MILESTONE TWO - The Research Project
Aims of the Research Project Milestone
During the second semester of the first year, Candidates are expected to focus their work and attention on the specific subject that will become their PhD Thesis. They will still follow Doctoral Courses, attend to ABC Research Conferences, other events or activities, in the Department or wherever they can get to the edge of the actual knowledge, following as much as they can their R&T Plan (or negotiating a change with their Supervisors).
Moreover, in the second semester, Candidates are expected to consolidate the choice of their Research Topic, to advance in the understanding of the state of the art about that topic and to choose the field of work to be deepened, to identify a clear Research Question (RQ) and to define how to give an answer to it, writing a Research Project, that will present the Research Methodologies to be adopted and the main steps anmd the resources needed, so that it will be feasible in about two years of work.
It is particular important that the RQ comes in the framework of the State of the Art (SoA). The text of the project is also expected to face the following questions:
- How much is that RQ original? Of course the more original it is, the higher is the probable impact of its answer(s) but, while looking for those who may be facing the same question, be open and consider also non strongly related researches. How many other people are facing similar problems? How many other problems are directly or indirectly related to your RQ? may be in very different fields? Originality is related to the idea of a knowledge gap, of an unexplored space in your field of work. Check if anyone
- How much important (from a social, economical, environmental or just cultural point of view)is the answer that your PhD thesis will give to the world?
In this way, you will face the question of the impact of your research work and that of your future impact, as research.
Structure and content of the PhD Research Project
A Research Project may be organized in many ways and this is just one of the possible organization of its content.