Interrogating Your Own PhD Proposal

I'm a sponsored student. This means that my PhD proposal has been scrutinised at a variety of different levels: by my supervisors, my funder and by the admissions panel of my institution. Guess what though? This does not mean that my research is'good to go'. 

It seems rather obvious now, but my experience as a newbie PhD researcher has taught me one key thing about the nature of social research. It is an entirely ITERATIVE PROCESS. Yes, of course all of the 'Writing Effective Research Proposals' books I read at the very start did warn me of this, but there's nothing quite like experience to really reaffirm the truth of those statements you stumble upon whilst browsing through the yellowing and slightly moth eaten texts the library houses. Indeed, sometimes you have to go backwards, in order to move forwards.

In preparation for my Annual Progress Review in May, I have been continuously revisiting and reworking my research plan in the hope that I can produce a thing of out right beauty before the panel. As you may already be aware, I have a rather startling image of what APR will be like, and so, in light of this, I am endeavouring to be as prepared as humanly possible for any questions or concerns raised as by my research. The faculty training session I attended on what to expect from APR did make the entire process seem like it would resemble a traumatising interrogation scene. 

'What is your justification for the number of participants you have outlined? 20- 25, this is a specific figure, why have you forecast this quantity? What will you endeavour to do to gain this amount? What will happen if you do not achieve this amount? Have you comprised a recruitment strategy Plan B? What are the consequences of said Plan B for the outcomes of your research? Will your aims be compromised?'

...(trying not to hyper ventilate)...so many questions about just one aspect of my design...and breathe...

I have responded to this in the following way: 
Prior self interrogation.

I am aware that this may seem slightly masochistic, but I have now annotated my research plan with a rather extensive list of possible queries, questions and concerns raised by my research, and I am now in the process of writing well-researched and rigorous answers to said questions, and formulating Plan Bs, Cs and (potentially even) Ds simultaneously.

It's a little bit like pulling apart a cake you carefully constructed and very nicely decorated yourself, that or its like, well..I haven't actually resorted to shining lamps in my own eyes and dunking my head in the bath YET. 

I probably could have titled this post 'Deconstructing your PhD Proposal', but it really doesn't have the air of violence and evasiveness I associate with APR...

Kath

x