Assignment Brief:

Prepare a research proposal in response to a request from a local library. Assume that the library’s board will provide ample funding and support to meet their high expectations for a rigorous study.

The problem scenario: This library’s visitor records show that very few teenagers visit the library. The ones who come do not stay as long as younger children and adults do. Also, a recent survey indicated that, of the different age groups, teens were the least satisfied with their library experience. The library’s board earnestly hopes to be guided by your research evidence as they try to improve the quality of teens’ library experiences.

Your design options:

Select ONE of these two designs for your proposed study:

• true experimental design with a positivist approach
• grounded theory design with an interpretive approach

Before you pick a design, decide what the focus of your study will be. Read academic articles on topics related to the key concepts in the given scenario. A good place to start is our SUSS library. There is ample scholarly literature that you can access online through the library. Once you have narrowed your focus, compare and contrast the strengths and weaknesses of the two research design options to decide which would best achieve your study’s purpose.

Your research proposal should include the following sections:

1. Introduction

2. Purpose and research questions

2. Literature review

3. Methodology

4. References

5. Appendices

Develop your research proposal using the following guidelines. The number of words suggested for each section is a rough guide — your number of words per section may differ from the suggested ones but the overall word count must not exceed 1,500.

Question 1: Introduction and Research Questions

Provide the background as an engaging lead in your proposed study. Define the research problem and explain your rationale for your proposed focus. Articulate the purpose of your study. Construct specific research questions (RQs) that address the purpose. Provide operational definitions for key concepts.

Tips for writing the introduction:

• The aim of the Introduction section is to give the reader an overview of your proposed study. Have a strong lead that engages the reader.
• Tell the reader why it is important to study the quality of teens’ library experiences, and how your proposed study would add value to library services in Singapore. Define key concepts.
• Although this section would be the first in your written proposal, it often makes sense to finalize it only after you have drafted all the other sections.

Tips for crafting your research questions:

• Your purpose statement and other RQs must be aligned with the research design that you have selected. Its research approach should also inform the crafting of RQs.
• Present brief operational definitions in the glossary style.

Question 2: Literature Review

Present a review of scholarly literature relevant to your proposed study. Demonstrate how the research designs used by these studies might have influenced their findings.

Tips for conducting your literature review:

• The aim of this section is to provide the reader with your critique — strengths, and shortfalls — of past research on this topic, and how that led you to develop your research questions.

Summarise the most relevant past research. Comment on studies done on each area covered by your RQs. Tell us how your review guided the development of your research questions.

• Your literature review should convince the reader that your proposed study will make a valuable contribution to existing knowledge about teens’ experiences of libraries.

Question 3: Methodology

Compare and contrast the strengths and weaknesses of the two research design options to decide which would best achieve your study’s purpose. Propose an appropriate research design that would address the research questions. Apply your knowledge of research concepts to develop the sampling, data collection, and analysis methodologies. Examine your methodologies for potential issues and highlight them as anticipated limitations.

Tips for designing your methodology:

• The aim of the Methodology the section is to allow the reader to understand how you intend to conduct your study using either a true experiment or a grounded theory design.
• You should be able to demonstrate your knowledge of the various elements of your chosen design and its approach.
• Methodology sections: The methodology typically covers the proposed study’s design, sample (target population, sampling frame, sample characteristics and size, sampling methods), data collection methods (including any instruments), data analysis methods, research ethics, research rigor (e.g., reliability and validity in quantitative research), and anticipated limitations. Each of these should be a sub-section with its own sub-headings under Methodology.
• Explain why your methods are suitable and appropriate for addressing your RQs. Be as clear and detailed as possible, to the extent that you could pass it to someone else who would then be able to conduct the study based only on what you have written.