Research Design

Markingschema - Research Proposal - PGT Research Design (SPS5034, 2021/22)

Version: 1.0

Change log: v1.0 [First published version, 2021/09/17, 12:00]

Criteria1 Grade2 Introduction The introduction provides: 1) a good justification of the research question’s relevance. 2) a concise review of relevant and current, empirical and/or theory-

focused academic literature.

3) a clear identification of a gap in the literature. 4) a clear overview of theoretical arguments underpinning the

research question.

Research question/ aim The proposal provides a clear research question/aim, with sufficient

details (either as part of the question or an explanation of it) so that it is clear what type research to expect (e.g. descriptive, causal, comparative, theory-generating)

Data & Methods The proposal demonstrates good understanding of research

designs/operationalization/data-collection & -analysis techniques by:

1) describing appropriate research design, data-collection, and analysis elements needed to answer the research question/aim.

2) operationalising all concepts of the research question. 3) The proposal must include an “Ethics” section, detailing the

potential research ethical implications of the proposed question, data collection, analysis and results.

Limitations The proposal shows evidence of critical, analytical thought, by: 1) reflecting the strengths/weakness of the methodological choices 2) listing ways to minimize the negative aspects of a method 3) contrasting the chosen design/data/sampling- and analysis

method/theoretical or epistemological position, with potential alternatives.

4) making suggestions for future/alternative research beyond the one proposed.

5) for qualitative-oriented proposal: providing a reflexivity paragraph.

Overall proposal The proposal demonstrate a good overall sense of research design

and methodology through providing:

1) an appropriate plan to address the research aim and to answer the research question.

2) linking the parts of the proposal together logically. Presentation The proposal is well presented: e.g. there is 1) appropriate referencing 2) a clear structure 3) arguments are supported by references/examples/data, with

appropriate paragraphs, and a concluding paragraph.

Notes:

1: The criteria are not a tickbox, meaning simply ensuring the proposal addresses each criterion does not guarantee a full mark. It is the examiners’ academic judgement to assess whether the proposal provides a convincing research plan that is appropriate given its research question.

Likewise, the criteria are not equally weighted and grades given in the assignment are meant to provide additional feedback not a numeric score leading to the overall grade.

2: Grades for the sections will be indicated on the A-F scale. The overall grade for the assignment will be on the alpha-numeric scale, e.g. A1, C3 etc.