Reference no: EM133465167 , Length: word count:4000

ESSAY 1

Think of a topic/problem/challenge you are interested in and you believe it is worth giving it a closer look and investigating.Submit a short but concise report on this, not more than 1,500 words, describing the issue and giving and explaining the reasons and the rationale for choosing it. Outline the aim and objectives of your dissertation. In addition, you need to state the research questions or hypotheses with an explanation for the rationale behind their formulation. You need to include in this report 3 pieces of relevant literature on the topic that has been published in journals or other acceptable academic and/or professional sources. This will be the foundation of your research proposal which will be submitted in week 2.

ESSAY 2

Please submit a complete research proposal of 2,500 words (+/- 10%). The contents and structure of the report need to be in accordance to the guidelines explained in the week 2 overview. Please submit a complete research proposal of 2,500 words (+/- 10%). The contents and structure of the report need to be in accordance to the guidelines explained in the week 2 overview. Includes the first three chapters of the dissertation (introduction, review of literature and methodology) and bibliography. With the research proposal, the student defines the research problem, the nature and importance of the study, the theoretical framework, the existing literature, the methodology of the problem, the analysis and the way the data will be collected. The research proposal is a preliminary assignment of the graduate student, which is submitted to the supervisory Tutor when in week 2 of the Dissertation module (UU-MHM-595), in order to evaluate and approve the postgraduate thesis dissertation. It Includes the first three chapters of the dissertation (introduction, review of literature and methodology) and bibliography. With the research proposal, the student defines the research problem, the nature and importance of the study, the theoretical framework, the existing literature, the methodology of the problem, the analysis and the way the data will be collected. The research proposal is submitted after the student has completed the module on Research Methodology, UU-MHM-570. In a research proposal the student is asked to briefly present the purpose of the study, the importance and the methodology to be followed. The more diligence is put into the writing of the proposal, the more thorough the draft of his final dissertation will be. Finally, the topic area of the submitted research proposal should be related one of the subject areas taught during the programme. Structure and content of the Research Proposal Introduction(Chapter) This chapter presents the problem and research approach, developing the theoretical background through a brief review of the literature. Reference is made to the purpose and importance / usefulness of the research, the research questions or the formulation of research or null hypotheses. Finally, the research's limitations are outlined. The total length of the introduction should be at least 500 words and include the use of at least 5 bibliographical references. 1a. The theoretical background needs to be identified and described providing links to your study with previous studies. 1b. Research topic selection Here are a few criteria for the selection of a research topic for your dissertation:

1. Processability: is this study within your capabilities and time constraints? If you are about to carry out primary research, will you have access to the required sample? Do you think you will help to provide a "response to the problem"? 2. Critical mass: Is the field of study enough to conduct research? Are there several variables to consider? Several possible outcomes? 3. Interest: do you have personal interest in the problem area and possible solution? Is it related to your background, your career orientations? Will you gain useful knowledge by conducting this study? 4. Applied Value: Will the study recommendation have yield practical benefits to solving the Problem? Will it stimulate industry interest to implement its results? Will education be affected by the contribution of its results? Are the results likely to modify or improve your own practices? 1c. Purpose of the research The specific goals need to be accurately and concisely stated in 4-5 lines. In addition, the research method and a justification for choosing the method over the other methods available. The research problem under consideration needs to be stated. Lastly the audience or the target whom the survey results are addressed to needs to be mentioned. Do not forget to include the importance of carrying out this study and who will potentially benefit from it. 1d. Research Hypotheses or Research Questions Research and null hypotheses are based on earlier research and possibly on a theoretical model. - Link your hypotheses to the purpose of your research - Avoid making the hypotheses too general - Event though there is no limit to the number of hypotheses do not use more than 3 hypotheses for this dissertation. You do not have to formulate research hypotheses always. Sometimes the formulation of research questions that need to be answered is enough. 1e. Conditions and limitations The basic prerequisites must be set and serve to determine any specific conditions that must exist for the conduct of the research. The limitations are potential weaknesses or effects

Literature Review The purpose of this chapter is to show that the problem needs investigation and that the value of prior research has been examined and taken under consideration in the development of hypotheses, research questions and methods. This chapter offers student the opportunity to identify the problems that exist in investigating the topic being addressed, to see how previous researchers have dealt with it, to look at the type of methodological approaches chosen in previous studies, to assess the suitability of statistical analysis that is offered for the particular methodological approaches and to draw information on the appropriateness of the data collection procedures that followed and the conclusions reached. This chapter comprises three main parts: (a) the introduction, (b) the main part, and (c) the summary and conclusions. 2a. Introduction The introduction should explain the purpose of the review and everything related to its planning and execution. 2b. Main part of the literature review The main part of the review should be organized around important issues. These topics act as headings so that to attract the reader's attention. The review should be organized, composed and written in a clear, comprehensive and interesting way. Emphasis should be given to relevant findings, relevant methodological issues and major conclusions. It should follow a logical continuum between older and newer research as well as research with different theoretical and conceptual foundations. To develop the problem so that it can be understood by the general scientific public and not only by the experts. Finally, the researcher needs to maintain a critical stance towards the research reviewed. 2c. Summary and Conclusions Finally, the review should summarize the important conclusions and suggest directions for future research

Important Advice for the Literature Review - The focus on a topic area in any review of the literature should be decided at the same instance when the problem is identified. - The keywords contained in the formulation of the problem are the best guide to help the researcher / student in compiling relevant literature. - The main points of a work that students should consider in selecting an article or study to include in their literature review are the sample description, the method of data collection, and the main results. - While examining an article of interest to you refer to its bibliography/reference section as you will likely find more published articles of interest to you. You are likely to discover the titles and other earlier research that interests you. Methodology The purpose of the chapter devoted to the method is to explain the precise way in which research is conducted. The basic rule is that the description of a study must be accurate and detailed to such an extent that another researcher will be able to replicate that study. The future is the tense used in the proposal, that is, the researcher describes what will happen. The methodology subsections are described in more detail below A detailed description of the procedure to be used. Of particular importance is how the procedures are to be carried out (series of tests, repetitions, duration, method of evaluation, etc.) and who will conduct them. In the subsection you should indicate what the independent variables (e.g. groups), the dependent variables (e.g. performance) and the type of statistical process. The independent variables must be handled in such a way that their impact on the dependent variables can be assessed. The researcher also indicates the proposed statistical analysis to follow and apply. Almost all surveys have descriptive statistics, which include the means and standard deviations of all variables

References - Bibliography