The Thesis Proposal

The purpose of writing a thesis proposal is to demonstrate that the thesis addresses a significant issue; that you have an original or important argument about it; and that you have an organized plan to develop and support that argument. So the first step of the thesis is to write a proposal of approximately four pages, comprised of the five points described below, which lays out the thesis’s issue and the tentative argument you plan to make about it. (One thesis on corruption, for example, posed specific ways in which it threatens democracy.) The table of contents is also preliminary but should give an idea of how you would like to structure the project by dividing it into chapters or sections. The thesis on corruption, for instance, devoted 15-page chapters each to the definition of corruption, the spread of corruption, its impact on democracy, and examination of a case study.

1. A succinct working title that summarizes the project (i.e., indicates your topic)
2. An approximately one-paragraph summary of the project’s main issue, which can take the form of a one (or more) of the following:
   1. hypothesis,
   2. research question, or
   3. a project statement
3. At least a one-paragraph discussion of your methodology. This paragraph should specify three points:
   1. research methods to collect data,
   2. research methods to analyze data, and
   3. the types of materials that will be used (e.g. books, interviews, archives).
4. An approximately one-paragraph discussion of the anticipated conceptual significance (i.e., relevance to political science and international affairs): What new knowledge or argument will the proposed project produce that we do not already know? How does it impact political science scholarship?
5. A table of contents, composed of:
   1. the titles of each chapters;
   2. the approximate length of each chapter; and
   3. two to three sentences describing the tentative argument made in the chapter.

A preliminary bibliography listing resources that you plan to draw upon. The preliminary bibliography should include about 10 books and articles you plan to use. The final bibliography should have about 30 articles, books, and websites.

Outlining these points in a proposal makes it far easier to complete the thesis. A secondary purpose of the proposal is training in the art of proposal writing—a skill required in any political science career, from industry to academia. The best laid-out research plans may go awry, and the many excellent theses bear little resemblance to the thesis proposal. So the purpose of a thesis proposal is not to form a sure-fire project with no risk of failure. (If there was no risk of failure, it wouldn’t be research.), but to show that you have a handle on the process and structure of research. If you can present a clear and reasonable thesis idea, relate it to other relevant literature, justify its significance, and describe the steps for investigating it, then the thesis proposal is a success regardless of whether you modify or even scrap the initial idea.

For assistance writing this proposal and the thesis, see this sample thesis proposal (pdf).