Research Methodology Assignment Write your own short, research proposal (on any topic) in which the following

questions must be clearly answered: What is your main research question? What are the gaps that you have identified in the literature review? What is your main objective and hypotheses? What data will you need and where can you find this? What is your key dependent variable? What is your key independent variable? What are your control variables? What will be your population sample? What will be the methodology followed for sampling and data collection? What will be your methods of analy!ing the data? What will be your final conclusions and report? "n the proposal you can follow these guidelines#

Outline of chapters and sections Chapter No. Topic Title of the Research Proposal Acknowledgements E ecuti!e "ummary #NTRO$%CT#ON "ntroduction &ignificance and need for study (bjectives of the study &#TERAT%RE RE'#E( )oncepts and )onstructs : *efinition of terms +ap ,nalysis "ssues raised by the -eview MET)O$O&O*+ AN$ $ATA "O%RCE" .nit of ,nalysis and &ample &election /ools and /echniques *ata &ources RE"EARC) ,RAME(OR- O, T)E "T%$+ 1roposed 2ramework -ationale of 2ramework 3ariables 4ypotheses $ATA ANA&+"#" AN$ #N,ERENCE &tatistical ,nalysis "nterpretations "%MMAR+ AN$ CONC&%"#ON" &ummary of findings )onclusions &cope and -ecommendations 7imitations of the study -929-9:)9& ,119:*"< Pg. No.

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Chapter # . #ntroduction #ntroductory paragraphs )hapter " begins with a few short introductory paragraphs# /he primary goal of the introductory paragraphs is to catch the attention of the readers and to get them =turned on= about the subject# "t sets the stage for the topic and puts your topic in perspective# /he introduction contains general statements about the need and significance for the study# When writing the introduction, put yourself in the reader>s position ? would you continue reading? "t includes the following subsections "tatement of the Pro/lem /he statement of the problem is the focal point of your research# "t is just one sentence @ou are looking for something that needs close attention or a solution to eAisting methods that no longer seem to be working# 9Aample of a problem statement: =/he frequency of job layoffs is creating fear, anAiety, and a loss of productivity in middle management workers#= 1resent persuasive arguments why the problem is important enough to study# 9Aplain how the problem relates to business or social trends by presenting data that demonstrates the scope and depth of the problem# ,fter writing this section, make sure you can easily identify the single sentence that is the problem statement# "ignificance and need for the "tudy /he purpose is a single statement or paragraph that eAplains what the study intends to accomplish# , few typical statements are: /he goal purpose of this study is to### ### discover what ### ### understand the causes or effects of ### ### refine our current understanding of ### ### provide a new interpretation of ###etcB /his section creates a perspective for looking at the problem# "t points out how your study relates to the larger issues and uses a persuasive rationale to justify the reason for your study# "t makes the purpose worth pursuing# /he significance of the study answers the questions: Why is your study important? /o whom is it important? What benefit(s) will occur if your study is done? "t should also include the research objectives or goals

Research 0uestions /his )hapter can also list the research questions# :o elaboration is included in this section# ,n eAample would be: /he research questions for this study will be: $# What are the attitudes of### %# "s there a significant difference between A and y# '# "s there a significant relationship between###

Chapter ## 1 &iterature Re!iew )hapter "" is a review of the literature# "t is important because it shows what previous researchers have discovered# "t is usually quite long and primarily depends upon how much research has previously been done in the area you are planning to investigate# "f you are planning to eAplore a relatively new area, the literature review should cite similar areas of study or studies that lead up to the current research# "t should also contain a definition of terms section when appropriate# "nclude it if your proposal uses special terms that are unique to your field of inquiry or that might not be understood by the general reader# =Operational definitions= (definitions that you have formulated for the study) should also be included# "t should identify the gaps and issues raised by the literature review# /he studies can be mentioned as B , study by ,uthor ($CCC) or ,ccording to author ($CCC) etc# Chapter ### 1 Methodology and $ata "ources /he methodology section describes your basic research plan# "t usually begins with a few short introductory paragraphs that restate purpose and research questions# /he phrases should be identical to that used in )hapter "# Deep the wording of your research questions consistent throughout the document# "t mainly consists of: Population and sampling /he basic research paradigm is: $) *efine the population %) *raw a representative sample from the population ') *o the research on the sample 0) "nfer your results from the sample back to the population ,s you can see, it all begins with a precise definition of the population# /he whole idea of

inferential research (using a sample to represent the entire population) depends upon an accurate description of the population# When you>ve finished your research and you make statements based on the results, who will they apply to? .sually, just one sentence is necessary to define the population# 9Aamples are: =/he population for this study is defined as all adult customers who make a purchase in our stores during the sampling time frame=, or =###all home owners in the city of Eumbai=, or =###all potential consumers of our product=# While the population can usually be defined by a single statement, the sampling procedure needs to be described in detail# /here are numerous sampling methods from which to choose# *escribe in minute detail, how you will select the sample# .se specific names, places, times, etc# /his is eAtremely important because the reader of the paper must decide if your sample will sufficiently represent the population and also mention the unit of analysis# "f you are using a survey questionnaire as the instrument, state the source of the survey# *escribe the theoretical constructs that the survey is attempting to measure# "nclude a copy of the actual survey questionnaire in the appendiA and state that a copy of it is in the appendiA# /he data sources and the tools and techniques used should be highlighted as well as the statistical software that will be used for analysis# $escription of the sample :early all research collects various demographic information# "t is important to report the descriptive statistics of the sample because it lets the reader decide if the sample is truly representative of the population# 'alidity and relia/ility "f the survey you>re using was designed by someone else, then describe the previous validity and reliability assessments# When using an eAisting instrument, you>ll want to perform the same reliability measurement as the author of the instrument# "f you>ve developed your own survey, then you must describe the steps you took to assess its validity and a description of how you will measure its reliability ()ronbach alpha)# Validity refers to the accuracy or truthfulness of a measurement# ,re we measuring what we think we are? /here are no statistical tests to measure validity# ,ll assessments of validity are subjective opinions based on the judgment of the researcher# :evertheless, there are at least three types of validity that should be addressed and you should state what steps you took to assess validity#

Chapter.#' Research ,ramework of the "tudy Assumptions ,ll research studies make assumptions# /he most obvious is that the sample represents the population# ,nother common assumptions are that an instrument has validity and is measuring the desired constructs# &till another is that respondents will answer a survey truthfully# /he important point is for the researcher to state specifically what assumptions are being made# /he theoretical framework should be stated showing the various types of variables and their assumed relations# /he evolution as well as the rationale for the framework should be mentioned# /he hypotheses that are put forward should also be stated clearly# "cope and limitations ,ll research studies also have limitations and a finite scope# 7imitations are often imposed by time and budget constraints# 1recisely list the limitations of the study# *escribe the eAtent to which you believe the limitations degrade the quality of the research# Chapter ' 1 $ata Analysis and #nference Analyses /he analyses section precisely follows the analysis plan laid out in earlier chapter# 9ach research question addressed individually# 2or each research question: $) -estate the research question using the eAact wording as in )hapter " %) "f the research question is testable, state the hypothesis ') &tate the type of statistical test(s) performed 0) -eport the statistics and conclusions, followed by any appropriate table(s) :umbers and tables are not self?evident# "f you use tables or graphs, refer to them in the teAt and eAplain what they say# ,n eAample is: =/able 0 shows a strong negative relationship between delivery time and customer satisfaction (rF?#8%, pF#G')=# ,ll tables and figures have a number and a descriptive heading# 2or eAample: /able 0 /he relationship between delivery time and customer satisfaction# ,void the use of trivial tables or graphs# "f a graph or table does not add new information (i#e#, information not eAplained in the teAt), then don>t include it#

1resent and eAplain the results in the neAt chapter# Chapter '# 1 "ummary and Conclusions Hegin the final chapter with a few paragraphs summari!ing what you eApected to find and your actual findings# (i#e#, the conclusions from )hapter "3)# $iscussion *iscuss the findings# *o your findings support eAisting theories? 9Aplain why you think you found what you did# 1resent plausible reasons why the results might have turned out the way they did# "cope and Recommendations 1resent recommendations based on your findings but not on your own beliefs or biases that are not specifically supported by your data# -ecommendations fall into two categories# /he first is recommendations to the study sponsor# What actions do you recommend based upon the data# /he second is recommendations to other researchers# /here are almost always ways that a study could be improved or refined# What would you change if you were to do your study over again? /hese form the scope and recommendations to other researchers# &imitations /his include the limitations you faced while doing the study# References 7ist references in ,1, format alphabetically by author>s last name Appendi "nclude a copy of any actual instruments# "f used, include a copy of the informed consent form#