Faculties' Requirement Regarding Submission of Research Proposal and Statement of Research Interest from PhD/MPhil Applicants
Research Proposal Download
For PhD applicants: Research Proposal (no standardized template)
Length: 4 to 5 pages Format: Double-spaced Instruction: It should outline a clearly-considered and defined research topic, with an account of research questions and methodology proposed, an explanation of the value and originality of the research, and a bibliography. Applicants are advised to visit the individual departmental websites for the respective departments' guidelines on the format of research proposal required.
For MPhil applicants: Research Proposal (no standardized template)
Length: 3 to 4 pages Format: Double-spaced Instruction: It should include a brief account of the applicant's academic history (including what he/she studied and what in particular has interested him/her; also, where relevant, the reason why he/she wants to undertake research at HKU). The proposal should set out the area of study he/she proposes to work in, and the research he/she intends to do in it. The Faculty understands that the proposal at this stage will be provisional, but it should show that the applicant knows something about the field, has started on the relevant reading, and has a sense of the interesting research questions and problems likely to be faced, of the methodology proposed and, if relevant, the resources required. The applicant should append a preliminary bibliography. Applicants are advised to visit the individual departmental websites for the respective departments' guidelines on the format of research proposal required.
For PhD applicants: Research Proposal Download
For PhD applicants: Research Proposal No standardized form
Length: Not more than 20 pages (Including a 1-page abstract, and excluding references) Format: Font size 12; Double-spaced Instruction: It should give a clear description of the particular aspect of the field in which you are interested and explain the particular approach which you propose to take in studying the subject matter.
Important notes: All PhD theses should be written in English. For applicants whose research topic is in Chinese Language Education, approval may be granted for their thesis to be written in Chinese. Applications for such approval should be submitted at the time of application for admission. If an applicant intends to write the thesis in Chinese, the 1-page abstract should still be written in English but the Research Proposal may be written in Chinese. Applicants have to include a declaration in their research proposal to confirm whether (i) the proposal is all his/her own work; names of persons who have provided contribution and the nature and extent of their contribution should be specified if otherwise; and (ii) whether the proposal, in parts or in whole, has not been published or submitted to any institution; the extent and the details of the publication and/or submission to the institution(s) should be specified if otherwise.
For MPhil applicants: Research Proposal Summary Download
Important notes: All MPhil theses should be written in English. For applicants whose research topic is in Chinese Language Education, special approval may be granted for their thesis to be written in Chinese. Applications for such special approval should be submitted at the time of application for admission. If an applicant intends to write the thesis in Chinese, the 6-page research proposal summary should still be written in English. Applicants are required to declare (i) whether the research proposal submitted is all his/her own work; names of persons who have provided contribution and the nature and extent of their contribution should be specified if otherwise; and (ii) whether the proposal, in parts or in whole, has not been published or submitted to any institution; the extent and the details of the publication and/or submission to the institution(s) should be specified if otherwise
For MPhil applicants: Research Proposal Download Length: 4 pages
For MPhil applicants: Statement of Research Interest No standardized template
For all applicants (except for the Department of Sociology and Hong Kong Institute of Humanities & Social Sciences) Research Proposal Download
For applicants to Department of Sociology: Research Proposal Download
For applicants to Hong Kong Institute of Humanities & Social Sciences: Research Proposal Download Length: max. 8 pages Format: Double-spaced
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HKUL subscribes to a rich collection of print and electronic resources in support of the literature review process. Resources range from multi-disciplinary to subject specialized databases.
There are myriad resources each with its specialty or purpose.
► Subject Guides : Refer to Subject guides for the pertinent resources on a discipline or topic.
► Accessing e-resources : HKUL authentication is required for access to e-resources. However, if you access a resource directly from the publisher’s page bypassing the library, the HKUL authentication page will not appear. Please install the HKUL Search Assistant or Reload via HKUL to trigger the authentication page.
Below is a simple overview of the resources for different stages of research:
|
| The discovery tool at HKUL to find books and articles on a topic. See | |
| With special settings, you can link directly to ViewIt @ HKUL for full-text access. See | ||
| | Multi-disciplinary databases | Try the following key databases:
|
| Help discover research beyond journal articles and explore the extensive bibliographies of each thesis. Get . | ||
| | Choose databases by subject or by database type. | |
| The databases produced through HKUL digitization open up online access to local collections originally in print format only. | ||
|
| Track new publications by journals. The tool offers desktop, Android, and IOS platforms. See | |
| Alerts in databases | Track new publications on a topic by setting up email alerts or RSS feeds in selected databases. Sample | |
| Pre-prints
| Pre-prints servers also provide previews of papers going to be published. See | |
|
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| Request books, book chapters, journal articles, and other reading resources beyond the HKU Libraries' collections from local and overseas partner institutes. |
| Access and borrow books from other UGC-funded Libraries. | ||
| Recommendation Online | : recommend books (print or electronic) & audio-visual items for all HKU Libraries borrowers. : recommend electronic databases by academic staff only. : recommend journals (print and/or electronic) by academic staff only. |
Watch this video, to learn how to get access to library subscribed databases.
Simply entering keywords into a search box might work. However, building a good search statement would help gain better success when searching the databases. Below are some general tips:
| Boolean operator: AND | Both terms to appear | energy pollution |
| Boolean operator: OR | Either term to appear | solar sun |
| Boolean operator: NOT | Exclude a term | energy nuclear |
| Truncation and Wildcard | Search variant spelling | cultur to get cultur , cultur , cultur |
| Wildcard | organi ation to get organi ation, organi ation | |
| Brackets | Group terms | pollution AND fossil fuel OR petroleum |
| Quotation marks | Phrase searching | law and order |
Summary of the Boolean operators:
How to build a search statement
Watch this video, to learn more about how to build a search statement.
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Theses @ HKU
- Format of HKU ETDs
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The Libraries acquire printed and electronic HKU theses for PhD, MPhil and SJD programmes. The printed theses are transferred and stored in The HKU Archives while the ETDs (Electronic Theses & Dissertations) are on open access in the Scholars Hub under the licensing of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License . For all other theses producing degrees, the Libraries acquire and store electronic copies only, which are also accessible in the Scholars Hub.
For enquiries, please email to [email protected] or call 3917-0908. Enquiries on thesis binding, please email [email protected] or call 3917-2249.
Faculties' Requirement Regarding Submission of Statement of Research Interest & Research Proposal from MPhil/PhD Applicants
| Form: Length: No limit Format: No specific requirement | |
| Form: No standardized form Length: 3 to 4 pages Format: Double-spaced Instructions: It should include a brief account of the applicant's academic history (including what he/she studied and what in particular has interested him/her; also, where relevant, the reason why he/she wants to undertake research at HKU). The proposal should set out the area of study he/she proposes to work in, and the research he/she intends to do in it. The Faculty understands that the proposal at this stage will be provisional, but it should show that the applicant knows something about the field, has started on the relevant reading, and has a sense of the interesting research questions and problems likely to be faced, of the methodology proposed and, if relevant, the resources required. The applicant should append a preliminary bibliography. Applicants are advised to visit the individual departmental websites for the respective departments' guidelines on the format of research proposal required. | Form: No standardized form Length: 4 to 5 pages Format: Double-spaced Instruction: It should outline a clearly-considered and defined research topic, with an account of research questions and methodology proposed, an explanation of the value and originality of the research, and a bibliography. Applicants are advised to visit the individual departmental websites for the respective departments' guidelines on the format of research proposal required. |
| Form: Length: 6 to 8 pages Format: Double-spaced, font size: 12 point | |
| Form: Length: 1 to 2 pages (500-1000 words), A4 papers Format: Single-spaced, font size: 11 or 12 point | |
| Form: Length: 4 pages Format: No specific requirement All MPhil/PhD theses should be written in English. However, under exceptional circumstances, special approval to write a thesis in Chinese may be granted when all the following criteria are met: Applications to write a thesis in Chinese should be submitted at the time of application for admission. | a Detailed Research Proposal (a) Research Proposal Summary Form: Length: 4 pages Format: No specific requirement (b) Detailed Research Proposal No predetermined format (around 20 pages) All MPhil/PhD theses should be written in English. However, under exceptional circumstances, special approval to write a thesis in Chinese may be granted when all the following criteria are met: Applications to write a thesis in Chinese should be submitted at the time of application for admission. |
| Form: Length: No limit Format: No specific requirement | |
| Form: Length: 4 pages Format: No specific requirement | Form: Length: No limit Format: No specific requirement |
| Form: Length: No limit Format: No specific requirement | |
| Form: No standardized form Length: No limit Format: No specific requirement | |
| Form: Length: No limit Format: No specific requirement | |
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How to structure your PhD thesis
Organising your PhD thesis in a logical order is one of the crucial stages of your writing process. Here is a list of the individual components to include
Shama Prasada Kabekkodu
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Using non verbal cues to build rapport with students, emotionally challenging research and researcher well-being, augmenting the doctoral thesis in preparation for a viva, how hard can it be testing ai detection tools.
The task of writing a PhD thesis is top of mind for many aspiring scholars. After all, completing one is no small task. And while these pieces of writing often share a standard format, this can differ slightly based on the requirements of your institution or subject. So what elements make up a PhD thesis?
A doctoral thesis usually contains:
- A title page
- Declarations from the candidate and supervisor
- A certificate from the candidate and supervisor
- A plagiarism report
- Acknowledgements
- A table of contents
- Abbreviations
- An abstract
Chapters typically cover:
- A general introduction
- Literature review
- Analysis of the gap in research with aims and objectives
- Materials and methods
- Summary and conclusion
- References or bibliography.
You should also include a list of papers you have published and any relevant achievements at the end.
An explanation of each of the components of a PhD dissertation
Title page: a PhD thesis starts with a title page that contains the complete title of the research work, the submitting university, names of the candidate and supervisor, affiliation and month and year of submission.
Abstract: this serves as a concise synopsis of the dissertation, covering the research context, purpose of the study or research questions, methodology, findings and conclusions. This section is usually one to two pages in length.
Table of contents: this page lists the thesis content and respective page numbers.
General introduction and literature review: this component is usually 20 to 40 pages long. It presents the readers with the primary material and discusses relevant published data. It provides an overview of pertinent literature related to the thesis such as texts that critically assess the existing literature to identify the gap in research and explain the need behind the study.
Aims and objectives: this section of the thesis is typically one to two pages long and describes the aims and objectives of the study. Structure them as three to four bullet points describing specific points that you will investigate. Approach this by thinking about what readers should understand by the end of the thesis. Ensure you:
- Give a clear explanation of the purpose and goals of your study
- Outline each aim concisely
- Explain how you will measure your objectives
- Ensure there is a clear connection between each aim
- Use verbs such as investigate, evaluate, explore, analyse and demonstrate.
Materials and methods: this section briefly explains how you have conducted the study and should include all the materials you used and procedures you implemented. For example, if your research involves working with chemicals, list the chemicals and instruments used, along with their catalogue numbers and manufacturers’ names. This section should also explicitly explain the methodology you used, step-by-step. Use the past tense while writing this section and do not describe any results or findings of the study yet.
Results: this section is sometimes called the “findings report” or “the experimental findings” (referring to data collection and analysis). Write the results concisely and in the past tense. Include text, figure and table infographics created with tools such as Microsoft PowerPoint, Adobe Illustrator and BioRender to visualise your data .
Discussion: this is a chance to discuss the results and compare the findings of your study with the initial hypothesis and existing knowledge. Focus on discussing interpretations, implications, limitations and recommendations here.
- Resources on academic writing for higher education staff
- Tips for writing a PhD dissertation: FAQs answered
- How to tackle the PhD dissertation
Summary and conclusion: this section should be shorter than the discussion and summarise your key findings. The summary and conclusion should be brief and engaging, allowing the reader to easily understand the major findings of the research work. Provide clear answers to the research questions, generate new knowledge and clarify the need for the study.
Future perspective: this section of the thesis (which is often combined with a summary or conclusion) talks about the study's limitations, if any, and indicates the directions for future studies based on your findings.
References or bibliography: the last section should include the list of articles, websites and other resources cited in the thesis.
Always remember that, depending on the department, university or field of study, you might have to follow specific guidelines on how to organise your PhD thesis. Ensure you consult your supervisor or academic department if you have any doubts.
Shama Prasada Kabekkodu is a professor and head of cell and molecular biology at Manipal School of Life Sciences, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, India.
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In your proposal, you would include goals, previous works, proposed work and methodology, project timeline, expected outcomes, and conclusion. Refer to the application form for specific submission requirements by the funding institution. The following resources may be of assistance: 1. Find a supervisor/ collaborator.
Applications for such approval should be submitted at the time of application for admission. If an applicant intends to write the thesis in Chinese, the 1-page abstract should still be written in English but the Research Proposal may be written in Chinese. Applicants have to include a declaration in their research proposal to confirm whether
the effort needed to produce your thesis does not come as a great shock! Make sure that your supervisor sees, and is given time to comment upon, any essays or draft thesis material that you produce (read the section dealing with the University's Good Practices for Research Postgraduate Students in the latest
Writing a Research Proposal. This section caters for postgraduate students who are either applying for grants, or seeking acceptance onto a higher research degree programme. It offers some basic advice, a few useful links, and a couple of sample proposals. There are a number of sources of advice on writing a research proposal .
In preparing their printed theses and dissertations, students should follow the guidelines and manuals as specified by the HKU Graduate School, and/or the student's own faculty or department. Please refer to the manual prepared by the HKU Graduate School, Preparing and submitting your thesis: a guide for MPhil and PhD students. Students will in ...
Preparing and Submitting Your Thesis: A Guide for MPhil and PhD Students ; The Library's Subject Guides on Writing Theses and Dissertations; S ubmission of Dataset of Research (if applicable) Editing of Abstracts of Research Postgraduate Theses ; Electronic Thesis Submission (Final Thesis) Printing of Final Bound Thesis
Before submitting, please check 'Format of HKU ETDs' for proper computer format and number of files to submit, and ' Create an ETD ' on instructions on how to convert your thesis to a PDF file. When you are ready to submit, login to the E-Form with your HKU Portal account or via a combination of your student ID, telephone number, and HKID.
thesis material: include in your estimate of how long it will take you to produce your thesis the time that he or she will need to make comments and the time that you will need to follow them up. Organize your reference and source material. When you start collecting reference material try to ensure that it is in a form from which you can import
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6. Research Data. • Deposit data and visit: • HKUL Research Data Services • DataHub • DataHub LibGuide. 7. Ethical Considerations. • Get information on Research Integrity. • Write and cite sources: EndNote 21; ILT02 eLearning@HKUL: Manage Citation with EndNote; EndNote@HKU LibGuide.
How to Prepare Thesis Proposal: A Guide for MPhil and PhD Students highlights the process in preparing a research proposal and basic elements that should be included. Essential Skills for Graduating Students: A series of booklets written for senior PhD students who are soon to embark on the early stages of their post-PhD careers. The topics of ...
The choice of title relates to the choice of topic, which is an important decision for any postgraduate research project. Seeking advice before beginning work on the proposal can help clarify aspects of the topic that are of most interest to you, and that can be strategic in career terms. Common mistakes to avoid: Titles that are lengthy and ...
Jeffrey Stern offers these simple and straightforward set of considerations for a student preparing to submit a research proposal: A paragraph summarizing your topic of research, who or what will be the object of data collection, how the data will be collected, how it will be analyzed, and what results you expect (possible outcomes).
HKUL subscribes to a rich collection of print and electronic resources in support of the literature review process. Resources range from multi-disciplinary to subject specialized databases. Electronic Resources. There are myriad resources each with its specialty or purpose.
These skills will help prepare you for your future role in the Information Age, whether you teach, research, or use the research results of others. Furthermore, you may be able to better convey the message of your thesis or dissertation in an electronic as opposed to a paper document.
For all other theses producing degrees, the Libraries acquire and store electronic copies only, which are also accessible in the Scholars Hub. For enquiries, please email to [email protected] or call 3917-0908. Enquiries on thesis binding, please email [email protected] or call 3917-2249.
Research Proposal. Form: Form D. 82/903. Length: 1 to 2 pages (500-1000 words), A4 papers. Format: Single-spaced, font size: 11 or 12 point. Faculty of Education (including English Centre and Institute of Human Performance) Research Proposal Summary. Form: Form 271/504. Length: 4 pages. Format: No specific requirement.
Below are some of successful research proposals, submitted for M.Phil. or Ph.D. degrees at Hong Kong University over the past few years. 1. Quantitative orientation. Perceptual, phonetic and acoustic features. 2. Qualitative orientation (1) 3. Qualitative orientation (2)
Do not take the thesis proposal lightly. A good thesis proposal is half-way to a good<br /> thesis. It will help you to focus on what you would like to do and plan to do in your<br /> research. It is also a refl ection of your knowledge of your fi eld of study and research<br /> methodology and how serious you are in doing research. A sloppy ...
Thesis Proposal How to Prepare - The University of Hong Kong . Thesis Proposal How to Prepare - The University of Hong Kong ... hku.hk. You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles. YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
A 6-page Research Proposal Summary on a proforma is required. Language Policy. All MPhil/PhD theses should be written in English. For applicants whose research topic is in Chinese Language Education, approval may be granted for their thesis to be written in Chinese.
The document discusses the challenges students at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) face when preparing their thesis proposals. It notes that crafting a comprehensive and compelling thesis proposal requires meticulous attention to detail, extensive research, and a deep understanding of the subject matter. Seeking professional assistance from HelpWriting.net is one avenue students explore to ...
thesis-proposal HKU - Free download as PDF File (.pdf), Text File (.txt) or read online for free. This document provides guidance for students on preparing a research proposal. It outlines the key elements that should be included in a proposal such as an introduction, literature review, methodology, and expected results. The introduction describes the purpose and importance of the proposal for ...
Approach this by thinking about what readers should understand by the end of the thesis. Ensure you: Give a clear explanation of the purpose and goals of your study. Outline each aim concisely. Explain how you will measure your objectives. Ensure there is a clear connection between each aim.