This is an example of how a research can be written.

It is NOT your present

assignment:

Assume that you are being hired by the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of a
private hospital in Shah Alam. Lately, the hospital has received an increasing
number of complaints from its patients; mainly with regards to the quality of
services rendered by the hospital. The COO is worried and he wants to find out
the reasons for these complaints and want to come with the best solution to
overcome this problem as quickly as possible. He want you to conduct a
research to overcome the problem the hospital is facing.

You are required to prepare a research plan for him, focusing on the following:

1. Problem statement, research objectives and research questions =

this is your assignment 1
2. Literature review,
3. Theoretical framework,
4. Methodology – sampling design, instrument for data collection,
survey method and data analysis
5. Project schedule, and
6. Estimated research cost

Assignment 1

Rubric 1: Introduction to the research process [4m]

Explain briefly what is research and what are the process / steps involved in
research. Explain each step clearly. Give a citation of what is the meaning of
research

Rubric 2: Identification and definition of the problem [8]

You need to introduce the topic of health care and the meaning of private
hospital vs public hospital. Why is private hospital in more urgent need of
listening to the complaints? Of course this doesn't mean public hospital do
not need to listen to complaints. I said more urgent need.

Rubric 3: Facts and figures supporting that the identified problem really exist

Show some statistics (figures/data) that states the private hospital complaints
has increased etc if you can get. Of course as this assignment is fictitious, you
will not be able to quote, but you can use a private hospital data (if you can
find it) but do not mention the actual name of the hospital.

Then read up on lots of articles that shows factors causing poor quality of
services. If you can find articles of poor quality of services in hospital, that
would be even better, as it would be much more relevant. Here is the section
where a lot of citations are needed – info that proved the identified problem
is a big problem that needs to be looked into.

After a few citation, then state your research problem statement.

Rubric 4: List of research questions and objectives of the study [4]

After that, the ROs and RQs. One or two ROs are enough. RQs must have a
few.

If your RQs lean towards qualitative research, then there is no need to have
hypothesis; but if they lean towards quantitative, then you will need
hypothesis.

Remember, this 1st rubric is very important as the rest of you assignment is
based on this rubric. So make sure it is correct.

Rubric 5: Justification for doing the research [4]

Here you have to explain why there is a need to carry out a research –
maybe no data, no up to date data, need more specific data, etc. Here is
also a place where you can cite other people’s study on the same topic but
at other place and time. You can also use them as justification for you to do
your research too.

Assignment 2

Rubric 1: same as all that you have done in Assignment 1. If your result of
assignment 1 is good, just copy them in a simplified manner [12].

For the second assignment, continue your proposal from rubric 1.

I have an example here that is based on TESCO. But for you all, DON’T
change your research proposal to another topic. I am going to use this
example for rubric 2 and 3 only:
The management of Tesco Stores Malaysia needs to know whether it would be
feasible to introduce its own branded chilli sauce to the Malaysian consumers.
Apply the research process steps, from the problem identification stage to the
data collection stage to address this initiative.

Rubric 2: review of literature [12]

Conduct many searches on retail stores and the need /no need to have own
brand of sauces. Show other studies have done. Show justification and
discussion for doing this research here.

Discuss many articles that mention factors (e.g. quality, image or price) that
affect customers’ satisfaction of Retailer’s own brand. Then remember to find
articles that mention customers’ satisfaction of retailer’s own brand. Then the
factors and customers’ acceptance/satisfaction will be in your framework

Rubric 3: Presentation of theorectical framework [12]

Make sure you all draw a framework

Image

Customers’
acceptance of
price
Tesco brand
products

quality

From this framework and earlier in part 2 about RQ and RO, you will then
come up with a few hypotheses. The hypothesis can be put at part 2 or in
part 3 (of lit review). Example:
RO1: To identify the relationship between image, price and quality and
customers’ satisfaction of Tesco brand products
H0: There is no significant relationship between image, price and quality and
customers’ satisfaction of Tesco brand products.
RO2: To identify the relationship between image, price and quality
H1: There is no correlation between image, price and quality
RO3: To identify income and customers’ satisfaction of Tesco brand product

H2: There is a significant difference between different level of incomes and

customers’ satisfaction of Tesco brand product satisfaction

Rubric 4: research methodology [16]

Here consists of many things – methodology, method, tool, sampling, data

collection, & analysis:

The main one first:

What philosophy are you choosing? E.g. Positivist - Give justifications

What approach you want to use? E.g. Deductive – give justification

What methodology would you want to choose? E.g. Quantitative – Give
justifications
What method would you like to choose? E.g. Survey – Give justifications
What tools you want to use? E.g. Questionnaire – give justification

For all the above, you need to discuss on them.

For example,
Here you need to discuss what other researchers have done – what kind of
methodology and method, with regards to your problem statement, RO and
RQ: something about factors affecting quality of services or patients’
perceptions of quality of services in hospitals etc.
So there would be qualitative methodology or quantitative methodology or
even both types use (mixed methodology). Why they choose that (must have
citations). Then you must say why you choose which one for your proposal.
Justification is needed.

Then examples of other people’s research using survey (citations again). then
why you choose which kind of survey. Again, justification is needed to show
the appropriateness of the survey method. Remember, survey covers
interview or cross-sectional survey. So which one do you choose and why.
Give justification.

If you are using a set of questionnaires that you bought (assumed), with
validity and reliability stated and accepted as valid and reliable, please state
it. If you are making your own questionnaire items, then you must write that
your questionnaire will be checked by experts for the validity. Then it will be
pilot tested on a sample of 30-100 people, to see the validity and reliability of
the items in the questionnaire. It everything is OK, it will then be launched
onto the sample chosen.
Explain also how you are going to choose your sample. What kind of sample?
How many? How to distribute your questionnaire / how to go about
interviewing your samples?
How to collect back your questionnaire must also be done.

Don’t forget must also mention the ethical procedure to do – letter asking for
permission from respondents/participants.

Then discussion on the appropriate sampling design

Identification of target group and that will show you the kind of data
collection to do. Before you can collect data, explain how you conduct
sampling. Then only state how to collect data.
What is your Sampling frame? E.g. Tesco customers

How you are going to choose your Sample? E.g. Non-probability sampling
Types of sample? E.g. convenience sampling (explain how you are going to
distribute your questionnaire. Give to whoever that goes into Tesco? Ask them
to answer and give free gift on the spot?
or perhaps purposive sampling. Get Tesco database and send questionnaire
to customers’ home.
How many samples? – 350 or 500 or what? Why? Justification needed

Then Discussion on the appropriate instrument for data collection

After that, how many samples to collect? You must think of the unanswered,
lost, half answered etc. Take into account all these (if you are doing survey
via questionnaire).

If you are doing survey via interview, how are you going to approach the
samples? Remember the ethics in research - you must do that first - get
permission from them - read Topic 10., 8 and 9.

You must given citation of what other people has done in the same instances
like your case but in other countries/situations in Malaysia. Then you state
that you chose which instrument due to …..give reasons. After you have
mentioned which instrument you have chosen (based on your RO, RQ and
hypothesis), you have to describe what questions you are going to put into
your instrument – does not matter it is interview question or questionnaire.
There must be citations of each of the questions that you are going to put in.
E.g. If you are going to ask about income, is there any citation to show why
income must be asked in your questionnaire? If you want to ask about
gender, then who said gender is of importance to be asked (citation is
needed).

Those questions in your instrument must answer your RQ and prove /disprove
your hypotheses. E.g. if my RQ is : What are the perceptions of males and
females towards the quality of services in Hospital A? My hypothesis is: there is
no significant differences between perceptions of males and females
towards the quality of services in Hospital A. So my questionnaire will have a
question like this:

Background information:

1. Gender : Male

Female

And later part of the questionnaire must have a question on perception of

quality. E.g.

Excellent
Average
Not too

Good
bad
Bad

1 2 3 4 5

What is your perception of the quality of

services
rendered by Hospital A?

Then Discussion on the selected types of data analysis[12]

The analysis of data would depend on your hypothesis (if it is quantitative

methodology chosen). Let’s take the example that I have given in rubric 3.

Background information:

1. Gender : Male

Female
And later part of the questionnaire must have a question on perception of
quality. E.g.

If you have the above kind of of question, you might need to do a

descriptive statistic analysis. You will need to describe that you will do a
frequency count and the data will be presented in the form of frequency
count and %. If you have collected through questionnaire on 350 people,
then you need to show the table (that is empty) like the below:

Gender Frequency count Percentage (%)

Male
Female

What is your perception of the quality of

services
rendered by Hospital A?

Excellent
Average
Not too

Good
bad
Bad

1 2 3 4 5

Here your analysis will depend on your hypothesis.

My hypothesis is: there is no significant differences between perceptions of
males and females towards the quality of services in Hospital A.

This is a null hypothesis. Assuming you got an equal number of samples of

males and females, So you might want to do an independent two equal
sample t-test, to compare the means of males’ perception and females’
perception towards the quality of services in Hospital A. NO NEED TO PUT IN
DATA AT ALL.

Then you should have a table such as below:

Gender N (number of Mean Standard Std Error

sample) Deviation mean
Male
Female

An example (not about factors affecting quality, but I hope you can see the
similarity):
Since there is no data, you just give comment: if analysis of data found that it
is significant, it means what? That there is a significant difference between
males’ and females’ perceptions of the quality of services at Hospital A. This is
to answer our RQ. That’s all. Unless you want to do a more detailed analysis,
then you would need another hypothesis and another kind of test. For this
assignment, just d like this example is enough.
As you have a few hypotheses, then you will need to show a few tables and
a few kinds of appropriate tests. It could be a correlation or t-test or others
that you might have learnt in Statistic classes.

Another example:

You can read more here:

https://www.khanacademy.org/math/ap-statistics/two-sample-
inference/two-sample-t-test-means/v/two-sample-t-test-for-difference-of-
means

https://www.khanacademy.org/math/statistics-probability/analysis-of-
variance-anova-library/analysis-of-variance-anova/v/anova-3-hypothesis-
test-with-f-statistic

http://cie491stata.blogspot.com/2014/02/data-analysis-t-test.html

http://www.statisticshowto.com/probability-and-statistics/t-test/
If you are doing correlation:

Again as there is no data, You have to explain in general, if ….value, it

means…. If …value, it means…. No need to do any calculations nor put in
data.
You can read more here:
http://www.statisticshowto.com/probability-and-statistics/correlation-
coefficient-formula/

http://deplim.com/pearson-r-table-interpretation.html
But if you choose to do qualitative methodology and method is survey and
using interview, you would not need to do all the above but do data analysis
via transcription and finding the codes and themes.
Write down the question of your interview.

Then write down how you go about doing the transcription. Use code book,
use symbols, etc.

Then explain how you do the codes and themes. Read in chapter 8 as well as
my notes. Below is just an example:
This is if you want to use video recording, then the transcription is as follows:
In your proposal you must explain that you are going to interview the
respondents (who?) using audio or video recording. You will get the chosen
respondents' permission to be interviewed. They are allowed to withdraw
from being a respondent any time. Then explain where and how you are
going to conduct the interview. after that explain how you are going to start
the interview - example, get the respondent comfortable first before start the
actual interview. after that you will trancribe the audio /video into hardcopy.
The transcriptions will be shown to the respondents to check for the validity
and reliability. Then it will be shown to experts to double check the validity
and reliability. After that from the transcript, you are going to code and
derive themes from it. The themes will be the factors of the complaints.

These themes will be reported as factors of the problems faced by the

patients.

Rubric 5: Research project schedule including Gantt Chart

Next you are to put in a Gantt Chart – assume you are going to carry out this
research what is your plan- how long is the period for this research from start
to completion. You can put in weeks or months. Please read your module for
more explanation.
For example, your tasks might consist of:

1. reviewing literature
2. Writing problem statement, RO and RQ
3. writing methodology
4. submitting proposal

5. defending proposal
6. collecting data

7. analysing data
8. writing report
9. submitting report
Rubric 6: Estimated project cost
The cost of everything to run this research from start till complete the research
(which is till reporting the result).
- E.g. papers for printing, ink, printer, travelling to collect data, binding,
photostating, pay to workers to help you collect data, software to
analyse data, pay to people to key in data, etc. You have to read up
more to know what cost would be incurred.
This is an example of the proportion of how much budget to allocate: