Assignment 2: 1500-word Research Plan
How to approach this research plan: The research plan seeks to assess your ability to synthesise existing literature, understand where gaps exist in knowledge, formulate research questions that are feasible and researchable, and develop a plan for how you will answer those questions.
What should you include?
1. Title: Provide a brief, descriptive title.
2. Introduction: Describe your topic briefly, list the aims and objectives of your research and summarise what you would like to do.
3. Rationale and significance of the research: Explain why the topic is interesting and important. This should include a review of the academic literature and any relevant background information needed for readers to understand why your general topic and your research aims and objectives are original and worthy of study.
4. Research Questions: identify your questions
5. Research design and feasibility: data and methodology Describe the general approach you would like to take and explain how you will meet the aims and objectives of your dissertation. Provide details of the research methods you envisage using – how, in practice, will you carry out your research? At this stage we are looking to see that you have a feasible suggestion for a method, that you can realistically accomplish your research in the timescale of your dissertation, and that the method will address the questions you are posing. We do not expect you to have a detailed grasp of methodological literature, and we will expect your methodology to be refined after you have taken the various research modules on your degree programme.
6. Ethics and safety: Discuss any ethical issues and safety concerns that might be expected to arise, and how you plan to address these. If you don’t see any ethics or safety issues you can state that (e.g. if you are conducting desk-based research with publicly available sources).
7. Reference list: All references cited in the proposal should be detailed in the reference list. The reference list does not count towards the 1500-word limit.
What will criteria will you be marked on?
The research plan will be marked on the presentation of a coherent and compelling research proposal along the following lines:
· Interesting, appropriate topic
· Informative, relevant background section
· Good, feasible aims and objectives
· Sensible and justifiable research strategy
· Appropriate design and methods
· Coherent structure and clarity of proposal
· A well-written proposal, with good balance between the various elements
· Correct use of references