Overview
For this course there are two final projects or comprehensive assessments. The second project for this course is the creation of a research proposal. Research is integral in the field of social sciences no matter which discipline is being studied. Not only may professionals conduct research, but they may also analyze and apply research to address specific problems or needs. It is therefore vital that they possess the basic skills to do so in a professional, ethical manner.
The summative assessment for this course will encapsulate many of the practices that researchers encounter in their educational or professional careers, as students will not only be conducting research, but also creating a research proposal. Although a granting institution or employer generally guides research proposals, the question and proposed conclusions for this project will be entirely your choice. At the end of this assignment, you will have a tangible example of how to set up, process, and complete a professional-level research proposal. Writing and communicating research translates to a broader context outside of this classroom, as employers and graduate schools alike enjoy seeing students capable of synthesizing large amounts of data into applicable, well-argued research statements.
You will base your research on a community problem or need of your choice, which calls for your unique experiences and research interests. You will create a research proposal in which you use the research from your literature review to inform the pieces of your research proposal.
The project is divided into one milestone, which will be submitted to scaffold learning and ensure a final, quality submission. The milestone will be submitted in Module Five. The final product will be submitted in Module Seven.
In this assignment you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes:
- Develop research questions for addressing social phenomena, systems of practices and beliefs, and community needs
- Differentiate between quantitative and qualitative methods for their appropriateness in addressing research questions
- Discuss the ethical considerations for developing a research proposal
- Analyze research proposals for their feasibility in implementation and their ability to satisfy professional requirements
Prompt
For the second project, you will use your research from the literature review to create a research proposal. You will create a research question, discuss ethical impacts of the research and its dissemination, and propose methodology for collecting data. Be sure to substantiate your claims with peer-reviewed sources.
Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:
I. Introduction: Formulate a concise, but impactful introduction to the research background, so the foundational information will provide context to the reader.
II. Research Question and Ethical Considerations: This section will be twofold: It will deconstruct your research question into its important sections, and explain the significance of your research.
a) Based on the previous research you located from the literature review, create a research question or statement, and explain the creation.
b) Describe the implications of your research. What will your research do for the community at large or the field in which you are working?
c) Discuss how you will gain access to, or conduct, your data collection from people and cultures in an ethical manner. Provide specific examples of ethical dilemmas that may arise.
d) Create a hypothesis that describes the expected relationship between the research variables. Make a clear connection between the questions you are asking and your expected results. Think about your proposed research as a projection of the results, rather than an open-ended question.
III. Methodology: In this section, you will describe the "how" of your research design. You have already discussed the research's significance and explained the tools you will need to explore the question; now, you must clearly explain the steps you will take to reach a research conclusion.
a) Describe your proposed methodology and why you decided to use this methodology. Consider using qualitative data, quantitative data, or a mix of both if necessary.
b) Describe the scale of your research, justifying your sample size. Be sure to explain the boundaries of the population in your justification. If you are planning to analyze a secondary dataset, explain the implications of its size on your research question.
c) Explain how you plan to analyze your collected data. Will it be descriptive or inferential? How will you analyze subjective data differently from objective data?
IV. Reflection: Your final thoughts will include projections into the future, the feasibility of finances, and chronology of your project.
a) How much time do you think this project will take, and do you think this is feasible? From the point of time involving grant money to your project's conclusion, how long do you think the process will take?
b) Discuss how you will consider the ethical implications in releasing your research findings to the public, providing specific examples.
c) How much of a budget do you think this project will need and do you think this is feasible? Consider if the research is something you can do entirely on your own from the desk in your home, or whether you will have to travel to gather data.