Research Concept Paper Outline: Template For Writing a Concept Paper

 

What is a Research Concept Paper?

Before you begin writing a research project, you need to first write a Concept Paper. A Research Concept Paper is a short summary that tells the reader what the project is, why it is important, and how it will be carried out.

A Concept Paper is helpful for the researcher because it helps them to spot holes in her or his project that might later prove fatal if ignored.

The Concept Paper also opens the communication link between the doctoral student and the doctoral committee.

Essentially, a Concept Paper serves the same purpose as a proposal, that is, it allows the student the opportunity to define a research focus and obtain early feedback from the committee on the research idea.

A well-planned Concept Paper will capture the interest of the dissertation committee and establish a clear plan for the student’s dissertation.

 

When is the Research Concept Paper Written?

Students are required to write a Concept Paper before they write a dissertation proposal. The Concept Paper serves as a development tool and a summary of the planned dissertation.

 

How Long Should A Research Concept Paper Be?

The Concept Paper is a brief document. Although the length depends on a particular school, the usual length is 2-3 pages.

 

What are the Main Elements of a Research Concept Paper?

The Concept Paper is comprised of many of the same items found in a dissertation. While our guide may work for most students, you are encouraged to check the grading rubric given by your lecturer as it serves as an outline for the required components of your Concept Paper.

 

Research Concept Paper Outline

1.0. Title page

The title of the Concept Paper may later become the title of the dissertation.  The title of the Concept Paper should be a stand-alone statement that can fully describe the project by summarizing the main idea of the manuscript.  The title of a concept paper should concisely identify the variables being investigated and the relationship among those variables.  Use your words carefully and ensure every word serves a useful purpose. Therefore, you should avoid words that do not add substance or misleading words.  

 

2.0. Statement of the Problem

Statement of the Problem section provides the purpose of the research.  This section of the Concept Paper serves three purposes:

• introduces the problem under investigation
• addresses why the researcher wants to investigate this problem,
• tells the reader how the research findings may help address the problem. 

The researcher should use supporting documentation such as statistical to emphasize the need for this research. 

This is one of the most important sections of the Concept Paper because it helps the researcher to gain the reader’s attention and support by convincing them that the research is worth doing.  The first few sentences of the Concept Paper should intrigue the reader to pique his or her interest and encourage further reading.

Some of the things you should consider as you begin to write the problem statement of your Concept Paper include:

• why the problem is important
• how your study relates to previous work in the field
• how you will link your hypotheses and objectives to theory
• how the hypotheses relate to the research design. 
• The theoretical and practical implications involved in your research project

A well-developed, concise, and clear problem statement will lay the foundation for a strong Concept Paper and the dissertation that follows.

3.0. Literature Review

A literature review is a summary of the major literature that supports and validates the topic.  The literature review focuses on areas that offer support for new research and offers the student an opportunity to analyze and synthesize past research in the context of their present problem. 

Successful research projects are based on the research of predecessors. The literature review section of the Concept Paper provides enough of a description of previous research to plant seeds in the mind of the reader suggesting more information is needed. 

A strong Concept Paper is based on a wide-range literature review that is condensed into a summary of key points.

 

4.0. Goal Statement

The goals statement outlines the research goals and objectives and tells the reader "who, what, and when” regarding the research goal.

 

5.0. Research Questions

This section lists the questions the student will investigate.  Questions are based on theory, past research, and need. The questions that the student chooses will direct the research methodology. 

For many students, composing the research questions is the most difficult part of the research project, or possibly the most difficult aspect of writing the Concept Paper. 

Since the questions direct everything that will be done in the paper, it is important that they are focused on the main research problem. 

 

6.0. Methodology

The methodology section summarizes the main methods that students will use to conduct the research and analyze the data. The student should link the goals identified in previous sections to the research methods. 

 

7.0. Timeline

This section provides a range of time for completion of the project, highlighting key elements for each stage of the project.

This element is unique to the Concept Paper and acts as a guide for completing the project within a realistic time frame.

 

8.0. References 

Provides references to the material cited in the literature review and elsewhere in the Concept Paper. Students should familiarize themselves with various referencing styles that their school uses to ensure that their concept paper is well referenced.