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Essay Instructions: RESEARCH PROPOSAL

TOPIC: AN EVALUATION OF THE BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANACE OF ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC FROM 1ST JANUARY 2009 TO 31ST DECEMBER 2011, USING EXXONMOBIL AS ITS MAJOR COMPETITOR.

Core Books
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhil (2005), Research Methods for Business Students, Sage

Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this assignment you will be able to:
? Analyse critical components of research methods, from design, techniques, values and methods;
? Identify research methods for producing empirical data analysis, qualitative research outputs;
? Demonstrate critical evaluation of a research proposal and appreciate the limitations of research;
? Evaluate the quality of research designs when commissioning research;
? Work towards and complete a successful Master level research project.
Introduction
?Before you start your research you need to have at least some idea of what you want to do. Without being clear about what you are going to research it is difficult to plan how you are going to research it (Saunders et al, 2003).
The quote below illustrates the above points:

This is part of Alice?s conversation with the Cheshire Cat. In this Alice asks the cat (Carroll, 1989:63-4):
?Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to walk from here??
?That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,? said the Cat.
?I don?t much care where, ?said Alice.
?Then it doesn?t matter which way you walk,? said the Cat. (Saunders et al, 2003)

Formulating and clarifying the research topic is the starting point of your research project (Ghauri & Gronhaug, 2002; Smith and Dainty, 1991). Once you are clear about this you will be able to choose the most appropriate research strategy and data collection and analysis techniques. The formulating and clarifying process is time consuming and will probably take you up blind alleys (Saunders and Lewis, 1997). However, without spending time on this stage you are far less likely to achieve a successful project (Raimond, 1993)



Tasks Your research proposal must be written and presented in the format outlined below:

Title
Background
Industry Background
Research aim, research questions or hypotheses and objectives
Research Methodology
Timescale
Resources
References
Guidelines Please read carefully or you could end up penalising yourself.
Below are some points to consider for your research proposal.

? Background section: Review of Literature (no more than 2000 words)
- Why is research that you are planning worth the effort?
- Use of academic journals
- Identify your area of research
- Demonstrate your knowledge of the relevant literature
- Clarify where your proposal fits into the debate in the literature
- Identify gaps in existing literature
- Show a clear link between the previous work that has been done in your field of research interest and the content of your proposal etc
- Identify relevant academic theory, models, frameworks and concepts (SWOT, PORTER FIVE FORCES, PESTEL, FINANCIAL RATIOS etc)

? Industry Background (no more than 250 words)
- Place the research into context.
- This should clarify further why the research is being done, under what conditions it is being done and what its impact is hoped to be.

? Research aim, research questions or hypotheses and objectives (250 words)
- What does this research aim to explore/find out?)
- Research questions (no more than two)
- Hypotheses (no more than two)
- Objectives (Minimum 3 & Maximum 4)

? Research Methodology (no more than 1500 words)
- This section will detail how you intend to go about achieving your research objectives
- It will explain your choice of research philosophy
- It will also justify your choice of method in the light of these objectives
- It will also clarify where you intend to carry out the research
- It will also detail which sectors of the market you have chosen to research and why you chose these sectors
- It will explain how your research will ensure validity and reliability
- Justify the relationship between your research aim, research questions, research objectives and research methods
- Discuss the appropriateness of triangulation to your research

? Timescale
- This section needs to be very detailed and realistic
- You must produce a detailed schedule that illustrates weekly activities and allows time for unexpected delays



? Resources
- What resources do you need
- Will you be able to access the data that you need to conduct your research

? References
- Must be written carefully using the Harvard Referencing System-

Essay Instructions: Research Proposal (Unit II)
Follow the directions below for the completion of the Research Proposal assignment for Unit II. If you have questions, please email your professor for assistance. Purpose:

Description:
In this 500-600-word, essay-style Research Proposal, you will develop the project that you intend to write about for your final Research Paper for this course. If your Research Proposal is less than this word count, then it is likely you have not fully developed your proposal or adhered to the assignment appropriately, which can severely impact your grade for this assignment. Your Research Proposal will include the elements listed below.

Your Research Proposal should also include a list of references in APA style and should adhere to APA convention throughout for in-text citation and style. For a sample Research Proposal, see pp. 331-335 of Strategies for Writing Successful Research Papers. Short and long proposals both have different elements that make up the framework of your Research Paper. Pay close attention to the example provided to get a firm idea of how to write your Research Proposal.

Elements:
Your Research Proposal grade will be largely based on your inclusion of the elements listed below, as well as your development of the project. For assistance, you might want to refer to Chapter 1, Section 1a, of The Little, Brown
Compact Handbook with Exercises (pp. 3-4). Your Research Proposal must contain the following elements:

1. Cover page and APA formatting:
You will include an APA-style cover page for your Research Proposal. See the example on page 33 of The APA Style of Documentation: A Pocket Guide. Your cover page should include the following: the title of your future Research Paper (this may be changed as your project develops), your name, the title of the course, your professor‘s name, and the date of submission (with the month, date, and year). The cover page should also include a running head, along with a sequential page number in the upper right-hand corner.
The second page of your Research Proposal should contain a title block in the upper left-hand corner that includes the following: your name, the professor‘s name, the title of the course, and the date of submission. The title of the paper should be repeated and centered. See the example on p. 34 of The APA Style of Documentation: A Pocket Guide. Note the running head and page number as well.

2. Purpose:
The following questions should be addressed in the first paragraph of your Research Proposal, which should be dedicated to establishing your purpose for doing this particular project.
? What is your rationale for this project?
? What do you hope to learn from the project, or what to do you want to see happen as a result of it?
? Who is your audience for this project?
? What role will you play in this project: investigator or advocate?
3. Statement of qualification:
Address the following questions as they are applicable to your project.
? What is your investment in the topic?
? What personal experience do you bring to the topic?
? What special qualities do you bring to the project?
? How might your investment, experience, and special qualities make you particularly apt at developing this project?
4. Tentative argument:
Your final Research Paper for this course will be an argumentative, research-based, academic paper. While it is unlikely that you will have a concrete idea of what your entire argument will be at this point in the writing process, it is necessary for you to articulate your argument as you understand it to be right now. Address the following questions.
? What is the context surrounding your topic? In other words, is there some event that was a catalyst for bringing your topic into the public eye? (Optional)
? What is your explanation or definition of the topic?
? What is your analysis of the specific issue surrounding your topic?
? What is your tentative thesis statement or hypothesis?
5. References:
Include a references list as the last page of your Research Proposal. All entries are those that have been cited in the text. No others are to be included. No textbooks should be included on the references list.

Essay Instructions: Research Proposal (25%):
You will write a proposal on a stratification and inequality topic of your choice. You can choose a topic based on lecture notes, the Dennis Gilbert textbook, or journal articles used in this course.

The purpose of a research proposal is to share a topic and corresponding research question of interest; and to share ideas on how to conduct such research. The difference between a research proposal and a research paper is that the research is not actually conducted in a research proposal. Therefore, there will be no actual data or findings from which the proposed study limitations and implications for future research will be based.

Instructions:
1. You will choose a stratification topic and write a 7-10 page research proposal.
2. The proposal will consist of the following:

a. Research question(s)
b. Thorough literature review of peer-reviewed journal articles and books
c. Proposed research methods
d. Proposed limitations
e. Theoretical conclusions
f. Proposed implications for future research

3. The Dennis Gilbert textbook cannot be used for the literature review except for the journal articles and books that Gilbert cites. The original journal articles and books must be found, read, and cited for the literature review.
4. Journal articles used for this course can be used for the literature review.

Format:
Paragraph format with no bullet points, 12 font Times New Roman, ASA-style works cited/bibliography.

ASA (American Sociological Association) link: http://www.asanet.org/Quick%20Style%20Guide.pdf
A research proposal is proposed research that you will not actually conduct for this course. Most research projects began as proposed research and therefore research proposals.

Please work on this research proposal bit-by-bit to give yourself enough time to find a stratification topic that interests you, to research the topic, and to propose your own research. Please give yourself enough time to thoroughly write, proofread, and edit your research proposal. Please remain scholarly in your research and writing. Avoid using dramatic, unrealistic, and unscholarly language. The following is an outline to add to the syllabus guidelines.

1. (Optional) An abstract provides a 150-300 word summary of your proposed research project to include your research question, study relevance, methods, and proposed findings. See some of the journal articles for examples of abstracts. This is optional for the research proposal. However, abstracts and annotated bibliographies are good exercises for conducting research and reading/studying for your classes.
2. Statement of the problem (and research question) is an introduction to the background, context, and relevance of your project. Explain what your proposed research will contribute to the existing literature, in terms of theory and methods, and/or to social policy. Will it address an issue, introduce a new approach to an issue, or fill a void in the literature? What are the implications for future scholars/researchers and/or social policy?
3. Review of the literature: Clarifies the theoretical and empirical traditions that shape and motivate the research. Examines contemporary work on the theory and research; historical work on the theory and research; and contemporary work on empirical issues and research questions that pertain to your topic. Your literature review combines the historical context of the issue with previous research, limitations, and opportunities for future research.
4. Research Design (examples of which are on Moodle): What assumptions are implicit in the research design that you chose? How will you conduct the research? Will this be quantitative or qualitative? Where and when will you conduct the research? What is your proposed methodological approach? Why did you choose this methodological approach? What kinds of data will be hypothetically gathered with this methodological approach? What variables and measurements will hypothetically be used? What do you plan to do with this data once collected?
5. Results (you will not have actual results): You will write about what you expect to find. What are the limitations of your proposed research? Are there resources that are hypothetically unavailable to you as a researcher? Anticipate the potential issues good scholars could hypothetically raise in their critiques of your research. How will you know whether your findings support or refute your assumptions? What would it mean if you did not find what you expect to find? What will it mean, in terms of theory and research, if you are wrong?
6. Discussion/Conclusion: Again, highlight the importance of your research and the gaps in the existing literature.

Rubric for Evaluating and Assessing Written Work

Written work is graded based on completion of the assignment in accordance with the instructions, guidelines, and expectations for the assignment. Students are expected to demonstrate that they put forth time and effort, have knowledge regarding the subject matter, and proper grammar and spelling. Students are expected to proofread and edit all written work.

Grades for written work have the following meaning for this course:
?A? level work (90-100) is clearly outstanding and reflects substantial effort. All aspects of the assignment are responded to in a cogent, organized and cohesive manner. Well-chosen, supportive examples (and citations) and persuasive reasoning are utilized. Written work falling into this category will demonstrate clarity of purpose, organization, and communication. The mechanics of the paper are excellent ? there are very few grammatical or spelling errors.

?B? level work (80-89) is of high quality. Most of the aspects of the assignment are covered in an adequate and organized manner. Supportive examples are given and arguments are organized and sensible. There is a clear structure to the paper. The mechanics of the paper are good ? there may be some minor grammatical and/or spelling errors, but these do not detract substantially from the content of the paper.

?C? level work (70-79) is average and bordering on unsatisfactory. The paper shows serious weaknesses and/or a lack of effort. The assignment is not addressed and/or the response is incoherent. There is little obvious structure to the paper. The mechanics of the paper are poor.

?Below C? level work (0-69) is completely unsatisfactory. The paper shows serious weaknesses, a lack of effort, a lack of understanding, and/or procrastination. The assignment is incomplete and incoherent.

Further points of consideration:
? Content: Includes consistency with assigned topic, the general flow of ideas, sticks to thesis, supporting details, clear expression of ideas without much deviation from the thesis.
? Structure: Includes the main idea, body-paragraphs that support the thesis, clear transitions, conclusion and summary of main ideas.
? Grammar: Includes the use of grammatical rules, attention to spelling and editing, appropriate syntax, and readability.
? Format: Includes consistency of general format (ASA, APA), including the structure, heading, margins, and citations etc.


Research design: Qualitative method with secondary data analysis and participant observation and interviews

Research question: Is aid being given to Afghanistan used favorably toward communities that need it the most?

Working Abstract not finished:
ABSTRACT
For the last few decades, Afghanistan has been in a state of turmoil. For almost twelve years, millions of dollars-worth of aid and funds has poured into Afghanistan to help with the rebuilding of this country. This country has an extensive history of a power struggle between national and local leaders. Is the money given to Afghanistan for aid being used for the most benefit and is it benefiting the right communities? Research appears to show (why do you say ?appears??) that much of the money going into Afghanistan ends up benefiting religious leaders, tribal leaders, and other higher groups (what are ?higher groups??) (citations). because These leaders are the ones that who basically control the financial realm of that part of the world (citations). Research also appears to show (why do you say ?appears??) that this happens because leaders do not really know how to effectively put that money to use to benefit everyone (citations). Many of these leaders allocate money to favor themselves. The poorer communities within Afghanistan seem to get poorer due to this. Communities really needing the aid are not getting as much because the leaders have not been educated on how to allocate money. and have Rather, communities have just been handed the pot money with no real education on how to disperse it out adequately within their community (citations). Studies have found that the main concern for many of the tribes and communities within Afghanistan is repairing their ?broken economy,? which is the root of all miseries in social, educational, governing, and health aspects (citations).
This is a long abstract. Abstracts consist of a summary of the central issue and an overview of the proposed research. You make no mention of your proposed research. How do you propose researching this issue?
I. BACKGROUND
A. CONFLICTS
1. History
2. Effects on Afghanistan
B. POPULATION
1. Poorer Rural Areas
a. Less access to healthcare, electricity, et.
2. Urban Areas
a. Better Care
C. FOREIGN AND LOCAL AID WITHIN AFGHANISTAN
1. Bonn Agreement
2. Tokyo Pledging Conference
D. ROLE OF LOCAL AND NATIONAL LEADERS
1. What is the role of leaders regarding aid?
2. Corruption within leader organization and how it affects population and aid they receive
E. LACK OF EDUCATION
1. Population
2. Leaders
3. Effects it has toward aid and where it goes
F. EFFECTIVENESS OF AID GIVEN
1. Who it effects
2. Where does aid mostly go
3. Should it be going elsewhere
4. Is there anyone else more qualified to handle aid within the country
II. RELEVANCE
A. EXPLANATION OF HOW PROPOSED RESEARCH CONTRIBUTES TO EXISTING LITERATURE THROUGH METHODS AND POLICY
B. IMPLICATIONS FOR FUTURE POLICY
1. Does aid given need to be more closely tracked?
2. Should aid continue to be given?
III. LITERATURE REVIEW
A. Common finding on aid within articles
B. UNDERSTANDING THEORY BASE
1. Aid not being correctly given where it needs to be
C. HISTORY
1. Previous research on aid (includes from background)
D. LIMITATIONS
1. Geography
2. Lack of Education
3. Fear of Backlash from government
4. Conflict within country
5. Stability
E. OPPORTUNITY FOR FURTHER RESEARCH
1. Limited due to conflict
2. There for urban more secure areas

IV. STUDY DESIGN
A. IMPLICIT ASSUMPTIONS
1. Aid probably doesn?t go where it needs to because country continues to be in dire conflict with entire villages and areas suffering
2. Huge lack of education throughout country
B. RESEARCH CONDUCTION
1. Population to Study
2. Where and When
a. Within Country
b. Within two year time frame
3. Methods-Qualitative
a. Participant Observation
b. Secondary Data Analysis
c. Individual Interviews
d. Data Collection of Aid given
4. Choosing Method
a. Easiest way to determine whether people are getting aid and who is getting what type of aid
b. Corruption Factor
C. DATA COLLECTION
1. Who gives aid to Afghanistan
2. How does each individual feel they benefit
3. Whether Afghanis in rural villages feel they are as well off as in urban areas
4. Whether aid is going to right places needed
5. Where aid needs to go most
D. VARIABLES
1. Corruption
2. Fear
3. Individuals
4. Conflict
E. DATA COLLECTED
1. Combine Data
2. Propose plan to better implement aid long term rather than short term
V. RESULTS
A. LIMITATIONS
1. Geography
2. Access to People
3. Fear
4. Corruption
5. Conflict
B. UNAVAILABLE RESOURCES
1. Possible aid given to leaders
C. POTENTIAL ISSUES
1. Government Backlash
2. Validity of interviews
D. FINDINGS
1. Support or Refute
E. EXPECTATION OF FINDINGS
F. WRONG CONCLUSION?
VI. CONCLUSION
A. IMPORTANCE OF AID AND WHERE IT IS GOING
B. IMPORTANCE THAT IT GOES TO PLACES NEEDED
C. GAPS
REFERENCE PAGE

Essay Instructions: Research proposal guidelines:
Abstract- An abstract of a research proposal is a brief summary of a larger document that is written in the future tense and summarizes work that will be done. The typical format for a proposal abstract includes1) the purpose ( Does the knowledge level of healthcare providers who care for women with atypical cp impact their outcome both negative or positive. Can be reworded if needed. 2) research design; 3) methods: and 4) significance (contribution to nursing) of the study. It is helpful to write the abstract after you write the completed proposal. This way you can give a clear synopsis of your proposal.
Chapter I
Introduction
Start with an opening introduction that will capture the interest of the reader. Begin the proposal with a general introduction to the topic to be researched and the overall importance of this problem to nursing and to society. Use wording that states this will be done instead of was done.
Statement of the problem
Select a problem that is occurring or has occurred in your practice setting. Clearly identify the problem requiring investigation. In your proposal write the statement that reads" The research problem that will be investigated in this proposal is..... Use sufficient background information to describe the scope of the problem. Provide statistics and background information that describe the magnitude of the problem. A clear and concise problem statement will help guide the entire research proposal
Purpose
Clearly state the purpose of the proposed research that tells the reader waht you hope to accomplish by doing this study. Also identify the population that has the problem and that will be studied. Include a clear description of the study's independent and dependent variables(Example: The purpose of this qualitative study is to ask African American women what are some of the factors that prevent them from following the breast screening guidelines.)
Significance of the study to nursing
Describe the importance of the study to nursingand justify the need for the study through clinical experience and through a review of the literature. Include primarily nursing literature, although literatrue from other disciplines can be used, 8 sources have to be from 2006 -2011. (Example: This study is being conducted in an attempt to provide empirical data that will contribute to Nursing's evidence-base practice, (Cullen, 2007, Anderson, 2008 and Smith, 2009).
Research Questions and/or Research hypothesis
A study can designate either to have research questions or research hypothesis. The researcher will decide which one is appropriate depending on the research problem
statement. Write the research question (s) clearly and concisely. The questions need to containe the population to be studied, the setting, and the variables of interest. The relationship between the problem and the research questions needs to be clear and indisputable. Connect the questions with the identified dependent and independent variables. If stating a research hypothesis; write each hypothesis to state the expected outcome and indicate how this will be measured. You can write a simple hypothesis, which is a hypothesis that expresses an expected relationship btween 2 or more independent variables and/or 2 or more dependent variables.
Theoretical/Conceptual Framework
In this section select a nursing or other theory that describes the problem being identified. Describe full the theoretical or conceptual framwork you selected to guide the development of the study. Explain thetheory in sufficient details to allow the reader to follow the logicaal flow between the theory and the proposed study. Map a conceptual map identifying the linkage between the problem, the theory, the interventions and the expected outcomes.
Definitions of Terms: Conceptual and Operational
Define each term in the research question with a conceptual and/or an operational definition.
Write the study's related assumptions, which are truisms that do not have to be measured. Write the limitiations of the proposed study, which includes a statement regarding the generalizability. (Example: Findings from the study cannot be generalized to the general population.)
Summary
In a few paragraphs provide a summary of what you have written in chapter one.

Chapter II
Review of the literature
Critique at least 8 studies that relate to the problem. Include primary research articles and conceptual articles. Use sub-headings to identify the major categories of the review (e.g. self-esteem, compliance, selfcare). Present a logical progression of ideas that provide a foundation for the proposed study. The literature review should point to the research problem, purpose and questions.
Summary
In a final paragraph, summarize the stated of the literature; that is, say what is known and what the gaps in knowledge are.
Chapter III
Methodology. This section describes how the study will be conducted and includes the following subsections:
Introduction
At the beginning of this chapter repeat your problem statement, purpose and research questions or hypothsis so that the reader does not have to go back to chapter one
Research design
Clearly identify the design and make it appropriate to the research question. Statea description of controls used for extraneous variables. Accurately describe threats to internal and externa validity related to this design. ( Example: This descriptive study will use pre-test/posttest design using the measurement tool of Mccance Breast Cancer Knowledge Test).
Sample
This section clearly describes what will be included in the study and your method for obtaining them. Also provide a rationale for the type of sampling plan you will use.
Human Subjects
Identify the risks and benefits of the study of the subjects. Clearly lay out a plan for protection for the subjects from any potential harm from participation in the study.
Instruments
Identify the type of data collection instrments to be used. DIscuss reliability and validity data for the selected intruments. Discuss the proces to be used in the proposed study to provide further evidence of the tool's reliability.
Procedure
Describe the procedure for the colloection of the data in sufficient detail to allow for replication of the procedure (Example: After receiving approval form the South Institutuional Review Board, 80 subjects will be randomly selected from african american women dho do not have breast cancer.
Data Analysis
Plans for data analysis are described. Statistical tests to be used to analyze each research question are identified with justification for the selection
References on a separate page, 8 of them between 2006-2011, apa format, again the research question above can be reworded.
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