Assessment Details – 2,500 word research proposal
Guidance / Brief: Produce a 2500 word research proposal, giving a detailed account of how you
would conduct a chosen piece of research.
To do this, you will firstly need to think of a topic i.e Patient Satisfaction In the NHS
You would then propose an approach as to how you would set about
exploring your chosen research ’aim’.
The specific information included in your proposal will depend on your research aim, the specific
research questions you propose to address and the research approach you are proposing, but
generally research proposals should include:
An introduction, containing an overview of research and theory related to the suggested
research topic/area.
A clearly developed rationale for the proposal study, and the proposed aim and specific
research question(s).
A detailed description and justification of a suitable methodological approach
More specific design details, procedure and sample details where relevant
A description and justification of any proposed analysis
A complete reference list
This assignment is to demonstrate your ability to plan and think logically about research design and
approaches to research.
You can organise your proposal in any way that makes sense to you and the piece of research you
are proposing. It is normal to include sections with sub-headings in a proposal. Make sure your
proposal has a clear structure and logical flow of information to clearly detail your proposed piece of
research. Your proposal needs to clearly demonstrate the link between your proposed aim/research
questions and the methodological approach you propose to use. It also needs to demonstrate that it
is a theoretically informed approach, evidencing wider reading.
Information on marking
An excellent proposal needs to be clearly and logically presented, all material included specifically
focused on the task at hand – in this case, presenting a clear research strategy to explore your
chosen research aim/question. An excellent proposal will be theoretically informed and include clear
rationale and evaluation of your chosen approach.
Common ways in which people limit their marks:
Submitting an assignment that is significantly under or over the prescribed word limit
Incoherent, poorly structured content
Irrelevant material included
Not using relevant literature to enhance and support discussions
Inadequate information provided about methodological approach
Not including a references and a full reference list
