Develop a research problem (and questions) that can be appropriately addressed through the design of a survey and
resulting data analysis. Construct and critique a measurement instrument, sampling scheme and fieldwork plan.
Specific details of the tasks required:
Specifically, this assessment will assess your quantitative research, statistical software and communication skills
in relation to the following areas:
o Survey methodology.
o Construction of a survey measuring instrument (such as a questionnaire).
o Critical understanding of good practice in survey measurement.
o Critical understanding of sampling in relation to the survey method.
o Critical understanding of approaches to data collection.
o Skills and understanding in piloting a survey and entering survey data into statistical software.
You are expected to address ALL of the following six sections. This is NOT an essay, please use section headings
(and subheadings) as appropriate and note the word limit guidance.
NOTE 1: 10% of marks are allocated for overall presentation, structure and argument. This includes use of written
language, referencing,
presentation, originality and the overall structure of the report.
NOTE 2: This is a research proposal. Other than the pilot, you are NOT expected to collect any data for this
assignment (no marks are available for this).
i) Overview (up to 400 words)
Succinctly summarise sections ii) to vi) below to provide a brief overview of your research proposal.
ii) The Research Problem & Questions (up to 500 words)
With reference to appropriate academic literature construct a research problem that could be examined using the
survey method. Draw on the literature to identify specific research questions that could be answered through the
analysis of data collected through the survey .
Additionally, by drawing on appropriate methodological literature, consider the strengths and limitations of the
survey method with respect to your chosen research problem and questions.
iii) The Measuring Instrument (up to 700 words)
Please submit a copy of the questionnaire (or data collection / interview sheet) as an Appendix.
Within the main report, and with reference to appropriate methodological literature, provide an overview of how the
measuring instrument was developed.
Critically discuss how the research questions have been operationalised. Link the measurement items back to the
specific research questions and literature to help support this discussion.
Explain how the structure and order of the measurement items was arrived at.
iv) The Sampling Scheme & Sample Size (up to 700 words)
Please provide a clear and complete definition of the population under study and the specific unit of analysis .
With reference to appropriate methodological literature, provide an overview of how the sampling scheme was
developed.
Provide a detailed summary of the sampling scheme.
Taking account of the potential response rate (where appropriate) and sample size, critically consider how
representative the resulting survey data is likely to be .
v) Fieldwork Plan (Data Collection) (up to 400 words)
Provide a summary of the planned approach to data collection for your proposed survey.
Critically consider the strengths and limitations of this approach compared to other approaches. Use this to help
justify your chosen data collection approach.
vi) Piloting & Data Entry (up to 300 words)
Pilot the measuring instrument on 5 units of analysis.
Construct and submit a data-entry ‘shell’ ready to enter the data from your survey as an Appendix. Within this data
-entry shell, please enter the responses to your pilot.
Critically reflect on this pilot and the resulting changes to measurement items, the sampling scheme and the data-
entry shell