Research paper

Final Research Paper Brief Analytical Methods - Using R

You  are  about  to  commence  a  new  research  project  in  a  field  of  your  choice.  You  are   expected  to  write  a  report  that  cons:tutes  a  research  proposal. Business  field  related  examples  may  include  but  are  not  limited  to:

 Customer  sa:sfac:on  Employee  sa:sfac:on  Employee  contribu:on Quality  control  effec:veness Perceived  Organiza:onal  Support  Organiza:onal  Commitment Wage  Sa:sfac:on Leadership  effec:veness  Stock  management  Sale  Forecas:ng  Opera:ons  research

Working  individually,  you  will: Have  chosen  a  clear  and  specific  research  ques:on/  aim/  hypothesis  for  yourresearch; Have  contextualised  your  research  ques:on/  aim  within  the  academic  literature; Understand  the  philosophical  and  methodological  bases  for  yourresearch; Have  a  sound  method  to  address  the  research  ques:on/  aim/hypothesis.

Use  APA  style  in-­‐text  cita8on  andreferencing.

Do  not  copy  any  materials  you  use  word  for  word  unless  you  iden:fy  these  sec:ons  clearly  as   quota:ons.

If  you  paraphrase  any  materials,  you  must  iden:fy  sources  through  in-­‐textreferencing.

This  is  an  individual  assignment  please  do  not  work  closely  with  anyone  else.

Write  2500  words  (+  or  –  10%)  excluding  the  header  sheet,  cover  page,  contents  page,  reference   list,  footnotes  and  appendices.

Marks  for  criteria: Criteria 10% Focus  and  Comple8on  Does  the  proposal  address  

the  set  tasks  in  a  meaningful  manner? 10% Research  Objec8ve  Does  the  proposal  clearly  

ar:culate 10% Synthesis  and  Soundness  Does  the  proposal  place  

the  research  objec:ve  in  the  context  of  the   relevant  academic  literature  and  any  relevant  past   studies?  Does  the  discussion  demonstrate  a comprehensive  understanding  of  that  literature?

40% Analy8cal  Methods  Does  the  proposal  sensibly   outline  methods  for  accessing  sources  of  data  that   will  address  or  answer  the  research  objec:ve?  Are   the  calcula:on  process  and  analysis  results  clear?

20% Clarity  of  Coding  -­‐  Analy8cal  Approach  Is  the   calcula:on  (R  code/query)  well  organized,  logically   constructed  and  aden:ve  to  the  needs  of  the   user?

10% Mechanical  Soundness  Is  the  poreolio  clearly   wriden,  spell

Structuring  the  research  proposal

Introduc8on  (~200  words) Explain  the  issue  you  are  examining  and  why  it  is  significant.

Describe  the  general  area  to  be  studied Explain  why  this  area  is  important  to  the  general  area  under  study  (e.g.,  psychology  of   language,  second  language  acquisi:on,  teaching  methods)

Background/Review  of  the  Literature  (~800  words) A  descrip9on  of  what  has  already  known  about  this  area  and  short  discussion  of  why  the  background   studies  are  not  sufficient.

Summarise  what  is  already  known  about  the  field.  Include  a  summary  of  the  basic   background  informa:on  on  the  topic  gleaned  from  your  literaturereview

Discuss  several  cri:cal  studies  that  have  already  been  done  in  this  area  (cite  according  to APA  style).

Point  out  why  these  background  studies  are  insufficient.  In  other  words,  what  ques:on(s)  do  they   leave  unresolved  that  you  would  like  tostudy?

Research  Objec8ve  (~400  words) A  contextualisa9on  and  descrip9on  of  the  ques9ons  you  are  examining  and  an  explora9on  of  the   claims.

Outline  the  methodological  posi:on  you  will  take   Outline  the  overarching  research  aim,  objec:ve  or  hypothesis  that  you  will  explore.   List  the  specific  ques:on(s)  that  you  are  exploring. Explain  how  these  research  ques:ons  are  related  to  the  larger  issues  raised  in  the   introduc:on.

Method  and  Design  (~800  words) A  descrip9on  of  how  you  would  go  about  collec9ng  data  and  test  the  ques9ons  your  are  exploring.  (You   are  not  required  to  come  up  with  a  new  or  original  method!).

Describe  the  general  method  you  choose  for  your  study,  in  order  to  explore  your  research  objec:ve   or  test  yourhypothesis(es). Explain  why  this  method  is  the  best  for  your  purposes. Explain  any  poten:al  difficul:es  in  collec:ng  data  and  how  these  will  be  overcome  

Explain  the  design  features  that  ensure  acceptability  for  ethical  purposes Describe  the  step  by  step  calcula:on  and  analysis  process Explain  how  you  will  present  the  collected  data  and  how  it  will  be  able  to  be  analysed  the   results  to  explore  the  research  aim  or  to  test  the  research  hypothesis

Significance  and  Conclusion  (~300  words) Discuss,  in  general,  how  your  proposed  research  would  lead  to  a  significant  improvement  over  the   original  studies,  and  how  it  would  benefit  the  field.  (In  other  words,  why  should  someone  care?

References  (not  in  word  count)  Include   all  references  in  APA  style.

Appendix:  (not  in  word  count) R  code/query  need  to  be  appended