The task for this part of the assignment is to write a proposal for the dissertation project you will undertake in the final year of your degree programme. The report will introduce your chosen area of research, present evidence for your research aims/questions and will propose a research methodology.

In writing this specific document you should ensure you include the following:

1.  A Title page and anonymous student code

2.  An Introduction to your chosen area of research- including clear statements about: the research problem that you are trying to solve and why this is worth doing. This should lead to a brief summary of the research aims/ objectives.

3.  Literature review – a short review of relevant literature consulted, identifying key theoretical concepts you will use in your dissertation. For quantitative      studies, you should attempt to use the literature to create around 2-4             theoretically grounded hypotheses that may form the basis for all or part of  your dissertation. For qualitative studies, you could choose to form 1-2           broader research questions or propositions.

4.  Methodology – the anticipated research methods you will use to collect data, why this approach is appropriate, sampling procedures (if relevant), data         collection instrument development (including relevant scales for quantitative    research to be employed or questions for the interview protocol), fieldwork      elements that should be taken under consideration (if applicable) . Additionally, provide a brief overview of your anticipated data analysis strategy.

5.  Ethical Issues – a short statement demonstrating that you have reflected on any potential issues surrounding your proposed research.  Guidance on how

to take account of ethical issues in research can be found at:

https://www.dur.ac.uk/research.innovation/governance/ethics/with the forms

necessary for ethics approval for the dissertation available at:

https://www.dur.ac.uk/research.innovation/governance/ethics/process/online/

6.  Timeline – a summary timetable showing your ‘action plan’ for the                  dissertation itself. You can choose to use something like a Gantt chart, critical path method (CPM) or a simple table.

an Optional Appendices section may also be included (Very occasionally it may be appropriate to present, in an Appendix, material which does not properly belong in the main body of the assessment but which some students wish to provide for the  sake  of completeness. Appendices will  have  no  role  in  the  assessment; examiners are under no obligation to read Appendices and they do not form part of the word count.)

Notes:

While you are free to apportion the words as you wish for the proposal, the two key areas that should be given the greatest weighting are the Literature Review and     Methodology.

Overall word limit: 3000 words

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

Assignments should be typed, using 1.5 spacing and an easy-to-read 12-point font. Assignments and dissertations/business projects must not exceed the word count indicated in the module handbook/assessment brief.

The word count should:

▪   Include all the text, including title, preface, introduction, in-text citations, quotations, footnotes and any other items not specifically excluded below.

▪   Exclude diagrams, tables (including tables/lists of contents and figures), equations, executive summary/abstract, acknowledgements, declaration, bibliography/list of references and appendices. However, it is not appropriate to use diagrams or tables merely as a way of circumventing the word limit. If a student uses a table or figure as a means of presenting his/her own words, then this is included in the word count.

Examiners will stop reading once the word limit has been reached, and work beyond this point will not be assessed. Checks of word counts will be carried out on submitted work, including any assignments or dissertations/business projects that appear to be clearly over-length. Checks may take place manually and/or with the aid of the word count  provided  via  an  electronic  submission. Where  a  student  has  intentionally misrepresented their word count, the School may treat this as an offence under Section IV of the General Regulations of the University. Extreme cases may be viewed as dishonest practice under Section IV, 5 (a) (x) of the General Regulations.

Very occasionally it may be appropriate to present, in an appendix, material which does not properly belong in the main body of the assessment but which some students wish to provide for the sake of completeness. Any appendices will not have a role in the assessment - examiners are under no obligation to read appendices and they do not form part of the word count. Material that students wish to be assessed should always be included in the main body of the text.

Guidance on referencing can be found on Durham University website and in the

Student Information Hub.

MARKING GUIDELINES

Performance in the summative assessment for this module is judged against the following criteria:

•   Relevance to question(s)

•   Organisation, structure and presentation

•   Depth of understanding

•   Analysis and discussion

•   Use of sources and referencing

•   Overall conclusions