Before undergoing any piece of written work (regardless of magnitude) one should always consider writing a proposal.  Firstly, and most importantly this enables ideas to be developed and cemented, which of course will give focus to the subject reading, which in turn will make the reading more productive. Secondly, a proposal is a good way to identify potential resources whilst also helping to formulate research methods.  Thirdly, if a proposal has been constructed in good time, then the dissertation supervisor has the opportunity to have an input and if necessary give advice and direction. Finally a proposal will help with time management, in that once potential resources and research methods have been identified, one can then being to ascertain the probability of being able to access such resources, whilst also bearing in mind the availability or distance that may be needed to be travelled in order to access resources (McMillan & Weyers, 2007).

The foundation for planning this dissertation was taken from a book called ‘How to write Dissertations & Project Reports’ by Kathleen McMillan and Jonathan Weyers.  In their book they outline the importance of planning, when is considering writing a dissertation. Below is a list of some of the fundamental aspects that McMillan and Weyers consider to be an important feature of the planning process:

·        Do you have a correct and current interpretation of the research topic?

o   This is very important as is eradicates the chance of wasting copious amounts of time and effort writing/reading on matters that may be of no concern.

 

·        Have you sufficiently developed a hypothesis or relevant focus area, such as an historical era or event?

o   Again this will help to save time, as your research will be focused and specific.

 

·          Is your research proposal realistic, in that can the objectives being achieved in the time frame provided?

o   A crucial point as if there is not the time to produce a worthy piece of research/writing, then this is going to be evident when it comes to grading.

 

·        Will the research allow you to develop a skill set that is transferable to real life?

o   If not, this begs the question as to why you have chosen topic!  Surely it makes much more sense to choose a topic that may help with future aspirations.

 

·        Is the proposal a realistic match to your abilities?

o   Very important, as interesting a subject may be, if you are trying to strike above your ability, then very quickly you may find that the topic is a struggle and that it loses its appeal.  Also if the end objective is grades, why not tackle a subject you can shine in, this will fist make it enjoyable and secondly this should further your chance at getting better grades.

 

·        Are you likely to gain access to the research material needed?

o   This kind of speaks for itself, in that there is no point even attempting to tackle a subject if you are not able to access relevant research material.

 

·        Are the proposed ideas and structure of the dissertation apparent?

o    This point speaks volumes, as regardless to the amount of effort and resources that have been allocated to a project, is it does not flow in a coherent and structured manner, then the reader (who is likely to be the invigilator) is going to ether become very board or very frustrated, which again is likely to translate in to a lower grade.

 

·        Does your project meet the criteria set out by your institute?

o   Absolutely paramount! How many times have you heard ‘great essay, but you failed to meet the learning objectives!’

 

Proposed dissertation topic

 

Losing Ground: How a nation lost their land in the 20^th century! Palestine and Israel, through a sociological lens.

 

What in particular about this topic do you want to explore from a sociological perspective?

I would like to explore classical and contemporary theories that would explain how a country the size of Israel has managed to violate so many international laws under the UN convention, whilst maintaining their innocence and avoiding being taken to account by the international community.  Also I am interested in how Israel justifies the aggression and persecution that they inflict on the Palestinians on a daily basis, whilst also condemning the Palestinians and labelling them terrorists because they fight for self-determination.  What is of real interest to me is not so much how the Israelis view the Palestinians (and vice versa), although this will be a dominate factor of my dissertation, but how both countries are viewed internationally, and why certainly here in the West we seem more concerned with the plight of Israel than that of Palestine.

What reading have you done around this topic already/which modules you have undertaken in sociology have referred to this topic area?

The social movements’ module has probably been the most influential module for me; I did like classical sociological thinkers although it was a little dry at time.  The social movements’ was good as it was current and exciting, it brought classical and contemporary theories together, and better still it actualised the theories ‘real time’, in that within the module we were able to apply theories to real every day current affairs.

Reading that I have under taken so far, Key sociological theories and their theorists:

Identity theory, (symbolic Interactionism) George Herbert Mead, Erving Goffman, Sheldon Stryker

‘Other’, modern day orientalism and imperialism, Karl Marx, Edward Said

Sociological imagination, C Write Mills and the Chicago School of Sociology

Media control and propaganda, Noam Chomsky, Peter Joseph

 

Other topic fear, religion, human rights, ethics, space, dominant majority, sanctions (or lack of)

 Bibliography

McMillan, K. & Weyers, J., 2007. How to write dissertaions and project reports. 1st ed. Esseax: Pearson Education Limited.