...Developing Research Proposals Handout Prepared by Ted Zorn, University of Waikato This is a handout I often give to students when I expect them to provide a research proposal for a course project. That is, it’s intended for fairly brief proposals, not a prospectus for a masters or doctoral thesis. It gives students an example of the sort of thing I want, plus some commentary (in italics) about what I’m expecting in each section. I sometimes change the particular example given, in order to encourage them to think about particular kinds of projects. For instance, the example provided here was used in a Leadership Communication course. I’ve used the same format, but a different research project example, for a course on Organisational Communication Technology. Feel free to adapt it to your purposes. Research Proposal (Example) (Note: This is single spaced to save paper; yours should be double-spaced) To: Ted Zorn From: Chris Student Date: 1 April 2003 Subject: Research proposal Proposed Research Topic: A situational analysis of shared leadership in a self-managing team [provide a brief description or a descriptive title or a research question] Purposes: Alvesson (1996) claims that a situational approach enables leadership to be viewed and studied as “a practical accomplishment” (p. 476) rather than starting with a conceptualisation of leadership as whatever the appointed leader does. This approach seems particularly well suited to self-managing teams...
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...A Research Proposal on Animal Cruelty and How A Childs Upbringing Is A Major Factor Introduction Previous research conducted on the topic of animal abuse that takes place during childhood has been grounded on the premise that animal abusers have the propensity to graduate in regards to the level of violence incorporated into harming others (Hensley & Tallichet, 2007). This concept is referred to as the violence graduation hypothesis which best explicates the association in which animal cruelty and abuse is one of many predicting factors related to the interpersonal violence demonstrated later in one’s life. Problem Statement The problem statement for this research proposal considers the concept that animal abuse has dominated discussions among factors predicting adolescent criminal behavior. However, further research is required to examine the elements associated to why individuals participate in childhood animal cruelty and what are the behavioral and social aspects related to this type of behavior. Hirschi’s social bonding theory is implemented into this study as a means to address social bonds during childhood and their overall importance in relation to developing antisocial behavioral characteristics. Social Bonding Theory Travis Hirschi’s (1969) social control theory is known as the social bonding theory in which a collaboration of elements interact with one another in consideration of one’s bond to society in relation to the participation of deviant...
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...Introduction In conducting research, a sample was used to determine whether income, education, and political attitude were related. Suppressor variables were utilized. A suppressor variable “has a zero correlation with the criterion”, but nevertheless contribute to the predictive validity of a test battery. The current definition of a suppressor variable is that it is “a variable that increase regression weights and, thus increase the predictive validity of other variables in a regression equation.”(Krus & Wilkinson, 1986). Data was collected from a sample of the population of my community to be evaluated were the data were correlated and related. The sample of the population Table I. # Race Age Sex College Occupation Income Pol. Party 1 AA 32 F Yes Nurse $ 42,000 Dem 2 AA 50 F Yes Director/accountant $ 142,000 Dem 3 C 68 M No Farmer $ 125,000 Rep 4 AA 49 M No Landscaper $ 75,000 Dem 5 AA 62 F No Upholster $ 60,000 Rep 6 AA 38 F Yes Teacher/SMBO $ 104,000 Dem 7 C 32 M No Farmer $ 93,000 Rep 8 AA 53 M Yes Landscaper $ 102,000 Dem 9 C 60 M No Contractor $1,000,000 Rep. 10 AA 47 F Yes Gov. Inspector $ 52,000 Dem AA= African American C= Caucasian Dem= Democratic Rep=Republic SMBO=Small Business Owner Direct Effect of Education on Political Attitudes. A sample poll was conducted on 10 people from a community of 150 people. The community is Springhill which is located 8 miles north of Indianola, MS with a population of 10, 503...
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...Trinity Road Bradford BD5 0BB UK Telephone: þ44 1274 236546 E-mail: c.mackintosh@bradford.ac.uk M A C K I N T O S H C ( 2 0 0 7 ) Journal of Clinical Nursing 16, 1134–1140 Making patients better: a qualitative descriptive study of registered nurses’ reasons for working in surgical areas Aims. To explore the reasons and motivation identified by qualified nurses for working within the surgical area. Background. Little is known about the career decisions qualified nurses make, although it is clear that some areas of practice are more popular than others. This qualitative descriptive study considers one common area, surgery, and explores the motivation for decisions made by Registered Nurses (RNs) to work in this area. Method. A sample of 16 RNs working within surgical areas participated in semistructured interviews, using a thematic interview schedule. Findings were analysed using the framework suggested by Morse and Field. Results. Analysis of findings indicates that all participants actively chose to work within surgery and that this was because of the pace and turnover of surgical work, personal satisfaction at the recovery of patients; the close links between this type of work; and participants’ original aims when first entering nursing and participants’ preference of surgery to other areas of nursing work. Participants actively rejected working in areas where patients were...
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...define research population . Identify and evaluate the merits of alternative sampling frames. Suggest most appropriate one and justify your selection. Research population is the target population on which a study or research is conducted through various different methods inorder to reach a conclusion from the data generated. It is for the benefit of the population directly or indirectly. But, due to very large size of research population, it is not feasible to test all the individuals of the population since it will take too much time and will be expensive as well. So the researchers take few individuals from the research population ( a subset of the set of target population) using sampling techniques. These techniques helps to take out sample as per the requirements of the type of research that is to be conducted. A research population is also known as a well-defined collection of individuals or objects known to have similar characteristics. All individuals or objects within a certain population usually have a common, binding characteristic or trait. Usually, the description of the population and the common binding characteristic of its members are the same. "Government officials" is a well-defined group of individuals which can be considered as a population and all the members of this population are indeed officials of the government. There are various sources from which a sample is created. A set of all these sources is called a Sampling frame from which the sample is selected...
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...sampling Cluster sampling is a sampling technique where the entire population is divided into groups, or clusters and a random sample of these clusters are selected. All observations in the selected clusters are included in the sample. Cluster sampling is typically used when the researcher cannot get a complete list of the members of a population they wish to study but can get a complete list of groups or 'clusters' of the population. It is also used when a random sample would produce a list of subjects so widely scattered that surveying them would prove to be far too expensive, for example, people who live in different counties in the Country. Advantages One advantage of cluster sampling is that it is cheap, quick, and easy. Instead of sampling the entire country when using simple random sampling, the research can instead allocate resources to the few randomly selected clusters when using cluster sampling. A second advantage to cluster sampling is that the researcher can have a larger sample size than if he or she was using simple random sampling. Because the researcher will only have to take the sample from a number of clusters, he or she can select more subjects since they are more accessible. Disadvantages One main disadvantage of cluster sampling is that is the least representative of the population out of all the types of probability samples. It is common for individuals within a cluster to have similar characteristics, so when a researcher uses cluster sampling, there...
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...following markets:-Professionals (lumberjacks), farmers, institutions and casual users. Among these casual user segment was considered to be the future growth market. Hamilton Power Tools thus hired Consumer Metrics of Chicago to conduct two research projects. The first one was a projective technique known as Thematic Apperception Test(TAT) using picture response techniques. The basic premise of TAT research is that it in an unstructured and indirect manner encourages respondents to project their emotions, needs, motives, attitude and values at a sub-conscious level. Purpose of research: The research was primarily exploratory to gain insights into reasons why people make certain purchases. Mr. Campagna also wanted to get a flavour of language people use in talking about chain saw. Analysis of method: The research was conducted in states of Illionois and Wisconsin. People who were selected for TAT were screened on basis of whether they planned to purchase a chain saw in next 12 months or already owned a chain saw or had used a chain saw in past. However this was the only information collected, ideally some more information must have been collected regarding their demographics and more regions could have been considered. They restricted the sample to only two states. How should Conway and Baggins respond to Hamilton’s question? Hamilton...
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...kbit/s. Later 3G releases, often denoted 3.5G and 3.75G, also provide mobile broadband access of several Mbit/s to smart phones and mobile modems in laptop computers. “3G finds application in wireless voice telephony, mobile Internet access, fixed wireless Internet access, video calls and mobile TV. This is a set of standards used for mobile devices and mobile telecommunication use services and networks that comply with the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 (IMT-2000) specifications by the International Telecommunication Union3G finds application in wireless voice telephony, mobile Internet access, fixed wireless Internet access, video calls and mobile TV” (Smith and Collins, 2000). 3G technology is the result of research and development work carried out by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in the early 1980s. 3G specifications and standards were developed in fifteen years. The technical specifications were made available to the public under the name IMT-2000. “The communication spectrum between 400 MHz to 3 GHz was allocated for 3G. Both the government and communication companies approved the 3G standard” (CDG Market Trends and Facts). “The first pre-commercial 3G network was launched by NTT DoCoMo in Japan in 1998, branded as FOMA” (ITU Press Release). “It was first available in May 2001 as a pre-release (test) of W-CDMA technology” (ITU Press Release). “The first commercial launch of 3G was also by NTT DoCoMo in Japan on 1 October 2001,...
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...Student’s Name Professor’s Name Course Date Research Summary Introduction The research summary describes in detail how the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) conducts the trend analysis of the YRBSS data. The paper outline how the sampling is conducted by the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey a body formed by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The YRBSS is a body entrusted to monitor the health risk behavior associated with the six categories causative of morbidity and mortality among youth (Kann). These leading causes can be summarized as the behavior contributing to unintentional injuries, alcohol and other drug use, use of tobacco, sexual behavior leading to STIs and unintended pregnancy, unhealthy dietary behavior and physical inactivity. Stratified sampling The recent sampling assumes two- stage cluster sample design in the year 2013. The stratified two-stage cluster sample design presumes two stages. In the first stage the list of schools are stratified in accordance to the importance of the demographic variables, accompanied by replacement schools in case the targeted fails to participate. Then followed by of more intact class of the target or the participating school. This is in attempt to produce a representative sample of public and private school of students in grade 9-12. The sample target population of 39 states and 21 large urban school district of public and private school students. The sampling for the 2013 national YRBSS...
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...Simple Random Sampling is done when every individual subject in the population has an equal chance of being selected for the sample, without any bias (Explorable). For example, if a researcher wants to represent the population as a whole, they can pick random numbers or names out a hat or use a program to randomly choose names so the information is not biased. Stratified Sampling is performed by, dividing the population into at least two (or more) groups or sections, which share certain characteristics, called “strata” (Explorable). For example, a researcher who wants to compare the average economic status of different racial groups may use this technique in order to divide the population into groups based on race and ethnicities and then compare the whole average from each ethnic group. Cluster Sampling is done by dividing the population into separate sections or “clusters” and then picks a cluster randomly and chooses all the members from those clusters for the sample (Explorable). For example, using a geographical cluster, in order to look at the academic performance of students. The researcher can divide Nassau County in Long Island into clusters based on the towns. Then, randomly select a certain number of these clusters or towns and include all the students from those clusters to be part of the sample. Systematic Sampling is performed by, using and selecting a point at which to begin and then selecting every x number after that point (Explorable). For example,...
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...Population/Sampling Method Wal-Mart is a giant retail cooperation that is not able to provide adequate pay and benefits to the current employees (“Making change at Wal-Mart, 2014). One possible solution concerning this issue is to conduct research and to properly organize a way to survey or interview employees who are being directly affected. The target group in this research project would be Wal-Mart employees that are willing to participate in the study. These employees will range from different age groups, various backgrounds and cultures. Access to these employees would be during work hours or before or after work. Employees could come in early or stay late. Interviews could also be performed on days when business is slow. There are several types of sampling methods that can be used such as: simple random sampling, stratified sampling, systematic sampling, and cluster sampling (“Choosing a Sampling Method”, 2013). Random sampling is an effective way to measure the perspective of a group of people that is too large to interview (“Basics of choosing a survey population”, 2008). In this research, the random sampling will be the method used so that favoritism or being bias does not occur. Instruments Used Often times large groups of people are broken down into smaller groups because it can be too expensive and too time consuming (“Basics of choosing a survey population”, 2008). Some examples of instruments used to collect data are : informal and formal surveys, direct and...
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...INTRODUCTION The Study is entitled “IRREGULAR SUDENTS CAUSES AND EFFECTS TO ITSELF”. The researchers chose this topic because nowadays, the researchers have noticed that there is an increasing population of irregular students. The researchers would like to know what causes them to become an irregular and the effects of being one. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM The main Problem is about the causes and effects of being an irregular student. The study seek to solve the following sub-problems: 1. What is the percentage of CITHM Tourism irregular students? 2. What are the causes that make the Tourism students irregular? 3. What are the effects of being an irregular student to the following? a. Grades/Class performance b. Schedule c. Course Completion d. Financially e. Social Life/Classmates 4. What are the actions being implemented by the college to minimize this problem? OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY 1. To know the percentage of CITHM Tourism irregular Students. 2. To determine the causes that make the Tourism students irregular. 3. To find out the effects of being an irregular student to the following. a. Grades/Class performance b. Schedule c. Course Completion d. Financially e. Social Life/Classmates 4. To know the actions being implemented by the college to minimize this problem. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY (Discuss the significance of the study, how the study contributes to existing knowledge, social relevance of the study...
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...ASMA FATHIMA REG NO: 11SKCMA016 TITLE OF THE STUDY: “A STUDY ON PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM OF LIFESTYLE INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD” 1. TITLE OF THE STUDY: “A STUDY ON THE PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM OF LIFESTYLE INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD.” 1.0. INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY: Performance Management System (PMS) includes activities which ensure that goals are consistently being met in an effective and efficient manner. Performance management can focus on the performance of an organization, a department, employee, or even the processes to build a product of service, as well as many other areas. PMS is also known as a process by which organizations align their resources, systems and employees to strategic objectives and priorities. In organizational development (OD), performance can be thought of as Actual Results vs Desired Results. Any discrepancy, where Actual is less than Desired, could constitute the performance improvement zone. Performance management and improvement can be thought of as a cycle: • Performance planning where goals and objectives are established • Performance coaching where a manager intervenes to give feedback and adjust performance • Performance appraisal where individual performance is formally documented and feedback delivered It is to understand the gap between two things: A performance problem is any gap between Desired Results and Actual Results. Performance improvement is any effort targeted at closing...
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...Primary research: Information obtained directly from customers in the field. It can be accomplished through various methods, including questionnaires and telephone interviews in market research, or experiments and direct observations in the physical sciences, amongst others. Secondary research: Information or data that is collected from books, government or other official sources, the Internet or other similar sources. This kind of research is known as desk research. Primary research: time-consuming, expensive, a reliable source of information, specific for the company. Secondary research: quicker, less expensive and not always be completely related to the needs of a specific project. Qualitative research: Subjective research where the researcher will ask a customer for their opinion or thoughts. Quantitative research: Research that uses a large sample of people to gather statistical information. Sampling: Sampling is concerned with the selection of a subset of individuals from within a statistical population to estimate characteristics of the whole population. In business and medical research, sampling is widely used for gathering information about a population. Random sampling: In this technique, each member of the population has an equal chance of being selected as subject. The entire process of sampling is done in a single step with each subject selected independently of the other members of the population. Quota sampling: In quota sampling, a population is...
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...MARK205 Introductory Marketing Research Week 8 Today Week 8 1. Background 2. Populations & Sampling Frames Sampling 3. Sampling Process 4. Sample Size Chapters 11 & 12 of Aaker et al. (2007) The Research Process Learning Objectives • Explain the key concepts in sampling • Understand the step in the sampling process • Identify & evaluate alternative sampling techniques • The fundamentals of determining a suitable sample size 1. Background Concepts 1. Background Concepts Key Terms Population X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X Sample Population: X X X X X Census: X X X X X X X X The set of all objects that posses some common set of characteristics X Sample: Sampling: The process of surveying a sample of the population in order to make inferences about the whole population Dr Julie Francis Autumn 2015 1 MARK205 Introductory Marketing Research Week 8 1. Background Concepts 1. Background Concepts When Would You Take a Census? When is Sampling Appropriate? • When the population is small • When the population is large e.g., Mining companies operating in QLD or owners of private jets • Information is needed from every member of the population e.g., national population census or tweets about a natural disaster • Cost of making a wrong decision is high ...
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