RMD100 2013

COURSE ASSIGNMENT
Develop a comprehensive proposal for a research project that will meet the requirements of an M Tech degree in people management, people development or labour relations.

General guidelines 1. The assignment contributes fifty percent of the final predicate mark. 2. The research proposal must be handed in as a hard copy document on or before 14 October at 12h00. 3. Students may submit the proposal as individual or in a group. Groups may not include more than three members. 4. The proposal format must contain all proposal items that are prescribed by the Faculty of Management Sciences.(Attached to this document) 5. Referencing must be done in accordance with the TUT booklet on referencing style. 6. A declaration on plagiarism must be attached to the proposal (Annexure A). 7. An evaluation sheet must be attached to the proposal (Annexure B).

RESEARCH PROPOSAL

THIS IS THE TITLE OF MY INVESTIGATION (max 12 words)

by

INITIALS AND SURNAME OF RESEARCHER (Student number) submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree MAGISTER DEGREE PEOPLE MANAGEMENT

in the
*

Department of People Management & Development

FACULTY OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCES

TSHWANE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY Title, initials and surname of Supervisor (for Magister)

Date SIGNATURES OF APPROVAL Designation Supervisor/Promoter Co-supervisor/Co-promoter DRIC chairperson

*

Name

Signature

Date approved

Provide only the relevant information. Delete irrelevant passages marked with an asterisk.

TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................................... 4 2 3 PROBLEM STATEMENT ............................................................................................................................ 4 OBJECTIVES (AIMS/PURPOSE OF THE STUDY/RESEARCH QUESTIONS/HYPOTHESES)............ 4 3.1 3.2 4 5 6 Primary objective .................................................................................................................................. 4 Specific objectives ................................................................................................................................ 4

CONCEPTUALISATION ............................................................................................................................. 4 GEOGRAPHICAL DEMARCATION .......................................................................................................... 4 METHODOLOGY (RESEARCH FRAMEWORK/RESEARCH DESIGN) ................................................ 5 6.1 6.2 Literature review (Theoretical framework/Historical background) ...................................................... 6 Empirical study ..................................................................................................................................... 6

7 8 9 10 11 12

CONTINGENCY ANALYSIS/LIMITATIONS AND DELIMITATIONS (if applicable)........................... 6 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS (if applicable)............................................................................................ 7 RECORD KEEPING ..................................................................................................................................... 7 PROVISIONAL CHAPTERS CONCOMITANT WITH TIMEFRAMES ................................... 7 BUDGET ................................................................................................................................................... 7 DISSEMINATION .................................................................................................................................... 7

INTRODUCTION This section starts on a new page and it is not necessary to repeat the title of the project again on this page. The introduction must contain a cryptic explanation or motivation of the origin of the field of investigation. This must be substantiated with central theoretical statements and information cited from sources that will eventually lead to the logic formulation of the problem statement. The original management question must be stated here.

PROBLEM STATEMENT The problem statement must be concise in one brief paragraph, e.g. The problem to be investigated focuses on .... Any additional explanations must be done in the Introduction. The problem statement must clearly outline the independent (X) and dependent (Y) variables. The management question is now stated in terms of the research question.

OBJECTIVES (AIMS/PURPOSE OF THE STUDY/RESEARCH QUESTIONS/HYPOTHESES) Because of the tendency to duplicate in this section if all of the above aspects are covered, only objectives must be specified, as follows:

3.1

Primary objective The primary objective must clearly depict the title, problem statement and X of the investigation. You must be certain that X will remain constant during the course of the study, otherwise the research will not be feasible.

3.2

Specific objectives The specific objectives have to be carefully considered in terms of the scope of the study and especially in close relation to X, as specified in the problem statement. The scope of a Doctoral thesis will obviously be wider than for a Magister Degree and could have a wider variety of specific objectives. The candidate therefore has to be realistic in terms of the number of specific objectives that can be obtainable. The specific objectives must reflect Y and research questions/hypotheses.

CONCEPTUALISATION In this section, the key concepts in the research title must be clarified according to definitions obtained from encyclopaedias, reliable texts or dictionaries.

GEOGRAPHICAL DEMARCATION The geographic demarcation must also be according to the required scope for a Magister or Doctoral study respectively. A Magister dissertation could cover only one or a few industries/provinces in SA, whilst a Doctoral thesis could cover all provinces in SA in addition to international countries being added.

METHODOLOGY (RESEARCH FRAMEWORK/RESEARCH DESIGN) Annexure 2 contains a holistic/generic flow diagram of methods and techniques that the candidate must include in the proposal (cf. par. 11.). The candidate must use the key below the flow diagram and colour own planned methods and techniques in gray shading for photocopy purposes. Only the methodologies and techniques used for the specific study must be explained as covered in the following sub-sections:

RESEARCH
PROCESS OF SCIENTIFIC METHODS TO CREATE OR EXPAND KNOWLEDGE IN A SPECIFIC FIELD

PILOT STUDY (PRE-TEST MEASURING INSTRUMENT)/BASELINE INVESTIGATION/GAP ANALYSIS

BASIC/FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH APPLIED RESEARCH

Descriptive

Explanatory

Exploratory

Predictive

Historical

Case study Action research

GEOGRAPHICAL DEMARCATION DEMOGRAPHICAL DEMARCATION POPULATION/UNIVERSUM (N) SAMPLING (n) PROBABILITY SAMPLING NON-PROBABILITY SAMPLING Simple random samples Stratified random samples Systematic samples Cluster samples QUANTITATIVE STATISTICS Experimental design Quasi-experimental design Accidental/Incidental/Convenience samples Purposive/Judgment samples Quota samples Snowball samples QUALITATIVE STATISTICS Self-selection samples Non-experimental design
Correlation design Criterion group design Cross-sectional design Longitudinal design Panel design Cohort design Trend design

Laboratory experiments Field experiments Laboratory surveys Field studies/surveys

LITERATURE REVIEW/THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK/HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

MEASURING INSTRUMENT(S)/DATA COLLECTION METHODS PRIMARY DATA

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. Unobtrusive measurement (two-way mirror/concealed camera) Documents and mass media Official statistics and archival resources Group contacts Questionnaires: unstructured/semi-structured/structured Standardised tests Attitude scales Rating scales and situational tests Personal visits Communication (face-to-face, telephone, e-mail) Interviews: unstructured/semi-structured/structured Measurement tests (complete a figure/puzzle and award marks for task) Direct observation (checklists)

SECONDARY DATA

KEY TO FLOW DIAGRAM

COMPULSORY METHODOLOGY SELECTION (yellow background) OPTIONAL SELECTION (white background)

6.1

Literature review (Theoretical framework/Historical background) In this section, the candidate must briefly refer to the types of literature that will be studied to clarify the historical background or theoretical framework of the investigation. These could include books, journals, newspaper reports, television broadcasts, archives, documents, telephone or electronic communications, Internet and a variety of other media, as applicable. The candidate must not specify media that will not be used.

6.2

Empirical study Annexure 2 contains all the relevant information that the candidate has to select according to individual needs for the specific investigation. In certain cases, more than one technique (a hybrid) may be required. The candidate must again be careful not to specify techniques that will not be used. The candidate must do this selection based on a thorough study of the techniques as explained in the sources cited below Annexure 2. Below the flow diagram in the proposal, the candidate has to provide a definition of each selected method or technique and clarify why it has been selected, if it is not already obvious from the definition or description.

6.2.1 6.2.1.1 6.2.1.2 6.2.1.3

Type of research Basic (fundamental)/applied (our field primarily uses applied research) Descriptive/exploratory/explanatory/predictive/historical/case study/action research Experimental/quasi-experimental/non-experimental (our field primarily uses nonexperimental) Demographical demarcation Target population/universum (N) and size of population Sampling (n): probability/non-probability, sampling method(s) and sample size(s)

6.2.2 6.2.2.1 6.2.2.2 6.2.3

Measuring instrument(s) and provisional content of instrument(s) (more than one instrument may be necessary or used) Attach measurement instrument in an appendix. 6.2.3.1 6.2.3.2 6.2.3.3 6.2.5 Quantitative/qualitative/hybrid data collection, capturing and processing and statistical software/materials/tools/instruments that will be used Primary and/or secondary data How instruments will be administered, distributed and collected Validity and reliability (our field primarily uses triangulation) Explain internal and external validity and reliability

CONTINGENCY ANALYSIS/LIMITATIONS AND DELIMITATIONS (IF APPLICABLE) If applicable, the candidate has to explain how contingencies and limitations will be counteracted or delimited. These could include nuisance variables (Z).

ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS (IF APPLICABLE)

RECORD KEEPING Candidate must specify that hard and soft copy records will be retained for a minimum of five years by the relevant department/faculty and him-/herself.

10

PROVISIONAL CHAPTERS CONCOMITANT WITH TIMEFRAMES For provisional chapter frameworks, refer to the general guidelines in this document for structures of the Magister dissertation and the Doctoral thesis respectively. Be realistic with timeframes take into consideration the amount of time that will be taken up by proposal writing, language editors, statisticians, promoter/supervisor, DRIC, FHDC, Ethical Committee, assessment and other processes. Proposal writing must be completed within six months after approval of the research title.

11

BUDGET Research expenses that could be considered for inclusion in the budget are the following: accommodation, data processing, data capturing, postal expenses, travel, literature searches, linguistic editing, printing, and questionnaires, photo copies, statistical support, binding.

12

DISSEMINATION Specify possible outputs according to requirements, such as conference papers, articles in accredited or industry journals, implementation of research findings/models/business processes and other possible outcomes.

REFERENCES Only references that were cited in the text must be included in the list of references at least five sources must have been cited in the text. BIBLIOGRAPHY An optional list of bibliography including sources read but not cited may be considered and has to be agreed on with the supervisor/promoter. This serves as an appropriate tool to ascertain whether the candidate has done a solid background analysis of the field under investigation could also be verified by a DRIC colloquium, if required. The candidate must consult at least 30 sources before commencing with proposal writing. ANNEXURE(S) The candidate must provide proof of a database search in order to verify that research is not duplicated. A copy of the computer printout on current and completed research on the keywords of the selected research title must be requested online and submitted together with the proposal as an Annexure. Other graphical information that does not directly relate to the content may also be added to the proposal as Annexures.

Annexure A

DECLARATION REGARDING PLAGIARISM

I/We (full names & surname): Student number:

Declare the following: 1. I understand what plagiarism entails and am aware of the Universitys policy in this regard. I declare that this assignment is my own, original work. Where someone elses work was used (whether from a printed source, the Internet or any other source) due acknowledgement was given and reference was made according to departmental requirements. I did not copy and paste any information directly from an electronic source (e.g., a web page, electronic journal article or CD ROM) into this document. I did not make use of another students previous work and submitted it as my own. I did not allow and will not allow anyone to copy my work with the intention of presenting it as his/her own work.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Signature

Date

Annexure B

Name/s:...................................................................................................................

Proposal evaluation
1. 2. Problem statement (Title, Topic) (10) Table of contents (5) __________ __________

3.

Methodology ( Sample,variables, hypothesis, design, etc.) (20) Data collection (10) Literature Review (Incl bibliography) (15) Goals/Aims/Objectives (10) Layout (10) Content (10) Technical/ Language (10)

__________

4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

__________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________

Total

__________

100
General remarks: