Reference no: EM132403998

Qualitative Research Proposal Assignment -

Title of proposal - THE IMPACT OFEFFECTIVE BUSINESS PROCESSES ON SERVICE DELIVERY IN A SELECTED MUNICIPALITY.

1. TITLE

Give the proposed title of the thesis.

2. ABSTRACT AND KEYWORDS

List relevant keywords.

3. INTRODUCTION (+2pgs)

Introduce the background of the study. Why do you think a certain problem exists, and why are you interested in studying this problem, in this organisation, at this time? How did the problem develop/what led to/caused it? What has been the impact thereof on the employees and/or organisation that would validate addressing it with a research project?

4. PROBLEM STATEMENT (+1.5pg)

The WHAT? and WHY? questions should be answered in your problem statement.

The problem statement should include the following:

- The problem must be introduced in a way that will attract and retain the reader's attention.

- The background and setting of the problem must be provided in such a way that it sketches the context and dynamic of the problem.

- The motivation for the study must be given to explain the rational of the study.

5. LITERATURE REVIEW (+10pgs)

Current level of existing knowledge about sub-problems must be provided (i.e. relevant literature should be provided - What has been found in previous research? How did previous researchers define the problem/variables, and how did they go about solving/addressing it? If you are interested in more than one variable, what are the relationships between these variables that previous research has highlighted?)

1. Conceptual (theoretical) definitions of all key concepts;

2. A critical review and summary of the themes emerging from previous research findings (constructs, research participants, research designs, objectives, etc.) on the topic;

3. Including a review of existing approaches towards the measurement of relevant constructs; and

4. A clearly established link exists between formulated hypotheses (or objectives) and theoretical support from the relevant literature. The stated hypotheses follow directly on the section where the literature was reported.

6. RESEARCH QUESTIONS

State here the questions that you want to answer in your study. Keep the following in mind when formulating your research questions:

- Research questions should answer the problem statement.

- It should be clear concepts.

- Avoid questions that can be answered by yes or no.

- Questions must not be too broad, too vague or too narrow.

- Include only one topic per question.

- Questions should facilitate an original contribution to the study.

- Questions should focus the research.

6.1 General Research Question

6.2 Specific Research Questions

7. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

The research objectives are divided into a general objective and specific objectives.

7.1 General objective

The general objective of this research is to... Here, give the essence of the study. Look again at your paragraph at the end of the problem statement. There may be plenty of 'smaller' objectives, but what is the 'core' of the study?

7.2 Specific objectives

The specific objectives of this research are:

These should correspond with your research questions. For example, if one of the research questions is "How is wellness conceptualised in the literature?", the corresponding objective would be "To conceptualise wellness from the literature".

8. EXPECTED CONTRIBUTION OF THE STUDY (THEORY)

Describe here what the expected value or contribution of the study will be. How does this study address current limitations in theory and/or practice? Clearly describe what the contribution of your study will be for the individual, the organisation and literature (use separate headings for each contribution).

9. RESEARCH DESIGN

9.1 Research Approach

A brief description of the research approach followed in the study should be included. It should, for instance, explain from which qualitative tradition the study is and also motivate why this approach is specifically required. The author(s) may state their scientific beliefs (ontology and epistemology) if these have an effect on the choice of the research approach.

9.2 Research Strategy

Qualitative research makes in most instances use of the case study method where a single case or multiple cases are used either to develop or to test theory. The research case(s) that will be included in the study should therefore be fully described here and which populations/ cohorts they will present.

9.3 Research Method

Under the research method you should provide at least descriptions on the following headings:

9.3.1 Research setting

Provide a brief description of the research setting, where it will be and the unique characteristics of this setting.

9.3.2 Entrée and establishing researcher roles

Explain how access will be negotiated and/or obtained to enter the research setting (if not already part of the setting) and if and how gate-keepers will be used to gain access to the research setting.

9.3.3 Sampling

The qualitative sampling procedures that will be used in the study, such as cueing, purposive sampling or snow-balling are described and motivated in this section.

5.3.4 Data collection methods

Explain where the data will be sourced and which data collection methods (e.g. semi-structured or unstructured interviews, focus-groups) will be applied.

9.3.5 Recording of data

Explain how the data will be accurately recorded, safely stored and managed without compromising the quality of the data.

9.3.6 Data analyses

Explain which methods of data analyses will be applied. Different data analyses techniques result in different variations of qualitative research.

9.3.7 Strategies employed to ensure quality data

Explain how and why specific techniques will be applied to ensure the integrity of the research data and for promoting the quality of the study. This can be either explained under all the sub-headings above or under this separate sub-heading. This is especially important if you will be an integral part of the research setting.

9.3.10 Reporting

Explain which reporting style (qualitative writing style) will be followed in reporting the research findings.

10. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

Explain all relevant ethical considerations relevant in the study.

11. CHAPTER DIVISION

The chapters in this dissertation are presented as follows:

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 2: Research Article

Chapter 3: Conclusions, Limitations and Recommendations

If you have more than one article, you should indicate which research questions will be answered in each research article.

12. TIME FRAME

Include a time frame of your planned research activities.

13. REFERENCES

Cite all (and only) the sources that you used in the text above. Do this correctly according to Harvard (APA-guidelines).