phd-proposal

Original：🇺🇸 English

Translated

Write, structure, or review a PhD/Master's research proposal. Use when drafting a research proposal, preparing for committee review, writing a thesis outline, or aligning methodology with academic requirements.

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Sourcekinhluan/skills

Added on2026-06-02

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npx skill4agent add kinhluan/skills phd-proposal

SKILL.md Content

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PhD/Master's Research Proposal

Structure and write a rigorous research proposal that satisfies committee requirements.

Standard Proposal Structure (IEEE/ACM CS)

1. Title & Abstract          (~200 words)
2. Introduction              (~500 words)
3. Related Work              (~800 words)
4. Research Questions        (~200 words)
5. Methodology               (~1000 words) ← most important
6. Preliminary Results       (~500 words, if any)
7. Timeline & Milestones     (table/Gantt)
8. Expected Contributions    (~300 words)
9. References                (BibTeX)

Section-by-Section Guidance

1. Title & Abstract

Title formula:

[Method/Approach] for [Problem] in [Domain/Context]

Example: "Federated Multi-Level Feedback Queue Scheduling for Resource-Constrained Healthcare IoT Networks"

Abstract (one paragraph, no citations, no math):

[Context]: In [domain], [background challenge].
[Gap]: However, [specific gap from literature].
[Approach]: We propose [method name], which [key idea].
[Validation]: We evaluate on [datasets/benchmarks] using [metrics].
[Impact]: Results show [expected outcome], enabling [application].

2. Introduction

Hook: real-world motivation (1 paragraph)
Background: what exists (1 paragraph)
Problem: specific gap (1 paragraph)
Solution sketch: your approach (1 paragraph)
Contributions: bulleted list (use
```
research-question
```
output)
Thesis structure: "Chapter 2 covers..."

3. Related Work

Organize by taxonomy (not chronologically):

3.1 [Approach A] — summarize 3-5 papers, explain why insufficient
3.2 [Approach B] — same
3.3 [Your positioning] — "Unlike X, we address Y by Z"

4. Research Questions

State main RQ + 2-4 sub-questions (paste from
```
research-question
```
skill output)
Each sub-question should be answerable in ~1 chapter/paper

5. Methodology (Most Critical)

5.1 Research Paradigm Choose and justify:

Quantitative / Qualitative / Mixed
Paradigm: Design Science Research (DSR) / Experimental / Simulation

5.2 System/Model Design

Input: [what]
Processing: [how — algorithm, model, framework]
Output: [what]
Assumption: [what you assume]

5.3 Experimental Protocol

Datasets: [name, size, source, why chosen]
Baselines: [method1, method2 — why these are fair comparisons]
Metrics: [primary metric] + [secondary metrics]
Evaluation protocol: [k-fold CV / train-val-test split / simulation rounds]
Statistical tests: [t-test / Wilcoxon / effect size — for significance]

5.4 Reproducibility Plan

Code: GitHub repo (public after publication)
Environment: Docker / conda environment file
Seeds: fixed random seeds
Hardware: specify GPU/CPU specs

6. Preliminary Results

Include if you have any early experiments. Even partial results strengthen the proposal.

1-2 preliminary experiments showing feasibility
Small-scale validation of core idea
If none: state "Preliminary experiments are planned for Month 3-4"

7. Timeline & Milestones

For a 2-year Master's program (align with

milestone-tracker

skill):

Phase	Activity	Duration	Milestone
1	Literature review	Month 1-2	Gap matrix complete
2	Method design	Month 2-4	Architecture finalized
3	Implementation	Month 3-8	Working prototype
4	Experiments	Month 7-14	Results table complete
5	Writing	Month 13-18	Draft thesis/paper
6	Revision	Month 17-21	Submission ready
7	Defense	Month 22-23	Defended ✓

8. Expected Contributions

Restate from

research-question

skill, add:

Theoretical contribution (if any)
Practical contribution (system, dataset, tool)
Publication targets (venues + tier)

Committee Checklist

Before submitting proposal for committee review:

Problem is clearly stated in 1-2 sentences
Gap is supported by ≥3 recent papers
RQ is specific and measurable
Methodology is detailed enough to replicate
Baselines are state-of-the-art, fairly chosen
Timeline is realistic (pad 20% for delays)
Limitations are acknowledged
Ethical considerations addressed (IRB, data privacy)

Output Format

Produce a structured Markdown document following the section order above. Export to LaTeX using the

paper-writing

skill templates.

Links to Other Skills

Requires →
```
sota-survey
```
+
```
research-question
```
Feeds into →
```
research-design
```
(methodology details)
Feeds into →
```
milestone-tracker
```
(timeline)
Feeds into →
```
paper-writing
```
(proposal becomes thesis chapters)