Post by MrHo on Dec 24, 2013 3:17:39 GMT 7
The content of the research proposal
N.B. The order of the content of the proposal may vary from that given below
although all the sub-headings below should be addressed.
N.B. The order of the content of the proposal may vary from that given below
although all the sub-headings below should be addressed.
Working title
This should closely mirror the content of your proposal. It is recognised that it may alter as your research progresses.
Background
This will be the longest section of your proposal. It should explain why you feel the research which you are planning is worth the effort and where necessary clarify terminology used. It may be expressed in the form of a problem which needs solving, a question that needs answering or something which you find exciting and has aroused your curiosity. As part of this you should demonstrate some knowledge of the relevant academic literature and show where your proposal fits into this debate (2–5 articles). In short, the academic literature should be your point of departure. This is not the same as the critical literature review. It will just indicate the key literature sources from which you intend to draw your ideas and provide prima facie evidence that your research is grounded in the academic literature. You will find Chapters 2 and 3 of Saunders et al. (2012) useful here.
Research objectives
The background section should lead smoothly into a statement of your research objectives. These should leave your tutor in no doubt as to precisely what it is your research seeks to achieve.
Design – how you are going to go about your research
This will outline how you intend to go about achieving your research objectives and help establish that your proposal is viable. In this section, you should explain where you intend to carry out the research and your overall strategy. If you intend to base your research around a single organisation then you should state and justify this. However, if your research is more generic you should explain, for example, which sector(s) of the economy or group of employees you have chosen to research and why you chose these sectors or people.
The approach section should also explain the general way in which you intend to carry out the research. Will it make use of a case study, survey or experiment or perhaps a combination of strategies? Here again, it is essential to explain why you have chosen your approach.
You should also give some indication as to where the primary data you intend to use will come from.
There is no need to include precise detail of the method you will employ, for example, the content of the observation schedule or questionnaire questions. Remember your explanation should be justified by reference to the research methods literature; you will find Chapter 4 of Saunders et al. (2012) useful here.
Time scale
This will also help you to assess the viability of your research proposal. It will be helpful if you divide your research plan into stages. This will give you a clear idea as to what is possible in the given time scale. Experience has shown that however well you organise your time the whole process seems to take longer than anticipated.
References
It is not necessary to try and impress your tutor with an enormous list of references. A few (between two and five) predominantly academic literature sources to which you have referred in the background section and which relate to the previous work, which is directly informing your own proposal, and one or two research methods books should be all that is necessary.