Hi All,

I wondered if you could offer some advice about constructing a research proposal for a PhD application as I'm doing it without any guidance and could do with some help! I was considering using a postal survey as one of my research methods. Is it ok to use pre-published measures or is this not considered original and therefore not a good idea? I was planning to use two established measures and cross-compare them. Any feedback would be greatly received.

Thanks,

Maddy

That is common practice - I used prepublished measures myself. The problem with constructing your own measure is that it needs to be properly tested and validated - which could be a whole project in itself. Using prepublished measures means that you do not have the additional burden of validating your testing measure. If there is time/scope you could think about formulating your own, perhaps improved measure, based on the outcome of the comparison of the other two.

Hi Marie-Sophie,

the research method depends on your research question. These two are interrelated. For example if you want to know indepth knowledge regarding a subject methods like focus groups or interviews may be best. If it is something more numeric a survey may be suitable.
Try and read a lot around the subject, make questions, read and try and fine tune the question. Is there an area that is unanswered. Once you have the research question set the method.
But be aware: be realistic what method you use, what resources have you got? This may influence your question!

Thanks very much Smilodon and Rick for your responses which were really helpful (and quick!). Much appreciated!