Posted: May 8th, 2015

Research proposal

Research proposal

Order Description

• Background – giving the rationale to your research, why it is important and why it has roused your curiosity. This section should also demonstrate your knowledge of the relevant literature and, consequently, set your research in its academic and industry contexts. This should be critical in nature and follow the style of a ‘mini literature review’ (written in the 3rd person). It should NOT just be a list of books etc, and should clearly identify the key themes/arguments in this research area. The background should be grounded in academic journals and books. You will be expected to demonstrate a clear link between previous work that has been done and the content of your proposal. This section should ‘set the scene’ and to a large extent justify your aim and objectives (see below). The Background section is likely to be approximately 1,000 words.

• Aim and Objectives (worth 10 marks of total proposal assessment mark – to be submitted by Friday March 27, 11 am so that students can get feedback – aim and objectives can change based on tutor feedback. Feedback and marks out of 10 to be given back to students by Monday April 20) – give ONE specific aim and a number of supporting objectives. These should leave the reader in no doubt about what you are proposing to do. They should not be general in nature or too broad – they must be FOCUSED and FEASIBLE). Make sure you have a geographical context that is explicit within the aim and objectives. For example, is your research among British consumers or 3* hotel managers in Brighton, or among X-town residents. This context should be clearly expressed in the aim and all objectives. Please also note:

For a project of this scale, you would normally have ONE aim and 4-6 objectives. The exact number will depend upon the proposed research.
– The aim and the objectives should ALL start with the word “To …” followed by a verb (e.g. To investigate…, To examine…, To determine…, etc. )
– In general the FIRST objective should be about carrying out a literature review (secondary research) and the FINAL objective should be about drawing conclusions and making recommendations (if applicable). Objectives 2, 3, 4 etc….should all be related to what you want to find out with your primary research activities.

• Methodology and Methods – review the range of research methodologies available to you that could or could not be used to meet your aim and objectives, and specify which methodology and method(s) you are proposing to use. You must provide a justification for your preferred selection. This section should outline how you would conduct the primary research. Details of a pilot study, sampling etc. are all appropriate here. It is suggested that you do not make this section too complicated – i.e. describe only three or four different types of research methods as you do not have the word count to discuss any more in detail. Remember that for some students all their objectives may relate to one method (e.g. doing a survey), whereas for others one objective may relate to a survey, another to a focus group, and another objective to a series of qualitative interviews. This depends on the focus and wording of your objectives. However, do not suggest many research techniques (surveys, interviews, focus groups) need to be carried out to achieve the same objective, this is unrealistic.

• Ethical and access issues – outline any you have identified. Whilst access issues might be discussed only in reference to the early stages of the research proposal, ethical issues should be discussed in terms of before, during and after. Obviously it may be difficult to know what ethical issues may arise until you would start collecting the data.

• Bibliography – this should include both your topic field area and research methods literature. All sources must be cited and referenced according to the HARVARD academic conventions. Make sure you read around the subject in-depth, especially the academic journals.

FINAL NOTE
Always bear in mind that in this research proposal you are trying to convince the tutors that the research you are planning is feasible and worth pursuing. For example, a proposal for your final year element (dissertation, final year placement project) which when complete would be between 8,000 – 10,000 words. This could be in the form of a question you feel needs solving or something you are particularly interested in. There should be no doubt in this document about what it is you want to research and how you are going to go about it.

You can use these References :-
Saunders, M., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A. (2009) Research Methods for Business Students. 5th edition. Harlow: Prentice Hall.

Fisher, C. (2011). Researching and Writing a Dissertation: An Essential Guide for Business Students. 3rd edition. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited.

In addition to the further books highlighted below, it is crucially important to read around the subject area with relevant academic journals. Researchers have to identify and discuss their methodologies and methods employed in their journal articles. These will help to inform you of your methodology and method(s) as part of your assessment for this module.

General Research Method Books
Bell, J. (1999) Doing Your Research Project. Buckingham: OU PressBlaxter, L., Hughes, C. & Tight, M. (2002) How To Research. Buckingham: OU PressBryman, A. (2004) Social Research Methods. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Bryman, A. and Bell, E. (2003) Business Research Methods. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Chisnall, P. (2005). Marketing Research. 7th edition. London: McGraw-Hill
Cooper, D. and Schindler, P. (2001) Business Research Methods. London: McGraw-Hill.Finn, M., Elliot-White, M. and Walton, M. (2000) Tourism and Leisure Research Methods. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited.
Fox, D., Gouthro, M.B., Morakabati, Y. and Brackstone, J. (2014) Doing Events Research, From Theory to Practice. London: Routledge.Giddens, A. (1993) Sociology. Cambridge: Polity Press
Gratton, C. and Jones, I. (2004) Research Methods for Sport Studies. London: Routledge
Jenks, C. (1998) (ed.) Core Sociological Dichotomies. London: Sage PublicationsLeedy, P. D. and Ormond, J.E. (2005) Practical Research: Planning and Design, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Seale, C. (1998) (ed.) Researching Society and Culture. London: Sage
Veal, A.J. (1992) Research Methods for Leisure and Tourism. London: Routledge
Veal, A.J. and Burton, C. (2014) Research Methods for Arts and Event Management. Harlow: Pearson

Qualitative Research Books:
Arksey, H. (1999) Interviewing for social scientists: an introduction resource with examples. London: SageBauer, M. W. and Gaskell, G. (2000) (eds.) Qualitative researching with text, image and sound: a practical handbook. London: Sage PublicationsFlick, U. (2002) An Introduction to Qualitative Research, Second. London: Sage Publications.Hammersley, M. and Atkinson, P. (1983) Ethnography – Principles in Practice. London: Travistock
May, T. (2002) (ed.) Qualitative Research in Action, London: Sage Publications.Silverman, D. (2001) Interpreting Qualitative Data: Methods for analysing talk, text and interaction. London: Sage Publications.

Quantitative Research Books:Balnaves, M. and Caputi P. (2001) Introduction to quantitative research methods: an investigative approach. London: Sage Publications.Field, A. (2005) Discovering Statistics Using SPSS. London: Sage Publications.Rea, L. M. and Parker, R.A. (2005) Designing and conducting survey research: a comprehensive guide. Chichester: John Wiley & Son Ltd
Help with Literature Searches:
Hart, C. (2001) Doing a Literature Search: A Comprehensive Guide for the Social Sciences, London: Sage Publications.Critical Thinking:Bowell, T. and Kemp, G. (2004) Critical Thinking: a concise guide. London: Routledge Cottrell, S. (2005) Critical Thinking Skills: Developing Effective Analysis and Argument. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan Thomson, A. (2003) Critical Reasoning: a practical introduction. London: Routledge
Bryman, A. (2012). Social research methods. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Creswell, J.W. (2003) Research design: qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches. London: Sage.
Fowler, F.J. (2009) Survey research methods. 4th edition. London: Sage.
Neuman, W.L. (2011). Social research methods: qualitative and quantitative approaches. 7th edition. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Saunders, M., Thornhill, A. and Lewis, P. (2012). Research methods for business students. Harlow: Pearson.
Veal, A.J. (2011) Research methods for leisure and tourism: a practical guide. Harlow: Pearson.
Yin, R.K. (2009). Case study research: design and methods. Los Angeles: Sage.