Word Limit: 1200 words (10% leeway permitted)

Introduction

A research proposal is the first stage in a research study. Proposals are written for a variety of audiences, usually as an application for funding and also for industry to demonstrate potential to solve a problem or address an issue they have encountered. This research proposal will be intended for a:

· regulatory agency,

· criminal justice agency,

· government department,

· non-governmental organisation (NGO),

· other organisation

You can choose any organisation; however, it must be involved in the prevention or regulation of criminal activity, have a special interest in activities currently classified as criminalised, or to support victims of crime.

You must select your research topic from the following list:

· Gender based violence (including domestic and family violence, intimate partner violence, etc)

· Crime and/or violence against a particular social group (e.g. the LGBTQI+ community)

· Marginalised and disadvantaged individuals/communities and the criminal justice system

A research proposal is required to demonstrate that;

· the research is necessary

· the research is justified

· the research is feasible (possible in the time allocated, costed appropriately etc)

· the research is well designed

· the researcher is competent to carry out the research

The research proposal should address;

· what will be accomplished

· why the researcher intends to carry out the research

· how the research will be conducted

For this assessment students must produce an introduction, including a review of the existing literature.

Contents

Introduction & Literature Review:

The main purpose of the introduction is to provide an outline of the background or context of the research that is being proposed. What is the problem or issue your research is proposing to address? Which organisation are you proposing the research for?

Relevant literature should be critically reviewed, which will provide justification for the research you are proposing e.g. have you identified a gap in the current literature? Would you like to extend some previous research?

The literature review in a research proposal serves several functions:

• Demonstrates knowledge of the area/topic
• Demonstrates ability to critically select and evaluate relevant literature
• Identifies gaps in the existing body of work

Structure:

Project title [not included in word count]

Aims of the research: [guide:100 words]

· What are the broad research aims?

Background to the project & beneficiaries: [guide: 300 words]

· Describe the organisation you have selected

· Outline the research problem or issue your research is aiming to address

· Who will benefit from the proposed research?

Literature review: [guide: 700 words]

Research questions [guide: 100 words]

Submission guidelines:

The first page of the assignment is to be a title page containing: the assessment title, your name and student identification, the unit name and unit code, and the due date.

Use 11 or 12point font size, a sensible font, and 1.5 or double line spacing.

Sources should be referenced using American Psychological Association (APA) 7^th edition, guidance can be found here.

Submission is via Moodle.

Discussion forum

A discussion forum will be set up on Moodle in order to share ideas and ask questions and students can make use of the drop-in sessions and self directed study time to meet and discuss ideas. If you have any questions about the assessment please use the discussion forum on Moodle.

Part 1: Proposal: Methodology

Word Limit: 1200 words (10% leeway permitted)

Introduction

This assessment is a continuation of the ‘Research Proposal: Introduction’ assessment completed earlier in the term. This part of the research proposal focuses on the methodology and ethics of the proposed research. This assessment must be written about the research proposed in the earlier assessment: you cannot change your research focus at this stage.

Contents

Methodology

The methodology section is an important part of the research proposal, as it informs readers how you plan to conduct the necessary research to answer the research question identified in the introduction. It should also contain sufficient information for readers to judge whether the proposed research is realistic and appropriate to address the research question. This section also contains information relating to the ethical issues that pertain to the research.

The methods and analysis technique selected should be informed by your previous research methods learning throughout the degree course.

Structure:

Project title [not included in word count]

Research approach [guide: 200 words]

· Justify why is a qualitative approach the most appropriate to answer the research question?

· The epistemological position adopted by the research should be clearly presented

Research design [guide: 600 words]

The research design must be appropriate and realistic, and should cover;

Ø Participant recruitment: how and where will participants be recruited? Who will take part? Which sampling strategy will be implemented? What is the justification for this?

Ø Method of data collection: which method is the most appropriate to collect the type of data needed for the research? Why?

Ø Procedure: How will the study be carried out? What activities will be involved? What apparatus is required?

Ø Resources: What is the estimation of costs? (this can be presented as a table)

Ø Analysis: What analytic technique will be used?

An appropriate technique for analysing the data should be proposed e.g. What type of qualitative analysis will enable you to answer the research question?

Ethical issues [guide: 400 words]

• Explain and address the ethical implications of your research e.g. are there any ethical issues related to the age of the participants? How will you ensure confidentiality/anonymity/protection of participants?

Submission guidelines:

The first page of the assignment is to be a title page containing: the assessment title, your name and student identification, the unit name and unit code, and the due date.

Use 11 or 12point font size, a sensible font, and 1.5 or double line spacing.

Sources should be referenced using American Psychological Association (APA) 7^th edition, guidance can be found here.

Submission is via Moodle.

Discussion forum

A discussion forum will be set up on Moodle in order to share ideas and ask questions and students can make use of the drop-in sessions and self directed study time to meet and discuss ideas. If you have any questions about the assessment please use the discussion forum on Moodle.

Part 2: Accessible summary

Word Limit: 1000 words (10% leeway permitted)

Introduction

What is an accessible summary?

The purpose of writing an accessible summary is to concisely explain your work in a way that a non-academic audience can understand. For this assessment, you will need to write about your research proposal in an accessible way aimed at the organisation you have identified. This means you will need to explain the research problem you have aimed to address with your proposal, along with how you intend to carry out the research. Avoid non-technical language but ensure the content is not patronising, or misleading in its simplicity. If you do use any terminology, then be sure to explain it.

Guidance on writing the Accessible Summary

Write the summary in the form of a short report aimed at the organisation you are proposing the research for.

You can structure the report in a way that best suits the research, but make sure to include:

· The reason for the study – what is the problem/issue you are proposing to solve?

· The aims of the study

· An understandable summary of the method used in the investigation (i.e. who the intended participants are, how the data will be collected and analysed, etc.).

· Explain who the research will benefit and in what way.

Accessible summary reports are often designed creatively in order to engage readers, so think in terms of using imagery and colour. Make sure any images you use are appropriate and correctly referenced. Some examples of how accessible summaries are designed can be found below:

https://www.latrobe.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/180425/PrivateLives2Report.pdf

https://dh2wpaq0gtxwe.cloudfront.net/ANROWS_Impacts-on-DFV-on-Children.2ed.pdf

https://20ian81kynqg38bl3l3eh8bf-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/4.3-Blagg-Key-Findings-and-Future-Directions-1.pdf

Submission guidelines:

The first page of the assignment is to be a title page containing: the assessment title, your name and student identification, the unit name and unit code, and the due date.

Use 11 or 12point font size, a sensible font, and 1.5 or double line spacing.

Sources should be referenced using American Psychological Association (APA) 7^th edition, guidance can be found here.

Submission is via Moodle.

Discussion forum

A discussion forum will be set up on Moodle in order to share ideas and ask questions and students can make use of the drop-in sessions and self directed study time to meet and discuss ideas. If you have any questions about the assessment please use the discussion forum on Moodle.

Part 3: Video presentation

Duration of presentation: 10 minutes (20 second leeway permitted)

Introduction

This part of the research proposal requires students to produce a video presentation that explains their proposed research to an audience of experts from the selected organisation. The research proposal must be thoroughly explained using non-technical language and in an accessible way. Where technical language is used (such as when explaining the analysis), terminology must be explained. Think carefully about how to communicate your proposed work to a non-academic audience.

Time and Length

The presentation should last for approx 10 minutes and there will be time for questions and discussion in the workshop session in week 12. Other criminology research capstone students will act as the audience. Remember that you only have a short amount of time, so think in terms of only a few slides (if you choose to use them).

Structure of the presentation:

The presentation should address:

• The background to the project - a very brief overview of the prior research identified in the literature review (or the lack of it). This will justify your proposed research.
• The problem/issue your research will address for your identified organisation
• Aims of the proposed research
• A brief overview of the proposed methodology, including recruitment and selection of participants, design of data collection instrument/s, an overview of planned data analysis.
• Ethical considerations

Style:

Students are able to use the video production software of their choice. Some examples of free software or software with a free trial include Zoom, Camtasia and Screencast-O-Matic.

You are permitted to use Powerpoint or Prezzi, however, be very selective with the content of the slides, avoid placing too much text on slides and avoid death by Powerpoint! There is no requirement to include slides for the presentation. The choice of delivery mode for the video is up to individual students.

Be creative! Include imagery, photographs, music and captions in the videos, however, please avoid including particularly distressing or graphic imagery, and make sure you have the correct permissions and any music is royalty free. There are plenty of online sources for royalty free music and copyright free images. For example see https://freemusicarchive.org/ and https://pixabay.com/ for a starting point.

Submission guidelines:

The videos should be narrated in the 1st person style, meaning the use of words such as ‘me/I/our/their’ is permitted.

The video presentation should be around 10 minutes long, penalties will apply if the video is longer than 10 minutes 20 seconds or shorter than 9 minutes 40 seconds.

A reference list must be submitted with the video presentation. Referencing must adhere to American Psychological Association (APA) 7^th edition guidelines, which can be found here.

Submission will be via Moodle, however Moodle cannot accept large video files so please follow the steps below:

• Upload the video presentation to You Tube and make sure the file is accessible and set as ‘unlisted’. This means that only those with the link can access the video. More information can be found here https://sites.uab.edu/apex/for-mph-students/youtube-video/

• Upload a Word document to the Moodle submission point containing a link to your video presentation as your submission. Please ensure the link is working.

• The reference list related to the video presentation should be included on the same document as the link to the presentation.

• Please include the file link and the reference list in the same document.

• Submit the word document containing the link and reference list to the submission point in Moodle.

Discussion forum

A discussion forum will be set up on Moodle in order to share ideas and ask questions and students can make use of the drop in sessions and self directed study time to meet and discuss ideas. If you have any questions about the presentations please use the discussion forum on Moodle.

High Distinction:

· Excellent knowledge and understanding of relevant issues (including ethics) and theories, which shows a capacity to understand and explain interrelationships between concepts and apply them to research.

· Evidence of knowledge gained from a range of relevant and appropriate literature and other sources with clear evidence of consistent critical evaluation.

· Accurate and abundant referencing used to support arguments.

· Written communication is clear with a coherent argument and clear justification for the proposed research.

· Accomplished use, reporting and evaluation of the of research methods proposed.

· The methodology, including participant recruitment, data collection methods and procedures, are relevant and appropriate for the suggested research.

Distinction:

· Substantial knowledge of relevant issues (including ethics) and theories, which is evidenced in the ability to relate these to practical application in a balanced way.

· Accurate referencing of appropriate literature, which generally substantiates arguments and is reviewed critically.

· Written communication is clear and coherent, with justification for the proposed research.

· Proficient use, reporting and evaluation of the research methods proposed.

· The methodology, including participant recruitment, data collection methods and procedures, are relevant and mostly appropriate for the suggested research.

Credit:

· Generally appropriate knowledge (including of ethical issues), with ability to discuss and compare concepts and their relationship to practice.

· Evidence of referencing to support argument, along with an attempt to critically evaluate the selected literature.

· Written communication shows evidence of competent expression, and an ability to provide some justification for the proposed research.

· Generally competent use, reporting and evaluation of the research methods proposed.

· The methodology, including participant recruitment, data collection methods and procedures, are confused, not appropriate or minor details are omitted.

Pass:

· Generally accurate recall of facts with some minor confusions. Aspects are omitted from the work.

· Limited ability to relate knowledge to practice or to draw on breadth of relevant theories.

· Limited referencing and argument, with minimal attempt at critical evaluation.

· Written communication lacks structure and clarity, and there is limited attempt to provide a justification for the proposed research.

· Ability to use and report on the basic research methods proposed, with limited development.

· The methodology, including participant recruitment, data collection methods and procedures, are not clear, appropriate or important details are omitted.

Fail:

· Limited recall of facts which may contain some confusions. Important aspects of the work are omitted.

· Poor ability to relate knowledge to the topic, and selected literature is not relevant.

· Poor referencing and argument, with no attempt at critical evaluation.

· Written communication lacks structure and clarity and there is no attempt to provide justification for the work.

· Poor ability to use and report on the basic research methods proposed, with very limited or no development.

· The methodology, including participant recruitment, data collection methods and procedures, are not suitable or important details are omitted. There is clear misunderstanding of methodology, techniques and analysis.