Draft Project Proposal Submission

You can now submit a Draft Project Proposal, confirming your research question and detailing your chosen research design. 

Expectations for this document include the provision of the below information, demonstrating a sound understanding of key aspects that have been covered in the module so far: 

• State the title of your business investigation
• Introduce the topic, including your research aims and objectives
• Provide details of the findings from your preliminary literature review
• Identify methods considered suitable for your research project and explaining why you think these might be suitable for your project 
• Identify risks or limitations relating to the successful completion of your project and explaining how you intend to address these 
• Explain how you will complete your project within the timescale of the module 

Think of risk assessment:

A risk assessment may be required when there is potential risk to you as a researcher or any human participants involved in the study, and there is a possibility that you or they may come to harm. However, for this Business Investigation module, where you will be conducting secondary research only, you should consider risk from a different perspective.

Please read Chapter 6 of Doing your Undergraduate Project (details can be found in the Unit 5 reading page) and consider the ways that you might define, assess and manage risk in relation to your project.

Below, we have provided a risk assessment template based on the table provided within the Reardon text (p122-123). We recommend that you complete and submit this along with your project proposal and application for ethical approval later in the module. By all means, discuss this with your tutor in advance if you have any questions.    

Introduction to Research Ethics and Integrity

In this unit, you will be introduced to an overview of research ethics, including relevant codes of ethics providing general principles that can be applied to your research.

As new researchers, in this module, you will be utilising secondary data only to inform your investigation. As you will not be collecting primary data, you may think this removes any need for you to consider the ethics of your project. However, this is not the case. Although ethical concerns are greatest when human participants are involved, all individuals undertaking any kind of research must have an awareness of research ethics and potential ethical issues which can arise during the course of their exploration.

Principles relevant to the collection of secondary data include:

• Integrity
• Researcher objectivity
• Data confidentiality
• Organisational anonymity
• Informed consent, for example from your employer if your project is work based
• Responsibility for data analysis and the reporting of findings

You will submit an application for ethical approval alongside your Project Proposal in Unit 8 to evidence that you have considered any ethical issues in relation to your planned project and sought to resolve these.

In this unit we shall: 

• Consider issues relating to data access
• Explore the importance of research ethics and the need to act ethically
• Consider the ethical principles most relevant to secondary research

On completion of this unit you will be able to:

• Demonstrate awareness of issues associated with gaining traditional and internet-mediated access to data
• Identify ethical principles most relevant to your own research investigation

Methodology and Research Design

In this unit, the focus is upon methodology and research design. By this, we mean the plan for how you will investigate your chosen topic: how will you turn your research question into a research project? 

In order for us to have accurate information on which to base our decisions, we need to have reliable information, and this is where research methods become extremely important. Following your literature review and the identification of your research question, it is useful to also establish your methodological choice, research strategy and the time horizon for your research. As part of this, you should ensure there is coherence in your research design: 

• Are your objectives clear?
• Are the sources you have identified appropriate and how will you access and analysethese?
• Do you foresee any ethical issues?(Ethics will be covered in more detail in Unit 6)
• Do you expect to face any risks or constraints and if so, how might you overcome those? 
• Can you complete the project within a realistic time scale?

One key decision for you to make at this stage is whether you wish to use a quantitative or qualitative research design. For the purpose of this module, a mixed method approach isn't recommended because of the short time period involved.  

In this unit we shall:

• Consider the importance of careful research design
• Introduce quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods research designs
• Explore the concept of risk when conducting research

On completion of this unit you will be able to: 

• Understand the importance of designing your research carefully and appreciate the need for clarity 
• Explain the differences between quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods research designs and choose between these
• Conduct a risk assessment of your chosen research design 

Writing your Project Proposal 

In order to demonstrate your learning from the module so far and fully inform your tutor about how you plan to conduct your research, you will submit a Project Proposal in Unit 8.  

In a business context, as well as providing the background, context and justification for the work, a project proposal sets expectations for the exact extent of what is to be delivered and when so that the business can see why its resources are being spent on the work and what it can expect to receive in return. This means that it should be a clear and cohesive document with sufficient detail that any colleague can pick up and understand. 

Each project is unique so your Project Proposal will be unique too. However, its purpose is to set out a detailed and structured plan for the why, what, when, where and how of the work, and so there are certain expectations about what will be included in this document. This is covered in your reading for this week. 

In this unit we shall: 

• Begin developing your Project Proposals ready for submission in Unit 8.

On completion of this unit you will be able to: 

• Demonstrate your ability to produce a project proposal which meets both academic and work place requirements.

Project title

Provide range of services to individuals with learning difficulties and challenging behaviour through house arrangements to live a normal life.

Introduction – Research Aims and objectives

People with learning difficulties and challenging behaviour are ignored by the government and also various NGOs due to lack of support from the individuals and also their family members. This research will try to understand the challenges that o