Research Methods: Research Proposal Report

Module title: Research Methods

Assessment point: Second Assessment point (Week 8)

Assessment task: Report – Research Proposal

Word count limit: 2000 words (+/-10%) (excluding references and front pages)

Weight: 50% of overall module grade

Submission deadline: Please consult VLE

Submission procedure: Please submit via the submission link on the VLE

Assessment guidelines

Task:

You will prepare a report outlining further details of your chosen research that will form the basis of your Dissertation/Management Project.

Format:

You should use the following structure for your Report – Research Proposal. You should present your proposal in a single document with an appropriate front page, contents page, headings and a correctly formatted reference list (University of Suffolk Harvard style).

The proposal should include the following:

• Section 1: Research topic, aim and objectives
  • Identify your proposed research topic and offer a clear rationale, along with aim and objectives

■ In this section you should present your research topic and explain the topic area. The section should include appropriate background information and it should explain the rationale for selecting this research topic and what is the potential contribution of the proposed research.

Also, the section should clearly present the aim and objectives of the proposed research.

• Section 2: Methodology, methods and ethical considerations
  • Identify  and  justify  a  research  methodology  appropriate  to  your  proposed research

○ Identify and justify research methods and data appropriate to your proposed research

○ Identify key ethical considerations relevant to your proposed research

■ In this section you should discuss your research methodology. You should consider your epistemological approach and how this impacts your research design. Also, you should discuss your data collection methods as well as the types of data that you will collect for your research and the sources of this data. You should be able to justify your choice of methodology and methods referring to your research aim and objectives. Also, you should comment on the feasibility of your research and your ability to access the required data. Finally, this section should outline the ethical considerations related to your research. ● Section 3: Research schedule/plan

○ Induce a provisional project schedule/plan for your proposed research

■ In this section you should outline the key milestones for the completion of your research project and propose the length of time that each milestone will require to complete. You should try to be as realistic as you can and you should consider things like work schedule and busy periods at work as well as holidays and other breaks. It will be useful to present your schedule/plan on a table listing the milestones, the duration of each milestone as well as a brief note for each milestone that will offer a description of the role of the milestone in the process and a justification for the assigned duration, including any concerns, contingency plans, or limitations to completing the milestone.

The research topic area will be based on your Week 2 Individual Written Task submission.

Your Research Proposal should follow this structure:

Section/Aspect	Content to cover	Marks available
Research topic, aim and objectives (900 words)	Research topic clearly framed and presented Clear and consistent research aim and objectives The section provides relevant background information and explains the rationale for selecting the research topic The section is supported with relevant literature and evidence	35 marks
Research Methodology, Methods and ethical considerations (900 words)	Clearly identifies the research methodology and provides justification for the selection, on the basis of relevant evidence and support from outside sources and the nature of the research topic Clearly identifies research methods, data and data sources and justifies the selection, using evidence and support from outside sources Clearly identifies key ethical considerations relevant to your proposed research, using evidence and support from outside sources	40 marks
Research Schedule/Plan (200 words)	Clear and consistent plan of work Realistic milestones Relevant comments explaining the milestones	10 marks
Formatting and Referencing (list of references not included in word count)	High quality presentation of the material that conforms to principles of academic writing and contains minimal errors in sentence construction, grammar and punctuation. The assignment followed appropriate academic conventions regarding in-text citations and referencing.	15 marks
Total: 2000 words		100 Marks