Method: This section should answer the question: What is to be done, on who, how and where? The method you choose should be relevant to the question you are trying to answer, and it should be feasible.
Study design: Will this be a qualitative or quantitative study? If qualitative or quantitative, what type? (Phenomenology, quasi-experimental etc.). Justify the chosen design. Include appropriate references. You may even say things such as Olasoji (2020) carried out a similar study using this particular design.
Setting and Sample: Who will you be collecting data from and where will they be situated? Be as precise as possible, you can be ambitious but not overly ambitious, e.g., all mental health nurses working in the World-while this might be great you probably do not have the time/resources to carry out such large-scale project.
Data Collection: How will you be collecting data, are you interviewing people, are you using a survey? What will you use to collect your data? (Include references). You should also attempt to include a sample of some questions you want to ask your participants; this can be included as an appendix.
Data Analysis: Once you have collected the data what will you do with it? (Include references). How will your data be analysed? This needs to fit with the study design. You cannot collect quantitative data and then describe qualitative analysis and vice versa.
Ethical considerations: What are the possible ethical issues that could arise, how will you manage this, where will you apply for ethical clearance for your study? Provide as much details as possible about the ethical considerations.
Project timeline: How long do you think this study will go on for? Factor in the fact that ethics application could take at least 2 months to be obtained. Propose a realistic timeline with each stage of your study mentioned.
Associated Learning Outcomes
1.Critically review the relationship between research, evidence-based nursing practice and patient safety outcomes
2.Explore the social, political and professional influences on nursing research in a variety of health care domains
3.Critically analyse available research literature to explore and inform “real world” nursing problems.
4.Identify the ethical and legal responsibilities of undertaking nursing research in a variety of settings and apply knowledge of the National Health and Medical Research Council’s (NH&MRC) standards of ethical human research to nursing research practice.
