The Research proposal goal:
- Present a clear, concise and informed case for your research.
The proposal builds a case for the research and makes clear how the research is driven by...
- A current issue or thinking that has current social, economic or professional significance.
- A gap in current industrial and/or academic knowledge.
- Potential connections between theories and practices.
The Research Proposal is a 3,500-word document (Due Week 10) which addresses:
- What is the proposed research about?
- What is it trying to find out or achieve?
- What is the body of relevant literature?
- What is the current thinking in this area?
- How does the literature support or inform your position?
- How will you undertake your research?
- What methods, materials and tools will you use?
- What are the expected outcomes and benefits?
- How do ou plan to structure your activity to achieve these outcomes?
Sections of The Research Proposal:
1. Abstract (Overview) 200-300 words
- The abstract is a summary of the entire proposal. Anyone should be able to read this and know what your project aim is, why this is a worthwhile research project , how you plan to go about your research and what the value of the research is.
- This is like the description on the back of a book or a Blu-ray, but it spoils the ending for the reader.
- This should be written last – it's easier to write when you have the rest of the content in place and know what the project is.
2. Introduction (Setting the scene) 500 words
- The introduction provides an overview of the area of interest and will present enough information to make the project engaging for the reader.
- The proposal should be written for a general audience, therefore, the introduction should avoid specialist terminology and will provide enough information for the reader to understand what the rest of the document is about.
- The introduction will also highlight the main research questions within the proposed project and will finish by setting out the research aim and objectives.
3. Literature/Contextual review (Lay of the land/what have others done) 2000 words
- The case for the project is made by presenting relevant evidence from outside your own practice (i.e. you put the research aim in wider context)
- Within the research proposal, this case will be in the form of a contextual or literature review (2,000 words) which sets the scene for the research, drawing from legitimate sources (Journals, literature, video presentations, articles etc.)
- Here you will establish the conceptual, theoretical and practical context of your proposed research.
Continue building the case...
- Identify and discuss related social, artistic and/or media theories
- Discuss examples of work published or exhibited that has tried to address similar research questions
- Provide rationale for the proposed research and demonstrate the value of the research
- Underpins the proposed research methodology thus when the reader moves on to the next section they can understand why you have chosen the methods you are using.
4. Methodology (How I will "do it"?) 500 words
- The proposal also provides a structure for the research which makes it clear how the research will be undertaken and what the outputs will be.
- This structure is presented in a methodology section which details what you will do in order to achieve the project aim.
- The methods you select will be informed by the literature/context review and should make sense to the reader
5. Project Plan (Eg. Gannt chart, plan of how to split up time)
- The proposal includes a timeline to help to showcase that the scope of research is appropriate to the scale of the project.
- A timeline will help you to determine whether you’re trying to do too much or not enough
- It will also help to build a case for the project as it will show you have considered all practical, logistical and personal angles of the project.
- The schedule can (and will) change over the course of the project but helps to show that you are prepared to undertake this course of action.
- The conclusion will summarise why the research is valuable.
- What will the research achieve? How does this help to address the problems, ideas or knowledge gaps identified in the literature review?
- Research is all about generating knowledge and at honours level that knowledge is new to you, but should also be of interest to others at your level.
Note:
- Don't get bogged down in specifics of the document, but start to build a foundation of knowledge now upon which you could build a case.
- The proposal is graded.
- The project can change from what is proposed, the final project in semester two is not graded against the project proposed in semester one.
Key Pipeline stages:
- "Ideation and scope" is the point I am currently at in my project.
- At this point, the project is broad. There are many questions and lots of ideas.
- In order to set a research aim, I need to find out what I don't know.
Developing Ideas
These are methods I can use to explore my questions and ideas:
Developing and structuring methods:
- Mindmapping
- Post-it's
- Sketching
- Flow Charts
Contextualising Methods:
- Reading
- Interacting
- Seeing
- Listening
- Talking
- Critique and analysis
Ideation Process:
- Begin reacting to questions and ideas.
- Try to read something new, related to addressing these questions.
- Try to make something inspired by or exploring these questions.
- Try to analyse existing media that is dealing with similar questions.
- Reflect on everything you do - think about what worked, what didn't, what you've learnt and what questions you have now.
- Blog and start again.
- The research proposal is a milestone.
- It is a specific project that addresses a research aim in context.
- It proposes a project that you believe can be achieved in the timeframe of a year.
Research Aims and Objectives:
- Research objectives are the steps you are going to take to answer your research questions, or they are a specific list of tasks you will perform to accomplish your goal.
- You must emphasise how the aims are to be accomplished.
- The aims must be highly focused and feasible.
- The aims must address the more immediate project outcomes.
- The aims must make accurate use of concepts.
- The aims must be sensible and precisely described.
- The aims should read as an individual statement to convey your intentions.
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