• To develop practical research skills • To develop a critical awareness of some of the issues involved in research • To be able to reflect on the significance of these issues in terms of the broader research project • To link these issues to the relevant academic literature Students will be required to submit a report based on the two tasks introduced in the workshops and evaluate their own experience and the suitability of these two methods. The tasks: Design, prepare and undertake an interview including a full interview transcript. You are to conduct a semi-structured face to face interview with one of the members of your research methods seminar group. The interview should last approximately 20 minutes. The subject of the interview should be (loosely) based upon the topic of the papers reviewed in assignment one. It is to be a semi structured or in depth qualitative interview conducted in English. You will need to submit the transcript of the interview as an appendix to your assignment Design, prepare and evaluate a questionnaire You are required to design a pilot questionnaire of 10/12 questions, to investigate the same topic as the subject of your interview. You should give the questionnaire to 5 of your fellow students to critically evaluate. Ask them to comment on the style and form of the questions • Did they understand the question asked / • Do they agree that you have asked the right type of question? • Are any scales used appropriate? • Were any of the questions ambiguous? You should attach as an appendix to your assignment copies of the questionnaire annotated by your reviewers with comments. The critical commentary: An account and discussion of upto 2,500 words (+/-10%) plus appendices which critically examines the way in which you conducted the research, problems faced and lessons learnt. Your work should also consider the impact of the different methods on research findings and the broader research topic under discussion. You must make use of appropriate academic references and use the APA referencing system. Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Please be aware: Markers will stop reading after the + 10% point and the grade will be based on what the marker has read up to this point. This word limit relates to the word count given by the word counters in Microsoft Word and should be included at the end of the document. Tables and Appendices should only be used to provide data and information as reference points. They should not be used to present new information. The following applies as and where appropriate: (a) appendices should not be included in word count; (b) tables should not be included in word count if these are used to present quantitative data, but should be included if they are constructed using words; (c) quotations and citations should be included in word count (d) the reference list should not be included in the word count; (e) abstracts and executive summaries should be included in the word count. Assessment Criteria ? Knowledge and understanding ? Analysis and Review ? Application of a range academic literature to support the assignment ? Presentation, communication and referencing Submission requirements Report Format It is not necessary to submit a full business style report. All that is required is an introduction, a discussion section, a conclusion and the required appendices. You are NOT required to include a contents page, abstract etc. If you do these should not be included in the word count. The format expected will be very similar to an essay accept the use of headings, bullet points tables etc will be acceptable where appropriate. The Following Is Provided As A Possible Structure: Introduction • Introduce your report • Introduce quantitative and qualitative approaches to research Interview • Introduce Interviewing as a research technique • Discuss and critically evaluate the Interview that you have completed, what worked well what didn’t, what are the theoretical problems /advantages Questionnaire • Introduce using Questionnaires as a research technique • Discuss and critically evaluate the Questionnaire that you have designed, what questions worked well, what didn’t, what are the theoretical, problems /advantages Conclusion • Discuss the two methods in practice how they may be used in research Appendices • Appendix 1 Interview Transcript • Appendix 2 The 5 Annotated questionnaires We are not after a piece of work that just states everything that you know about research methods and methodologies. To get a good mark you will need to relate the theory from research methods texts and articles to what you have actually done and reference them appropriately. Remember You are not required to distribute the questionnaire you are not required to collect any results just comment on the quality of the questions used. The Process of trying the two methods and reflecting upon them is the focus of the assignment is about.