Full-time students must submit their SECOND research plan by 15 June of the second year of the programme.
Part-time students will submit their 2nd research plan in the third year of the programme. In the fourth year, they must submit a Progress Report with the approval of their advisor. This Progress Report will not be submitted for evaluation. This report will include the II Research Plan together with the advances, changes and modifications produced in the dissertation project.
All research plans shall be submitted with the approval of the advisor. The plans are evaluated anonymously by a lecturer of the programme. Students will receive the assessment that corresponds to their plan. If the plan receives an unfavourable evaluation, the student must submit it again in December. A second unfavourable evaluation of the research plan will result in withdrawal from the doctoral programme.
Instead of the 2nd Research Plan, students may submit an article closely related to their Dissertation, published or approved in one of the indexed journals selected in the corresponding line of research. The article must have been submitted and accepted during the course to be evaluated and indexed in FECYT (Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology).
With regard to the authorship of the articles, in each paper no more than two signatories (director and student) or more than three signatories (in the case of a co-advised dissertation, the two co-advisors and the student).
The SECOND Research Plan should consider the following formal aspects::
- It will have a minimum length of 16,000 and a maximum length of 20,000 words, not including bibliography and Annexes
- Font: TNR 12, line spacing 1.5
- Coherence between the different sections of the plan
- Correct and careful writing style
The SECOND Research Plan must include at least the following headings:
- Title
- Author and advisor
- Abstract (300 words)
- Key words: minimum 3
- Progress, changes, modifications produced in the project.
- Origin and justification of the project
- Describe why the research came about and why it is being conducted.
- Justify that the research topic is current, relevant and significant..
- Research goals and problems
- Define the situation that requires a study on this topic and in a specific context that generates a research problem
- The goals must be clear, feasible and appropriate to the timetable and methodological process of the dissertation
- Literature review..
- It should include around 60 references from JCR journals related to the research topic. These journals should be selected from JCR, SCOPUS or from the list of other journals selected in the corresponding line of research.
- The theoretical framework must be adjusted to the research problem posed
- The literature review should refer to the most recent work on the research problem and anchor in national and international studies
- Use of citations for bibliographic references following APA style
- Research design:
- Explain the type of research, approach or paradigm in which it is framed
- Describe phases and tasks of the research process and the relationship between them
- Sample: Describe the number, types of participating subjects and their characteristics, access to the sample, negotiation processes, etc.
- Data collection instruments: Describe and provide the different instruments and explain validation process (if necessary)
- Data analysis: Explain the analysis model used
- Schedule: Detail the phases carried out and planned
- Results; Results are handed in in advances or expected results are presented, which may be discussed with previous works
- References (following APA standards)
Before submitting the RP for evaluation, the student must analyse the similarity and coincidence index via Turnitin through the "Doctorate class" the programme invites them to.