aims and proposal work sheet

1. PGT: Writing your Research Aims and Proposal
Can you re-write these research aims to make them stronger and SMARTer?
1. To learn about the relationship between tectonic-plate movement and the
gravitational effect of the major planets
2. Examination of the influence of public transport links on new housing
development in Western Scotland
3. Is the level of knowledge on recommended nutritionalpractices related to the
nutritional status of pregnant women attending antenatal care in Northern
Uganda?

2. Read through the objectives for the projects whose aims you have read. How would you
explain the relationship between the aims and objectives?
1. Aim
To investigate the relationship between tectonic-plate movement and the gravitational
effect of the alignment of the major planets
Objectives
Data sets will be extracted from the known historical record of tectonic-plate movement
Data sets will be extracted from astronomical tables detailing the various alignments of the
major planets covering the same period as data from the geological record
The data from both sets will be synthesises to establish of correlation points exist between
major geological events and planetary alignments
2. Aim
To analyse the association between nutritional knowledge and the nutritional status of
pregnant women attending antenatal care (ANC) in Northern Uganda
Objectives
To assess the knowledge level among ANC attendees on the recommended nutritional
practices during pregnancy
To assess the nutritional status of pregnant women attending ANC
To analyse the statistical association between knowledge level and nutritional status in
pregnant women attending ANC

3. Can you see where this student is showing some critical analysis?
Firstly, it must be noted that the literature evidenced significant criticismof Hofstede’s
dimensions of national culture, and there is much debate about the validity of the Hofstede
and GLOBE data, with regards to the methodology used and the validity of the data. Imm,
Lee & Soutar (2007) argue that that Hofstede’s framework could be obsolete because the
data was collected many years ago. In agreement, Magnusson et al (2008) states, ‘the
contemporary relevance of Hofstede’s data has been questioned given that the data was
collected in the late 1960s’ (pg. 185). More recently, Migliore (2011) challenged Hofstede’s
data in terms of date relevance, in particular for the PDI scores, arguing that ‘significant
changes in new technologies enable people all over the world to gain greater access to
information and data – all which seem to represent a new type of power distribution […]’
(pg.50). However, more importantly, and despite all prior criticism, Hofstede’s dimensions
are being used and updated, with data for new and existing countries being added all the
time. For example, Migliore (2011) offered updated scores for USA and India, whereas
Taras, Steel & Kirkman (2012) present updated scores from their findings for 49 countries,
comparing scores over the years and against various other meta-analytic scores including
GDP/Capita, Human Development Index and Inflation, in order to explain the changes in the
scores suggesting that, ‘the change is certainly not rapid, but it appears to be occurring
faster than expected by Hofstede’ (pg.330). Interestingly however, none of the 2012
literature mentioned Hofstede’s additional dimension which was added in 2010; Indulgence
versus Restraint (IVR), but this could be due to the limited data collated for this dimension
to date.

4. Read through this example of the proposed methodology from a dissertation proposal.
Where are its strengths and weaknesses?
This research employed a qualitative method with the aimof exploring in-depth how IT
professionals manage the competing demands of work and life as well as how and why
work-life balance provisions can impact on their intention to leave an organisation. While
quantitative research has advantages in bias avoidance and ability to repeat the findings
because of statistical analysis and ‘statistical interpretation’, the strength of the qualitative
approach is in its ability to deal with complicated situations (Creswell, 2007). This means
that a situation can be looked at from various perspectives through qualitative research
(Creswell, 2007), unlike quantitative research, which only provides and overview of causa
relationships among factors related to the situation (Creswell, 2007). Although qualitative
methodologies can be criticised for the potential of researcher bias and subjectivity, the
researcher can understand reasons and social context behind the participants’ responses
(Creswell, 2007). Learning how employees balance work and life in a socially constructed
and complex world makes qualitative research more appropriate for this study. Qualitative
research allows the researcher to understand how and why work-life balance initiatives can
impact on employees’ intention to leave. It enables an analysis of an individual’s motivation,
perceptions and emotions and how these impact their decision making. Additionally, the
qualitative approach is chosen because the researcher has no expert knowledge of statistics.
Although the author can use the computer software program SPSS to assist data analysis,
lack of knowledge of the underlying principles of statistical analysis can limit the data
interpretation and analysis.