Critical Inquiry and Research Proposal
Assignment Guidelines
Title Page
Introduction & Background (This should meet learning outcome 1 & 5)
- Provide an outline of what sections and contents your proposal will include.
- Introduce the importance of the topic and convince the reader of its relevance to the adult field of nursing practice.
- Provide an underpinning evidence-based discussion of the context/background to your enquiry. This could have a historical, socio-political, cultural, ideological or scientific focus. You need to set the scene for the reader; imagine they know nothing about your topic area.
- Suggested word count: 400 words.
Literature Review (This should meet learning outcome 2 & 5)
In this section, you need to consider:
- What a literature review is
- How you demonstrate understanding and critical analysis of the background research? so for instance, what are the similarities or differences in the findings of the 3-4 primary research studies you critiqued? Did any common themes emerge?
- What is the gap or gaps identified in the literature? These gaps will be used to inform your research question in the next section.
- Suggested word count: 900 words.
Research Aim and Question (This should meet learning outcomes 2 & 5)
- Clear identification of a research gap from the literature review is determined and posing of a research aim and question to address this.
- Suggested word count 100 words
Methodology (This should meet learning outcome 3 & 5)
What methodology will you use for your research?
- If it’s qualitative in nature, which theoretical approach will it focus on? Will it be Phenomenology, Ethnography or an in-depth Case study of 1 person, or 1 place? Conversely, it could be from a quantitative perspective and focus on a Cross-sectional survey, or a Longitudinal survey, it could be a True experiment or a Quasi-experiment, the choice is yours!
- You must provide justification and referenced discussion for your choice of methodology and theoretical approach.
Methods (This should meet learning outcomes 3 & 5)
- This is the section where you clearly explain your process for gathering and analysing data to answer your research question. Therefore, a detailed evidence-based discussion is needed of the chosen methods, providing a rationale for why you selected the methods, and any links to service user inclusivity.
- As specific details are needed, you should consider the following:
- Sampling strategy; is it probability or non-probability sampling, who are your sample population, how are you accessing them, what type of sampling technique are you using, for instance, random sampling, snowball sampling, convenience sampling etc.
- Data Collection method:
- Your data collection method will depend on the type of data that you plan to collect – for instance, whether its qualitative or quantitative data.
- Quantitative research relies on surveys, statistics and data generated by labs or existing data sets. Whereas, qualitative research utilises questionnaires, interviews, and participant observations.
- There is a clear alignment between this section and the methodology choice you outlined earlier. Strong alignment between these sections, as well as your research aim and question, is therefore very important.
- Data analysis: How are you going to analyse the data collected? What data analysis tool would you employ?
- Be very specificabout your analysis methods. There are lots to choose from, so make sure you justify and reference the choices you make.
- For qualitativestudies, there are a range of data analysis tools to choose from, for instance, content analysis, thematic analysis and discourse analysis.
- For quantitativestudies, you’ll almost always make use of descriptive statistics, and in many cases, you’ll also use inferential statistical techniques, for instance, correlation and regression analysis.
- Think of the methods section as being like a care plan. Be specific enough so someone not familiar with your research can pick your methods chapter and use it to easily replicate EXACTLY what you did. References/ EBP and detail are therefore essential.
- Suggested word count for the Methodology and Methods sections combined is 1000 words
Ethical, legal and Professional Considerations and Safeguards (This should meet learning outcome 4 & 5)
- Consider NMC requirements (particularly regarding Standard 4 of The Code (NMC 2018) to ‘act in the best interests of people at all times’ and Standard 19 to ‘reduce, as far as possible, any potential for harm associated with your practice’.
- Also take into account risk assessments and legal considerations.
- Identify what the ethical concerns are in your research and how you will address them.
- You need to consider ethics from a DMU student perspective rather than from a general standpoint, if you are going to access NHS staff or patients you will need DMU and NHS Ethics approval, if you are going to carry research out through a charity organisation, you will need their organisational approval and have to go through their ethics procedure.
- Reflect on service inclusivity
- Suggested word count 300 words
Benefits, Potential Impact, and Study Limitations (This should meet learning outcome 5)
- What does your research intend to do? Why is this important? What are the benefits?
- What are the limitations?
- This section is often important when considering the point of the research and whether it should be supported (financed or you being given time to pursue).
- Suggested word count 200 words
Summary (This should meet learning outcome 4)
- Short summary of the research proposal’s main points and what it aims to do. THERE SHOULD BE NO NEW INFORMATION IN THIS SECTION.
- Suggested word count 100 words
Reference List
- Cite them right
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Module Learning Outcomes:
- Identify, conceptualise and provide a clear rationale for a contemporary nursing topic suitable for further research based on the adult nursing practice field.
- Analyse and critically appraise the evidence from the literature search to identify and formulate questions and gaps in knowledge that arise for nursing practice in order to clearly justify and provide persuasive evidence for a research proposal.
3, Critically discuss the importance and provide detail of a chosen methodology for conducting research which remains consistent with professional NMC requirements, ethical considerations, and service user involvement.
- Develop a clearly written and well-structured research proposal that is supported by the academic literature, legislation, policy/procedures, professional practice standards, and that has the potential to be developed further into an actionable research project.
- Critically consider and analyse the impact that the proposed research activity may have in the form of its anticipated outcomes, benefits and its potential limitations and the effect the research may come to have on nursing practice
Writing your Introduction/Background section
What is the purpose of the introduction and background section?
- This is all one section – 400 words.
- Write the introduction part first and follow on from this with the background part.
- Introduction Part:
- Provides an overview of the structure of your research proposal.
- Outlines the topic to be focused on.
- Provides general background information to the research proposal
- What is your rationale for choosing the topic
- Includes relevant definitions around your topic
- What do we know so far?
- Relevance to nursing and in the adult nursing field
- Why should we care?
- Adds context
- What’s the ‘size’ of the problem?
- Why is it important to cover this problem?
- What are the consequences of ignoring the issue?
A breakdown
| What is happening? | Why should we care? | What do we know now? | What do we need to find out and why? |
| Condition, problem, issue
Epidemiology – how many, how often, where? Local problem? Consider wider current issues |
Mortality, morbidity, pain/suffering, costs (individual, organisation, society)
Increasing/worsening Impact of the problem physical/mental/ social effects Future Consequences |
Recent research
Current treatment/interventions – outcomes – limitations The potential problems are… Explain the shift in practice What has changed? |
Questions that still need to be answered
New treatments or interventions yet to be tried The impact on a specific population Potential benefits – improved outcomes
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So, you need to provide….
- Evidence, evidence, evidence
- References are your friend
- What, so what, now what?
- Why, why, why? – Justify all of your choices
- Relevance and Context – Clarity is important
Introduction part
We are looking for…
Descriptive and critical ideas to include:
- The reason why this topic is important and relevant
- Definitions of any complex terminology that is referred to throughout the Research Proposal
- Introduce the main ideas that your Research Proposal will discuss in the order you will address them (tell us what you are going to tell us)
- Well referenced (Harvard – cite it right)
- Sets the scene for the background part
Background part
- This follows straight on from the introduction part
- Do not repeat the information provided in the introduction part
- This section provides a background to the topic focus you have chosen
- Consider:
- Is there a history or build-up to the topic focus (i.e. changing patterns of evidence-based practice)?
- Is there a socio/political focus /agenda (such as changes in law, policy or guidelines around your topic?
- Are there any evidence-based contradictions or gaps you want to explore further?
- Fully referenced using Harvard – cite it right
- Essentially, you are providing a short background to the topic you hope to research more on
- Sets the scene for the literature review
In a nutshell…
Introduction Part
- Structure your Research Proposal as a whole
- Rationale for topic choice
- Relevance to the adult nursing field
- Your intent
- Definitions
Background Part
- Relevant history about your topic
- Any socio/political agendas
- Any changes in practice surrounding your topic
- Any significant developments in how your topic has come to be understood or ‘problematised’
*All written as one section, approx. 400 words. this section should meet the Learning Outcomes 1 & 5.
Getting organised!
- Break sections down.
- Focus on the Research Proposal Guidelines.
- Be logical in your approach.
- Start with the introduction guidance before moving on to covering the background guidance.
NOTE: When using clinical, please refer to the UK base as it may differ from other countries. Please use relevant sources and current ones. References should be a minimum of 40+, and the assignment should be written in British.
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- Do I have to conduct the research proposed in this assignment?
No, this is only a research proposal (plan). You do not have to conduct the research or recruit any participants for the purpose of this assignment.
- Why is the findings section missing in the research proposal?
You are not expected to include any findings in your proposal for the simple fact that you are not conducting the proposed research that would generate the findings; you only plan the research process.
- Can I include additional appendices to what has been already recommended in the assignment guidance?
Yes, you can include appendices additionally, as long as they are relevant to your research topic and the research process captured in your research proposal.
- Am I allowed to include additional headings to the proposal?
We strongly recommend that you follow the structure of the assignment as highlighted in the guidance provided, including the wordcount for each section of the proposal, to ensure that you cover the essential components of this assignment (as these have been mapped to the Learning Outcomes you have to pass).
- Do I have to propose a qualitative research design?
No, you are not limited to conducting only qualitative research despite this approach being highlighted as being more appropriate for service user inclusivity and participation. You can choose between qualitative and quantitative, or any other type of design that you identified as being appropriate for your research topic from the lectures, workshops, and additional reading on this topic.
- Does my research proposal have to include service users?
Not necessarily. You may think about research that is relevant to nurses or carers, for example, which is acceptable as the main focus of your proposal. However, we recommend that you think how the research may benefit service users e.g., if you research experiences of burnout in nurses, think how this may impact on the quality of care and what implications this may have for service users.
- How can I demonstrate inclusivity if my research is not directly involved with service users?
You can demonstrate inclusivity in research that is not directly related to service users by enhancing the levels of participation, inclusivity, and representation of the research participants that you considered for your proposal (e.g., carers, nurses, etc.). Please refer to the participation scale/pyramid discussed in the Service User Inclusivity lecture and workshops that you may wish to use as a point of reference.
- If I chose a qualitative design for my proposal, do I have to consider only qualitative studies in my literature review?
No, you can select any type of study for your literature review as long as they are relevant for your chosen topic and help you highlight the rationale for your topic choice and the research gap that you aim to address through your research question.
- What happens if I don’t find any studies with service user participation?
This means that you may have identified a research gap that you may wish to address by proposing a study that considers the service user perspective.
- Can I email the module leaders or the module team for support with my research proposal?
You will be allocated a tutor for this module (date TBC). You can then email your allocated tutor either a detailed proposal plan or 20% of your work for feedback (no later than 2 weeks before the deadline), you can send them this only once.
- Where can I find examples of topics for my research proposal?
You will have had a number of Research Proposal by Field of Practice sessions with materials collated on the module shell. Also, you may wish to refer to the pre-recorded lectures on a series of topics, some of them are under-researched, that may inspire you with finding a research gap in your field of practice, that you wish to focus on in your proposal.
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- How is this research assignment different to the NUR2001 research assignment?
Although this module (NUR3101 Critical Inquiry with Research Proposal) is building on your knowledge acquired in NURS2001 (Analysing Evidence for Healthcare), the assignments for these modules are different. NUR2001 is focused on critiquing two pieces of research (qualitative and quantitative), and NUR3101 is based on developing your own research proposal that demonstrates your ability to potentially implement your research knowledge into practice.
- Does my research proposal have to be from my own field of practice?
Yes, your research proposal should be from your own field of practice. However, we acknowledge that research across multiple fields of practice can be proposed considering, for example, complex health issues, but your research proposal should clearly demonstrate the application and relevance to your field of practice.
- How narrow does the topic need to be for this assignment?
It is your decision how narrow or broad the topic is for this assignment. For example, you may identify an overwhelming number of studies on your chosen topic that may pose some difficulties with highlighting a research gap which is essential for this assignment. In this case, you may wish to refine your topic by considering new perspectives or experiences, or change the topic altogether if necessary.
- How many research papers do you recommend for the literature review?
Considering the wordcount for the literature review section i.e., 900 words, 3-4 studies that are highly relevant to your topic would suffice in order to give you space for summarising the current literature on the topic area.
- How do I do critically analysis?
Critical analysis (or critical thinking, critical writing) is a skill that you are expected to develop at this stage by using a variety of resources
- Is it appropriate to write about something different than nursing in the research proposal?
Although we value inter-professional learning, for the purpose of this assignment you must write a research proposal that is relevant to adult field of nursing practice in which you are expected to be more knowledgeable and experienced.
- What is the difference between research gap and knowledge gap?
There is no fundamental difference between the research gap and knowledge gap as they are inter-related i.e., research generates knowledge, and the need for knowledge often leads to research development. For example, there may be a knowledge gap in your chosen topic because of the lack of research on that particular topic.
- From whom can I get help to select a topic for this assignment?
You are responsible for choosing the topic for your research proposal at academic level 6.
- How do I select service users for my research proposal?
You do not have to select service users or any other type of participants for your proposal. This is because you are not expected to conduct your research, only write a research proposal (plan) following the structure provided.