http://www.findaphd.com/student/study/study-12.asp

From the open university: it links to a pdf file
http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/english/Preparing_a_Proposal_for_a_PhD_Thesis_in_English.pdf

the phd is a payed studentship at Manchester met
the subject is Ceramics and Musology (please excuse my spelling of the made up word)

basically working out how museums can better improve the interactivity etc of there ceramics collection or something,

he met with the person in charge of the course and they went over the proposal together so there probably was more detail to it,
(I'll force him to come over and explain)

Interesting. I have supervised several PhD students in my time and if I wanted one of them to write the proposal before they started I would have (a) very low expectations - I would rarely trust one to do it even *after* they finished and (b) not a hoot in heck of ever actually getting it funded.
It is the supervisors role to design projects and write proposals.
But I do science - what a different academic world we live in.
I presume we don't live in an entirely different planet though - modern grant applications have a strong focus on "Impact" - really quite irritatingly so. So make sure the 'impact' (whatever that may be) of the work is sold well - that would make a difference I guess - or at least it would to a funding body. This looks more like a job application to me from your description.

I would guess most of us have a science background and so this is way outside our comfort zones. But most of us are also curious ... so I have tracked down some details:

Phd Subject Area: Applied Art & Design
Specifically: Art and Design in the practices, industries, professions, theories and histories of Art, Architecture, Clothing, Craft, Design, Fashion, Film, Media, New Media, Textiles and Urban Design.

Specific Project: Industry-based: Towards a new Ceramics Museology: Dialogue between contemporary ceramics, curatorial practice and museum culture.

In this case it is a PhD in Museology: research in the field of museum exhibitions ... so contains subject content of the exhibition matter (in this case ceramics) ... then there is issues of communication (with the public etc) ... and pragmatism in the art & design of the exhibition.

Museology: as explained by wikipedia
Museology is the study of the "museum experience" seen both through the eyes of the institution, and the visitor. … Museology has only just recently begun to see an improvement in strides made by historians and scholars to focus on its true potential as a legitimate field of study. In 2000, very little discussion had taken place and virtually no research had been done at all. … Museums are the quintessential institutions which use ‘medium’ and ‘message’ as an identical thought through material and the tangible. … Museology seeks to understand and develop proficient exhibits which engage the audience by way of looking at the past and truly grasping techniques and displays that are productive and how they can be adapted to changing societies and utilized to effectively educate and stir interest, awareness, or curiosity. Both form and function become sources to be analysed as they allow greater comprehension of an audience’s overall reception of a message. In establishing continuity between museum and media, popular culture and tourism, museology has taken a transdisciplinary approach broadening discussions and utilizing a wider scope of methodology to explain the inevitable changes which occur. …

Then one needs to look at recent succesful PhDs from institution:

PhD by Practice:
Programmable Analogue Drawing Machines

PhD Titles:
The Dress of Working Class Women in Bolton and Oldham, Lancashire 1939-1945
How do Grapus’ Posters Function in a Political Discourse?
The Use of animal Subject Matter in Children’s Picture Books Published in the United Kingdom between 1955—1969
Propaganda, Pride and Prejudice: Revisiting the Empire Marketing Board posters at Manchester City Galleries
The Hong Kong Poster League and the Colonial Divide, 1984—2002
The Femme Fatale in 20th Century British Cinema
Steps to an Art of Ecology: an Emergent Practice.
The Use of Photography within Arts for Health
Mobile and Wireless Networks as Public Art an Investigation into Emergent Media Art Practises as Playful Encounters in Public Place
Street Encounters: Perceiving and Moving in the Urban Backstreet: a Cross Cultural study of Street Space in Japan
Crafting the Technological: Gansey and Whole Garment knitting
Picturing Migration: presenting art works by South Korea artists in Britain, 2006-2008
A Comparison between Chinese and Western Women Artists’ Work in the Late 1980s and early 1990s

Guidance from the Institution:

Doctoral Programme (PhD)
Doctorates are awarded for the creation and interpretation of knowledge, which extends the forefront of a discipline, usually through original research and critical thinking. Holders of doctorates will be able to conceptualise, design and implement projects for the generation of new knowledge and/or understanding.

Holders of doctorates will have the qualities needed for enterprise and employment requiring the ability to make informed judgements on complex issues in specialist fields, and innovation in tackling and solving problems.

There are a number of alternative routes. There is the traditional PhD by Thesis, PhD by Published Work (Routes 2 & 3) for researchers with an established track record and PhD by Practice (Route 3) designed for creative practitioners.

PhD by Thesis
• Full time students must submit within 36 months and part time students within 72 months. Conferment will take place within 48 and 84 months respectively.
• The text of the thesis should normally not exceed (excluding ancillary data such as footnotes, bibliographies, diagrams and references) 80,000 words.
• Where the submission is accompanied by material in other than written form the written component should normally be within the range of 30,000 - 40,000 words

... continues with details from the other routes

So what I could find potentially interesting in this is the possibility of exploring the psychology and effectiveness of communication ... which has general appeal, interest and impact.

ps methods to test effectiveness of communication could include questionnaire surveys, interviews and discussion groups. One would want to vary the exhibition design and look for differences in the public engagement and understanding ... so exhibition design would have to be sorted out quite early in the PhD project.

Anyway, I think I have contributed enough to this thread ... good luck