Assignment brief Assignment Question: Write a Research Proposal on a topic of

Assignment brief

Assignment Question: Write a Research Proposal on a topic of your interest.

The assignment MUST include ALL of the following exercises:

Exercise 1: Your research question (400 words)

Having now been introduced to the dissertation, the aim of this portfolio exercise is to get you to think about your research question and potential sub-questions. When completing this exercise, you should demonstrate an ability to clearly articulate and communicate your ideas, develop arguments, and structure these in a logical and coherent manner.

What is your research question? What is the issue you want to address or problem you want to solve? What do you want to examine or understand? Write this out as a short and succinct sentence in the form of a question. You may want to include sub-questions that breakdown and refine your main or principal research question.

Write a summary of the central problem you intend to address in your dissertation. Discuss:

Why did you choose this research question or problem? Why does this research need to be done?

Who could this research and its findings be relevant to? Who could the findings be important for?

In what ways?

How could this new knowledge change what we know or what we do? What is the potential impact to people and organisations?

Exercise 2: Locating literature (600 words)

The aim of this portfolio exercise is to develop the bibliographical skills required for locating relevant sources of information for the literature review, and to give you the start of a reading list for your dissertation.

Search for and retrieve three current (within the last 5 years) academic articles relevant to your research question. Once you have identified, downloaded, and read your articles, write a 150-word review of each article focusing on the aims, and main findings, research methods used, and strengths and weaknesses of the research. In this way, you will be starting to critically review this literature to indicate what is known and not known about your research question.

Briefly outline the concepts and theories that are relevant to your research topic. You can provide this as a list or a table. When locating and reviewing the literature, you should demonstrate that you are starting to develop in-depth knowledge and understanding of the relevant literature.

Explain how you will ensure that the evidence that you use is rigorous and reliable.

In addition, provide a list of 10 additional references (academic articles, chapters, or books) that you intend to use in your research. These should be from reputable sources rather than grey literature. If available, one should be a review or meta-analysis related to your broader research question. You should include these in the Reference Section. You should indicate clearly using an asterisk at the start of the reference which are these 10 additional references.

Exercise 3: Research methods (400 words)

You should demonstrate a developed understanding of the different methodologies. So, thinking about your proposed research question evaluate the feasibility of two of the following research methods and tools:

Surveys

Individual or group research interviews

Secondary data

Mixed methods approaches

In your answer, briefly outline the advantages and disadvantages of methods you have chosen.

Exercise 4: Your methodological approach (500 words)

All researchers need to justify the reasons why they choose certain approaches and not others and develop a convincing rationale for their research methods. You should articulate clearly your chosen methodological approach and show a critical reflection of the methodological issues underpinning your study.

For this exercise, outline the approach that you will take in your research, providing a methodological rationale for that. In your answer, reflect on whether a particular methodological approach, or a combination of approaches, is more appropriate for your research question. Consider both the practical and also the ethical processes of the methodological approach you have chosen.

Exercise 5: Your research sample and/or secondary data (500 words) For this exercise you need to consider and answer the following questions.

If you are using primary data:

Who will you target as your research participants and why? Outline your selection and/or exclusion criteria.

Approximately how many participants do you need based on the criteria of representativeness?

Why is this group of participants appropriate for your research?

How will you access and recruit your participants?

Can you identify any major ethical issues that you will need to address?

If you are using secondary data:

What type of data will you be using? Outline your selection and/or exclusion criteria.

How large does the dataset that you will be accessing need to be based on the criteria of representativeness?

Why are these secondary data appropriate for your research?

How will you gain access to the secondary data?

Can you identify any major ethical issues that you will need to address?

If you are using mixed methods, you should still cover the questions above.

Exercise 6: Your analyses (200 words)

Based on the information you have provided for Exercises 1, 4 and 5 on your research question, methodological approach, and research sample, you should now be able to identify the relevant techniques to analyse the data. For this exercise, outline the likely data analysis methods you may take and justify why they are relevant or appropriate to your data.

Exercise 7: Your research plan (400 words)

Planning your work on your dissertation, map the stages and sketch out a timetable for your work. This should include the actual research and the writing of the dissertation. You can supplement your plan with a Gantt Chart included as an Appendix.

In your answer:

List your tasks and goals for each stage with a realistic estimation of time needed for each.

Consider your skills and identify those stages that you feel will prove hardest to undertake or that will take the most time.

Outline any possible risks or difficulties you may encounter and how you plan to overcome these.

Remember to consider the timing of your ethics application if appropriate to your methodological approach.

References:

At the end of your assignment, you should include a properly formatted reference list. For this you will use the Harvard style of referencing (do not use footnotes). For assistance on how to properly reference your sources check: http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/ld/resources/writing/harvard/content/contents. Your reference list will be presented in alphabetical order and include:

The references you used in developing your assignment

The list of 10 additional articles for Exercise 2, which need to be indicated with an asterisk.