PSY10005 Introduction to Research Methods Homework: Research Proposal- Swinburne University
Purpose
The purpose of this homework is to help you develop skills at selecting appropriate research designs and methods to address a research problem. You will prepare a research proposal that will involve applying your knowledge of scientific research, research approaches and data collection methods, research formulation, ethics of scientific research, measurement and sampling methods.
Length: 1,500 words research proposal.
The Research Proposal:
You are required to prepare a research proposal - a document that informs others of a research project that you intend to conduct. This would typically be used when applying for a postgraduate psychology degree or when working in industry. This proposal should highlight the potential significance and feasibility of the research project. Moreover, writing a research proposal often helps individuals to structure their thoughts, identify the purpose of their research and what is involved to conduct the project, as well as help to develop a plan and specify the expected outcomes.
The general structure of the proposal is shown below. The word counts are given are guidelines only, you may need to alter these slightly depending on your chosen topic.
1) Title page:
The title needs to be brief. Include the key terms that relate to your proposal.
2) Introduction: (200 words)
This section should present the relevant background information for the research project. You will need to introduce the general field of research then narrow to the specific area of your research project. This section should lead logically to either a gap in the existing research or the research problem that you believe needs to be addressed.
3) Aim(s): (100 words)
This section should present the research question and/or hypotheses you will investigate and answer in order to fill the gap in the research or address the research problem.
4) Literature review: (400 words)
i. This section needs to provide more information about what others have done by reviewing relevant past research studies. It should highlight the major issues, definitions of key terms, gaps in the research and the need for your particular research. You will also need to highlight where your research overlaps and differs from existing research. This section is intended to contextualise your research questions.
ii. To help you get started on reviewing previous research, there is a help page available on the Swinburne library website that includes really helpful guides and tips for finding research articles and books in relevant scientific databases.
5) Significance/contribution of the research (200 words)
i. This section should outline how your research will make a change to an area of research or respond to a particular problem. This is different from the justification as it will explain how the research will lead to certain outcomes. In particular, you need to highlight the importance of the research in terms of the following:
a) theoretical contributions
b) practical outcomes
6) Proposed research methodology (400 words):
i. This section should describe and justify the research methodology. To do this, you should address the following:
a) participants;
b) methodology (e.g., quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods);
c) design framework (e.g., experimental, non-experimental);
d) data collection method(s) (e.g., tests, questionnaires, interviews, focus groups, observations, existing data);
e) sampling method (e.g., random, nonrandom); and
f) ethical considerations.
7) Scope and Problems (200 words):
This section needs to define the breadth of the research topic. That is, is the research focused on a broad research question or will it focus on a particular issue or problem? It also needs to identify any limitations or potential problems that may occur throughout the project.
8) References
This section should include all of the in-text references that were provided in the previous sections.
Format your homework according to the following formatting requirements:
o The answer should be typed, using Times New Roman font (size 12), double spaced, with one-inch margins on all sides.
o The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the homework, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
o Also include a reference page. The Citations and references must follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.
Attachment:- Research-Proposal.rar