Report on a small-scale research project.
You are going to design and carry out a small-scale research project. When your research
proposal has been approved by your tutor, you will be asked to create an academic poster.
You will need to submit your poster in the form of a single PowerPoint slide through the DLE
by Friday 6th March 2020. There will be an opportunity to present your poster and discuss
your research with tutors and peers on Thursday 5th March 2020.
Your research will be based on one or more of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development
Goals. You will carry out your research on Plymouth University staff and/or students. This is
a small-scale research project so it is important that you do not attempt anything too
ambitious. Choose a narrow focus for your research and keep you sample size manageable.
You must be able to collect and analyse your data within the timeframe allowed.
Your research proposal (academic poster)
You will be asked to submit and present your Research Proposal in the form of an Academic
Poster. An academic poster is a visual ‘draft’ of the early sections of your report and is a
commonly used to present research projects in higher education and at conferences. The
purpose of an academic poster is to communicate the focus of your research clearly and
concisely. Your research proposal (academic poster) should consist of:
An introduction to the UN’s SDGs
A justification for your choice of focus and/or the project aims
A methodology section in which you explain how you plan to carry out your research
A short reference list in which you identify key sources
You will be given feedback on your poster which you can use to improve your thinking and
ideas before you complete your research.
The poster counts for 5% of the overall mark for this assessment.
Your research report
When you have completed your research project, you will write a 2000 word report which
outlines the scope and purpose of your research and which identifies your key findings.
Suggested structure of your research report
It is recommended that your report includes the following sections. You may combine the
findings/discussion sections if you wish and you may add a recommendations section, if
appropriate.
ELC cover sheet
Please complete and attach the ELC cover sheet (available on the DLE)
Title page
Please provide a title page that clearly states the title of your research project. You do not
need to include your name.
Contents page
The contents page identifies the main sections of your report and provides page numbers for
the sections.
1.0 Introduction
The introduction should provide an overview of UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
You should identify the goal/s you have focussed on and any key targets that are relevant to
your report. You should briefly describe your research project and clearly set out your aims.
2.0 Literature Review
Your literature review shows your understanding of the fundamental issues involved in your
topic. There should be a variety of sources used (books, websites, academic journals,
newspapers) and you should draw out the key themes and refer to them using correct
referencing conventions. Your literature review lays the foundation for the rest of your
research project and you will refer back to it later on in your work.
3.0 Methodology
This should contain a clear explanation of your methods and, equally importantly, a
justification of them. The limitations of your chosen methodology and any difficulties that
you encountered should be acknowledged. The methodology section will reflect the type of
research you are doing: primary research will often need a longer methodology section than
research that is based on secondary sources.
4.0 Findings
This section should provide a clear presentation of the findings of your investigation. You
may wish to present this using text or graphics or a combination of both.
ELC203 Research Report 2019-20
5.0 Discussion/Analysis
This is an important section in which you should try to interpret your findings. You should try
to relate your findings back to your literature review – do your findings support or contradict
the literature? What do your findings seem to show/indicate?
6.0 Conclusion
This part of your assignment sums up what you have discovered. Refer back to your
introduction and your stated aims. Have your aims been achieved? Do your findings point to
any area for further research? Can you make any suggestions and/or recommendations
based on your research findings?
Reference list
Please include a full reference list which includes all the sources referred to in your report
and which is presented according to Harvard referencing conventions. Please use 8-10
different sources. Remember to organise your reference list alphabetically.
Appendix
Please provide a copy of any questionnaires/interview questions used in the appendix. You
do not need to provide transcripts of interviews.
Referencing
You should be aware of the risk of plagiarism and use appropriate paraphrasing techniques.
It is vital to reference your work according to the correct conventions Referencing should
follow the Harvard system. In-text references should be consistent and appropriate. Your
reference list should include all the sources you have used in your report.
