Lecture 3 Proposal Development.pdf

Considerations for Developing A Research Proposal Dr Jennifer Egbunike Associate Professor- Healthcare Management  In this session we will start to examine:  What is a research proposal?  What should your research proposal address?  Consideratio...

Considerations for Developing A Research Proposal Dr Jennifer Egbunike Associate Professor- Healthcare Management  In this session we will start to examine:  What is a research proposal?  What should your research proposal address?  Considerations in formulating your research aims and objectives? What is a Research Proposal and Why Write one? Does every house/ building need a plan?  What is a research proposal ?  It is a declaration of intent about ways of addressing your identified research problem/question  The proposal is therefore an envisaged plan of action  It explains why the research is necessary  It explains what it is you are attempting to achieve, how you will go about achieving it, and why it is worth the attention  There is a brief review of the literature at the beginning of every proposal  It is usually written in future tense- e.g  This proposal will……  We anticipate  What should your Research Proposal Address? 1. Tell the reader what you plan to accomplish  Be clear and succinct in defining the research issue/ problem and what it is you are proposing to research 2. Why do you want to do it? – Rationale/justification  You need to conduct a thorough review of the literature and provide a convincing evidence- with statistics (data) which show the research question is worthy of study in your chosen area of professional practice 3. How are you going to do it?  State your aim and outline your objectives  Outline your literature search strategy/ methods  Provide a schedule- your research timetable (provides envisaged time frames when each stage of the research process will be covered)  Outline any cost implications  Examine and discuss your ethical considerations **** Covering your- What, Why and How?  What makes a good research Question? WHAT – the healthcare, leadership or management problem/issue? WHO- target population? WHERE- location/ context?  *What is the impact of Questions to avoid government policy responses in Questions with an obvious yes/ no tackling obesity in children (under answer or known facts, e.g. Do university students in Qatar feel 18) in Qatar? stressed during exam time? Questions which are too broad, unfocused, lacking parameters or boundaries e.g. covering all of Africa How does social media impact on the health of young people in Qatar? How do cooking programs on TV impact on healthy eating? How do I know I have formulated a good question? Does the question address a specific/key healthcare, leadership or managemnet issue? Evaluate it !! Does it have a specific target population? Does it have a specific context/ location? Does it have a clear focus? Does it give sufficient room for analysis?  How to develop a question  Identify key elements.  Ask: o who, why, where, when, what and how? (quantitative) o to what extent …? how do …? what are …? (qualitative).  Be sure to get the length of the question right, i.e. a balance between being succinct and getting in all the necessary details.  Qualitative studies may have a statement rather than a question The Good Research Questions:  Identifies a gap in knowledge or a problem  Focuses attention on directly relevant and significant issues that need to be researched  Guides and focuses the research study  Leads to an appropriate research design  Research Aim/s Aim: Explains purpose of the research project & states your intentions The aim of the research project might be: To Investigate To Explore To Examine To Analyse The aim presents the general picture of your research study Emphasizes what will be addressed *using an action verb An Example: Start with your Research Question: What is the impact of government strategies aimed at tackling obesity in children (under 18) in Qatar? For your Aim, rephrase; change/re-phrase the wording of the question: To explore the impact of government strategies aimed at tackling tackling obesity in children (under 18) in Qatar?  What are Objectives ? Objectives are more specific & should: Be consistent with the aim Clearly portray/outlines the steps to be taken in order to accomplish the aim of the research project Be highly focused Usually be numbered to ensure clarity / short bullet points 2-3 maximum (at your study level)  What is the relationship between your aim and objectives Objectives should describe how the AIM will be achieved Research Question: What is the impact of government strategies aimed at tackling obesity in children (under 18) in Qatar? Aim: To examine the impact of government strategies aimed at tackling obesity in children (under 18) in Qatar? Objective 1: Focused on the nature and extent of the research problem/issue To examine the prevalence of Obesity in children under 18 in Qatar Objective 2: Focused on some aspect related to the research issue, e.g. To explore the health implications of childhood obesity in children under 18, drawing on the Qatar context Objective 3 : Focused on assessing government strategies To assess the impact of government strategies in tackling obesity in children (under 18) in Qatar  Objective 1: To examine the prevalence of obesity in children under 18, with reference to Qatar Aim: To examine the Impact of government strategies in Objective 3: tackling obesity Objective 2: To assess the impact in children under To explore the health of government 18 in Qatar and other implications strategies in tackling of obesity in children obesity in children under 18 in Qatar under 18 in Qatar Background information and Rationale What is the purpose of a foundation? A research proposal and project without background information =below Background information in research is the foundation upon which you build your research proposal and project Historical Policy/ Statistical legislation/ strategies Background information (may include) Social/cutural Political  Your Proposal Rationale  You need to provide a clear rationale- i.e. why your proposed study is important, in relation to both existing knowledge and to your field of practice  A clear research question supported by a convincing rationale that is justified by the academic literature is essential for the execution of a quality of research project  It should be objective - objectivity is derived from academic evidence  The topic is worthy of study because secondary data/ literature suggests there is a problem/ an issue worthy of attention and (?)requires Funding  At a higher level (e.g. PhD), a knowledge gap is usually identified – but at this level, the focus is on a problem/ issue within your field of healthcare leadership/management- professional practice  You can sometimes have just one section titled “Background and Rationale” or separate the two  Literature review  For your proposal you will need to provide a background summary of the available literature on your chosen topic – suitable for the lay reader.  Assimilate up to date information on the topic.  Identify gaps in research/human knowledge – Rationale for the research  Can help to refine your research question through determining inconsistencies in a body of knowledge  Contd…  A research problem may emerge from your literature review  A good literature review also helps to inform your research design  The literature review itself will help you to become an expert in your field- to scope and understand your study properly  Overview of the literature review process  Use your identified research problem to develop/craft a review topic  Formulate the review question  Define inclusion/exclusion criteria- see related publications in your field to develop these  Access, search and select the literature  Assess the quality of the literature gathered  Synthesise findings to write your rationale and to provide background  Keep detailed notes for your writing and store your references  PICO Framework  The PICO framework can be a useful tool to help develop your research question  Usually used to frame questions when searching for evidence of a quantitative nature  Can be modified for use with qualitative research questions:  Intervention is replaced by Issue and Comparison by context eg.  ‘ What factors (outcome) contribute to the uptake of smoking (issue) in young people (population) looked after by the state (context)’  The PICO framework  Population: children  Intervention: use of the wii  Comparison: no intervention  Outcome: improvement in balance  Example: Does the use of the wii (gaming device) improve balance among children with acquired brain injuries  Useful databases/resources  British Nursing Index  CINAHL  Cochrane Library (Systematic reviews)  Pubmed/MEDLINE  PsycINFO (related to psychology)  EBSCO (Educational literature)  NICE  Any others?- We will explore availability with UDST Librarian  Why do we need statistics?  In health and healthcare, we make use of prevalence data to assess how often a specific diseases occurs in different groups of people and why  Used to plan and evaluate strategies to prevent illness & as a guide to the management of patients where diseases have already developed  Through this data we assess if the issue, e.g. incidence of pressure sores is major healthcare issue “worthy” of attention from staff, leadership or management  You can also consider “frequency- incidence of cases”  However, statistics / cases do not tell the whole story hence the need to incorporate qualitative data where these exist in your research proposal  What not to write!  My aunt was recently diagnosed with depression so I thought it would be interesting to find out more.... (subjective)  Studies suggest that many people were diagnosed with COVID in England last year so...(vague – name the studies, present the statistics)  Many children in Doha were referred to Al Rumelia dermatology services... (present the figures and supporting evidence) What about my interest in a topic, is it not enough to justify the study?  You must be interested in a topic which motivates you, but this cannot be used to justify the study when you write  Be objective – present literature evidence, be specific – name the research studies, present statistics, number of cases, relevant qualitative evidence etc.  Introduction Proposal Outline  Background (including rationale/case for support)  Research problem statement/question  Study aim and objectives  Methodology and Methods (including justification for your choice)  Any ethical considerations  Data Management and protection- how you will achieve this  Schedule- Time table and resource implications  Any consideration of sources of bias  Abstract or lay summary- written last but comes at the top  Impact statement- Who benefits, how and the process  Experience and qualifications of the project delivery team  References  Common pitfalls in writing a proposal  Failure to have a clear & precise research question/ statement  Framing a research problem/ issue with irrelevant literature  Writing style which lacks clarity and precision  Evidence / Statistics - not supported by relevant academic sources (lack of clear and adequate referencing)  Failure to highlight the issue / problem in the relevant target population & location  Failure to have contextual boundaries on the research issue ( population & location)  Failure to develop a coherent and persuasive argument  Failure to stay focused on the research question – going off on a tangent  Poor grammar, lack of paragraphs, spelling errors  Too much detail on minor issues, but not enough detail on major issues  Failure to appropriately acknowledge information sources – e.g. Research / evidence suggests…..  Suggested Reading  See core texts  Zina O’leary- (any version) Doing your research project  Saunders, M. N. K. & Lewis, P. (2012) Doing your research project. Harlow, England: FT Prentice Hall.  Gray, D. E. (2009) Doing research in the real world (2nd ed.). London, England: Sage.  Robson, C. (2011) Real world research (3rd ed.). Oxford, England: Blackwell.  Punch, K. F. (2001) Developing Effective Research Proposals. London: Sage Publications. Questions?  Group Funnel Activity 10-15 minutes  Discuss and map your research problem  Write down all the associated keywords/concepts you can think of  Look at some of these ideas and begin to focus/agree on a particular area of interest  Choose the topic that interests you all the most  Narrow the focus- demographic group/ location/ context  A hierarchy of questions to ask yourselves Research Area/theme Research Topic Main Research Question Any Research Sub-Questions Specific Data Collection and methodology Questions