Research (proposal) in brief

Ana Pereira Roders

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” - Abraham Lincoln

One of my favourite moments in a research project is to draft its proposal! You want to change the world for the better, and think to know how to do it! Who can not get enthusiastic and hopeful? I always do, my project or yours. However, drafting a proposal can also be very challenging, as we must choose the ONE question and the ONE methodology to apply for a limited period. It can be a short research course, a master's thesis or a PhD research. The same challenge remains.

But, unlike some of you may think, there are no wrong questions or methodologies. Results may fail to confirm your theories, but they are still valid. You always learn more. And others do not need to repeat the same research if you share the results. Unless, someone else disagrees with your results and is willing to check if the results will turn out differently by using a new method or context. The more we (all) research, the more we will discover and be able to advance our fields and disciplines.

Medical researchers would otherwise have stopped researching cancer a long time ago. Instead, they keep researching until they find its cure or the least to improve treatments and mediate symptoms. Every advance, no matter how small, is worth celebrating. If one patient dies, it does not mean all will. Too many variables are to be considered related to matters such as patient, treatment, and context. Only when largely proven, by many contributing to the same field, can working hypotheses become theories.

That is what I hope for my discipline of Architecture and Urban Planning. To learn to acknowledge the varied problem fields in the built environment (rather than ignore or hide them). To actively work towards their solutions by developing ideas and working hypotheses that will not always be successful. Not alone, but together. To make better use of the work of others, moving forward - taking advantage of their findings and gaps. To be more humble, as often research may have been done, but you are simply unaware of it. To detail our methodologies enough that others after us can repeat and advance them.

Another day, through a systematic literature review, I can explain to you how to find the researchers working on your topic, honour their efforts and identify the knowledge gaps. For now, I will leave you with a one-pager, which you can easily take along and compare to your work, titled "Research (proposal) in brief". I hope it helps you advance your field and discipline, one step at a time.

Good luck! Let me know if / how it helped you!

Research in brief.pdf

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