Many universities require their students to complete some form of pre-dissertation work; a pre-dissertation paper that outlines the potential study, which then can be built into a dissertation proposal. Some of the names that universities call these papers include a concept paper, prospectus, or a research plan.
This portion of the dissertation process can be overwhelming, as your mentor, chair, or committee may not agree at all times, sending you into many cycles of revisions. Academic Advantage Consulting can work to help limit the amount of revisions by ensuring that your work is aligned. In this portion of the dissertation, many committee members are looking for alignment with your problem statement, the purpose of the study, the research questions, and the methodology.
Also, they will want to ensure that the majority of your resources are recent (within three to four years) and there is a clearly defined gap in the literature.