Researching Perspectives and Practice
QUESTION
Define the role of research in advancing the discipline and reviewing the types of “research” undertaken by practitioners as everyday activities.
Demonstrate an understanding of the main philosophical and theoretical approaches to research methods and associated relevant methods
Critically appraise the main approaches to research design, sampling, analysis and dissemination appropriate to their area of interest.
Define the role of the literature review in a research project and appropriate approaches to an extended evaluation of documentary and existing organisational sources.
Critically evaluate the key ethical, political, legal and social issues that need to be considered when carrying out research.
Task and Mark distribution:
Procedure
You have two options. To complete this piece of coursework, you can choose one from below.
(1) You can role-play writing a research proposal to bid for funding from a research institute. The details of the funding call will be provided via module website; or
(2) You can write a proposal related to your final working paper. (Please note, this proposal is NOT part of your working paper. However, you can utilise the materials that you used for this piece of coursework as a base for your final working paper.)
Draw up initial plans and ideas. Identify a research topic that is of current relevance in the sector. Consider how it will contribute to knowledge and understanding.
Identify probable outcomes of your proposed research.
Carry out a preliminary literature search and prepare a literature review that will form the context for your proposal and provide justification for your given research aim and objectives and design. It is essential that your research proposal is located in critical debate. Your proposal must be set against a researched academic context but highly relevant to the profession.
Prepare a detailed description of your proposed methodology justifying your approach with regard to best practice, quality, and (statistical) application if appropriate. You need to define and provide a rationale for
Data collection AND
Data analysis
Remember to include a discussion of the specific ethical implications of your research and describe how you intend to address any ethical challenges that will arise.
Marking Criteria (used by staff to mark coursework)
The university criteria in Appendix 1 of the module guide will be used as the framework for assessing your research proposal. In addition, proposals will be assessed in relation to the following specific criteria:
ASSESSMENT CATEGORIES (and suggested criteria) Maximum
1. Title (e.g. Does it make clear the focus of the project)?
Introduction (e.g. Does it appropriately ‘set the scene’ for the Research? Why and how is it relevant to the profession, what is the research gap, what is the contribution to knowledge or to the society?)
Research Aim and Objectives (e.g. Are they clear and logical? Is the aim achievable? There are usually one aim and 4-5 objectives. Does the research aim and objectives use ‘higher level verbs’, as may be found in Bloom’s Taxonomy of Action Verbs?) 10
2. Carry out critical literature review of one concept/theory/model that is relevant to your research (e.g. Does the researcher utilise appropriate approaches to search for literature? Does the Literature Review critically analyse a sufficient range of relevant literature (for example, concepts, theories, and models) and clearly ‘set the scene’ for the Research?) 20
3. Research Methodology and methods
Does the proposal include a discussion on the research philosophy and the links between research methodology and methods for your research? 10
Does the proposal critically evaluate the selected research method(s), including the weaknesses and strengths of the selected method(s)?
Does the proposal justified the appropriateness of the selected research methods for your research?
Does the proposal provide a rationale for the process that you will use to collect your data? Have you demonstrated the awareness of the limitations of applying this method(s)? 30
Provide a rationale for how you will analyse the information you collate in order to produce your output. Will you use statistics or qualitative thematic mapping (content analysis) or use a framework that you design yourself or synthesise from the work of others. For example some research aims to evaluate the “effectiveness of something”. In this case you will need to define what “effective” looks like and then compare your findings to that framework or criteria. There needs to be sufficient detail in this section to allow someone else to replicate your analysis and achieve the similar outcomes. This is the element most often omitted from a methodology / methods section and is what results in poor marks for research proposal / working as a whole. 10
4. Research ethics (e.g. Does the proposal include a discussion on the ethical implication and challenges of the research and how they might be limited? How will the researcher comply with Coventry University’s research ethics guides?) 10
Presentation, list of References
Have you used appropriate search engines/academic data bases (such as Ebrary, Scopus, Science Direct) to search for relevant literatures?
Have you considered the currency, quality and balanced peer reviewed academic literature and grey organisational literature used.
Have you cited the sources of reference in the main contents of your assignment?
Have you used proper reference style: Coventry University Harvard Reference Style for pre-Sept 2020 students; or the new Coventry APA style for post-Sept 2020 students)?
Presentation such as spelling; grammar; punctuation; layout of pages; use of suitable figures and tables; appropriate supporting material in appendices and overall organisation.
