Advice on research proposal please

[Larry]

I am working on a research proposal for the above subject as part of my degree course. I would be interested if any member could advise me on where I could see other proposals for nursing research.

My guidelines are:

Assessment Method

The assessment for this unit comprises a 2500 word proposal for a small-scale research project in the student's intended field of specialist community nursing practice.

Assignment Guidelines

This is to be a research proposal, not a report of work you have undertaken.

You are asked to propose an investigation, which could be carried out in the setting within which you are working in your practice placement. It could be research, which you might carry out on your own or as part of a team.

The purpose of the assignment is to give you an opportunity to learn about the research process and develop some of the necessary skills so that you can use them in a practice setting.

The contents of the proposal should include the following:

a) Title Page

Your title page will need to conform to the instructions in the Course Guide and should include a clearly defined research statement (this will be the title of the assignment).

b) Summary

This will be the first page after the title sheet. (Keep the summary on a separate page). The summary should be no longer than one side - probably 200 - 250 words. It should say briefly what the focus of your investigation is (the research question), and why you want to investigate this. Outline the background to the research, the method(s) you propose to use, and what outcomes may be expected. (This does not mean you are asked to predict the findings, but you should be able to indicate how you would hope that the study would contribute to new knowledge). Need to think about the tradition to collect research from.

c) The research question

What is it that the research aims to explore? This should be stated in no more than a single paragraph.

d) Background

How did you become interested in this area? What is the setting in which you work and how does this impact on the research question?

e) Relevant Literature

Your critical appraisal of selected relevant literature should be organised to highlight the issues you have identified in relation to the research question and to consider as many of the following as appropriate;

What is currently known (or believed) about the topic;

What unanswered questions there are about it

What gaps, consistencies and inconsistencies about the topic there are in the literature

From what perspectives it has been considered

What the weaknesses, if any, and limitations of the research have been

Why there is a need for the research you are proposing. At the end of this section, the reader should be able to see clearly what the justification for the proposed study is.

Please note: As this is a comparatively small piece of work, your review cannot be as comprehensive as it would need to be in a full scale research study, even a small one, but it is expected that you will be able to highlight and briefly discuss the key issues.

You will need to consider the strengths and limitations of the literature that you read, of evidence offered, and of arguments presented. In particular, relate your discussion to current debates concerning the development, delivery and evaluation of quality health care (unit learning outcome 1). You will also need to justify your own appraisal.

Your account will also need to include a brief indication of the way in which you understand or interpret the issues you discuss.

f) Brief statement of aims for proposed investigations

At the end of the literature review, you should state your aims for the proposed investigation, showing how these emerged from your examination of the literature, showing how these emerged from your examination of the literature.

You will need to take care to aim for something which you could complete alone during a calendar year, whilst you are also in full-time employment. Remember that you would need to include time in that year for completing the literature review and obtaining ethical approval, as well as collecting and analysing the data and writing up the final report.

g) Methods

What research method(s) are proposed? Why? In the light of your stated aims, you will need to justify your proposed research design - is it to be descriptive, explanatory, evaluative, or exploratory? In your discussion you should briefly demonstrate your understanding of the difference between the traditional (quantitative) and interpretative (qualitative) research perspectives, and the implications for how you choose to collect data.

As appropriate, this section also needs to deal with issues including:

Reliability, internal and external validity, or credibility/trustworthiness

Appropriate sampling strategies

The research relationship

As well as justifying the way you intend to collect data, include details of your data collection tool in an appendix. This might be, for example, a questionnaire, or an interview or observation schedule.

If you propose to collect qualitative data, do not be too vague about what you intend to do. "Observation of three A & E units between 6pm and midnight on Saturdays" is more helpful than " Observation of some A & E units at peak times".

The Methods section should have within it some indication of the number of people required to undertake the research, their backgrounds, the likely other resources needed, and the intended timescale. Since this proposal is a test of understanding of research methods rather than of project management, the realism of these estimates will not be part of the criteria for making the proposal.

h) Ethical Issues

In your discussion of how you propose to collect and interpret data, you will need to include the kind of detail which makes explicit how you understand and apply ethical concepts. For example, it is ethically important that if you collect data from human subjects, you should first of all explain how the data will be used, enabling them to give or withhold informed consent. Such openness will often encourage them to be as honest as possible in return, which will increase validity of the data.

i) Results of the Research

Who or what might benefit from the results of the research? Why is it worth doing? You are not asked to predict the specific findings of the investigation.

j) References

Please follow the instructions in the Course Guide. Correct referencing is an essential part of presenting research.

It will be clear from the number of sections that none of these can be very long. The literature section and the methods section are the two major sections, although the balance between these two will vary according to the research question and the research method(s) chosen. Where figures or diagrams will save words and more effectively demonstrate more complex phenomena, they will be a useful addition to your account.

Assessed Skills

Communication skills (use of English, coherence of arguments, communication of ideas)

IT skills (literature searches, use of Web references)

Learning how to learn (quality of essay, evidence of professional development)

Decision making skills (rationale for choice of topic areas)

Ability in critical analysis (level of analysis)

L earning Resources

Students will be expected to work with their community practice teachers/experienced practitioners to explore the feasibility of project developments in professional practice. Within the student group, members will be able to share examples from practice placements of projects which have been initiated/developed and the lessons which may be learned from these endeavours.

[2bPhD]

Larry,

You posted almost three years ago. As I am your only response, I am guessing that you couldn't find anyone to do you homework for you. Just wondering.... did you complete the assignment? Did you pass the class???

[Larry]

at the moment not interested in continuing this thread - too busy