Remember These Questions

• • • • • • • • While assessing the proposal: Is the title clear and concise? (SMART)= Specific, measurable, attainable,

researchable and time-bound

Is the research question or hypothesis appropriate and answerable?

Does the preliminary literature review draw on authors from both textbooks and journals?

– Is it up-to-date?

– Is it sufficiently detailed?

– Is it descriptive or does it include discussion and debate?

– Is it written in a fluent, easy-to-read style?

Is the proposed primary data collection reasonable at this stage?

Is the time plan detailed and feasible?

Is the reference correct?

Has the proposal been spell-checked? Is it grammatically correct?

Does it look professional?

Chapter 1: Introduction

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Is the overall style and presentation of the proposal in accordance with that specified by the instructor and field of study?

Is the title concise, coherent and appropriate?

Is the contents page clear, concise and logically numbered? Are appendices, tables, illustrations and figures listed in the contents page, if included?

Is the topic clearly stated and defined?

Has background information been provided, if appropriate?

Are all special and general terms defined?

Has the proposal been given a clear, overall purpose?

Are the aims and objectives (and research questions/hypothesis) clear, relevant and coherent?

Do aims, objectives, etc., go beyond mere description? Do they involve explanation, comparison, criticism or evaluation?

If a hypothesis is identified, is it a proper, testable hypothesis?

Is the chapter clear, logical, readable and complete?

Chapter 2: Literature Review

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Has a comprehensive range of relevant literature been used? Is it pertinent to the research questions, or are you giving the impression that almost everything you have read on or around the problem has been included with little critical selection?

Is the literature firmly rooted in a theoretical base? Has the literature of any related disciplines been included, if appropriate?

Are the sources used up-to-date, where appropriate, and do they have sufficient academic weight?

Does the proposal give evidence of a critical attitude towards source material? Does it compare, contrast and criticize a number of relevant concepts/models/theories?

Are the key themes and issues surrounding the research questions clearly drawn from the literature?

Does it deal with relevant debates and controversies?

Have sources been acknowledged and referenced fairly and properly? Is the reference at the end of the proposal complete and in the appropriate convention?

Is the chapter clear, logical, readable and complete?

Chapter 3: Methodology

• • • Was the data collection method review by a mentor, your instructor, and/or your peers? For example, if you used an interview or questionnaire, did someone review the questions prior to issue?

• • Is there a clear rationale for methodology? Have you discussed the alternatives and have you discussed the advantages and disadvantages of your chosen methods?

Is the research methodology described fully so that it could be replicated by someone reading the proposal?

Are the research instruments (for example, blank questionnaires, interview questions, etc.,) included in the appendices?

Are the research instruments well designed with all questions etc., relevant to the research aims?

Is the methodology described appropriate for the data required?

Research Methodology

• • Are sampling methods described in detail? Who are the respondents, how many are there and how were they selected?

Is generalizability (or otherwise) discussed?

• Are any constraints or limitations identified?

• Are data analysis methods discussed?

• Are reliability and validity issues addressed?

• Is there evidence of care and accuracy planned for in the data collection process?

• Is the chapter clear, logical, readable and complete?

Data Analysis

• • • How will you identify patterns in the data?

Are the planned analysis methods used appropriate to the data collected?

• • • Will the planned methods thoroughly and completely analyze the data?

Are all planned analysis supported by sound practices in the field?

• Does the rationale for the analyses deal with relevant debates and controversies in the field of study?

• Is the chapter clear, logical, readable and complete?

Final Check-list

• Does the research proposal have an overall coherence?

• Has the full proposal been spell- and grammar checked?

• Is each page numbered?

• Have you read it from start to finish?

Research method and methodology

• • • One of the primary differences between them is that research methods are the methods by which you conduct research into a subject or a topic. On the other hand, research methodology explains the methods by which you may proceed with your research Research methods aim at finding solutions to research problems. On the other hand research methodology aims at the employment of the correct procedures to find out solutions.

Method is a particular way of solving a specific problem. it is therefore unlikely that your research will just have 'a method' as the whole research will probably draw on different ways (methods) of proving/solving discrete aspects of the research. Methodology, therefore, means the collection of methods you used in a particular piece of research.

Research Methodology means the complete strategy / approach towards the objective while methods comprise on the different Investigation techniques like (Observation, focus group, questionnaire, interview) Methodology is the science of methods. Methods are just what to do

Quantitative vs Qualitative

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1. Goal or Aim of the Research

The primary aim of a Qualitative Research is to provide a complete, detailed description of the research topic. Quantitative Research on the other hand focuses more in counting and classifying features and constructing statistical models and figures to explain what is observed.

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2. Usage

Qualitative Research is ideal for earlier phases of research projects while for the latter part of the research project, Quantitative Research is highly recommended. Quantitative Research provides the researcher a clearer picture of what to expect in his research compared to Qualitative Research.

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3. Data Gathering Instrument

The researcher serves as the primary data gathering instrument in Qualitative Research. Here, the researcher employs various data-gathering strategies, depending upon the thrust or approach of his research. Examples of data gathering strategies used in Qualitative Research are individual in-depth interviews, structured and non structured interviews, focus groups, narratives, content or documentary analysis, participant observation and archival research.

On the other hand, Quantitative Research makes use of tools such as questionnaires, surveys and other equipment to collect numerical or measurable data.

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4. Type of Data

The presentation of data in a Qualitative Research is in the form of words (from interviews) and images (videos) or objects (such as artifacts). If you are conducting a Qualitative Research what will most likely appear in your discussion are figures in the form of graphs. However, if you are conducting a Quantitative Research, what will most likely appear in your discussion are tables containing data in the form of numbers and statistics.

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5. Approach

Qualitative Research is primarily subjective in approach as it seeks to understand human behavior and reasons that govern such behavior. Researchers have the tendency to become subjectively immersed in the subject matter in this type of research method.

In Quantitative Research, researchers tend to remain objectively separated from the subject matter. This is because Quantitative Research is objective in approach in the sense that it only seeks precise measurements and analysis of target concepts to answer his inquiry

Debates

• Debates have been ongoing, tackling which method is better than the other. The reason why this remains unresolved until now is that, each has its own strengths and weaknesses which actually vary depending upon the topic the researcher wants to discuss. This then leads us to the question “Which method should be used?”

Settling the debate

• The goals of each of the two methods have already been discussed above. Therefore, if your study aims to find out the answer to an inquiry through numerical evidence, then you should make use of the Quantitative Research. However, if in your study you wish to explain further why this particular event happened, or why this particular phenomenon is the case, then you should make use of Qualitative Research.