Bryman & Bell: Research Project Guide

What is the objective(s) of the research? Are all stakeholders clear? Have you written a full research proposal? Have you got all permissions to carry it out? Have you obtained resources to carry out your research? Have you got good supervision?

What are the research questions? What/ Where? How? Secondary/primary research?

What are the hypotheses? Do they answer the research questions?

What is the research design? Is it positivist or phenomenological or realist?

What is the research strategy? Is it a survey, experiment, exploratory, case study, grounded theory, ethnography or action research?

Have you negotiated access and are ethics considered?

Have you planned your data collection? Are you using both secondary and primary research? Are you collecting quantitative and/or qualitative data?

What are your secondary sources? Is the data recent, reliable, valid, enumerated in the same units?

What are your primary sources? For qualitative data are you using unstructured and/or semi structured techniques e.g. depth or group interviews, observation, role play, thematic tests etc. For quantitative data are you using personal, mail, postal, internet interviews?

What is your data gathering form? Is it an observation form or questionnaire? If the latter what type of questionnaire is it? Have you considered the appropriate scaling technique? Have you considered your mode of analysis?

What sampling frame and sample size are you to use and what method? Simple random sampling, stratified sampling, cluster sampling, convenience sampling, quota sampling, snowballing etc? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the methods? Have you considered the data analysis technique i.e. parametric v nonparametric? Have you considered access?

Who is to collect your data? Are you/ they trained? Have you proper controls in place?

How are you to analyse the data? Quantitative and/or qualitative methods?

What are you conclusions and recommendations? Do they answer the hypotheses and research questions? Are the results significant? What are the survey limitations?

For whom and what is to be in your report? Is it written accordingly?

What potential sources of bias are there throughout all the research process?

What have you done to minimise them?