PhD IN POPULATION HEALTH

POP9997: THESIS PROPOSAL GUIDELINES

Students write their thesis proposal under the guidance of their thesis supervisor, co-supervisor (if applicable) and committee
members and then present and defend it orally. After passing the oral defense, student must obtain ethics approval (if
required) before proceeding to data collection. The proposal will normally have been defended towards the middle of the
second year and, at the latest, by the end of the sixth session of registration in the program. A student who is unsuccessful
on the first attempt may be allowed to repeat it once. Failure on the second attempt leads to a grade of NS (not satisfactory)
and withdrawal from the program. Prerequisite: POP9998.

The objective of the thesis proposal defense is to assist the student in planning the most appropriate thesis proposal and to
ensure standards of excellence. The student should demonstrate satisfactory mastery of the topic, of the methodology and
should demonstrate ownership of the thesis proposal.

All scientific investigators must be able to convey information in a succinct but understandable manner. The length of the
thesis proposal must therefore be limited to no more than 20 pages (double-spaced), or 25 pages if the proposed proposal
has two or more conceptually or methodologically separate components, e.g. separate but interrelated papers. The thesis
proposal must include the following (see the description below): an introduction, a literature review, the theoretical/
conceptual framework, methodology, ethics, feasibility, timelines, references and appendices. These components are
described in details below. If the proposal includes two or more methodologically distinct studies, e.g. quantitative and
qualitative, the components outlined above should be included for each study, and presented in a meaningful and succinct
way. The results of pilot studies, if any, should be presented and discussed within the thesis proposal. The structure of the
proposal is left to the discretion of the student and the thesis proposal committee, but should conform to accepted practices
in quantitative or qualitative research in that field. Your proposal should be accepted by your thesis director and committee
members before it can be submitted to the program office.

The proposal must include the following information:

Introduction: The purpose of the introduction is to present the goals of the thesis, the rationale, research questions and the
potential contribution to the advancement of knowledge as well as its potential contribution to practical and current population
health issues. Make a clear statement of the specific research question to be addressed/ the hypothesis to be tested.
Clearly indicate how the thesis proposal (including hypothesis and methods) will contribute to the field of population health.

Review of literature: The review of the literature must be thorough so as to demonstrate knowledge of the area and
understanding of the principal works published on the thesis subject. The length of the review should not exceed six pages
double-spaced. If necessary, a summary review may be included in the body of the proposal and accompanied by a full
detailed review, e.g. a systematic review in an appendix.

Theoretical/conceptual framework: This section should provide a clear and thorough discussion of the theoretical
assumptions that will guide the research and should be no more than three to four pages (double-spaced) in length.

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Methodology: This section must provide clear and precise information on participants, design, data collection techniques,
procedures and verbatim instructions provided to participants. Describe how the data will be analyzed to answer the
research questions and/or test the hypotheses.

Ethics: Ethical issues likely to arise during the proposal should be identified and discussed.

Feasibility: This section should identify issues which are likely to affect the feasibility of the proposal, and discuss how these
will be handled.

Timelines: A table with realistic timelines, with a few key milestones, should be constructed and included.

References: List all references cited in the proposal in the reference section. Do not include material read but not referred to
in the proposal.

Appendices: These provide details of the methods and analysis, such as instructions to participants, information letters and
consent forms, debriefing scripts, data analysis strategy.

Nominating the Thesis Proposal Committee

The nomination of the thesis proposal committee, depending on the circumstances of the student, could be as early as
session three (year 1 from May to August) but must be completed by the end of session 4 (year 2 from September to
December) at the latest. The student, in consultation with the thesis director and co-director (if there is one), must find
individuals who are available and willing to take on the role of members of the thesis proposal committee.

The committee includes the director and co-director (if there is one). Two other members must be nominated to the
committee, and they must be from two different faculties. They can be professors within the University or from another
university, or subject-matter specialists from relevant government departments or agencies as long as there is no cost to the
program.

Each person who agrees to serve on the thesis proposal committee must complete the form Nomination of the thesis
proposal committee. The paper copy will be submitted to the program office for approval. The committee should not meet
until it has been approved by the program office. For students working under the supervision or co-supervision of the director
of the program, it is the Associate Dean of Interdisciplinary Studies of the FGPS who will be responsible for approving the
nomination form.

The thesis proposal committee member’s tasks are:

• provide support and guidance in the student’s planning of the thesis proposal;
• approve the thesis proposal ready for the defense;
• remains available for occasional consultation throughout the research process; and
• participate at the oral defense.

The thesis director serves as chair of the committee and is responsible for ensuring that minutes are kept and distributed to
committee members. Any changes in the composition of the committee must be approved by the program.

Nominating the Extra Examiners

One month before the submission of the thesis proposal the student, in consultation with the thesis director and co-director (if
there is one) must submit the names of one or two extra examiners. Each person who agrees to serve as extra examiner
must complete the form Nomination of the extra examiner to the thesis proposal committee. The paper copy will be
submitted to the program office for approval. In some cases, and granted that no costs be incurred by the University of
Ottawa, one of these members may be a professor from another university as long as there is no cost to the program. The
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extra examiner must have not participated at a meeting of the thesis proposal committee. Professors on the thesis proposal
committee can also serve as internal examiner to the thesis committee provided they are members of the Faculty of
Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.

The extra examiner is responsible to:

• read and evaluate the thesis proposal;
• prepare questions for the defense; and
• participate at the thesis proposal defense.

Once the thesis director and committee members agreed that the proposal is ready for the defense, the thesis director has
the responsibility to inform the program office at pop@uottawa.ca.

The student in consultation with his committee members and extra examiner sets a date and time for the defense. The
student informs the program office which then confirms a room and a chairperson to the student, the director and co-director
(if there is one). It is the student’s responsibility to inform his committee and send a reminder the day before the defense.
The student submits a hard copy of his proposal to the program office as well as to the committee members at least two
weeks before the oral defense. Committee members are asked to bring their questions to the oral defense and not to
communicate to the student in advance. The defense of the thesis proposal is public. The schedule of defenses is available
on the program internet site under Upcoming events. Visit the website regularly.

The defense will normally be chaired by the program director or by a faculty member associate with the program. The
individual who chairs the defense will not be a member of the student’s thesis proposal committee.

The thesis director is responsible for taking notes during the defense.

Fifteen minutes are given to the student to present his thesis proposal. This presentation should focus on the research
questions and the proposed methods. Then there will be a discussion period during which committee members can ask their
questions. Normally, this discussion period will be about an hour and there will be two rounds of questions.

Immediately following the question period, the president will ask the student and the public to leave the room and the
committee will deliberate. The thesis supervisor and co-supervisor (if there is one) will remain in the room during the
deliberation. The committee shall give its decision immediately after the deliberation.

There are three decision categories:

• Approved (suggested revisions), the study can begin subject to ethics approval. Final grade “satisfactory”.
• Approved in principle (revisions required), the study can begin subject to ethics approval. Final grade “satisfactory”.
• Not satisfactory (revisions required, resubmit and defend again). Indicate the reasons on a separate sheet
appended to this form. Final grade “not satisfactory”.

The thesis proposal defense form will be signed by members of the committee, the student, the president and program
director. The form will be available from the president at the defense. A copy will be sent to the student via email.

After the thesis proposal defense and the necessary changes were made, students whose research involves human subjects
(including the analysis of secondary data) must submit their research proposal for approval by the Office of research ethics
and integrity at the uOttawa.

Students conducting pilot studies involving human subjects must submit their research proposal for approval by the Office of
research ethics and integrity even if they have not yet defended their thesis proposal.

The internal thesis examiners can be the same as your thesis proposal committee, as long as they are members of the
FGPS.

Last updated: March 2014

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 PhD in Population Health
Nomination of the thesis proposal committee
The thesis proposal committee members tasks are:
• provide support and guidance in the student’s planning of the thesis proposal;
• approve the thesis proposal ready for the defense;
• remains available for occasional consultation throughout the research process; and
• participate at the oral defense.

If you are a member of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies you may also serve as an examiner to the thesis committee.
Please discuss your role with the director, co-director (if applicable) and the student.

Name of student: ____________________________________________________________________________________

Name of member: ___________________________________________________________________________________

If from the University of Ottawa

Department : _______________________________________ Faculty: ___________________________________

If external to the University of Ottawa

Organization: _______________________________________________________________________________________

Title of position: _____________________________________________________________________________________

Signature: __________________________________________ Date: ___________________________________

Approval of the thesis director:

____________________________________________________ Date: ___________________________________

Approval of the thesis co-director (if applicable):

___________________________________________________ Date: ___________________________________

For office use only

Approval of the Program Director:

___________________________________________________ Date: ___________________________________

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 PhD in Population Health
Nomination of the extra examiner to the thesis proposal committee
The extra examiner is responsible to:
• read and evaluate the thesis proposal;
• prepare questions for the defense; and
• participate at the thesis proposal defense.

The extra examiner must have not participated at a meeting of the thesis proposal committee. If you are a member of the
Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies you may also serve as an internal examiner to the thesis committee. Please
discuss your role with the director, co-director (if applicable) and the student.

Name of student: ____________________________________________________________________________________

Name of member: ___________________________________________________________________________________

If from the University of Ottawa

Department : ______________________________________________ Faculty: ___________________________________

If external to the University of Ottawa

Organization: _______________________________________________________________________________________

Title of position: _____________________________________________________________________________________

Signature: _________________________________________________ Date: ___________________________________

Approval of the thesis director:

___________________________________________________________ Date: ___________________________________

Approval of the thesis co-director (if applicable):

___________________________________________________________ Date: ___________________________________

For office use only

Approval of the Program Director:

___________________________________________________ Date: ___________________________________