Building Your Research Proposal

Bruce HargraveMilitary Education Group

First Steps• Scoping a research project

– Identify the problem domain– Assess your position within it– Identify the resources available to you– Be clear about your interests

• MSc research projects are time constrained and consequently cannot involve open-ended exploratory research

• You need to know when to stop!

Clarity• The Project Proposal gives clarity to the project

(at least initially)• For some it is seen as an imposition for purely academic

reasons – not so• ‘Framing’ the research is important to give clarity to what

you need to do• ‘Pure’ research is not required here – it is too open-

ended and leads to failed (academic) projects• Setting a research aim and then deconstructing it into

research objectives is an incredibly useful exercise.

The Research Question• You need to define a research question which is as

specific as possible• This research question also needs context• The research question reframes the research problem• An example:

– The problem: poor user interfaces– Bad question: “What is a good user interface?”– Better question: “What factors should be considered when

developing a user interface for soldiers engaged in desert warfare?

Hypothesis• Your research question may be articulated better as a hypothesis:– A formal statement made for the purpose of being tested– You should not currently know the outcome of the test

• Example: In your project, you want to investigate whether the use of night vision goggles impedes the use of PDA-based location applications in desert warfare

Project Hypothesis• Hypothesis: NVGs impede the tactical use of PDA

applications• Context: The particular difficulties that are presented by

desert warfare• Note: the context often gives you the specific contribution

that your project will make to world knowledge – the uniqueness of your project.

Your Initial Review of the Literature• You should use lots of different sources and source types

in your research• Try to balance the ‘validity’ of your review with its

‘currency’• You must not make unsupported assertions – your work

must be supported by as many sources as possible• You cannot do too much reading!

When we see you next time (9 Sep?)• You will present your project or research in context• Presentations (~20 mins) and discussions about what

each of you are proposing to adopt as the subject of your project or research

• A consideration of the methods that you might use along with the resources that you might need.

Your Research Proposal Presentation Must Contain..• The background to a problem or area of interest

– Context– Explanation of the research problem

• Your research question or hypothesis• The aim of your project and a set of objectives that fall out

of that aim• Your initial outline project plan

– Who? What? When? Where? Why?• Outline of the research methods you might use

– How?

Research Question Golden Rule• You MUST NOT be able to answer a research question

with ‘yes’ or ‘no’.• Example:

– Is a joint common remote viewing terminal (JCRVT) a viable proposition? (Bad)

– To what extent is a joint common remote viewing terminal (JCRVT) a viable proposition? (better)

– Investigating the viability of a pan-defence joint common remote viewing terminal (JCRVT). (good project title)