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Assignment skills: Research Proposals

Books and eBooks

Quick tips

A research proposal is a document that explains a piece of research that you want to do, including what you are trying to prove or find out, how you are going to do it, and what methods you are doing to do. 

 

  • Start by defining your project - what do you want to find out? What is already covered about this topic? 
  • Decide on the methodology you will use - i.e. will a qualitative or quantitative method be the best way to answer your question. 
  • Begin research - remember to stay within the scope of your question! 
  • Write your proposal or research report. 
     

Reference:  Dawson, C., 2006, A Practical Guide to Research Methods:A user-friendly manual for mastering research techniques and projects, 2nd ed. How to Books Ltd, Oxford

What is qualitative research?

Qualitative Research is a technique used to uncover emotions and motivations rather than to look at purely numeric data. This type of research involves techniques including surveys, interviews, observations, focus groups, and case studies. 

What is quantitative research?

Quantitative Research is used to generate statistics through large scale data collection. The contact with people is quick, and usually involves the completion of the questionnaire or a short interview. 

Reference:  Dawson, C. 2006. A Practical Guide to Research Methods: A user-friendly manual for mastering research techniques and projects, 2nd ed., How to Books Ltd, Oxford

Deciding your research topic, aims & objectives

Developing a research quesltion

 

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