Reference no: EM132329592 , Length: word count : 1500
Assignment : Project Brief or Proposal
LEARNING OUTCOME: Develop and write a research proposal
TASK
Identify and research a New Zealand company or organisation that you would like to do a project in. The company or organisation may be one you are familiar with, that you work for, or can obtain information on through secondary sources. Choose one that may be a good project for you to do as a student on placement in this workplace for 16 weeks.
From your research identify an issues or issues in your field (major), that this company or organisation may be facing,and would provide the basis for your research project. Use the case study in assignment two as an example of issues you could research.
Note: It is your responsibility to ensure that you understand the assessment requirements
Research Proposal Template
1. Cover page
2. Table of Contents
3. Introduction
- Background to the project
- Not lengthy (1 page)
- A few words about client and researcher
4. Purpose & Objectives
4.1. Purpose & Objectives
- What brought about this research? How did you derive at this issue?
- The general purpose of this research is clearly stated as its aim
- Cleary define what needs to be accomplished by this project/Research
- List objectives
4.2. Research Scope
- Define boundaries and limitations for the project
5. Literature review
Write a brief literature review that shows what previous research, theory or best industry practice says about this issue. This will give you the main factors (variables) that are relevant to your research (about one page).
6. Methodology
6.1. Describe the proposed research:
Qualitative /quantitative/ mixed methods
Primary (internal)
- Surveys = online, telephone, face to face (5-10mins) etc.
- Interview = Structured & Unstructured (up to an hour)
- Focus Groups = Group discussion between 7-8 people
- …
- …
- Secondary (Internal)
- Company databases
- Reports generated = Daily reports, cash flow, operational & financial reports
- Newsletters/memos
- …
- …
- …
- Secondary (External)
- News reports
- Company reports available in public domain
- Academic Resources = Journal articles, books etc.
- Government = Statistics NZ, chambers of commerce, city council
- …
- …
- For each of the research method chosen (from the list provided above), the following topics need to be incorporated in the proposal
- Process
- Population definition
- Sample sizes
- Sampling techniques
- Locations
- Training interviewers
- Discussion about research instruments to be used
- Ethical issues
6.2. Instrument design Exemplar
Choose one of your research questions and write a survey or questionnaire (at least 8 questions) that will contribute to answering one of your research questions. Make sure you are asking SMART questions.
7. Deliverables
7.1. Analysis (Deliverables)
Tangible output >> the output your client is seeking>> How analysis will be delivered for example:
- Tables
- Statements
- Summaries
- Recommendations
- Audio/video recordings
- Analysis reports that include charts, diagrams, flow charts etc.
7.2. Analysis Exemplar
- Choose two questions from your questionnaire or survey you have designed that appear to be related and invent the responses for 10 participants to these questions.
- Show how you would present the data from these responses in your final report.
- Describe how you would use descriptive analysis of these findings, e.g. would you calculate mode, mean, mode and why?
- Describe the standard deviation for the responses to one of the questions.
- Show graphically the relationship between the data from responses to your two chosen questions and comment on this relationship.
- Explain why or why not you could generalise the findings from your sample to the whole population i.e. use inferential statistics.
- Describe the two main types of inferential statistics.
- You are using inferential statistics how would you decide if they were parametric or non-parametric. Give three examples of statistics you would use for each.
7.3. Reporting (Deliverables)
- Online presentations if any..
- Published on website
- Written copies
- Put on a USB/CD
8. Timeframes
- Define sub-tasks
- Specify start and end date for each sub-task
- Gantt chart – timeline of events
9. Budget
- Itemised – based on sub tasks
- Can be tied together with time frames