Advanced concepts in research: methodology and methods

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Guidelines

Your research/project proposal will set out a plan for the project you intend to carry out in the final module of your programme. The proposal consists of two parts:

  1. A literature review which will detail a repeatable search and synthesis of published literature. It is intended to help you develop skills in reviewing and evaluating the state of research evidence. The literature review provides background for your proposal and demonstrates the need for research/systematic review/project in this area.
  2. A research protocol/project proposal which uses the resulting synthesis of research from your literature research to define research questions/project aims and objectives, and provides a project plan for the execution of your proposed work. The purpose of the protocol/proposal is to define a repeatable and structured investigation which you will undertake as your project in your final module on the programme (APP753 or SPP702).

Process

You should work on this assignment in two parts, completing the literature review first and subsequently building a protocol/proposal that has used the current state of evidence as its foundation. The final written assignment will be presented as one document to integrate the literature review and the project proposal.

Part 1: Literature Review* – approximately 1500 words

  • Identify a topic for your review and write the research question that your review will answer.
  • Develop a search strategy for your review: inclusion and exclusion criteria, search terms, databases to search. You may find it helpful to use PICO(S) or similar tool.
  • Complete your search, keeping records of the number of results and use these to populate a PRISMA flow chart.
  • Decide how you are going to critically appraise the papers which meet your inclusion criteria.
  • Read and critically appraise each included paper, keeping notes of key critical points and the findings from each paper. Your critique should enable you to draw conclusions about the strength of the findings. Compare findings/results across studies and write a synthesis of these in each relevant area. This synthesis should provide a concise summary of the state and strength of the evidence in the area.

Part 2: Research Protocol/Project proposal* approximately 1500 words

Follow either 2a for a research/systematic review protocol or 2b for a project proposal. If you are not following any specific programme you can choose either option.

Part 2a Research/Systematic review Protocol (for those intending to take APP753 Disseration module)

  • Define research questions stemming from your literature review.
  • Consider what the philosophical foundations are for the questions/aims you have defined – is your project going to be predominantly interpretivist or positivist in approach or something else?
  • Choose your methodology to fit with your identified philosophical approach, then select data collection methods that are appropriate for that approach and your chosen questions.
  • Use published research texts/journal articles to help you when making these choices. These texts will also help you to write each of the sections outlined below which follow on from the identification of your chosen methodology and methods.

Part 2b Project proposal (for those intending to take SPP702 Substantive Professional Project)

  • Define your aims and objectives based on the findings from your literature review. Note that a practice development proposal should focus on applying knowledge not generating new knowledge.
  • Consider the philosophical foundations for your aims and objectives – is your project going to be underpinned by an emancipatory or a technical approach to practice development or something else?
  • Choose your methodology to fit with your identified approach (e.g. Action Research, PARiHS Framework, PDSA etc), then select the methods appropriate for that approach and your aims and objectives.
  • Use published research texts/journal articles to help you when making these choices. These texts will also help you to write each of the sections outlined below which follow on from the identification of your chosen methodology and methods.