Abstract
To set off the thought process behind a research proposal, I propose a framework of questions, rooted in the discourse theory of reasoning. This framework is based on answering three main
questions: a broad research question, a more focused research question and a set of investigative
questions. At its core is the focused research question which is simply a restatement of the
students preferred thesis from a set of alternative answers to the broad research question. Using
discourse theory, I argue that is important for the student to “listen” out for alternate answers
before settling on a preferred thesis. My underlying motivation
for this paper is to improve the efficiency of both the supervision and student research process.