Writing up your Research Proposal/Design
The purpose of the task is to contribute you to make a research proposal about your own topic by using some case study method. Typically the four main questions for research design are:
- What questions to study?
- What kind of data is relevant?
- What kind of data to collect?
- How to analyse the data?
Introduction
Write at first the introduction of your topic.
What you are going to study? Explain what the aims of your research are. Analyze what kind of main findings you’ll have.
Literature review
Literature review, as the name shows, review of previous works of your topic
- how the others have been made research about the topic
- what have been the main findings recently
- Conclusion: that has been made and I’m going to do that….
Literature review is really the most important part of your research design. It explores the theoretical perspective.
Method
Method is how the results will be achieved…
- how the data will be collected
- how the data will be analyzed….
- Choose suitable case study type for your research question—argue why the chosen one is the best
How you do your research…
- when data will be collected?
- how are you working with your research?
Results and discussion
Results and discussion you present (at the moment) potential results…
(You can get the hypotheses for your research.)
Conclusion
At conclusions you tell how problem will be “solved”, what new you found up, what should analyses more, new research ideas… Follow table of contents eg. Hirsjärvi, Remes, Sajavaara, Tutki ja kirjoita.
Ja tehtävään antamani palaute Feedback for the ex:
Feedback for YRIS181 Case study method Margit Niemelä, PhD., Post Doctoral Researcher
The title of the task was: Writing your Research Proposal
When I started my lecture the first transparency was like this:
After the course you perhaps:
o You understand what the case study method is
o You can piggyback it and it’s possibilities on a scientist research in general
o You can evaluate this method as seen through your own research topic whether or not it would be a valuable method to use
o You get a good list of references
o You get experience how to do a research plan for case study research
o You understand that there is not only one way to make research or not simply one truth but life as well as research contexts are really multidimensional and colorful
o Terms of Delivery: Your own active role within the process is essential
Without your own active role, meaning that you are only studying the area and doing the task by following the instructions and studying independently the structure of the research design (or research proposal-how you want to call it) you will not realize the aim of the course. It is just the same as if you are hungry and you go to into restaurant. You order a meal but if you ask your friend to eat it you’ll still be hungry yourself. It is the same here. You have to do the work yourself in order to understand how to do the research proposal/plan. It does not help if I understand what it is, or your girl- or boyfriend understands what it is. You have to understand it yourself.
There were however many good parts in your works. Many of them are at the moment on the so called “idea paper” level. Few of you will get fairly good or good knowledge just by writing some parts a bit sharper. However there were few proposals with such big weaknesses that you have work harder to pass the task.
Research is quite serious work. Pro Gradu thesis is the first independent exercises for you doing research. There are some limits of quality, ethics and moral that makes me fail some of the works. I have a responsibility as a scientist; as well you have your responsibility as students proposals. Take this task seriously. Remember that we are working at university level. Taking the easy way out when completing your tasks makes eventually your own Masters Degree null and void.
The Purpose of the task was: to help you to make a research proposal about your own topic by using one of the case study methods. I was counselling you with four questions that are said to be the main questions for a research proposal. The questions were:
- What questions to study? That means that you explain your topic. You also argue why it is important to research just this question. What is its importance? ARGUE.
- What kind of data is relevant? Why it is relevant?
- What kind of data to collect? And again why. Why just this kind of data?
- How to analyse the data? Argue, why this is the best way. Show also that you understand the limitations of your method. Show that you understand that there are many other ways to make the research. Do you remember when I was speaking about the nature of truth?
My purpose is to help you to understand what research is. By doing a good research proposal it really helps you to start your theses. If you have not started yet, this is a good chance to get started. By doing this task, as well as possible, you can use parts of research proposal when writing your Pro Gradu thesis.
First part of the task was the introduction. Many of you told just in general and in a really unstructured way what you are going to study but there was no research question. The research question is guiding your work. It is also very important since it is defining your work. Without definition you will sink you in desperation while working with your research.
I know myself how difficult it is sometimes to write the research proposal but writing it is essential. I can compare the early research design to a seed or the germ of an idea. Writing the official research proposal of your early ideas will help you a lot. It gives you an instrument for your work. To study research methods is hard work. However science based on research and the understanding of research methods is essential.
Introduction
First write the introduction of your topic.
What are you going to study? Explain what the aims of your research are. Analyze what kind of main findings you’ll have.
Literature review
Literature review, as the name shows, a review of previous the works about your topic
- how the others have done research on the topic
- what have been the main findings recently
- Conclusion: this has been done and I am going to do the following….
Literature review is really the most important part of your research proposal, since it explores the theoretical perspective of your work.
Method
Method is how the results will be achieved…
Here I gave you some helping sentences such as
- how the data will be collected
- how the data will be analyzed….
- Choose the suitable case study type for your research question—justify why the chosen one is the best
Some of you (not so few indeed) wrote: Results will be achieve by qualitative methods. This is plain rubbish. There are at least 43 different qualitative methods. I hope that you have looked at the table made by Tesch (1990) which is on my site at Perheyrittäjyys /Family Business blog.
As you see, you cannot write in such a simplistic way that results will achieve by qualitative methods, but witch of them.
How you do your research…
The helping questions were
- when the data will be collected?
- how are you doing your research?
This part also includes the timetable/schedule of your work. Here is also a very first table of contents of your thesis. This helps you to perceive the structure of your own work.
Results and discussion
In the results and discussion part you present (at the moment) the potential results…
(From this you can get the hypotheses for your research.)
Conclusion
In the conclusions you tell how your research problem will be “solved”, what new you found, what should be analyse more, new research ideas…
Follow the table of contents eg. Hirsjärvi, Remes, Sajavaara, Tutki ja kirjoita. For Finnish students Hirsjärvi & Al. is a great book to. By skimming it you’ll find excellent advice on how to make the research design/proposal. If your aim is just to get over with the work, please read, at least, the pages 158-258. For my international students there are really excellent pages on the internet e.g. such as:
http://www.ssdd.bcu.ac.uk/learner/writingguides/1.07.htm
http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR3-1/heath.html
http://www.people.ku.edu/~ebben/tutorial_731.htm
And last but not least don’t forget to mark the references!!!
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