social research proposal topic : Indigenous Australian health
Proposal Structure
Although this is not for a ‘real’ project, it should be treated as such – containing clear
research
goals/questions
and a
route to impact; with your
rationale
based on an evidence-based
literature review; and the inclusion of a
methodology
outlining the plans for a ‘rigorous study’ that makes several
ethical considerations. Either the social
or
evaluation research proposal structure should include certain key elements, but not necessarily in the order specified. In fact, students can also combine or insert additional (sub) headings or sections if they find other templates throughout their readings. It may seem complex, but we will go through the research design process step-by-step…
Remember, this is not an essay
or
a report format; it is unlikely you have written in this style before. The template below has been adapted from examples located on BB and your textbook (see Natalier, 2013, pp. 44-45). Your proposal should contain at least the following key elements:
·
(Section)
Title Page
:
With Title, Author and Unit/Lecturer Details
Does not count towards the Word Limit
·
(Heading)
Abstract
:
Outlining the proposal topic, rationale and research design
Does not count towards the Word Limit
·
(Heading)
Contents Page
:
List/order of sections of text (including the preceding pages)
Does not count towards the Word Limit
·
(Heading)
List of Tables/Figures
:
List/order of visual data that appear in-text (including those in
‘Appendices’)
Students do not place tables, figures or diagrams (pictures) here – they are to be inserted where appropriate in your proposal ‘proper’ or
‘Appendices’,
with sources cited.
Each table/figure must be labelled (e.g. Table 1. Sample Group) and be described in-text (i.e. In the
‘Methodology’
section, students may write – ‘A sample of 30 women will be interviewed – see Table 1 below).
Does not count towards the Word Limit
Moreover, any tables, figures, or diagrams (pictures) inserted throughout the proposal do not count towards the Word Limit.
The Inclusion of this is optional – it depends on whether students have tables, diagrams (etc.)
·
(Heading)
Scope of Research
:
Similar to an introduction and may be more than one paragraph
-
(Sub-heading)
Introduction/Rationale:
Outline the purpose and structure of the proposal; also introduce the proposed topic or organisation/program to be researched and why it is important (albeit briefly)
-
(Sub-heading)
Definitions/Terms of Reference (TORs):
A brief outline of the key terms/descriptions and possibly where ‘acronyms’ are introduced.
This section may be included as a separate ‘list’ before the Abstract; during the Literature Review; or included as an Appendix – particularly if there a lot of abbreviations in your paper.
-
(Sub-Heading)
Background
:
Why you are personally/professionally interested in this topic/program (etc.) - this may be where you describe your proposed research’s ‘originality’, ‘research worthiness’ and (or) ‘significance’.
Elements of this section pertaining to ‘originality’, ‘research worthiness’ and (or) significance may be included (and should be reiterated) throughout the Research Proposal Assessment…
-
(Sub-heading)
Research Questions and Aims
:
1 – 3 Research Questions and related aims that encapsulates your main research goals
-
(Sub Heading)
Route to Impact
:
A plan for how your proposed study will have a social influence (outside of the research context)
·
(Heading)
Literature Review:
A ‘critical’ review of the literature you have sourced (text books, journal articles, newspaper articles, videos/films and websites etc.) and an overview of how it was found. Please note that references to sources are to be cited throughout your proposal as well (i.e. when discussing the topic or existing methods/frameworks that you have drawn upon); moreover, you can re-use sources multiple times throughout the paper.
-
(Sub-heading)
Methods used to Search for and Review Literature
The search terms and search engines/library databases (etc.) you used to source information and how you deemed them to be quality work that was relevant for inclusion.
-
(Sub-Headings)
Background to the issue(s)
You may have several sub-headings here, thematically categorising key topics or issues.
·
(Heading)
Methodology
:
A ‘step-by-step’ guide that lists the theories/concepts and methods of data collection/analysis to be used in the proposed research.
-
(Sub-heading)
Theoretical Frameworks (TFW)/Standpoint
:
A TFW is a ‘theory’ or ‘theories’ that students intend to use when framing their theoretical understanding of issues, data collection/analysis and interpretation (use) of data in proposed research.
(i.e. Of relevance to a study/organisation focused on ‘female inequality in the workplace’ may be
Feminism
or
Human Capital Theory.)
Theoretical frameworks may also be linked with suggested approaches/methods that might be applied in the proposed research – this may reflect your standpoint.
(i.e. It may be appropriate to undertake a quantitative study [collate the number of underemployed females], thus a student may explain the benefits of such an approach by discussing
‘Functionalism’
and
‘Positivism’, approaches that believe in the primacy of numbers statistical predictability; conversely for a qualitative study that is investigating why women might be unemployed, a student may espouse the virtues of
‘Phenomenology’
– an approach that explores the meaning behind phenomena and values words/imagery/symbolism [etc.]).
Elements of this section may be included as part of an Introduction or Literature Review
-
(Sub-Heading)
Conceptual Frameworks/Models
:
A ‘concept’ or ‘concepts’ that students intend to use when framing their conceptual understanding of issues, data collection/analysis and the interpretation (use) of data in their proposed research.
(i.e. A study/organisation addressing ‘female inequality’ may focus on ‘gender’ or ‘patriarchy’).
Conceptual Frameworks may also be linked to a researcher’s chosen methods of conduct or models created from the proposed research.
(i.e. Drawing upon the principles of
Community Development
[especially the values of social justice, social capital and empowerment], a researcher may discuss their intention to ‘give voice’ to a cohort of women that are ‘marginalised’; and involve these participants in the development of a new ‘conceptual model’ from the bottom-up.)
This model might already be in the planning phase and included as part of the research proposal.
Elements of this section may be included as part of an Introduction or Literature Review and the inclusion of an actual ‘Model’ is optional.
-
(Sub-heading)
Sampling Frame and Recruitment
:
1. Who students intend to observe, survey or interview (etc.) and how they would recruit individuals in their proposed research. Here they would explain the population groups they intend to target – or
sample
– in details (e.g. women aged 45 years and above); the methods of promoting the study (i.e. advertising in newspapers, phoning organisations etc.); and how they would screen/select respondents – using ‘non-random’ and (or) ‘random sampling’ techniques to recruit ‘eligible’ participants; encouraging participation through ‘compensation’ (Vouchers etc.).
2. If students do not propose undertaking
‘primary data collection’
(collecting information from people), their proposed social or evaluation research may focus solely on
‘secondary data collection’
(collecting literary sources, historical records or transcripts etc.). In this case, they need to explain the sources they would target (Note that this is different to a Literature Review, which has to be done regardless – see
‘Methods’
below). A student may use a mix of sampling frames and draw from primary and secondary data sources.
·
(Sub-heading)
Methods/Instruments for Data Collection
:
How students plan to collect information from their sample or sources.
This would encompass the types of questions that will be asked (with a Question List or
Question Guide
included as an
Appendix
).
This section would also include methods of note-taking, audio-visual recording and transcription.
1. If proposing a study that uses observation, surveys, interviews or focus groups (etc.) to collect
‘primary data’, these techniques
may
be linked to the theories/concepts described above (i.e. a study into ‘female inequality in the workplace’ may be framed by
Feminist theory
and so you would adopt a
Phenomenological approach
and conduct
in-depth interviews
that allow researchers to obtain meaning – whilst adhering to the
Community Development principles
of ‘giving voice’). Your own links/application of theory need not be so complicated, this is just an example of how different stages of research all fit together.
2. If proposing a study that uses ‘content analysis’ or ‘discourse analysis’ (etc.) to review
‘secondary data’, you need to detail how such textual/verbal information would be collected.
If using (only) ‘content analysis’ or ‘discourse analysis’, this section may overlap with the
‘Sampling’
and
‘Analysis’
sections.
·
(Sub-heading)
Approaches to Data Analysis
:
How students plan to collate (organise) and analyse (review) data; including the use of data management tools such as
SPSS
or
NVivo
(for quantitative and qualitative data respectively).
1. The proposed methods of analyses, will likely be linked to theory/concepts, sampling frames and data collection techniques
(i.e. A researcher that draws on ‘Positivism’
and plans to use ‘structured surveys’, would likely be interested in ‘figures’ – numbers and percentages – and so undertake a ‘statistical analysis’ of data; in comparison, a researcher focused on exploring ‘meaning’ would likely propose a ‘thematic analysis’).
Again, the use of multiple methods can be proposed and whether a types of data analyses are appropriate is dependent on the kind of data collected and what you intend showing/doing with it.
2. If reviewing (only) academic texts, historical documents, speeches or newspaper articles (etc.) a researcher may propose to undertake ‘content analysis’, ‘discourse analysis’, ‘thematic analysis’ or a ‘meta-analysis/evaluation’. Again, do not worry if you do not recognise many of the words/phrases used here, we will be discussing these in detail over the coming weeks.
Either way, you need to detail ‘who’ will be undertaking data collection/analysis and how – research is often done as part of a group, so it is up to you if others will be ‘involved’ in your proposed study of if you will be the ‘only’ researcher (there are pros and cons to each scenario).
-
(Sub-heading)
Ethical Considerations, Risks and Social/Research Impact
:
This section is arguably the MOST important in a research proposal.
Students will need to describe how they will act ‘ethically’ at all stages – this does not simply mean being respectful to participants, but also maintaining their privacy and keeping responses secure.
(i.e. Consider issues of safety and where/how data collection will take place; whether you will be asking ‘sensitive’ questions and how to deal with participant discomfort or decisions to ‘drop out of the study’; explain how you will keep identities anonymous, information confidential and where/how data will be stored.)
Students should also describe how they will obtain ‘informed consent’, act ethically and reduce risk with links to the following documents to be included in their
‘Appendices’:
A. An
‘Information Letter’
(Promotional materials used to inform and recruit prospective participants.);
B.
‘Ethics Consent Form’
(A document that sets out the ethical obligations of participants and researchers, requiring their written signature.); and
C. A
‘Confidentiality Form’
(Generally used for Focus Groups, it ensures that all respondents keep any group discussion private.)
D.
‘Risk Assessment’ Matrix
(Outlines the type of risk, its likelihood of occurring and levels of consequence.)
Even if you propose a study that only undertakes ‘secondary data’ collection, you still need to seek permission to undertake research, especially if there are ‘intellectual property’ issues (etc.).
This section is also where students will describe the potential positive and negative ‘implications’ of their proposed research for individuals (including themselves), organisations, the academic community and society or world – including potential risks of discomfort, harm or safety (etc.); with links back to their
‘Route to Impact’
strategy forward to the ‘Strengths and Weaknesses’.
The Inclusion of actual ‘Risk Assessment’ matrices is optional – it depends on whether students have room for such tables, diagrams (etc.); however, this may be included as an
Appendix.
-
(Sub-heading)
Strengths and Weaknesses of Research Proposal
:
This is where students express the benefits
and
limitations of their proposed design/topic (etc.).
Admitting that something is beyond the ‘scope of a study’ is not necessarily bad; rather it indicates a level of critical self-reflection – creating an opportunity to either ‘plan do something’ that will minimise the identified delimitation, or potentially leave it open for future/follow-up research.
(e.g. Your proposed research into ‘female inequality in the workplace’ has a small sample and will rely on qualitative responses that may not be
‘generalisable’
[some studies cannot necessarily be attributed to the ‘greater population’ because it only reflects a ‘specific’ cohort of people]; however because it will offer data that is ‘rich’ in context, the findings may be
‘transferable’
to similar contexts –
applied in the same work conditions/settings and relevant to individuals with shared experiences
– or used to inform policy-related decisions on ‘gender equality’).
Where possible, turn weaknesses into strengths…
-
(Sub-heading)
A Timetable
:
This section contains a table, diagram or descriptive list of objectives, tasks/activities and outcomes – with a predicted timeline. This does not
need
to be too ‘specific’ and can be ‘generic’.
(e.g. The data collection phase will take place over approximately one month, with focus groups undertaken at various venues and days depending on the time constraints of respondents...)
-
(Sub-heading)
A Plan for the Dissemination of Results
:
This may be linked to the research ‘Aims’ and ‘Route to Impact’ sections above. Students need to propose ‘what will happen’ to the data once it has been collected and analysed – in most cases it will form part of a report or thesis/dissertation. However, is it just going to
‘sit on a shelf’?
Research needs to be communicated to the public and or be adopted by policy-makers, not simply circulated within academia. Possible means of dissemination may be fact sheets, reports, community consultations, media releases or news spots and even on social media/blogs (etc.).
·
(Heading) Summary:
Similar to conclusions/recommendations and may be more than one paragraph.
This is where students reiterate the purpose of this paper; what their main social or evaluation research goals are; remind the reader of the project/evaluation design structure; and link back to the implications of their proposed research.
·
Bibliography:
A list of sources that were reviewed and informed understanding, but were not used by students.
-
Does not count towards the Word Limit
The inclusion of this is optional – it depends on whether students read literature that was not inserted in the proposal (cited in-text), but it informed their understanding of the topic and they want to inform the reader of this by including the sources here.
·
Reference List:
A list of sources cited in-text (all textbooks/journals, reports, videos/films and websites (etc.) inserted in your paper).
This end-text list of sources includes references for your
‘List of Definitions/Terms of Reference’
(even if you included this as separate, before the
‘Abstract’); sources for tables/figures and diagrams; and information in your
‘Appendices’.
You do not include any citations to ‘personal communications’ here, they only appear in-text.
Does not count towards the Word Limit
Moreover, no references – either in-text or end-text – count towards the Word Limit.
Similarly, no ‘headings’ or “direct quotes” from sources/KIs count towards the Word Limit.
·
Appendices:
Relevant, additional text or visual data that could not fit in-text
Each individual
Appendix
must be labelled (e.g.
Appendix A;
Appendix B) and like tables/diagrams, need to be described in-text (i.e. In the
‘Methodology’
section, you might write –
‘Questions will be sent to respondents – see Appendix A for the Question List.’).
Appendices could include:
A. Information Letter
B. Ethics Consent Form/Confidentiality Agreement
C. Examples of Survey Question Lists and (or) Interview/Focus Group Question Guides (etc.)
D. Risk Matrix
E. Question List/Guide
F. *(Special ‘Key Informant’) Information Letter and Ethics Consent Form
G. *(Special ‘Key Informant’) Question List/Guide