HCS202

Assignment: Research Proposal

Design a small piece of research which could be undertaken as your final year project. The
proposal should be approximately 1500 words long NOT including any references that you
choose to include.

The following areas should be addressed.

What is the research question?
What is the null hypothesis?
Why is the study being made, why is it important?
What type of data will be collected?
What variables will you need to consider?
How will the data be analysed?
What about risk assessment and health and safety?
These are some areas to consider in your proposal.
What is the project about? Clearly state what your hypothesis is that you are testing. This is the
research question or the aim of the project. It should be stated in such a way as to make it testable,
in other words you can design an experiment to test your hypothesis. It is normal practice to state
your hypothesis as a null hypothesis so your hypothesis should be stated in this way.
When you think about your research question, you should then ask yourself the question so what?
That is, this is the problem which I wish to investigate, this is why it is important. So a small amount
of discussion should be included here about why it is important to undertake this research. This
could include relevant references.
How is the research to be designed? What is your experimental protocol? Where will the study be
carried out? Will your research directly involve people? If so will your project have to be considered
by the Ethics Committee in the university? If it involves collecting samples or using reagents you
may need to consider risk assessments/COSHH/ health and safety. It should be do-able in the time-
frame allowed.
What type of data is required to be collected and what type of statistical test will be used to analyse
the data? How many observations will be required to justify the relevance of the data obtained?

The research proposal should be submitted through the module space on Sunspace by
2pm Friday January 17
th
2014.

1. Title of the research project
2. Background to the research project. Why is the study being made, why is it
important?
3. Aim of the research
4. Research question
5. Null hypothesis
6. Design of the research including what variables are measured
7. Experimental protocol: subjects, methods, equipment, chemicals, etc
8. Health and safety: risk assessments, COSHH, Ethics clearance
9. Data to be collected
10. How data are analysed
11. References (optional)


Assessment Criteria Mark
1. What is the research question? 10%
2. What is the null hypothesis? 10%
3. Why is the study being made, why is it important? 20%
4. What type of data will be collected? 10%
5. What variables will you need to consider? 20%
6. How will the data be analysed? 10%
7. What about risk assessment and health and safety? 10%
8. Word length ~1500w 10%
TOTAL
TURNITIN Originality score 0