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 constitutes a research proposal.
Business field related examples may include but are not limited to:
Customer satisfaction
Employee satisfaction
Employee contribution
Quality control effectiveness
Perceived Organizational Support
Organizational Commitment
Wage Satisfaction
Leadership effectiveness
Stock management
Sale Forecasting
Operations research
1. Working individually, you will:
– Have chosen a clear and specific research question/ aim/ hypothesis for yourresearch;
– Have contextualised your research question/ aim within the academicliterature;
– Understand the philosophical and methodological bases for yourresearch;
– Have a sound method to address the research question/ aim/hypothesis.
2. Use APA style in-text citation andreferencing.
3. Do not copy any materials you use word for word unless you identify these sections clearly as
quotations.
4. If you paraphrase any materials, you must identify sources through in-textreferencing.
5. This is an individual assignment please do not work closely with anyoneelse.
6. 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 Completion Does the proposal address the set tasks in a meaningful manner? |
Research Proposal Specifics
| 10% | Research Objective Does the proposal clearly articulate |
| 10% | Synthesis and Soundness Does the proposal place the research objective in the context of the relevant academic literature and any relevant past studies? Does the discussion demonstrate a |
| comprehensive understanding of that literature? | |
| 40% | Analytical Methods Does the proposal sensibly outline methods for accessing sources of data that will address or answer the research objective? Are the calculation process and analysis results clear? |
| 30% | Clarity of Coding – Analytical Approach Is the calculation (R code/query) well organized, logically constructed and attentive to the needs of the user? |
| 10% | Mechanical Soundness Is the portfolio clearly written, spell |
Structuring the research proposal
1. Introduction (~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 acquisition, teaching methods)
2. Background/Review of the Literature (~800 words)
A description 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 information on the topic gleaned from your literaturereview
Discuss several critical 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 question(s) do
they leave unresolved that you would like to study?
3. Research Objective (~400 words)
A contextualisation and description of the questions you are examining and an exploration of the
claims.
Outline the methodological position you will take (ontology and epistemology)
Outline the overarching research aim, objective or hypothesis that you will explore.
List the specific question(s) that you are exploring.
Explain how these research questions are related to the larger issues raised in the
introduction.
4. Method and Design (~800 words)
A description of how you would go about collecting data and test the questions 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
objective or test your hypothesis(es).
Explain why this method is the best for your purposes.
Explain any potential difficulties in collecting data and how these will be overcome
Explain the design features that ensure acceptability for ethical purposes
Describe the step by step calculation 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
5. 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?
6. References (not in word count)
Include all references in APAstyle.
Appendix: (not in word count)
R code/query need to be appended