Organising Your Research Project

Go to Library, get a book to help with research project

"Doing your research project" - Judith Bell

Approaches to Research

Quantitative Data

• Statistical Data
• Numerical Results
• Surveys, questionnaires 

Qualitative Data

• Philosophy
• Theories

If your project is concerned with making, an entirely different set of research methodologies may apply.

Action Research

What sort of research applies to you?

Planning the Project:

•  Write down all questions that you want to investigate
•  Consider each on their merits and focus on two main questions (primary & secondary)
•  Write an A4 'first thought' sheet for each
•  What am I trying to achieve, what is the purpose of the study?  Is your question researchable?
•  Decide on a working title

Project Outline:

• Consider Timing
• Deadline - 12 weeks on friday
• Consider Holidays/Work/Life
• Make a week by week plan
• Think about your working title and the different component parts that needs researching.
• Allocate timings to each
• Draw up a project outline based on the above
• Allow generous time for initial reading and writing up
• Factor in Tutorials

40 credits: 400 hours work.  Spend about a quarter of that reading.


 Literature Search & Review

• Reading takes more time than you think 
• How much can you actually read in 100 hours?
• Start by trying to find out all the key texts on your chosen topic
• Focus your reading based on an initial assessment of this survey
• Find key texts and plan time to read these
• Find secondary sources/ criticisms of key texts (triangulation)
• Use journals (www.jstor.org) 

Reference correctly from the beginning!! 
Jot down what each book is useful for and key concepts and its harvard reference


Ethics

• Consider the ethical implications of whatever it is you are studying
• Does the research involve human participants? (have you taken care to be sure that no harm can be done to them - physically/mentally.
• Are you going to involve vulnerable, do you need consent?
• Will the study involve discussion of sensitive topics (eg. sexual activity, drug use?)

Referencing

• Start a bibliography immediately
• name, forename, date, place, publisher, page\

Questionnaires 

• Is a questionnaire the best way of investigating your topic
• If so, begin to word questions and discuss with your supervisor
• Avoid ambiguity, imprecision, assumption, also double, leading, presuming or offensive questions
• Consider questions, question type?
• Consider sample size, how many people?  Less than 100 isn't really a reliable source

Interviews

• Is this the best way to investigate topic?
• If so, begin to word questions and discuss with supervisor
• Structured or unstructured?
• How will you analyse questions
• Watch for bias

Observation

• Is this the best way?
• Decide exactly what you need to know?
• Request permission to observe
• Prepare and plan observation carefully
• Devise a suitable grid, checklist or chart.

Reflective Blog

• Consider what you put on the blog, don't just put loads of useless information up.
• Reflect 

Checklist

• Don't procrastinate 
• Plan research methods carefully
• Select the most appropriate research methods for the project
• Complete an ethics self assessment
• Complete an extensive literature review
• Document all stages of the process carefully
• Create detailed project outline, with timings and stick to it
• Get the most from your supervisor