The Extended Research Proposal (ERP)

Every MSc Cartography student will have to submit an ERP, and Extended Research Proposal, normally within 3-4 weeks after the start of the 4th Semester. The objective of the ERP is that the student shows s/he is be able to write a coherent MSc thesis research proposal and present and defend this in front of their Thesis Assessment Board (TAB), consisting of minimum three members: a chair, the student’s supervisor(s) and the reviewer. It should show that s/he can:
  1. Define ways to tackle a scientific problem and structure research
  2. Place his / her research project in a wider scientific and societal context
  3. Structure his / her proposed scientific research to the specifications of the scientific discipline
  4. Meet quality standards in research practice (eg. using proper referencing, reasoning, etc.)
  5. Present scientific information in written English at a standard acceptable to the scientific community

The ERP will be assessed by the TAB. No mark will be given for the thesis research proposal, only an indication of “Completed” or “Fail”, with suggestions and recommendations for revisions and improvement. In case the proposal is rejected (i.e. a “Fail”), there are two options: either the student will not be allowed to continue with the thesis research at all, or the student will be required to make adjustments to the proposal. The main purpose of the assessment of the proposal is to establish whether the planned MSc research is of the standard required, so that the proposal forms a solid starting-point for the execution of the thesis research (from an academic point of view).

[NOTE: in an older version (v3.0) of the student handbook there was talk of a required flowchart in your ERP. This was changed to read “including data availability, research question, planned methodology to answer those, and a time planning”. So a flowchart is optional!]
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