clearly identify the research topic and highlight how key factors are having an impact on the area of interest.

Part 2: The Dissertation Proposal

Part two consists of a dissertation proposal, which will enable us to assess your understanding of the key concepts, practices and processes involved in research for academic dissertations. The word count of part one is 2,250 words, with no leeway. References are not included in the word count. Part two is worth 75% of the Research Methods mark (11.25% of the total dissertation module mark). The deadline for part two, including the research ethics form,

 

Introduction

The aim of the introduction is to set the context of the problem you are investigating briefly. It should clearly identify the research topic and highlight how key factors are having an impact on the area of interest. If your research has a theoretical orientation, is seeking to engage with particular contributions to the literature, or is seeking to fill a gap in the literature, you can highlight this in the introduction. If your research is linked to a particular company, you should provide anonymised information about the organisation and the reason for the research. You should also provide a brief description of the structure and content of your proposal.

 

Literature Review

You should identify and gather relevant information from reliable sources on the area of interest. You should NOT present the information you gather in a purely descriptive manner; the information needs to be analysed and critically evaluated. Theories should be included and critically evaluated, and theoretical frameworks could also be identified and integrated. The data gathered should also be examined in terms of what it does not cover, i.e., gaps in research should be identified. Information should be up to date, but may also include seminal works and further theoretical developments. The literature review is a written analytical discussion of research conducted in the area of interest from which the development of the research objectives can be observed.

 

Objectives

Research questions, objectives or hypotheses need to be included. These should follow on and emerge logically from the information included in the literature review. They should not be too broad or too vague. Consider what data will be needed to answer the research objectives; whether it is feasible and that it can be obtained.

 

Methodology

The philosophical standpoint (e.g., positivist, interpretivist or realist), the research approach (e.g., qualitative, quantitative or both), the methodology (e.g., survey, case study, etc.), methods (self-completion questionnaire, observation, focus groups, etc.), and the sample (e.g., sampling frame and sample size, participants’ characteristics, etc.) need to be justified. There should be some consideration of the research issues on which data is to be collected (i.e., if a focus group is being performed, what are the key questions that should be asked?), which should demonstrate coherence with both the literature review and the research objectives. You should also identify and discuss the potential ethical issues that may arise during the research process, and how you intend to prevent such issues occurring in your research.