PLAN 30091 - Research Methods

Week 2: The research process, the research proposal &

dissertation

Dr Ransford A. Acheampong
ransfordantwi.Acheampong@Manchester.ac.uk

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Intended learning outcomes
• Identify the meaning and purpose of research and research methods

• Distinguish between the different ways of reasoning and how they

underpin particular research design and methods

• Become familiar with the research process and how to apply that
knowledge in your dissertation
 
• Identify a research topic for your dissertation

• Prepare an outline research proposal, applying the knowledge

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 The research process
Interest

Not a linear process in practice

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Source: Walliman, N. (2006). Social research methods . SAGE
The research proposal

• An overall plan that tells about your research

problem and how you are planning to investigate it

• Research proposal’s main function:

– To detail the operational plan for obtaining answers to your
research questions.

– It ensures the validity of the methodology to obtain

answers accurately.
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The research proposal
• The research proposal outlines:
– What are you going to do?
• The research problem at hand, the aim, objectives/questions

– Why are you going to do it?

• Justification, significance: fill knowledge gap and/or inform policy

– How are you going to do it?

• Methodology and approach: qualitative, quantitative; surveys, interviews or
document analysis

– When are you going to do it?

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 Developing the initial proposal
• Core concepts: built- • Theoretical background:
environment, spatial -behavioural theories (e.g. theory
structure, accessibility, of planned behaviour); socio-
travel behaviour etc. ecological models

Broadly interested in
transportation in cities
• Study area
• Quantitative (could be qualitative or mixed)
• Sustainable transport • Data—survey of adults in study area, geospatial data
• The travel choices people make • Variables- socio-demographic, attitude, built-
• The built environment has a role to play environment (density, diversity of uses, destination
• Focusing it: how the built environment influences accessibility)
bicycling use • Analysis—multivariable regression analysis
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Thinking about your research interest and
initial proposal

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Thinking about your research interest and initial proposal
• Take about 30-40 minutes to think about and note down your initial research
interest. In a word document, make a table with the following headings:
– Area of interest
• What am I broadly interested in? (E.g. housing markets, housing and
homelessness, affordable housing, sustainable transport, climate change
etc.)
– Research problem (initial statement)
• What are the main research issues problems in terms of fundamental
knowledge gaps or policy relevance? in other words
• What do we already know about the problem of your research?
• What do we not know that is worth researching/investigating?
– Core concepts and relevant theories

– Methodology (tentative)
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• Don't worry if you do not have answers to all the
questions. This is meant to be a brainstorming
exercise. It is only helpful that you do it as a way
of beginning to think about what you could be
doing for your dissertation. You will be able to
gradually fill in the details as we progress
through the module.

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 The Dissertation

• A piece of independent research of your design, execution and reporting;

• Examines a specific conceptual, policy, or practical issue/problem

• A extended analysis of the research and grey literature, methodologies and analytical
techniques to forward a set of ideas, recommendations or answers to previously
unasked questions;

• Based on primary, secondary or mixed-data collection/sources of information and

analysis that;

• A contribution to the wider debates being held in planning, environment, real estate
and urban design.
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The Dissertation

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The Dissertation
Which research methods and how?
– Designing your research methodology: what is the broad
approach you want to take and why is this appropriate?

– Implementing your methods – what, why, when, who and

how?

– Describing vs analysing your data – a dissertation is more

than a piece of descriptive work, it need to critically
reflect, analyse and synthesise the data you collect
against the establish research/practice based material

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The Dissertation
Which research methods and how?
– Critical discussion of the results – what does your
work add to the debate/what is the research gap?

– Making conclusions about the research – Why is your

work important? How is it extending the
academic/practitioner debates?

– Making recommendations for policy or practice –

potential real world actions

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The Dissertation

• Supervision arrangements
– each student will be allocated a supervisor based on their
degree programme and their proposed research project.

– This means you may have a supervisor who you would not
normally be taught by.

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Summarising…
• The research process is meant to help us think
systematically about the interrelated stages of doing a piece
of research project—the dissertation

• The research proposal is used to articulate initial research

interests, ideas, problems, concept/theories and
methodology

• The proposal is useful in helping us to establish what exactly

we would like to do for the dissertation and how we are
going to do it.
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