Developing a Social Research Proposal

Description:
This is an introductory course to social research. The goal of this assignment is to develop a low-budget social research design. The full instructions are listed below:

The purpose of this assignment is to develop a research proposal based on a current social or geographic issue that you find interesting. The objective is to practice linking the research question and hypothesis generation stage of research with the selection of an appropriate primary research design, data collection method, sampling approach, and the consideration of ethical issues that may arise based on the type of research proposed. Since this assignment is meant to replicate the process of carrying out research as a student, it must be possible to carry out the primary data collection component of your proposed research project within a six-month period, and within a budget that does not exceed $500 (this means no research assistants or funds for personal travel).

Your assignment should be structured in paragraph and sentence format under general headings. You should not respond to each task in point form, but rather ensure that each is covered in your proposal under appropriate headings so that it is logical and easy to follow. Your assignment should be approximately 6 to 7 pages in length (12 point Times New Roman font, double spaced, pages numbers). Please observe and do not exceed the page limit.

Tasks Problem Definition (Approximately 1 page)

1. Select one newspaper or magazine article from the past year which covers a social or geographic issue you feel raises questions for future research. (This is purposely broad to allow you to select an issue that fits your own interest). Attach a copy of the article to your assignment (can be printed from the Internet).
2. Identify one issue of interest for future primary research that emerges from your particular newspaper article? Write an introduction that explains why this is a topic that is important and requires further research.
3. Based on the issue of interest that you have identified, define a research hypothesis or research question for your perspective study?


Literature Review (approximately 2 Pages)

1. Identify and synthesize the findings from at least 5 peer reviewed academic articles dealing with the topic that you have chosen. In this section of your proposal show that the topic of your proposal is part of a larger academic literature. If you cannot find any academic articles dealing with your topic, it might mean that you have to change your topic to something that has been covered more in existing journals. The main intent with any literature review is to justify the research question as worthwhile to pursue, and to explain how your research fits in with the theories, findings and methods that have already been developed. Do not simply list and summarize the articles that you find.

Research Design, Research Method and Sample Selection (Approximately 2 pages)

4. Identify and explain in detail the research design (eg. Experimental, longitudinal, cross sectional and case studies) and research methods (eg. Interviews, focus groups, ethnography, etc.) that you would use to test your hypothesis or answer your research questions. Explain why the research design and methods you have selected will enable you to delivery accurate, reliable and valid results. Also briefly describe the strengths and limitations of your research method: can you generalize from your sample to a larger population?
5. What is the complete population for your study, the sampling method, and the sampling frame that you would use in order to select respondents? Does your project focus on hard to-reach individuals, and if so explain what creative methods you would use to reach your target population?
6. Explain how you would administer your survey (eg. postal survey; telephone survey; personal interviews; focus groups, random on-street interviews, etc.). How large a sample would you target? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the way that you will administer the survey?
7. Develop a realistic timeline of research activities and a budget for any research related activities (eg. stamps; survey photocopies; long distance phone calls; etc). Research Ethics (Approximately 1 page)
8. Detail any ethical issues that arise from the population that you intend to study and the method of research that you plan to use.
9. How would you manage the ethical issues that arise based on the type of study you propose? (eg. informed consent form, anonymity of respondents; compensation for participation, university research ethics approval, etc).