Guidelines for the preparation to register a short proposal
(to be attached to the application form)
When you prepare your research proposal, please try to provide an answer to the questions. However your preliminary proposal should not be very long (no more than five single-spaced pages, Times New Romans 12, around 3500 words) but concise and clearly structured in sections, including:
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an abstract in almost 300 words;
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introduction , which identifies the principal questions to be addressed and the literature referred to;
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aims and hypotheses ;
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research design you intend to adopt although in a preliminary manner (sources of data, research sample, methods, measures, techniques and procedures...);
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a statement of how the proposed research would relate to earlier work in the area;
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a statement of whether and how your project is related to a wider research programme developed by your tutor/s (or eventually other research center) and/or in which respect the choice of the tutor/s and of their University might be appropriate for developing your research programme;
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bibliography: you should also support these points by reference to relevant literature. It should be quoted in the text and listed in a bibliography, at the end of your proposal.