You have been working for a Think Tank studying attitudes and perceptions towards the proposed referendum which will allow the British people to elect to either stay in, or leave, the European Union. Your area of research is to investigate the views of undergraduate students in England and to consider: Definition of the population – i.e. identify institutions of higher education within England How to sample from this population Student attitudes towards the European Union Their views on staying in or leaving the European Union Likely voting preferences for the next UK election Attitudes towards politics and politicians Religious affiliations, if any You should decide which of these issues you will be exploring in the research, and you can include any other issues which you think might be relevant. For this final piece of coursework, we would like you to focus on SEVEN KEY AREAS OF A RESEARCH PROPOSAL. There are other areas which would normally be included in a formal business proposal but for the purposes of this exercise you should ONLY include: : Background The key objective of the proposed research The terms of reference of the proposed research Identification of an appropriate methodology, justifying why you have chosen this approach and identifying the research design. All students should include a questionnaire approach and the final version of this, plus at least one draft version of your questionnaire, both to be included in an appendix.. The final version should be ready to be administered to informants, in both content and style. Identification of an appropriate sampling approach, showing why you have chosen this approach Suggested data analysis approach Suggested time scale Refer back to relevant lecture/class notes and reading, and in addition consider the following summary sections for a proposal – these should put your key areas highlighted above in context: 1. Background: This should include a brief summary of the situation and any relevant secondary data which you have identified. 2. The Proposal: Key Objective This should be a one (maximum) two sentence statement of what the research is going to achieve. If you are not clear in your own mind about the focus of the research, nobody else will be! 3. The proposal: Terms of Reference Break the key objective down into the issues you want to suggest should be explored, and decide what specific objectives the research is going to achieve. Also decide what it cannot do i.e. ensure that you make it clear the boundaries of the proposed project or else you may be asked to conquer the world for nothing! Remember that Terms of Reference should focus on what is going to be explored/researched/discovered, not on the tasks which will be undertaken (these come in the next section) 4 The Proposal: Data Collection – Methodology Consider whether you are collecting qualitative and/or quantitative data, what can be researched using secondary data, and what information must be generated by primary research. You will need to focus here on specific data collection techniques. Do not be tempted to use all the techniques available, although you may select more than one. Most techniques are used in specific ways. Try and read articles from the International Journal of Market Research (available via the online LRC) to get a feel for how research designs and data collection methods are used commercially. Specify clearly how you will collect your data – your data collection MUST, for the purposes of this assignment, include a questionnaire although in real life choice of methodology would be entirely up to the researcher. In an appendix you should include…. . ….at least one draft questionnaire plus the final, tested version of the questionnaire, plus any other relevant information (e.g. draft topic guides) for other forms of data collection approaches you may have selected. PLEASE NOTE THAT ALTHOUGH YOU ARE PILOTING THE QUESTIONNAIRE YOU ARE NOT ACTUALLY CARRYING OUT THE RESEARCH. 5. The Proposal: Sampling Plan Reflect on what research you are proposing here [Note: You will not actually carry out this research project – you are submitting a proposal in response to the brief in the hope that it will be accepted by the client and you will get the contract]. In the light of this identify what sampling method is most appropriate for this research situation. If you are suggesting two or more different methodologies then you need to bear this in mind when discussing the sampling approach(s) and you need to reflect on the population of interest, availability or not of a sampling frame, profile of target informants, sample size, and the relationship between the sample size and the population of interest. Note: methodology and sampling need to be considered together, not sequentially. 6. The Proposal: Suggested data analysis approach How, precisely, will your data be analysed, and what will the outputs be (NOT the results – the outputs – what type of analysis/crosstabulation/discussion can the Client/reader expect?) Remember that charts, graphs and tables display the data: they are not, in themselves, analysis…. The Proposal: Suggested time scale Think carefully about what you are proposing, how long each task(s) will take, the time needed for analysis, and when would be a reasonable time to submit the final report. You can work on a starting date of June 1st 2016 Marking criteria: Understanding of the situation and application of concepts – 15% Quality of the questionnaire – 15% Appropriate level of detail – 10% Identification of clear and appropriate objectives – 10% Clarity and professionalism of writing – 20% Bibliography and use of Harvard referencing – 10% (NB We expect to see evidence of secondary research, plus reading to support your understanding of briefs and the market research process) Secondary research summary – 10% Overall impact – 10% TOTAL 100% Word limit: 2,300 words Indicative word allowances – NOTE: These are ONLY indicative and students should not regard these as absolute. 1. Background: 300-500 words 2. The Proposal: Key Objective 40- 60 words 3. The proposal: Terms of Reference 200-240 words 4 The Proposal: Data Collection – Methodology 500-700 words 5. The Proposal: Sampling Plan 300-500 words 6. The Proposal: Suggested data analysis approach 300-500 words 7. The Proposal: Suggested time scale 200-400 words TOTAL:S 1840-2,900 words Please note that totals for sections may vary but the OVERALL TOTAL should not exceed 2,300, plus any appendices (including at least two versions of the questionnaire).
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