Question description
ASSIGNMENT 2 – Research
Proposal
Weighting: 30% towards final
grade
Word limit: 3000 (-/+10%) –
text only, excluding tables, appendices, references, covers page, contents.
This is an individual piece
of work
Apply the requirements of
the Harvard Referencing System throughout the report.
Use the structure appearing
below:
Research Proposal Specifics
You are about to commence a new research project
in a field of your choice.
You are expected to write a report that
constitutes a research proposal.
1. Working individually, you will:
– Have chosen
a clear and specific research question/ aim/ hypothesis for your research;
– Have
contextualised your research question/ aim within the academic literature;
– Understand
the philosophical and methodological bases for your research;
– Have a sound method to address the research
question/ aim/ hypothesis.
2. Use Harvard style in-text citation and
referencing.
3. Do not copy any materials you use word
for word unless you identify these sections clearly as quotations.
4. If you paraphrase any materials, you must
identify sources through in-text referencing.
5. This is an individual assignment please do
not work closely with anyone else.
6. Homework help – Write 3000 words (+ or – 10%) excluding the
header sheet, cover page, contents page, reference list, footnotes and
appendices.
Marks for criteria:
Criteria
10%
Focus and Completion Does the proposal address the set tasks in a meaningful manner?
20%
Research Objective Does the proposal clearly articulate
20%
Synthesis and Soundness Does the proposal place the research objective in the context of the
relevant academic literature and any relevant past studies? Does the
discussion demonstrate a comprehensive
understanding of that literature?
30%
Research Methods and Methodology Does the proposal sensibly outline
methods for accessing sources of data that will address or answer the
research objective? Is the method consistent with the methodology?
10%
Clarity of Approach Is the proposal well organised,
logically constructed and attentive to the needs of the reader? Does the
timeline include an Gantt chart or key milestones for research?
10%
Mechanical Soundness Is the portfolio clearly written,
spell
Structuring the research
proposal
1. Introduction (~200
words)
Explain the issue you are examining and why it is
significant.
·
Describe
the general area to be studied
·
Explain
why this area is important to the general area under study (e.g., psychology of
language, second language acquisition, teaching methods)
2. Background/Review of the Literature (~1000 words)
A description of what has already known about this area
and short discussion of why the background studies are not sufficient.
·
Summarise
what is already known about the field. Include a summary of the basic
background information on the topic gleaned from your literature review
·
Assignment help – Discuss
several critical studies that have already been done in this area (cite
according to Harvard style).
·
Point
out why these background studies are insufficient. In other words, what
question(s) do they leave unresolved that you would like to study?
3. Research Objective (~500
words)
A contextualisation and description of the questions you
are examining and an exploration of the claims.
·
Outline
the methodological position you will take (ontology and epistemology)
·
Outline
the overarching research aim, objective or hypothesis that you will explore.
·
List
the specific question(s) that you are exploring.
·
Explain
how these research questions are related to the larger issues raised in the
introduction.
4. Method and Design (~900
words)
A description of how you would go about collecting data
and test the questions your are exploring. (You are not required to come up
with a new or original method!).
·
Describe
the general method you choose for your study, in order to explore your research
objective or test your hypothesis(es).
·
Explain
why this method is the best for your purposes.
·
Explain
any potential difficulties in collecting data and how these will be overcome
·
Explain
the design features that ensure acceptability for ethical purposes
·
Describe
the participants (if any) and explain how you selected the sample
·
Explain
how you will present the collected data and how it will be able to be analysed
the results to explore the research aim or to test the research hypothesis
5. Significance and Conclusion (~400 words)
Assignment help – Discuss, in general, how your proposed research would lead
to a significant improvement over the original studies, and how it would benefit
the field. (In other words, why should someone care?
6. References (not
in word count)
Include
all references in Harvard style.
Appendix: (not
in word count)
Dissertation
structure in chapters
Gantt Chart or timeline
