MSc Managerial Psychology

Assessment Brief

SECTION 1

Assessment Point 1

Module Title: Project and Research Management

Module Code: UU-PSY705 ZM

Essay Title: A written research proposal for the research to be carried out in the dissertation stage

Word Limit: 3500 words

Assessment Point No: 1 (1 out of 1) 100% of final module mark

Online Submission: Date and Time: See your module schedule.

Learning outcomes assessed:

1. Demonstrate an advanced understanding of the key principles of research

design regarding a particular project as well as an appreciation of the various

research strategies.

2. Critically evaluate sources of information and/or argument in relation to

research objectives.

3. Demonstrate effective skills in the communication of research findings.

4. Apply project management tools, processes and techniques.

5. As appropriate to specific student needs, students will develop an advanced

understanding in at least one of the following areas:

6.A range of research methods for data collection;

7.Data management and analysis, and awareness of issues affecting

data interpretation;

Important Guidelines:

1. Title

The title should be clear and specific, but not too detailed. For example, assume

we had done an experiment in which we had examined whether or not having

breakfast affected people’s ability to concentrate later in the day.

A good title would be ‘The effects of breakfast on mid-morning concentration

levels’.

Avoid using titles that are:

• Too vague

• Very detailed

 The American Psychological Association suggests the title to be about 10-

12 words long.

2. Introduction and Literature Review

Introduction

This section is very important. In order to get the reader engaged with your

work you need make sure that you set the scene for the whole essay in a clear

way. Clarify the topic and the aim of the essay. Keep in mind that the reader

might not be familiar with your topic, and hence you should provide

explanations for all relevant terms and a brief overview of the structure of the

essay. Avoid lengthy discussions or explanations regarding definitions or

relevant research findings. Such discussions should be incorporated be part of

your literature review.

Basically, this section introduces the reader to the topic:

 Give an introduction to the area of

 Provide a rationale for the study using previous studies

 Show how the current study fits in with existing literature

Literature Review

Literature review will be focused around your chosen topic -should summarize

and discuss the most recent and most relevant research findings related to the

current research project.

 This part should highlight the research gap

 The review provides the background of the problem

 Critical evaluation is essential

State the problem: For example:

 Why this study needs to be conducted

 What issues this study raise that have not been raised in other studies?

 What is the purpose of this study?

 What is the research question and the hypothesis

The hypothesis, research question and objectives of the study should be

stated at the end of this section.

3. Methodology

It explains each step the researcher will take in order to conduct the research.

This is a very important part of a research project outline and should receive a

lot of attention. In this section the intended methods of data gathering and data

analysis, ethical issues as well as difficulties in gathering data and other

material should be described. It is important to describe this section in detail.

If, for example, a study will use questionnaires to collect data, the procedure of

developing the questionnaires, the type of questions and the reasons for using

those specific questions, and the procedure of analysing the data gathered from

these questionnaires should be explained clearly.

A draft of the questionnaires used (if copyright terms allow) should be added in

an appendix.

Sampling

Describe the population under consideration (provide a brief description on age,

sex, education etc.), inclusion and exclusion criteria, number of participants.

Describe how participants will be recruited and from where.

Research design

 Qualitative /

Quantitativ

e study  Analysis & its justification

Ethics

 Name the ethics committee

 What efforts will be taken to protect participants?

 The right to withdraw

 Participation is voluntary

 Issues of Confidentiality

 How they will receive a copy of results when study is finished

Proposals should address research ethics adequately, or which have serious

ethical problems. Please include examples of how others have considered

ethical issues within existing published research in your chosen area. Refer to

relevant documents in appendices (e.g. consent form, information sheet,

debrief).

Instruments used to collect the data

What instruments you will use?

For example, interviews, questionnaires (i.e. describe what each measurement

assess –how reliable and valid are your questionnaires?

For qualitative study, describe the process of designing the interview schedule

(refer to appendices). Provide some (2) examples of the questions asked.

Procedure

Complete description on what will happen to a participant.

Describe how you will contact the participants.

Data analysis

How the data will be collected and what statistical measures will be used?

This section should explain in some detail how you will manipulate the data that

you assembled to get at the information that you will use to answer your

question.

Select a statistical test to analyse your data depending on your research question

(i.e. testing for a correlation between variables, a predictive relationship or to

compare values?). It will include the statistical or other techniques and the tools

that you will use in processing the data.

4. Expected Results

This section should give a good indication of what you expect to get out from

your research.

It should join the data analysis and possible outcomes to the theory and

questions that you have raised.

Reference section

This is the list of the relevant

works. Use APA referencing style.

General Tips

 Be consistent and use correct grammar, punctuation and spelling

throughout the essay.

 Writing style should be in the third person.

 You should use the APA reference style for in text citations

and references.

 Create a “References” section at the end of your work.

 Please note that Wikipedia will NOT be accepted as an appropriate

reference for the essay.

 If needed, ‘Appendices’ may be used to direct the reader to supporting and complementing material.

Note:

a) Make sure your essay’s word limit is within the indicated appropriate

range (see section 1). Assignments that overly exceed the absolute

maximum will not be marked.

b) Your assignment should be word processed, Arial font size 11 or 12 and

double spaced, with numbered pages and your student name and

number printed as a footer on every page. Please indicate the word

length at the end of your assignment.