Topic outline

  • Welcome to the beginning of your research degree! The first major goal in your research journey is to write a research proposal. The Research proposal writing series of workshops is designed to assist you to do so. The workshops in the series will step you through the elements involved in writing a research proposal, from research reading and record keeping, to writing the literature review, and editing research texts. The workshops will also assist you to prepare and present a research talk for your confirmation of candidature and other academic research forums. Each series is run with either a Business, Social Sciences and Humanities (BSSH), or Sciences, Technology, Engineering, Maths, Medical and health (STEMM) focus. 

    Information about BSSH research proposal writing workshops for 2024, and a link to the EDGEx registration site can be found below. Online resources to support research writing are linked from the right menu. Please read through all of the information on this page and the Frequently Asked Questions from the left menu before registering for and attending a workshop. Save this site to your favourites list!

    Commencing research proposal writing workshops, March to August, 2024

    Date

     Time

    Activity Title

    Location

    5 March10am–12pm, Tues Reading and notetakingZoom
    5 March12.30pm–2.30pm, TuesRP introduction and structureZoom
    20 March10am–12pm, WedsWriting the literature reviewZoom
    20 March 12.30pm–2.30pm, WedsReferencing
    Zoom
    28 March9.30am–2.30pm, Thurs Getting off to a flying start (GOTAFS)CW H5-02 Bradley Forum
    16 April   12.30pm–2.30pm, TuesWriting about methodsZoom
    26 April 12–2pm, FriWorking with supervisors and making the most of your research degree experienceCW JS6-17
    April 29    11.30–1.30pm, MonResearch reading, record keepingCW JS6-17
    April 30    2–4pm, TuesRP introduction and structureCW JS6-17
    May 1   12–2pm, WedsWriting the literature reviewCW JS6-17
    May 2   11am–1pm, ThursReferencingCW JS6-17
    May 13 10am–12noon, MonWriting about methodsCW JS6-17
    June 3    10am–12noon, MonEditing essentialsCW JS6-17 
    July 1  11–1pm, MonResearch reading, record keeping CE P3-18
    July 8 11–1pm, Mon RP introduction and structure CE P3-18
    July 15 11–1pm, MonWriting the literature reviewCE P3-18
    July 22 11–1pm, MonReferencingCE P3-19
    July 29 11–1pm, MonWriting about methodsCE P3-33
    Aug 111–3pm, ThursPreparing for presentations
    CE P3-19
    Aug 1
    3pm–5pm Practicing presentations CE P3-19

    Commencing research proposal writing workshops, October to December, 2024

    Date

     Time

    Activity Title

    Location

    24 Oct
    11am–1pm, ThursWorking with supervisors and making the most of your research degree experience (STEMM and BSSH)Zoom
    25 Oct
    10am–12noon, FriResearch reading, record keeping Zoom
    1 Nov  10am–12noon, Fri RP introduction and structure Zoom
    8 Nov 10am–12noon, FriWriting the literature review Zoom
    15 Nov   10am–12noon, FriReferencing Zoom 
    22 Nov  10am–12noon, Fri
    Writing about methodsZoom
    3 Dec   10am–12noon, Fri Editing essentials
    Zoom

     

    Research proposal writing workshops for business, social science and humanities disciplines are offered as a series of two or two-and-a-half hour workshops at City West and City East campuses and on zoom. It is important to attend all of the workshops in the series at some point in your candidature, but ideally in the first year. It will not be too late or too early for you to benefit from the workshop. The content covered in workshops with the same title is the same. Although some workshops are held consecutively on the same day, it is not compulsory to attend all. Please register for each workshop separately. 

    Workshops involve facilitator-led presentations and group activities, analysis of discipline examples, group or pair discussion of your research and research writing, and individual writing on your research proposal. Please read the relevant online resource on the workshop topic before coming along to a workshop. 

    Zoom workshops

    Workshops are interactive. If you will be attending a workshop via zoom, please ensure you are able to participate in a quiet, private space and that your audio and video is working effectivelyWhen you enter the workshop room it is important to turn your video and audio on. If your audio or video is not working, that's ok, come to the workshop anyway, but please let the group know using the chat function and we'll do our best to ensure you're included in the discussion. No lurking please! It's disconcerting for the group. The zoom link is available on the registration page. It is the same link for all commencing series research proposal workshops, so save the link in your diary. 

    External candidates and just-in-time support

    We do our best to ensure that everyone can access support. Because candidates start at different times of the year and work in both internal and external modes it can be difficult to get enough candidates together at one time to offer a workshop. Some things to bear in mind therefore:

    • Even if you are not working on the workshop topic when the workshop is offered, come anyway! Commencing workshops provide a foundation for your entire candidature. It won't be too late or too early to get useful information that will assist you across your candidature. 
    • It's important to engage with support and to start building networks and connecting with peers early on and throughout your candidature! Research shows that commencing candidates underestimate the importance of peer support and learning, and that isolation can have a negative impact on your candidature. Engaging with others is more important than you may think! The university-wide training events offer an important space where you can meet candidates from across areas. 
    • If you need support on a topic and there is no workshop, the online resources cover key points from workshops, and new resources and updates are added regularly including recordings from academics and librarians at the University about different aspects of writing. 
    • If you are an external student and there won't be a zoom workshop for some time, and/or you can get together at least five committed students at the same time for a zoom workshop, let us know (you can email wendy.bastalich@unisa.edu.au). We can put additional workshops on for you if we have an agreed time and the numbers to do so. 
    • We don't make recordings of the workshops themselves because much of the time in the workshops is spent in private group discussion, or in writing activities. And a recording cannot replace the learning and connection that happens within the engagement and interactivity of a workshop, whether by zoom or face-to-face. 

    REGISTER

    It is important to register for workshops as reminders, pre-workshop activities, and other important information about workshops is forwarded from the registration site to your student email address. Don't forget to check your student email regularly. If you find you will not be able to attend a workshop, please de-register at least two to three days before the workshop. In the two days before the workshop, the system will not allow you to de-register and your record will be 'no show'.  If you can't make it on the day or so before the workshop, email the facilitator via the email link provided on EDGEx to let them know. They will then automatically record your attendance as 'excused'. It is important to de-register or to let the facilitator know if you won't be able to make it to a workshop because we sometimes work with small numbers of participants and we occasionally have to cancel a workshop if we don't have the numbers on the day. Letting us know you won't be able to make it as soon as you can means we can prevent inconveniencing other candidates in the event of a cancellation, some of whom travel a long way to attend workshops.