开题报告的撰写主要包括以下几个方面： 1．开题报告名称 开题报告名称就是开题报告名字。这看起来似乎是个小问题，但实际上很多人写专题名称时，往往写得不准确、不恰当，从而影响整个开题报告的形象与质量。那么，如何给开题报告起名称呢？ (1)、名称要准确、规范。 准确就是开题报告的名称要把开题报告研究的问题是什么，研究的对象是什么交待清楚。开题报告的名称一定要和研究的内容相一致，不能太大，也不能太小，要准确的把研究的对象、问题概括出来。 规范就是所用的词语、句型要规范、科学，似是而非的词不能用，口号式、结论式的句型不要用。因为我们是在进行科学研究，要用科学的、规范的语言去表述我们的思想和观点。 这里有一个专题名称叫“培养自主学习能力，提高课堂学习效率”，如果这个题目是一篇经验性
论文，或者是一个研究报告，还不错，但作为专题的名称，则不是很好的。因为专题就是我们要解决的问题，这个问题正在探讨，正开始研究，不能有结论性的语气。若改为“自主学习能力的培养对提高课堂学习效率的影响”则较为妥当。 （2）、名称要简洁，不能太长。 不管是
论文或者开题报告，名称都不能太长，能不要的字就尽量不要，最长一般不要超过20字。 2．研究的目的、意义 研究的目的、意义也就是为什么要研究、研究它有什么价值，研究背景是什么。 这一般可以先从现实需要方面去论述，指出现实中存在这个问题，需要去研究，去解决，本开题报告的研究有什么实际作用。然后，再写开题报告的理论和学术价值。这些都要写得具体一点，有针对性一点，不能漫无边际地空喊口号。 3．研究的指导思想 开题报告研究的指导思想就是在宏观上应坚持什么方向，符合什么要求等。 这个方向或要求可能是哲学、数学、自然科学、政治理论，也可以是科学发展规划，也可以是有关研究问题的指导性意见等。 4．研究的目标和假设 开题报告研究的目标和假设也就是课题最后要达到的具体目的，要解决哪些具体问题。 相对于目的和指导思想而言，研究目标和假设是比较具体的，不能笼统地讲，必须清楚地写出来。只有目标明确、假设具体，才能明确工作的具体方向是什么，才能了解研究的重点是什么，思路就不会被各种因素所干扰。 确定专题研究目标和假设时，一方面要考虑专题本身的要求，另一方面还要考虑开题报告组实际的工作条件与工作水平。 5．研究的基本内容 我们有了开题报告的研究目标和假设，就要根据目标和假设来确定我们这个开题报告具体要研究的内容。 相对研究目标和假设来说，研究内容要更具体、更明确，并且一个目标和假设可能要通过几方面的研究内容来实现，我们不一定是一一对应的关系。 大家在确定研究内容的时候，往往考虑的不是很具体，写出来的研究内容特别笼统、模糊，把研究的目的、意义当作研究内容，这对我们整个专题研究十分不利。 6．研究的步骤和进度 开题报告研究的步骤和进度，也就是开题报告研究在时间和顺序上的安排。 研究的步骤和进度要充分考虑研究内容的相互联系和难易程度。一般情况下，都是从基础问题开始，分阶段进行，每个阶段从什么时间开始，至什么时间结束都要有规定。 7．研究方法和资料获取途径 开题报告研究的方法很多，包括历史研究法、调查研究法、实验研究法、比较研究法、理论研究法等，但在研究性学习中的开题报告研究方法用得最多的是社会调查法和受控对比实验法。一个大的专题往往需要多种方法，小的专题可以主要采用一种方法，同时兼用其他方法。 在应用各种方法时，一定要严格按照方法的要求，不能只凭经验、常识去做。比如，要通过调查了解情况，如何制定调查表，如何进行分析，都不是随随便便发张表，列一些百分数、平均数就行了。 开题报告研究资料的获取途径也很多，包括文献调查、考察调查、问卷调查、设计并进行实验、科学观测等。主要采用哪些资料获取途径，一定要经过充分的研究。 8．研究的成果形式 开题报告研究的成果形式包括报告、
论文、发明、软件、
课件等多种形式。专题不同，研究成果的内容、形式也不一样。但不管形式是什么，专题研究必须有成果，否则，就是这个专题没有完成。 9．研究的组织机构和人员分工 在集体开题报告研究方案中，要写出专题组组长、副组长，专题组成员以及分工。专题组组长就是本专题的负责人。 专题组的分工必须要分得明确合理，争取让每个人了解自己的工作和责任，不能吃大锅饭，但是在分工的基础上，也要注意全体人员的合作，大家共同研究，共同商讨，克服研究过程中的各种困难和问题。 How to write a research proposal When you are applying for a research degree, like the PhD, you will very probably have to write a research proposal as a part of your application file. A PhD is awarded mainly as the result of your making a genuine contribution to the state of knowledge in a field of your choice. Even though this is not the Nobel Prize yet, getting the degree means you have added something to what has previously been known on the subject you have researched. But first you have to prove you are capable of making such a contribution, and therefore write a research proposal that meets certain standards. The goal of a research proposal (RP) is to present and justify a research idea you have and to present the practical ways in which you think this research should be conducted. When you are writing a RP, keep in mind that it will enter a competition, being read in line with quite a few other RPs. You have to come up with a document that has an impact upon the reader: write clearly and well structured so that your message gets across easily. Basically, your RP has to answer three big questions: what research project will you undertake, why is important to know that thing and how will you proceed to make that research. In order to draw the researcher's attention upon your paper, write an introduction with impact, and that leads to the formulation of your hypothesis. The research hypothesis has to be specific, concise (one phrase) and to lead to the advancement of the knowledge in the field in some way. Writing the hypothesis in a concise manner and, first, coming up with a good hypothesis is a difficult mission. This is actually the core of your application: you're going to a university to do this very piece of research. Compared to this, the rest of the application is background scenery. Take your time to think of it. When you have an idea, be careful at the formulation. A well-written hypothesis is something of an essay's thesis: it provides a statement that can be tested (argues ahead one of the possible answers to a problem), it is an idea, a concept, and not a mere fact, and is summed up in one phrase. In some cases, you will have no idea what the possible answer to a problem worth being researched is, but you will be able to think of a way to solve that problem, and find out the answer in the meantime. It's ok in this case, to formulate a research question, rather than a hypothesis. Let those cases be rare, in any way. Another piece of advice when writing your hypothesis, regarding the trendy research fields: chances are great that they're trendy because somebody has already made that exciting discovery, or wrote that splendid paper that awoke everybody's interest in the first place. If you're in one of these fields, try to get a fresh point of view upon the subject; make new connections, don't be 100% mainstream. This will make the project even more stimulating for the reader. Imagine that you are writing about the trendiest subject, with absolutely no change in the point of view, and you are given the chance to make the research. Trends come and go, fast; what are the chances that, in four years' time, when your research is done and you are ready to publish your results, one of those well-known professors who dispose of huge research grants has already said whatever you had to say? Remember how, in a structured essay, right after the thesis you would present the organisation of your essay, by enumerating the main arguments you were going to present? Same thing should happen in a RP. After stating your thesis, you should give a short account of your answers to those three questions mention earlier. State, in a few phrases, what will be learned from your research, that your project will make a difference, and why is that important to be known. You will have to elaborate on both of these later in the paper. The next step in writing your proposal is to prove that that particular piece of research has not been done yet. This section is usually called Literature Review. Inside it, you have to enumerate and critically analyze an impressive list of boring bibliography. The conclusion you should - objectively! - reach is that your idea of research has not been undertaken yet. Even more, you use this opportunity to prove solid theoretical knowledge in the field, and build the theoretical bases of your project. One tip: don't review all the articles and books in the fields even if you mention them in the bibliography list; pay attention in your analysis to those you will build on. Another one: avoid jargon when writing your RP. The chances are great that the person(s) who will read your and another 1000 research proposals are not specialists in that very field - niche you are examining. If you are applying for a grant with or foundation or something similar, it might happen that those reading your paper are not even professors, but recruiters, donors, etc. And even if they actually are professors, one of the reasons busy people like them agree to undertake a huge, and sometimes voluntary, work, is the desire to meet some diversity, some change from their work - so maybe they'll read applications for another specialisation. The capacity to get your message across in clear, easy-to-grasp concepts and phrases is one of the winning papers' most important advantages. So far, you have proven you have a research idea, that you are familiar with the field, and that your idea is new. Now, why should your project be worth researching? Because it advances knowledge, ok. But is this knowledge that anybody will need? Maybe nobody knows for sure how the shoelaces were being tied in the XIXth century, but who cares, beyond two lace-tying specialists? Find arguments to convince the reader that s/he should give you money for that research: practical use, accelerating the development of knowledge in your or other fields, opening new research possibilities, a better understanding of facts that will allow a more appropriate course of action are possible reasons. Be clear and specific. Don't promise to save the world, it might be too much to start with. Even James Bond succeeds that only towards the end of the movie. We approach now one of the most difficult parts of writing a research proposal: the methodology. In short, what actions are you going to take in order to answer the question? When will you know whether the hypothesis has been proven wrong, or has survived enough tests to be considered, for now, valid? Those tests and the way you are supposed to handle them to give rigor to your research is what is understood under methods. Methods divide in qualitative (interviews, questionnaires) and quantitative (statistics, stuff that deals intensively with numbers). For some projects qualitative methods are more appropriate, for some quantitative, while for most a mixture of the two is adequate. You should pick your methods and justify your choice. Research methodology, however, is too a complicated thing to be explained here. And this is why it's so tough: not much attention is given to teaching it in Eastern Europe. Try, before writing your RP, to read a bit more about methodology - on the Internet you will find for sure some articles - and decide which methods suit your project best. Don't forget: reading theoretical pieces of your work and providing a critical analysis of those is also a kind of research. It's fine to provide a rough schedule of your research; some grant programs will also require a detailed budget, even though for scholarships this is unlikely. Conclusions: After working your way through the difficult methodological part, you only have to write your conclusions. Shortly recap why your hypothesis is new, why it advances knowledge, why is it worth researching and how, from a practical point of view, are you going to do that. Overall, the capacity of your project to answer the research question should come out crystal clear from the body of the paper, and especially from the conclusions. If this happens, it means you have a well-written RP, and you have just increased you chances for having a successful application. One last word: how big should your RP be? In most cases, this is specified in the application form. If it is not, we suggest that you keep it at about 1500 words (that's 3 pages, single-spaced, with 12 size Times New Roman). In fewer words it can be really tough to write a good RP. With more you might bore your readers. Which we hope will not happen. Good luck
