LEARNING OUTCOMES FOR ASSIGNMENT 2:

At the completion of this assessment you will be able to:

• Prepare a report that provides the background to your issue and its importance, and outlines a proposal for research into your stated problem.

ASSIGNMENT PURPOSE

Now that you have an understanding of your research topic and a potential research gap, you need to plan how you will undertake research that addresses this problem. This plan is known as your ‘research design’. The research design refers to the overall strategy that you choose to integrate the different components of the study in a coherent and logical way. Put simply, it is the blueprint for the collection, measurement and analysis of data.

ASSESSMENT TASK

This assessment task requires the student to prepare a research design that outlines the problem they have identified and explains how they will undertake research to address that problem. The research itself will be undertaken in the core unit SRR721 Construction Research Project. A template will be provided for the research design and the report that is produced will be expanded in Assignment 3: Project Proposal.

It is therefore important that you set yourself up for success by having a clear idea of your research gap or question.

FORMAT OF ASSIGNMENT

The structure and content of the research design (essentially a Draft Research Proposal) will be provided through CloudDeakin as a template. In general, it will include the following:

• Research Problem (including research questions, aim and objectives) - clearly articulating the context and purpose of the research is vital. In most cases, a good research initiative draws from a straightforward and clearly articulated problem statement. The research questions are developed from the research problem and should similarly be straightforward and clear. The research problem and questions will lead to the research aims and objectives.

• Research Approach – a discussion on how you are going to achieve your objectives and a justification of why your approach is the most appropriate for your stated aim.

• Data Collection – it is important to know what date you will need to address your research problem. You will also need to tell us how to collect this data and why this collection method is appropriate.

• Data Analysis – as you think about the data you need to collect, you need to think about what you will ‘do’ with that data once it is collected. The analysis of the data will generate conclusions from the research inquiry. The analysis may include critical literature review, or content analysis, thematic analysis, case study analysis, statistical analysis, comparative analysis, etc.

• Limitations and Scope: It is important to reflect on the limitations and scope of your research. Think about what is achievable within the timeframe of 1 trimester and make sure that you are clear on what you are NOT researching. Make sure you can actually get the data you need for the research and how you might amend your research design if that will not be possible.