Research Methods & Ethics

Project Assignment

The assignment should cover/include the following components. It’s based on your research interest to find a researchable idea suit the scope of information system.

1) Title

It should convey the essence of the proposed work.

2. Abstract

An abstract is a summary of your paper. An abstract should be short and concise but include the topic of your paper, the main points you are writing about, and the conclusions you reach. Include a brief sentence summary for all sections of your paper. An abstract is typically 150-250 words long.

3. Background of study (max 2 pages)

A background section provides the necessary background or context for the research problem.

4. Problem statement (based on the latest published work)

A problem statement conveys the reason the problem is important and who is affected by the problem and it may identify potential causes or solutions. A good research problem has several basic characteristics. The problem must be significant enough to contribute to the existing body of research; the problem must be one that will lead to more research; it must be possible to investigate the problem through the collection of data; the problem must be interesting to the researcher and suit his skills, time and resources and the problem is ethical and will not harm others.

5. Research questions

Research questions should be clear, focused, concise, and defendable. The research questions are broad statements of the goals of the research. They are directly related to the gaps in existing knowledge.

6. Research objectives

Research objectives set the purpose and focus of your research with the fundamental questions that will be addressed. Defining your research objectives means defining what do I need to investigate and how am I going to do it? Objectives are the single most important aspect of research design and implementation. They include individual, tangible steps that will be taken in your research.

The objectives would cover what the research is attempting to find out (in broad terms).

In qualitative research proposals, the research objectives might be sufficient to provide a conceptual framework for the study. However, in studies which are quantitative in nature, the candidate might be expected to develop hypotheses to be examined in the study.

Notice: For the morning program will accept any type of methods within the scope of information systems. While, in the evening program will not accept such methods related to quantitative based (specially, questionnaire based research)

7. Reasons for conducting the study/motivation/justification/the importance of the study

The students should discuss the importance of the research and its relevance. The investigation might be relevant for theory, practice and future research. The students should explain why it is important for the study to be undertaken and indicated the likelihood of its contribution to the advancement of knowledge.

The study should include the field of study involved and anticipated benefits to the wider community. What is the potential of the research to produce knowledge for some useful application? This section is linked to the related work.

8. Literature Review (max 5 pages) (precise and concise)

This section should be a brief review of the extant research leading to the research question. It will contain the most recent leading peer-reviewed impact factor research in the discipline/topic (published work 2013 and above). Related work will identify a specific purpose for the conduct of the research. The research is expected to contribute to the body of knowledge. This means that you must demonstrate an understanding of the existing body of knowledge that will be contributed to by the assignment. Related work will clearly identify gaps in existing knowledge.

9. Research Methodology (very important part to explain specifically how to carry out your assignment)

The section on research methodology will include a brief consideration of some of the following questions:

1. What level of research is this (e.g. theory building, confirmatory, exploratory etc, etc)

2. What type of research is it (e.g. qualitative, quantitative, combination, experiment)

3. What exactly are your research questions

4. What exactly are you measuring

5. What measures will you use and why

6. How will you establish validity and reliability

7. Who/what is your sample frame (why them and not someone else)

· Sample size (why this many people)

· Sampling technique (justification usually links back to 1 and 2)

· Method of execution (if necessary) where will you get hold of these people / when / how/ why

· What are the implications of this sampling methodology on validity and reliability of the answers

8. What instruments will you use (e.g. discussion guidelines, questionnaires, coding frames)

9. What types of data will you collect (and why) (e.g. ratio, ordinal, categorical, interval if quantitative) (e.g., text, interpretations, etc.)

10. What you need to do to collect this data (think this through before producing the instrument)

11. What method of data analysis will you use and why will you use that one

12. Ethical constraints and issues

10. Reference list

A list of references should be provided in an appropriate academic format (will accept APA format only).

11. Typing format

· Times New Roman

· Font size 12

· Double spacing

Instructions:

1. It’s individual assignment.

2. 20% of the total grade

3. Submit a hard and soft copy of your assignment. Use a word processor for your softcopy. (Female submit the soft copy only)

4. The cover page of your assignment should include: course name and ID, full name, and ID.

5. The assignment should be well organized.

6. Use consistent format.

7. Late submissions will not be accepted and will receive a grade of zero.

8. Deadline submission on Week 7, 2014 , during the class.

9. Students should present their work during the class.

10. All work submitted for this course must be your own. 

11. I will give a grade of ‘F’ to any student who submits plagiarized work.

12. Should submit a proofreading copy.

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