How much should your final thesis fulfil the goals set our in your research proposal? Do Research Councils check? Do potential (academic) employers take it into account? I'm two years into a social science PhD and am finding it increasingly difficult to keep to my original proposal!

Hi Ali It's very common for PhD projects to change direction as they progress, for many reasons. If you are worried about this, talk to your supervisors and I'm sure they will be able to reassure you. All best wishes.

I agree with Ann- most people don't end up doing exactly what it said on their proposal. Your reasons for changing were probably pretty good and valid. I don't think the research concil will check.

The point of a proposal is to get an idea into your heads about what you're doing. It's a brainstorming stage and you may decide later on that somethings are less practical than you initially thought. I was doing an undergrad project this year injecting mosquitoes with beads to test immune reactions and decided after my initial proposal that the bead I was going to use wasn't as good a choice as the bead I ended up using. I don't feel you need to fulfill the goals of your proposal, merely the goals of your title.