Research proposals for ESRC 1+3 awards - how detailed?

I'm looking at applying to Masters programmes with a view to getting an ESRC 1+3 award. The institutions I'm looking at have all got quota awards.

My question at this stage is how specific/detailed would the research proposal have to be at this stage especially given that I may well be in a much better position to go specific whilst on my Masters, when I have to actually put in the PhD proposal.

If you are looking for a 1+3, are they looking for you to specify a general subject area of interest, and then assessing you on your academic credentials from undergrad level? Or would they require you to have a specific topic with a full timetable of study, description of how it fits in with existing literature etc?

I have got a general theme which I am looking to develop, but I'm concerned at this stage that my knowledge of the relevant literature is not going to be comprehensive enough to do a research proposal until I am at least part way through my Masters...

Reply 1

crafty bison

I am in exactly the same boat so would appreciate an answer from anyone with experience.

Reply 2

probably not

mine was about a page. i talked about what i wanted to do my doctorate on, mentioned a couple of things going on in the area, and pointed out a bit that was missing. and then i talked a bit about what data sources there are that i could use to do it.

i cited nothing properly (i mentioned a couple of names but no papers or anything), and it was probably pretty obvious that i wasn't that on top of the area.

however, both my referees were reasonably senior members of the department, and i'd asked one of them to supervise me, so the people deciding who to give the quota award to had a pretty good idea of what i was like.

if i were in your position, i'd probably informally contact people you're interested in supervising you (just find someone who looks like they know what they're doing, it's unrealistic to expect you to know exactly who's publishing what) and ask if they're taking students on. this is also good as it'll probably give you a much better idea of the places you're applying to.

feel free to ask a lot more about this process.

Reply 3

Kitty Pimms

Mine was two pages, one page of background and research aim, and one of methodology. (My bibliography was an additional two pages). I cited a specific topic and what gap in the literature it arose from, and was quite detailed (although, looking back, wildly over-ambitious) about how to investigate it. I didn't include a timetable, though.