Research proposal assignment

Research proposal assignment

Topic: Research proposal assignment
Description: [?]Preferred language style: English (U.K.)Research proposal assignment

This assignment involves the production of a research proposal.
Reflecting the usual conventions in relation to outline proposals,
there will be strict controls on the overall size. The proposal should
be no less than 1200 words and no more than 1500 words.
No Appendices should be attached. The assignment should be submitted
in hard copy and electronically through the Turnitin system. The cover
page should include a word count.

Topic

There are certain criteria governing the choice of topic and methods
for the research proposal.

The topic should
a) be explicitly related to the fields of business, management or public policy;
b) lend itself to being investigated using conventional research methodology.

The research should
c) centre around empirical inquiry involving the collection of data
from individuals;
d) be a small-scale study involving minimal resources;
e) be conducted personally by the student as the principal researcher;
f) be planned for completion within a 6-month time scale.

Note 1: This assignment requires no empirical research to be done by
students. The assignment is a proposal for research, not a report on
research actually undertaken.

Note 2: The criteria for the assignment link closely with requirements
for the dissertation. However, it is important to recognise that this
is an assignment for the Research Methodology module. The
specifications for the assignment reflect the content of the course
and, in principle, might differ from the requirements for the
dissertation proposal outlined for other purposes elsewhere on the
course (for instance in relation to the allocation of dissertation
supervisors). Clearly, the intention is that there should be overlap
and similarity. However, candidates need to be aware that, as an
assignment for the Research Methodology module, an appropriate
emphasis needs to be placed upon the methodology behind the data
collection and analysis.

Skills

The assignment calls upon students to demonstrate:
• suitable skills in the application of relevant knowledge under
pressure of time constraints.
• factual knowledge about the strategies and methods available to
social researchers and their relative strengths and weaknesses.
• professional sensitivity to the main ethical, political, legal and
resource parameters within which research is conducted.
• ability to present a feasible plan of work that meets the research
requirements outlined in the module.

Assessment criteria

The research proposal will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
• research aims have been clearly stated.
• key-words adequately reflect the content of the proposed research.
• background section shows the value of the research (theory/practice)
• research questions/hypotheses precisely identify the issues to be
investigated.
• the research strategy and data collection methods have been
described briefly and precisely.
• the strategy and data collection methods have been discussed in
terms of their implications and justified with reference to
alternative possibilities.
• the proposed investigation appears to be feasible within the given
time and resource constraints.
• the proposal shows an awareness of the principles of research ethics
and a sensitivity to the political/legal context within which the
research is to be conducted.
• a suitable number of relevant sources have been used to support the
discussion.
• sources have been cited and referenced properly using the Harvard system.
• the proposal acknowledges any limitations inherent in its design.
• suitable outcomes from the research have been identified.

Reassessment details

If work needs to be resubmitted the overall mark for the module will
be capped at 40 per cent.

Plagiarism

Everything submitted for assessment by an individual student or group
of students must be original work. The De Montfort University handbook
General Regulations and Procedures Affecting Students states:
The significant use by a student of other people’s work and the
submission of it as though it were his or her own is regarded as
plagiarism. Work which is not undertaken in an Examination room under
the supervision of an invigilator (such as dissertations, essays,
project work, experiments, observations, specimen collecting, and
other similar work), but which is nevertheless required work forming
part of the degree, diploma or certificate assessment, must be the
candidates own and must not contain any plagiarised material. (§
3.1.2).

Plagiarism includes:
• Copying from another student’s work;
• Copying from a text without acknowledgement;
• Downloading information and/or text from the internet and using it
without acknowledgement;
• Paraphrasing source material without acknowledgement;
• Submitting work which you claim to be your own when it has been
produced by a group;
• Submitting group work without acknowledging all contributors.

(Plagiarism and Fabrication of results – a Guide to the Academic
Offences Regulations, issue 3, September, 1999. De Montfort
University)

Further information on the significance of plagiarism in relation to
academic work, and guidelines on how to avoid plagiarism, are
available through the De Montfort University intranet site
http://intranet.dmu.ac.uk/business_law/teaching/plagiarism_links.htm
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