12 Timeline
A final step that you might need to take to convince your professor that the research is do-able is presenting the timeline of activities that you intend to do over the course of the research. Think carefully about what you can do and the specific order in which you plan to do it. Your potential supervision will use your proposed timeline to help ascertain whether the proposed project is idealistic or whether you can actually get it done. It is best to present a written outline of each essential activity and the months within which you will undertake each. Please note that you can work on two activities simultaneously. Here are some typical activities that researchers carry out (depending on your research you might have more or less activities):
- Research and write the literature review
- Write and submit ethics application
- Write methodology
- Recruit participants and collect data
- Analyze Data
- Write up results
- Edit paper
- Submit final paper
In addition to explaining each step and the period within which you will do them, it is also a good idea to visually represent your timeline. This will give your reader a quicker sense of what is involved in your research and will help them evaluate what is needed to make it successful. It will also indicate whether the research is do-able within the timeframe proposed. Gantt charts have become a popular way to depict schedules, showing the start and end date for each component of your research. Below is an example of how you might present your timeline on a Gantt chart.
| Table 2.3 - Illustration of an Undergraduate Project Timeline | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Activities | Sept | Oct | Nov | Dec | Jan | Feb | Mar |
| Write and submit ethics application | X | ||||||
| Research and write the literature review | X | X | |||||
| Write methodology | X | X | |||||
| (Recruitment and) Data collection | X | X | |||||
| Data analysis | X | X | |||||
| Write up results | X | ||||||
| Edit and submit final paper | X | X | |||||
| Table 2.4 - Sample Undergraduate 6 Page Research Proposal Template | ||
|---|---|---|
| Section | Brief Explanation | Estimated Length |
| Introduction | Title. Short outline of the problem and its importance. | 1 Page |
| Literature Review | Short history of other investigations into the problem. | 2 Page |
| The Purpose | Fulfill the gap in the literature and reiterate the significance of the study. | 1/2 Page |
| RQ's | A summary of the questions or thesis that you expect to guide your research. | 1/4 Page |
| Method(s) | A summary of and argument for the methods you will use to answer that research question | 1 Page |
| Data Analysis | A summary of how you intend to make sense of what you found | 1/2 Page |
| Summarize, Engage Limitations, and Implicate | Provide an overview of your study and its significance. Recognize the potential limitations before highlighting the contribution. | 3/4 Page |
| References | Attach | |
| Adapted from Petrina, Stephen. (2009). “Thesis Dissertation and Proposal Guide For Graduate Students.” https://edcp-educ.sites.olt.ubc.ca/files/2013/08/researchproposal1.pdf | ||
A committee of experts who applies research ethics to prospective research by reviewing the ethics applications and methods to ensure that they meet ethical standards.
