Analysing the assignment brief continued

Hypothesis/ research question	■	Am I required to formulate my own research hypothesis?
If so, how should it be set out?
■	Am I required to provide a research question or statement?
If so, what should this include? How many words are allowed for this?	
Data and resources	■	What kind of data and/or source materials would I need to collect?
Numerical data? Documents? Images? Films? Photos? Interviews? Etc.?	
Methodology and methods	■	Am I expected to draw on any particular research methodologies?
■	Am I expected to take a qualitative or quantitative approach?
■	Am I expected to make use of any particular research methods (techniques)?
■	Am I expected to pilot my methods?
■	If so, do I need to submit the results of the pilot at the proposal stage?	
Ethical considerations	■	What kinds of ethical issues am I expected to consider?
How I collect and store data? How I work with participants? Privacy and confidentiality issues?
■	Do I need to make any submission to a research ethics committee?
If so, what must I submit, to whom and by when?	
Structure	■	Is there a specific structure that I am expected to follow?
■	How many sections/chapters should I include? What would these be?
■	What is the relative length of each?
■	What kind of abstract is expected?	
Style	■	What writing style is expected? Should this vary from one section to another?	
Citations and referencing	■	Which style of referencing is expected?
■	Am I required to produce a separate bibliography?	
Written presentation	■	How should the work be laid out and presented?
■	Does it need to be bound?	
Oral presentation	■	Will an oral exam be set?
■	If so, when does this take place? How long will it last?
■	Will I need to make a presentation? If so, does this need to be a slide or
poster presentation? How long do I have to present? Who is the audience?	
Understanding of the brief	■	Have I really understood this brief? If not, what do I need to clarify?
Check carefully through course documentation and your institution’s website to see if the answers to your questions lie there. If not, ask your supervisor.