This book is an essential guide for current and prospective international doctoral students wishing to apply and study for a PhD in the UK, and other countries where courses are conducted in English.

Peter Samuels is a Senior Lecturer in Research Practice in the Graduate School of Management at Birmingham City University, UK. He has a background in education research, academic writing training and applied statistics support. He lectures in proposal writing and research methods and coordinates the supervision of about 1,500 masters research projects per year.

Part I: Introducing the Doctoral Proposal Introduction 1. The Doctoral Journey; Part II: Selecting and Presenting Your Topic 2. Selecting Your Topic 3. Writing Your Front Matter; Part III: Academic Writing 4. Structuring Your Proposal 5. Academic Writing Style 6. Using Evidence 7. Paragraph Writing 8. Argumentation; Part IV: Writing the Rest of Your Proposal 9. Writing the Rest of Your Introduction 10. Literature Reviews 11. Conceptual Frameworks 12. Writing Your Methodology/Method Section 13. Producing a Schedule and a Budget 14. Referencing; Part V: After Submitting Your Proposal 15. Presenting and Defending Your Proposal 16. Writing Another Proposal 17. Planning and Managing Your Research 18. Managing Your Supervisory Relationships 19. Next Steps in Your Research