Activity 1

Get to know the resources that are available to you.

• Before you write your research proposal you should investigate what resources are ‘out there’ to help you.
• Ask your research tutor or supervisor if there are examples of research proposals from previous students that you can look at.
• The study skills section of your institutions website may have examples.
• Look at YouTube presentations on the topic. (A note of caution here: some presentations will be more relevant than others. Quantitative research proposals are different from qualitative proposals, although the basic structure will be similar. Don’t be put off if the video you are interested in is directed at masters or PhD students, again the principles will be the same.)

Activity 2

Case study: Betty is studying for a degree in Early Childhood Studies. She has a placement for two days a week in a day care setting with children aged three to four. She wants to investigate parents’ views on how much screen time children should be exposed to, and whether or not this is an area of conflict between them and their children. She decides to conduct a qualitative study, using a questionnaire containing open questions to all parents using the setting, together with in depth informal interviews with four parents.

• Outline a research proposal for this study (no need to conduct a literature review).
• Who are the ‘gatekeepers’ that will need to give permission for the study to go ahead?