Step 6

DECISION CIRCUIT ACTIVITY – DEVELOP AND PEER REVIEW method plan

You can start making decisions for the method plan portion of your Research Proposal once you have a viable research question.

RESEARCH PROPOSAL PARTS
Introduction (Overview & Literature Review)
Method Plan
Bibliographic List of Cited Sources
Appendix (optional)

 

Your tool for developing the method plan is the Decision Circuit. The Decision Circuit is a collection of activity boards with an amended glossary that prompts you to make a series of research decisions.

View the video Plan your Research the Decision Circuit Way and listen to the audio recording Developing a method plan with the Decision Circuit to get a sense of how the Decision Circuit works, and how it can be used. 

DEVELOP

Either alone or with your discipline fellows, start using the Decision Circuit. For each of the three Decision Boards, there is a series of numbered question prompts. Follow through on the decisions for each of these questions. If you do not know what the options are, consult the glossary and your course materials.

Enter your decisions for each of the numbered items below and provide brief explanations about the actual applications. For instance, if you decide on content analysis as a technique, explain what you will analyse.  

1. PROBLEM FORMULATION

1.1 Research Question

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1.2 Problem Formulation

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1.3 Approach for Collecting and Analysing the Data

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2. DATA COLLECTION DESIGN

2.1 Forms of Data

2.2 Data Collection Technique

2.3 Data Processing Instruments

2.4 Type(s) of Units

2.5 Sampling Strategy

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3. ANALYSIS, LIMITATIONS, AND ETHICS

3.1 Type(s) of Analysis

3.2 Limitations

3.3 Ethical Dimensions

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PEER REVIEW

The peer review should take about 20 minutes to complete. 

  • Review Decision Circuit decisions with your fellow Research Scholar(s), following the Research Director’s instructions. 
  • Using your own responses, take your fellow Research Scholar(s) through the decisions made for each one of the numbered items. 
  • Be sure to start off by referring to your research question and its relation to the literature (your Literature Review). 
  • Briefly explain your method plan to your peer(s) and ask for feedback or pose questions. 
  • Try to justify why the question will make a valued contribution to the Institute’s collection of proposals on the theme.

Identity three concerns about your decisions that your peer(s) may be of assistance with:

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As a result, what will you revise in your original decisions?

What is the most difficult/challenging decision? Why?

What are your takeaways from the peer exchange?