Indicative Content 1. Be able to recognise valid areas for research and develop research questions Areas for research First thoughts list, determining focus, agreeing/negotiating topic with research supervisor/manager Approaches Surveys and sampling, case studies, ethnography, experiment, phenomenology, grounded theory, action research, using a mixture of approaches Question/hypothesis Objectives or hypothesis? The five W’s (What? Why? Who? Where? When?), developing the research question
2. Be able to carry out research relevant to research questions Research proposal Format of proposal – objectives/hypothesis, approach, methods and techniques, gaining agreement – justifying the question and research methods Research methods Questionnaires, interviews, focus groups, observations, documentary evidence, use and suitability of each method Ethical issues Why ethics are important, managing ethical issues and taking account of ethical issues in research Analysis Aims of analysis, quantitative data techniques– calculating e.g. mean, median, mode; using graphs and charts, validation of data, qualitative techniques – approaches to analysis e.g. narrative, discourse analysis, content analysis, recording sources and findings, advantages and disadvantages of each method
3. Be able to evaluate research and present results and conclusions Evaluation Evaluation against research question, using feedback Presenting research Writing up research, formats for presentation – e.g. written reports, oral presentation, referencing systems and bibliography, considering audience
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