Research Plan for Methodology & Methods of Master's Dissertation

Module Learning Outcomes:

1)To develop detailed, critically aware, depth knowledge of the methodologies and research methods you will need in order to write Chapter 3 (Methodology & Methods) of your Master’s Dissertation.

2)To develop detailed, critically aware, depth knowledge of the research process and to acquire practical skills for the design and conduct of research studies, including data collection and analysis.

3)To plan a research study to be carried out independently by you in fulfilment of the requirements of the Master’s Dissertation.

4)To write a research plan in preparation for the development of the research proposal needed in your application for ethical approval of your study

Formative work 1: Write up a Background section which outlines the research literature in your chosen topic area. Develop a justification for a new research question to base your final assessment, a Research Plan, upon. You will need to develop this justification with reference to the current gaps in the research literature and by identifying new research that needs to be done in your chosen topic area. State a new research question on which to base your research plan and phrase this question coherently.

Due Wednesday 20th November - an electronic copy submitted via Canvas

Assessment 2: Write a research plan in preparation for your Research Dissertation and as a basis for the development of your research proposal for that work

Due: Thursday 16th January 2020 - an electronic copy via Canvas

The Marking Criteria below show you how all research plans would need to follow the same steps in any Research Study.

Background / justification for conducting the study: Give a rationale for the choice of this research topic with the support of academic references to current research studies & academic knowledge. The research topic has a clear and narrow enough focus to be the subject of an independent study. A gap in current academic knowledge is identified and used to justify the topic and research question, aim or hypothesis of the proposed independent study.

Purpose of the Research: A relevant Research Question, Aim or Hypothesis for your Dissertation study is developed to fill the identified gap in academic knowledge. The Research Question, Aim or Hypothesis is clearly stated.

Methodological Approach – The methodological approach is defined and its theoretical underpinnings are critically discussed and justified in terms of its suitability for conducting a study on the identified research question, aim or hypothesis.

Data Collection Plan is outlined giving practical detail and is achievable within the time constraints of the Dissertation module. Any necessary data collection tools have been designed and included in an appendix. The design of any data collection tools is critically discussed in the main body of the work. Other necessary appendices are included – according to the needs of the chosen methods.

The Sampling Strategy should be clear and appropriate. Critically discuss the available sampling strategies that could be used in this study and justify your chosen strategy and sample size. What are the inclusion / exclusion criteria for your sample? What is your justification for these criteria? LO 1; LO 2; LO 3; LO 4

Analysis of Data – Proposed methods of data analysis are discussed and appropriate.

This section should critically discuss your chosen approach to data analysis and outline exactly what steps will be involved in this process.

A If you are intending to collect data from humans

You will need to conduct a pilot study in a quantitative study or practice interviews in a qualitative study.

Pilot Study: Define and critically discuss this process and its purposes. State how this will be conducted, on how many and why. State how this sample would be accessed.

Practice interviews: You will need to conduct at least 2 practice interviews or 1 practice Focus Group. Define and critically discuss this process and its purposes.

Or B If you are NOT intending to collect data from humans

Potential Problems – Outline and discuss what problems might occur when conducting this study, such as data collection and analysis issues, and how these might be overcome.

Ethical considerations – What ethical considerations in general does research raise? What is the role of an ethics committee and why should you always follow the methods outlined in a research proposal which has been given ethical approval? What ethical issues does your research study raise and how will you overcome these?

This should include a discussion of any practical or operational issues involved in performing the study and any strengths/limitations of the chosen research methods. How the potential results could contribute to the current literature.

Presentation

Harvard referencing correctly used throughout.  

A good academic writing style with few typographical, spelling or grammatical errors The work is logically organised according to the marking criteria