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FINAL PROJECT GUIDE

This document is a checklist for GAIA students and tutors to ensure the step
by step completion of the goals assigned to each phase of research. Each
section should be completed by the student on the required time and should
be validated by the student assigned tutor before start working on the next
section. Please note that this checklist does not equate to the format of the
research paper you have to deliver.

SECTIONS:

1- CHOOSE YOUR FIELD OF INTEREST:

VIDEO - Your Final Project in Gaianext.com​ - ​Bárbara Juan, Tutora

Programa GAIA

After this introductory video to your final project, choose your field of interest,
what issues from the chosen field attract you?.
If you have worked before in this field, what points of view still lack to be
considered?
Identify subjects you would like to (or you think you could) address in this
project.
2- LOOK FOR A CONTEXT: GOAL AND TARGET (SDG):

VIDEO - Final Project: SDG Introduction​ - ​Bárbara Juan, Tutora Programa

GAIA y Carlota Corzo, Social Impact Strategy.

SDG indicators document​ -

https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/11803Official-List-o
f-Proposed-SDG-Indicators.pdf

After watching the SDG introductory video and understanding what the SDGs
indicators are, find the way to make your field of interest fit with a specific one.

SDGs EXTRA CONTENTS:

SDG Presentation - ​https://goo.gl/9MoQSM 
Agenda for Sustainable Development -​ ​https://goo.gl/fKcWcG 
Companies and SDGs - ​https://goo.gl/7CYgHX 
Global Compact - ​https://goo.gl/GMwKd4 
MDG Report - ​https://goo.gl/yfHLoV 
MDGs Declaration -​ ​https://goo.gl/1Nx8XR 
SDGs Declaration - ​https://goo.gl/kb53hf 
The Sustainable Development Goals Report -​ ​https://goo.gl/mmmFvY 
3- BIBLIOGRAPHIC SEARCH AND BIBLIOGRAPHY MANAGEMENT
TOOLS ​(Zotero)

VIDEO - Sharing experiences: ZOTERO​ - ​Lucía Fuentes, Tutora Programa

GAIA y ​Hiscio Belluga, Alumno de GAIA.

Zotero installation guide​ -

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1LyhfuEhjrkoX4ddwVe8hOG-QDGd-Su1z

Taking into account your first general reflexions, make a keywords list to
organize your bibliographic search. Create your personal ZOTERO account
(​https://www.zotero.org/)​ , generate a list of bibliography in a google docs and
share it with your tutor.

4- PROBLEM AND HYPOTHESIS:

With all the information you have already organized, at this point, you should
have a clear general picture of the problem you want to solve and you should
understand it in the context of the SDGs.
You have to define your main construct and/or variable and propose your main
hypothesis

5- OBJECTIVES:
Here you should propose answers to the questions you have found through
the bibliography search process. Your objectives are to test these answers
following the scientific method

Your main objective is: To test your hypothesis

And your secondary objectives are a list of specific objectives with operational
capacity: To test the answers to your questions

VIDEO - Final Project: Problem, hypothesis, variables and objectives

- ​Rafael Viñuela, Tutor Programa GAIA.

Once you have gone through all these steps you should be able to accurately
write the I​ NTRODUCTION section of your research paper. Bear in mind that it
should always point the reader to your hypotheses and objectives.

6- METHODS, TECHNIQUES, AND INSTRUMENTS:

VIDEO - Final Project: Methodology, Techniques and Instruments​ -

Mónica Gallego, Tutora Programa GAIA.
Search engines for Instruments and datasets document:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1s6nw8eS-ezO04BED87WayH7mKx_Gj4-F
Explain what methods, techniques and instruments you are planning to
​ rimary data.​
employ to generate p
Indicate also if you have found relevant d ​ atasets (​ ​s​econdary data) for your
research rather work with or just consult it.

VIDEO - Final Project: Understanding your dataset​- ​Loreto Díaz Chicote,

graduada en estadística aplicada.

7- RESEARCH DESIGN AND EXECUTION:

The research design is a detailed description of the techniques and
instruments for data collection (experiments/surveys/interviews) you are going
to use. First, you should describe the characteristic of the selected
instruments (​ you can combine or adapt one or more tools used by other
researchers) and second, you should define the sample of the population
selected as a target​. It is desirable to finish this section with a reliable
working plan​ for research execution.

Once you have gone through all these steps you should be able to accurately
​ ETHODOLOGY section of your research paper. Bear in mind you
write the M
should give the specific piece of information to point the reader to the research
execution: what research methods you are going to employ and why, how you
are going to measure your variables and your sampling strategy.

8- RESULTS:

Once you collect your data, you just only have raw data. Thus, you need to
convert raw data in findings: this is the DATA ANALYSIS PROCESS. You
should analyze your data according to the instruments and techniques you
have already described, write your findings without interpreting or evaluating
them. It will help you to show the most relevant information in graphs, figures,
and tables.

VIDEO - Final Project: Análisis estadístico de dos variables​- ​Loreto Díaz

Chicote, Graduada en estadística aplicada.
9- DISCUSSION:
Next, you should interpret and discuss your findings by comparing them with
similar or contrary findings published elsewhere. As a result of this process,
you should be able to fit your results into a theory or model intended to explain
your initial problem.

10- CONCLUSIONS AND FURTHER STUDIES:

Write the statement inferred from your findings and explain if it confirms or not
your initial hypothesis. Validate your statement regarding the state of the art
and Indicate what other further studies could give more explanatory power to
your conclusion.

You can now write the RESULTS and DISCUSSION sections of your research
paper.

11- RESEARCH PAPER

When your research is finished you are ready to complete the different
sections of your scientific document. Check the FORMAT REQUIREMENTS
document to be sure you are writing a scientific paper.