EMA EK313 Assignment Brief

The examinable component for this module is the design of a small-scale research project, focusing on children and/or young people, which builds on the work you carried out for TMA 03, i.e. a small literature review. The project consists of three parts: an introduction (Part 1), a methodology proposal (Part 2) and an evaluation of the potential relevance of your project (Part 3). The introduction to your project will link back to the work you carried out for TMA 03, and your consideration of previous literature and rationale for the project will inform your choice of methodology. This will in turn lead onto your evaluation section. The project length is 3000 words (excluding reference lists but including any appendices).

A small-scale research project should be understood as one which could be undertaken in a period of a year or less by a part-time student, who is employed full-time, taking occasional time off work. It can be compared to the research projects undertaken by some part-time undergraduate and Masters students in other institutions.

Note: you are not expected to include appendices. However, if there is material that you feel would be more appropriate in an appendix, rather than in one of the three parts, remember that the word length of the appendix will contribute to the 3000 word length of the EMA. The appendix should follow the reference list for the appropriate section of the EMA.

The three parts should have different word lengths. We suggest the following as a guideline:

• Part 1: Introduction (around 500 words)
• Part 2: Methodology proposal (around 2000 words); and
• Part 3: Evaluation of the potential relevance of your proposed study (around 500 words).

With the reference article under the name ‘Sutton’ as the writer, needs to be used for Part 1: introduction and Part 2: Methodology proposal. (View the structure sheets of each part of the assignment structure suggestion).

Although the number of words for each section is for guidance only, it is likely that if you choose to ‘borrow’ words from one section to increase the allowance for another you may find it difficult to adequately fulfil the requirements for the section you have borrowed from.

You are strongly advised to keep to the word length of the EMA (3000 words). If your EMA exceeds this length by more than ten per cent, the marker will award a mark based only on content up to that point. No credit can be given for any content more than ten per cent beyond the specified overall word limit. Detailed guidance is provided on how to approach each part of the project later in this guide.

Important note: you will NOT collect any data as part of your project. This EMA is a project proposal ONLY. You will not carry out the project but will demonstrate how it could be carried out in order to answer your research questions.

Using the planning grid

The grid is to help your planning and note taking. You do not have to complete all of the sections at the same time. The grid is linked to the three parts of the EMA:

• Part 1: Introduction
• Part 2: Methodology proposal
• Part 3: Evaluation of the potential relevance of your proposed study.

To help you to choose a relevant research question(s) you should read and complete section 1A ‘Reviewing the literature’, using your findings from TMA 03 to help you. For TMA 03, we asked you to carry out a small literature review on a topic of your choice, relevant to the study of children and young people. It is likely that, when carrying out this review of literature, you realised where there were gaps in knowledge and where you might be able to locate a research study of your own. When you have finished considering your literature review, you should be able to complete section 1B ‘Identifying research questions’ and consider what you could do for this EMA.

You cannot begin designing your methodology (Parts 2A–C) until you have identified specific research questions, since different questions will need different approaches. You will need to refer to the module materials and the literature that you have reviewed when you work through Parts 2A–C of the grid. This is important because you will need to ensure that you make reference to relevant literature throughout your EMA, not simply in the literature review you completed for TMA 03. It is important that you explain and evaluate your methodology in relation to the academic debates you have looked at throughout the module. You will find notes about the process of designing your methodology in ‘Writing up the EMA – Part 2: Methodology proposal’ in this Project Guide. You should read these notes before completing Part 2 of the grid.

Once you have worked through how you propose to collect and analyse the data needed to answer your research questions, you can start thinking about the potential relevance of your proposed research in Part 3. As with your methodology proposal, you should refer to the module materials and the literature you have reviewed in evaluating the relevance of your proposed research. It is important that you cite these materials in your discussion in the third part of your EMA. You will find notes about the process of evaluating your project in ‘Writing up the EMA – Part 3: Evaluation of the potential relevance of your proposed study’ in this Project Guide. You should read these notes before completing Part 3 of the grid.

After you have completed Part 3 of the grid, you should be able to decide on a final title for your proposed research project. It should be reasonably concise and give the examiner a good idea about the focus and aims of your proposed project. You will then be able to use the notes that you have made in this grid (in combination with the more detailed notes you will have made about the materials you have read) to help you to write up your EMA. We recommend that you discuss your plans with your tutor before beginning the write-up process. The planning grid is part of the examinable component (EMA) and your tutor can only offer general advice and not respond to specific detail.