Freelance Writing and Research

Structuring a Research Paper

At some point in your academic studies you will be required to produce a research paper. If you are a sociology or cultural studies student then that research paper will probably involve some kind of empirical research. Below is a mock research paper proposal laying out the different things that you will have to look at if you are required to produce such a proposal.

Research Proposal

Research Question:

The rationale for this research was an interest in what motivated mature students to pursue a course of study at University. The hypothesis was derived: that mature male students had very different motives for wanting to study than their younger counterparts. From this hypothesis the research question was developed and is shown below.

Do mature students have different motives for undertaking a degree course than their younger counterparts, and if so, what are those motives?

Aims:

• To discover whether the financial situation of a student is a significant factor in their decision to apply for University.

• To assess whethe mature male students' decision to study is related to their financial situation.

• To ascertain whether mature male students have a different motivation for studying to those of younger students.

Approach:

The research will draw on relevant literature relating to higher education and the motives of students seeking to further their education at University. The study will take a quantitative approach and this will be implemented through survey research.

Methods:

The research instrument will be a structured questionnaire. The study-sampling frame will draw on a non-probability purposive sample of students, i.e. looking at specific members of a population for an identified purpose. Conceptual indicators will be motive, finance and educational patterns, these will be operationalised through the use of different types of questions e.g. multi choice and scaling. Questions relating to reliability and validity will hopefully be addressed in the initial stages. The questionnaire will be piloted and any necessary adjustments made to the questions.

Ethical Considerations

An ethics form will be submitted for approval and once this has been dealt with the research will proceed as above. All respondents will remain anonymous and the information received will be confidential. Findings from the research will only be used in the context of the current project. All participants will be offered the opportunity to view the finished report.