Research Proposal on Equality and Diversity in the Workplace

Chapter 1. Introduction

You need to choose a topic for your assignments within the general subject area of equality and diversity in the workplace.  Equality in this context means ensuring that everybody has the same access to the same opportunities without any discrimination.

You are required to produce a research proposal with the following sections:

CHAPTER 1    Introduction 
CHAPTER 2    Literature Review 
CHAPTER 3    Methodology Justification 

Chapter 1. Introduction 

In the introduction you should introduce the reader to the background to the study and the nature of the problem/issue/opportunity. It should therefore set the study in context explaining why this study is important. The main focus of the justification should be on why the research would be useful to the specific organisation to the wider sector.  But you could also mention the academic interest of the topic – for example, how it would fill a gap in the literature.  The aim and objectives should be stated clearly in this chapter.

Chapter 2.  Literature Review(1000 words)

You are expected to provide a critical review of the existing literature on the research area being investigated. Key factors to take into account are:

1. You cannot read every book and article on your chosen topic. Nevertheless your review should indicate that you have studied some good quality academic work in the field, including journal articles reporting relevant empirical research and/or credible stories from specialist or general news sites.  

2. The literature review should be relevant to your research aim and objectives. It should also inform your choice of methodology (e.g. you should consider what primary research methods previous researchers have used and consider whether this suggests you should propose the same method or a different one, or variations in your approach to build on what others have done).

3. Critically reviewing past research is essential. You cannot just describe what you have read, with each article summarised in turn.  The material needs to be organised into relevant themes/topics.

4. The literature must be up-to-date.  You should be looking to use plenty of recent literature (not older than five years). 

Chapter 3.  Methodology Justification(250 words)

The purpose of this chapter is to explain briefly what your primary research method will be and then to justify why you chose that method.  In other words, what are the advantages of the proposed method in your specific case and, where there are potential disadvantages of the method, why are these not so important or how do you plan to minimise them through a good research design.