An abstract is an independent, short and meaningful description of the longer, subsequent project description. It should include the objective, thematic scope, methods and conclusions. An abstract is not an evaluation, but a description that should enable the reader to quickly grasp the content of the project and assess its relevance. In addition, up to five keywords can be mentioned here.

The thorough literature research and its discussion is the first step in the preparation of the proposal. The point of a research proposal is not to present the history of the field, but to briefly and precisely present the current status and show where further research is needed. If you know the literature, you can easily describe the research subject concisely. This means stating the research idea and developing the research question from it.

At least the potential supervisor is very knowledgeable in the subject area you are planning to do your doctorate. It will be noticed if you omit important publications or if your research question is not flawlessly elaborated. In addition, the project should be formulated in a clear and understandable way.

The next step in writing a strong proposal is to develop the research question. This research question should be based on the current state of research and literature, and the answer should be derived from your own findings.

The aim should be derived directly from the state of research and your own preliminary work. If appropriate, formulate one or more hypotheses that you can accept or reject based on your findings. It is also helpful to define intermediate aims that will help to answer the research question itself. For example, if a new method is to be developed, the development and evaluation of this method may be a valid intermediate aim. The objectives can be used to structure the work plan.

The methodological approach is the most important part of the research proposal. It describes how the research question is to be answered, which methods will be used and why exactly these and no other methods will be used. Last but not least, it must be estimated here in which period of time which interim result can be achieved. It must be clear that the planned procedure is well considered and that the planned procedures are feasible.

In summary, the expected results of the project are to be described in more detail and how they contribute to the knowledge in the respective research area. It should be outlined, how the novel outcomes can increase the impact of the project in a broader scientific, social, economic or technological way.

Please add a list of the literature you have cited in your proposal. This list should be complete and consistently formatted.

In addition, a work plan as a Gantt chart must be attached. This includes the listing of the individual work packages in the context of the study programme and the estimated amount of time to complete the work packages.

In addition to the intermediate goals to be achieved (including periods for research, analysis and writing), the compulsory curriculum or research stays abroad should be taken into account.