Initial Dissertation Proposal
Topic: Maritime Strategy and Naval Innovation: Technology, Bureaucracy, and the Problem of Change in the Age of Competition
For the purposes of finalization of the Dissertation Topics, the candidates are required to first submit a 1000 words Dissertation Proposal indicating a proposed Research Scheme. The Research Proposal should contain the following sub-chapters:
?  Introduction of the Dissertation Topic: The researcher is required to introduce the subject and the issue involved in brief. ?
?  Statement of Problem: The researcher is required to explain the debatable issue involved in a research topic. Such issues could be single or multiple. A Statement of Problem is basically a statement that illustrates a clear vision and the overall method that will be used to solve the problem at hand. Usually used when doing research, a problem statement discusses any foreseeable tangible or intangible problems that the researcher may face throughout the course of the project. ?
?  Research Questions: A research question is an answerable inquiry into a specific concern or issue. It is the initial step in a research project. The 'initial step' means after you have an idea of what you want to study, the research question is the first active step in the research project. ?
?  Hypothesis: A research hypothesis is the statement created by researchers when they speculate upon the outcome of a research or experiment. It is an assumption with which the researcher begins its research and throughout the research paper, the researcher should seek to prove or disprove the hypothesis. ?

?  Scope of Study: The researcher is required to identify the broad framework within which the study is designed. The researcher may also highlight the limitations of the study within this segment. ?
?  Objective of Study: The researcher has to identify the aims and objective of the study i.e. what the researcher ?
?  Research Methodology: The method that the researcher adopts to conduct a research i.e. doctrinal or non-doctrinal or empirical. The researcher has to state along with the method the justification of using the method in a research paper / project. Please note that the researcher can use a combination of both the methods as long as the researcher is able to justify the usage of the combined method. ?
?  Literature Review: The researcher has to go through the existing materials (both primary and secondary) and provide a review or assessment of the existing literature. ?
?  Tentative Chapterization: The researcher is required to briefly state how the researcher intends to go about the research. The researcher is required to categorize the paper / project into broad chapter and provide a gist of contents that the researcher intends to include in each chapter. ?Upon scrutinizing the initial dissertation proposal, the course-coordinator will either approve or reject the proposal. In the event of rejection/modification of the proposed Research Proposal, the candidate will have to re-submit another Research Proposal incorporating the suggested changes within a stipulated time fixed by the course-coordinator.