Research funding and project outline proposals

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Research funding and project outline proposals

• Funding for TS research
• AHRC doctoral awards
• Writing a project outline

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UK-based funding for TS

• Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)
• MA awards schemes
• Doctoral awards scheme
• Research grants for university staff
• 75 million annual budget
• Funded, like other research councils, through
  Office for Science and Innovation, within DTI
  (government Department for Trade and Industry)
• British Academy
• Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)

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AHRC aims to

• Support and promote high-quality and innovative
  research in the arts and humanities
• Support the development of skilled people for
  academic, professional and other employment
• Promote awareness of the importance of arts and
  humanities research and its role in understanding
  ourselves, our society, our past and our future,
  and the world in which we live
• Ensure that the knowledge and understanding
  generated by arts and humanities research is
  widely disseminated for the economic, social and
  cultural benefit of the UK and beyond
• Contribute to the shaping of national policy in
  relation to the arts and humanities

www.ahrc.ac.uk
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AHRC helps postgraduates to

• Make significant contributions to the advancement
  of knowledge and understanding
• Develop as highly skilled researchers ready for
  careers in the higher education and other sectors
• Develop the skills required by the
  knowledge-driven economy, and demonstrate the
  arts and humanities contribution to the UKs
  cultural, social and economic well-being

www.ahrc.ac.uk
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AHRC doctoral awards

• A doctoral thesis is a piece of work that
• exhibits substantial evidence of original
  scholarship and contains material that can be
  prepared for publication, and
• can be produced by a capable, well-qualified and
  diligent student, properly supervised and
  supported, within the period of award.

www.ahrc.ac.uk
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AHRC A funding application must

• define a series of research questions or
  problems that will be addressed in the course of
  the research
• define its objectives in terms of seeking to
  enhance knowledge and understanding relating to
  the questions or problems to be addressed 

www.ahrc.ac.uk
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AHRC A funding application must

• specify a research context for the questions or
  problems to be addressed
• specify
• why it is important that these particular
  questions or problems should be addressed
• what other research is being or has been
  conducted in this area
• what particular contribution your project will
  make to the advancement of creativity, insights,
  knowledge and understanding in the area

www.ahrc.ac.uk
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AHRC A funding application must

• specify the research methods for addressing and
  answering the research questions or problems
• state how you will seek to answer the questions,
  or advance available knowledge and understanding
  of the problems
• explain the rationale for your chosen research
  methods and why you think they provide the most
  appropriate means by which to answer the
  questions.

www.ahrc.ac.uk
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AHRC Assessment criteria

• Evidence of intellectual purpose and originality
• Details about your reasons for, and approach
  towards, undertaking your proposed study
• A good awareness of the research context

www.ahrc.ac.uk
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Tips for your project outline

• Present your case clearly and concisely
• Do not repeat information
• Make sure you answer what, why, how questions
  in relation to your project
• Your proposal should convince assessors of the
  merits of the project and of your ability to to
  carry it out
• Follow the conventions of academic writing

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Usefulness of task

• Preparation for MA proposal
• Starting point for (AHRC) PhD proposal
• Valuable practice for similar tasks in
  professional life, e.g.
• applying for funding in professional context
• bidding for contract
• convincing employer, work colleagues etc. to
  pursue project/change/initiative

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Further reading

• Guidance and notes for applicants
• AHRC www.ahrc.ac.uk
• ESRC www.esrc.ac.uk
• British Academy www.britac.ac.uk
• University of Michigan guide to funding
  applications www.research.umich.edu/proposals/pwg
  /pwgcontents.html
• European Foundation Centre www.fundersonline.org/
  grantseekers/proposal_basics.html
• Abstracts of completed theses
• TSA
• CTIS website (also theses in progress)
• UMI Dissertations (mostly North American),
  accessible through JRUL website

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Next

• Methods for ST-TT analysis