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About This Guide
This guide was originally created for AN510 / AR510: Proposal Writing for Social Science Research. Advanced undergraduate and graduate students in other social science and humanities fields may also find this guide helpful as they prepare to write grant proposals, theses or dissertations.
Getting Started
- Surviving and Thriving in Postgraduate Research This handbook provides an in-depth exploration of the entire journey of postgraduate research in the social and behavioural sciences, from enrolment to its culmination in the form of a thesis, dissertation or portfolio, and beyond. It is written in an accessible and example-rich style, offering practical and concrete advice in virtually all areas.
- Foundation Directory Online (Candid) This link opens in a new window Foundation Directory Online provides information on grantmakers and their grants. It covers U.S. foundations, corporate giving programs, and grantmaking public charities, plus a growing number of non-U.S. grantmakers. Features include a database of recently awarded grants and a keyword-searchable database of recently filed IRS Forms 990 and 990-PF. This database is part of Candid, a nonprofit knowledge bank for the social sector.
Additional Resources on the Literature Review, Research/Grant Proposal Writing, and Dissertation Writing
Writing the Grant & Research / Dissertation Proposal
- The Grant Writing Guide: A Road Map for Scholars A practical guide to effective grant writing for researchers at all stages of their academic careersGrant funding can be a major determinant of promotion and tenure at colleges and universities, yet many scholars receive no training in the crucial skill of grant writing. The Grant Writing Guide is an essential handbook for writing research grants, providing actionable strategies for professionals in every phase of their careers, from PhD students to seasoned researchers.
- Writing a Proposal for Your Dissertation : Guidelines and Examples The encouraging book that has guided thousands of students step by step through crafting a strong dissertation proposal is now in a thoroughly revised second edition. It includes new guidance for developing methodology-specific problem statements, an expanded discussion of the literature review, coverage of the four-chapter dissertation model, and more.
Literature Reviews
- Succeeding with Your Literature Review: a Handbook for Students Written by an author with extensive experience of supervising and examining undergraduate, Masters and doctoral dissertations, this book covers the latest trends, such as: RSS feeds, wikis, grey literature, blogs and forms of open access publishing. The book also includes examples of common pitfalls, good practice, key terms and questions to reinforce student learning and reflection.
Dissertation Writing
- Thesis and Dissertation Writing in a Second Language A guide for non-native speaker students working on writing a thesis or dissertation in English.
- On the Dissertation: How to Write the Introduction What makes a good introduction for a dissertation? Graduate students practice critiquing one another’s thesis chapters, but they rarely read the introductions — usually because those are written to meet a defense deadline. Which is why when you need to write one, you can find yourself with neither experience nor models.
- The PhD Writing Handbook This detailed, step-by-step guide to the secrets of successful PhD writing will be essential reading for PhD students and their supervisors across a wide range of disciplines.
Librarian
This guide was originally authored by Chris Smith, April, 2023.