You are an independent Business Analyst and respond to the following call for research proposals, circulated by your university Graduate School and submitted by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). (Adapted from ESRC: Call for Proposals: Shaping Society) 'What Works' Wellbeing – call for proposals The ESRC, in partnership with a range of funding partners, jointly invites full proposals from eligible researchers to bid for funding to undertake evidence based programmes to underpin a new and independent 'What Works' Virtual Centre of Excellence for Wellbeing. Interest in wellbeing (or quality of life) is growing both nationally and internationally and the UK is regarded as one of the leading countries in this area in terms of measurement, innovative uses of wellbeing data and academics in the field. In November 2010, a national 'measuring wellbeing' programme was launched by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) driven by public consultation. ONS now publishes regular wellbeing reports and data at a national and local level and has developed a measurement tool for wellbeing. A recent 'All Party Parliamentary Group' on Wellbeing published a report on translating wellbeing evidence into policy, which argues that: 'the time is right to move from national wellbeing measurement to a national wellbeing strategy'. We are now embarking on a joint investment with Public Health England, the Arts and Humanities Research Council and a number of government departments and other partners to further progress our understanding of wellbeing. On behalf of all funding partners, the ESRC is commissioning wellbeing-themed evidence programmes to look at 'what works' for wellbeing across the country. This evidence will be used to support the accumulation of a knowledge base to establish a Virtual Centre of Excellence, to be launched in the UK during 2016-17. Page 3 of 4 Research Methods © NCC Education Limited 2015 At this time we are inviting professional research proposals from Business Researchers to provide examples of innovative practice in response to the ESRC wellbeing themes, including: - community wellbeing - culture, sport and wellbeing We will consider proposals which demonstrate sound conceptual frameworks and academic rigour, as well as feasibility and an ethical mindfulness. A research grant of £95,000 will be awarded to successful proposals in order to fulfil the requirements of the proposed evidence based wellbeing research. Task – 100 Marks Ensure the Research Proposal addresses each of the following 7 (SEVEN) elements. Please note: approximate word count allocations are included in tasks as a guide. A. Select an appropriate research question for the proposal based on 1 (ONE) of the themes highlighted in the call for proposals above (5 Marks) B. Provide a brief outline of the type of philosophical perspective for the research and discuss, with justification, whether you think that a qualitative, quantitative or mixed method would be most suited to this project. Use appropriate theory and supporting evidence to justify the chosen approach. (15 Marks, 500 Words) C. Explain how you propose to identify appropriate sources to provide a theoretical and literary framework for the research. Explain and justify where you will locate credible academic and empirical sources, indicating any inclusion / exclusion criteria which may be applied to this selection. In addition, explain how appropriate theory and suitable academic models may be identified. Finally, outline an approach of how you will critically evaluate sources of information and models, to ensure academic integrity of the project. (20 Marks, 600 Words) D. Outline a clear, feasible and justified methodology for the project, including the following: a. Primary or secondary research design b. Specific methods of data collection appropriate to proposed design, including sampling c. Intended mode/s of data analysis (30 Marks, 1100 Words) E. Produce a Gantt chart to provide an appropriate order for carrying out research tasks. Assume an eight 8 month project lifespan. Briefly discuss this chart, explaining key milestones, anticipating any potential challenges that may arise and a strategy for overcoming them. (15 Marks, 450 Words). F. Evaluate any ethical issues that may affect the proposed project and how they may be addressed (10 Marks, 350 Words).