Humanities Homework Help

PURPOSE

The purpose of Assignment two is for students to develop an original research question of interest and propose a research methodology to study the topic. In doing so, students will be given the opportunity to demonstrate the acquisition of knowledge learned from materials covered throughout the semester and the ability to critically analyze their own proposed methods of research.

PROCESS

Students will complete Assignment two individually. Assignment two is a written assignment. Please refer to the course outline for the due date towards the end of the semester.

Students will identify an original research topic of interest and will develop an accompanying research question. Students will submit the research topic and question to me (due March 1^st). I will provide feedback on the research question the following class to ensure that students have a workable research question and topic for the assignment.

Please note that students are to envision that they would be realistically carrying out the proposed research within their local environment/community. As such, the Research Proposal should reflect realistic and applied details on the research topic, access to local subjects/data and how the research may be beneficial to their community. The Research Proposal should be specific and detailed enough that the methodology proposed could be replicated by other researchers. Students are expected to refer to the textbook, ‘Research Methods for Criminal Justice and Criminology’ and their lecture notes to complete this Assignment.

Based on the approved research question, students will complete a Research Proposal in written form.

The details:

10-15 pages, not including title page, reference list or appendices

Double-spaced with full sentences and page numbers

12 pt. font

All references in APA format

In the appendix: Research instrument example

RESEARCH PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS

• Purpose and Research Question – Introduce your general topic and discuss why it is an important issue. State specifically what the purpose of your research will be and what your focussed research question is. Discuss why you focussed your topic in this direction. What is your Dependent Variable (DV) and Independent Variable (IV)?
  • About 1 page

• Subjects and Sampling – Discuss who your target population is. From there, you should discuss who your sample/subjects will be and provide a detailed discussion of your sampling method. Is this a probability sampling method (if so, which one) or a non-probability sampling method (if so, which one)? Why did you choose that? How will you gain access to your sample? Where are they located? What is your estimated sample size?

Ø Research Design – Describe your research design and why you chose it for your research proposal. For example, is your proposed research design cross-section, longitudinal, experimental, etc.? Explain why your chosen research design is best suited for your research question. How will your research design proceed/take place in your study? Describe what your variables are and how you will operationalize your dependent and independent variables.

oAbout 2 to 3 pages

Ø Instrumentation – Describe the specific methods of data collection you propose for your study. For example, will you propose to use a survey, conduct an interview, view your subjects in the field, or use existing datasets to collect your data, or a combination of different types of research instruments? Is your research instrument(s) qualitative or quantitative? Why did you chose it?

oAbout 2 to 3 pages

Ø Ethical Considerations – Describe the ethical implications of your research. Could conducting your research harm subjects or participants in any way? If so, discuss how you will attempt to ensure the safety of your participants and minimize any potential harm caused by your study. Will your study maintain anonymity of your participants or confidentiality?

oAbout 1 to 2 pages

Ø Strengths and Weaknesses – What makes your research design effective at answering the research question. Does you research design offer strong internal and or/external validity? If so, why? In opposite, what are some potential weaknesses in your proposed research design? Discuss any threats to the internal validity of your methodology. Discuss any threats to the external validity of your study. How will you attempt to minimize the weaknesses you have identified?

oAbout 3 to 4 pages

Ø Reference List – in APA format (for any references you may have discussed or referred to, including the textbook).

Ø Appendix – You must submit a detailed example of your data collection instrument. For example, an example of your survey, interview questions, and variables you will analyze from a secondary dataset, variables you will code for field observation, etc.

POINTS TO KEEP IN MIND:

-Due to the fact that this is a Research Proposal, there will be no ‘result’s section in Assignment Two. You are not expected to conduct your proposed research. You are solely expected to detail how you would conduct the research, via your Research Proposal.

-There is no literature review required for Assignment Two. However, should you cite any research or sources in your Assignment, you must include a Reference List in APA format for those citations.

-When designing your own research proposal based on your research question, keep in mind the following:

• How will you operationally define your Independent Variable (IV) and Dependent Variable (DV)? How will you propose to actually measure these concepts in your research proposal?
• Who will be your sample? Will it be a group/individual(s) that you could realistically gain access to in your community?
• How will you control for the internal validity of your study? Remember that internal validity pertains to the issue of whether there could be alternative (unmeasured) variables affecting your dependent variable topic other than the independent variable in your study.
• How will you try and establish causal inference? Remember that if you are attempting to establish that your IV is ‘causing’ the change or ‘effecting’ your DV, then your research design must try and control for:
• Be specific with your details! Keep in mind that this research proposal should be implementable in a local and real world setting
• Don’t guess! Refer to the applicable Chapters in your textbook and lecture notes to design your methodology. You are not expected to propose a research design solely by brainstorming.

oTemporal order

oEmpirical association

oNonspurious relationship

oThis Assignment requires you include concepts/terms/subject matter that is covered in this course. You most likely will obtain this information from your textbook and lecture notes.