Writing a Research Proposal    25 pages Research report

The first assessment for this subject is the Research Proposal.

The research proposal is an important stepping stone and decides on the quality of your research. It needs to be convincing and comprehensive. There are four main questions that you need to address, as discussed in the following short video clip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPajRnK5vjI

Structure of your Research Proposal

Here is 
a guideline to structuring your research proposal, which is related to the four question discussed before, namely:

1) What will you research?

Here you need to include the broad research topic and also the specific research questions that you aim to answer with your reseach.

2) Why will you do the research?

You need to justify your research topic and your research questions. Explain why your topic is important NOW and why you are interested in this topic.

3) What is the duration of your research? 

When discussing the duration of your research you need to provide details of the research methodology and include the research schedule. The duration of your research is important as it will require resources to be availble, i.e. usually a budget and people who conduct the research.

4) What do you hope to achieve with your research?

You should have a clear idea of the outcome of your research and what you hope to achieve.

Deciding on your Research Questions

Once you have decided on your research topic, you need to narrow it down.

Research questions help you to make your research operational and stick to the time frame. However, you may ask how to find and develop your research questions. The below should help you deciding on your research questions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gb80xIoS9w0

Research Methods and Methodology

Doing research, you need to carefully think about the research methodology or methods that you will use to answer your research questions.

The short video below by Sage Publications features Leslie Curry from Yale University. Viewing the below should allow you to understand the importance of research methods better!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FyCTupSdXM

Your research methodology is important and needs to address only the method/s that you wish to ulitize. Dr. Quinn and Mottiar discuss what to include and what not to include in your research methodology. View and be inspired to find the methodology that works for you!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slQNQK67WBU