Review of section 2

In Section 2 you:

• were introduced to your socio-scientific problem

• understood your problem more clearly

• completed Assignments 1 and 2

Activity 1: What is a Research Proposal?

Discuss with your teacher and the rest of the class the following:

• What is a Proposal?

• What is a Research Proposal?

• What is the purpose of a Research Proposal? Who is it aimed at?

• What are the characteristics of an effective Research Proposal? What information should it contain? Should it contain the findings?

• What does a Research Proposal need (to be) in order to get approval (from the teacher or any other person in authority)?

A closer look at the sections

1. A Statement of the Problem

This is paraphrased paragraph describing the problems. You did this for Assignment 1. You should use Simple Present Tense.

• What is the problem?

• Why are you interested in this problem?

• What are the causes of this problem?

• Who or what is affected by it?

• What is the aim of the research? Note: your aim is mentioned in the original problem description. Your aim is not to solve the problem yourselves, or just to increase people’s awareness, but to come up with suggested solutions.

2. A Title

• Your title should be between 10 and 15 words in length. It should clearly show the purpose or aim of the research. It should be like a sentence describing what you are looking at and what you are going to try to do in this research.

Example language: Use -ing gerunds like 'researching', 'examining', 'finding solutions','studying', 'evaluating'.

• Imagine your problem is 'Traffic problems in Muscat'

• A title could be : 'Researching traffic congestion in Oman's capital city and finding solutions to reduce the problem'

Activity 2: Practise writing titles

In your group think of good titles for these problems and share these with the class/teacher:

1. The problem of crop-eating insects for Batinah farms .

2. The problem of slow internet connections in rural areas.

3. Research Questions

• Research questions are the questions you ask yourself in order to complete the research. You are looking for solutions to a socio-scientific problem.

• You want to find 4 solutions, so you need 4 research questions. This will guide you when looking for information from your sources. Your research will be successful if your findings answer your questions.

• Possible questions are looking at the solutions already used in some places and have already been tried.

• Other questions could use adjectives such as 'what is the easiest solution', 'the most effective solution, 'the most environmentally friendly solution', or the 'cheapest', 'fastest'. etc.

Activity 3: Practise writing Research Questions

1. Using the example of 'traffic problems in Muscat', think of 4 questions that look at 4 different types of solutions. Share these with the class. Remember, the best questions are specific and not too general. Don't ask 'what's the best solution?'. This is too general and is what you aim to decide for yourself at the end of the research.

4. Significance of Research

Significance means ‘importance’. Why is it important that you do this research into this problem right now? For Assignment 2 you gathered some background information about the problem.

• Describe how finding solutions to the problem will benefit Omani society in general. How will things get worse if solutions are not found to the problem?

• How will your research impact different areas: the economy, tourism, the environment, education, agriculture, etc in a positive way?

• Language: Use future or conditional forms. For example 'will', 'might', 'should', 'could'.

Activity 4: Practise writing about significance

What is the significance of research into the problem of 'slow internet connections in rural areas' ?

1. In your group think of at least 4 reasons why this is important research to do and make notes.

5. Research Methodology

This is where you describe your plan to find the answers to your research questions. Think about the possible different types of sources of information you will need to access, and what you will actually do. You do NOT have to give the names of the specific sources yet, as you have not started the research.

• Where will you go to get your information from exactly (libraries, companies, ministries, the Internet)?

• What kind of sources will give you reliable and up to date information? Be as specific as you can. Don't say 'websites'. This is too general. Only some academic websites or online journals are seen as trusted. Commercial sites (advertising or selling products) are not unbiased sources of information.

• How will you get information specifically related to Oman?

• Describe the other methods you will use (interview with an expert, site visit ,etc.).

• What will you do with all the information you collect? How will you record, organize and share it within the group? Where will you keep your notes? Describe the process in detail.

• What will you do to ensure that your proposal is convincing, feasible and original? Remember the research committee will need to agree that your plan will work and that you will be able to do everything you say.

Activity 5: Practising writing a methodology section

1. Imagine you are doing the research into the problem of 'crop-eating insects on farms of Batinah'. Together discuss how to gather information about this topic and write a paragraph answering the questions above.