Hi all,
after finishing my MA degree, I am applying now to a university in Canada. In the application they ask me to provide: a narrative statement (3-4) pages stating research interests, professional goals and expectations.
Does anyone have an idea of what I can write in this statement. Can you give me some guidelines. Do you have a similar kind of statement that you submitted with your application for the PHD.
Thank you all for your help,

Please any suggestion?????

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Hi Canonly,

I think that applications are quite specific and since you haven't mentioned what area you're researching (science, social science, arts?) it's difficult to give you useful advice.

You will need to do a lot of reading obviously, in order create a good proposal of your research interests that acknowledges what has already been researched and published. There are lots of good guidebooks for PhD candidates that dedicate chapters to applications. You should try get your hands on one of them as I found them very useful.

Thank you lughna for your answer. Actually my area of specialization is education. Is it really a proposal that I have to submit? I mean should it be very formal or just an idea of what I am aiming at or looking forward in the future in my research. I'm afraid as this statement is considered very important in the evaluation of my application. Can you suggest a guidebook for me? Is there any sample of a statement paper for an education PHD student that I can take it as an example?

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Your proposal should be quite specific. You will need to identify a specific area for your research, even though they may later suggest you amend it. Here is a good brief summary I found http://www.lums.lancs.ac.uk/phd/PhDproposal/
I can't remember the specific books I used, but if you do a search on amazon for phd or research guides I'm sure you will be in luck. :)

Normally a proposal should be between 1500 and 2000 words and will include the following:

A working title of the topic area:

This should do more than convey the key words associated with the proposed research.

General overview of area:

This should take the form of a brief abstract of the general area of study and identify the discipline(s) within which it falls. You might also refer to the way in which your own background gives you competences in your chosen area.

Identification of the relevant literature:

In this section you should develop your proposal to demonstrate that you are aware of the debates and issues raised in relevant bodies of literature. References to key articles and texts should be made to show that you appreciate their relevance to your research area. A PhD is an original piece of research and so you should demonstrate that your proposed area has not been studied before. So you need to identify your niche which will lead on to the thesis preparation.

Key research questions:

Since you need to demonstrate that the topic can be completed within the normal time period allowed, you need to demonstrate that it is manageable, and so focus on key questions within your niche area.

Methodology:

You need to demonstrate an awareness of the methodological tools available to you and show some understanding of which would be suitable for your research. It may be that qualitative methods, including the analysis of interviews, is appropriate. Alternatively your approach may involve forecasting or statistical, financial or econometric modelling. In other cases you may be combining methodologies. You need to specify the approach you feel will be most appropriate.

Timescale/research planning:

You need to demonstrate an awareness of the need for planning and the timescale of the research.

Bibliography:

You should include a short list of references to key articles and texts included in the application.

Avoid

Broad topic areas which would be unmanageable as PhD topics
Vague descriptions of research areas
Subject areas where [the university] has no expertise.