Following are some guidelines for dissertation proposals.  Students may use one of the following formats.  Any use of human subjects (surveys, polls, etc.) must first be approved by the Office of Research Subject Protections at George Mason University, website http://www.gmu.edu/research/ORSP/ 

       

Sections of a dissertation proposal: (City University of New York)

• A clear statement of the problem; background to the problem; identification of the research question.
• A critical literature review, often in several relevant areas.
• A clear statement and exposition of the research questions, hypotheses, or issues to be pursued. 
• A detailed description of various research methods, instruments to be used, procedures to be followed, and the kind of data analysis that is planned.
• Agreements with participating institutions, consent forms for participants, and approval from the GC Committee on the Protection of Human Subjects. 

Sections of a dissertation proposal:  Emory University http://www.des.emory.edu/mfp/proposal.html

• Introduction and Theoretical Framework
• Statement of the Problem
• Purpose of the Study
• Review of the Literature
• Questions and/or Hypotheses
• The Design--Methods and Procedures
• Limitations and Delimitations
• Significance of the Study
• References
• Appendixes

Sections of a dissertation proposal: Institute of international Studies, UMN http://hegis.umn.edu/pubs/Watts_2001_Proposal_writing.pdf

• Theory
• The research question
• Research design
• Background and history
• Timeline
• Budgeting
• Concepts and terminology (with bibliography)
• Appendices

Sections of a dissertation:  David R. Krathwohl and Nick L. Smith, How to Prepare a Dissertation Proposal:  Suggestions for Student in Education and the Social and Behavioral Sciences (Syracuse, NY:  Syracuse University Press, 2005), p. 6.

• Problem Statement
• Literature Review
• Method Statement
• Study Results
• Interpretation and Conclusions

A good dissertation proposal will do most of the first 3 for you!