Designing a Project

DESIGNING A PROJECT

There are Six stages while doing a project work.

Stage 1 - Identify the topic of the project work

Stage 2 - Define Your Goals. Formulate Objectives / Hypothesis

Stage 3 - Develop Your project work Plan.

Stage 4 - Collection of Data and creating a data file.

Stage 5 - Analyze Data

Stage 6 - Report writing

Stage 1 . Fixing the project work topic

The first and foremost stages of any project work is identifying the topic of the project work. The sources for selecting the topic include (i) individual experiences, (2) personal conversation, (4) day-to-day practical experience, (5) Social problems (6) Politics like opinion poll.

The criteria for fixing the topic depends about data availability, time period to complete a research, availability of expertise.

Stage 2. Clearly state the objectives / Formulate Hypotheses

Objectives:

The aspects, the project worker want to probe in the project be spelt out in clear terms as objectives.

Research should not proceed until objectives are clearly spelt out.

Hypothesis

Hypothesis is the perception of the researcher. It is stated as a testable proposition subject to empirical verification. Some times it is called as research hypothesis.

Stage 3: Project work planning

It involves selecting the most appropriate methods of (i) selecting respondents, (ii) method of collecting the data, (iii) selecting the data gathering instrument and test for its reliability and validity reliability and (iv) techniques to solve the problem under investigation. Designing a research project can be compared to that of an architect designing a building. It is a plan or blue print for collection, analysis and interpretation of data.

Stage 4: Data collection and data file preparation

Once the project plan is ready, the student will know from whom/ where to collect the data and the data gathering instrument. Now he moves to collect the required data.

Data file preparation involves entering in a spread sheet and checking for errors if any.

Stage 5: Statistical Data Analysis

This activity is most important. Here, we select the appropriate statistical tool for data analysis. This necessitates a good conceptual clarity and application understanding of the subject. The selection of statistical tool primarily depends on Research Objective. And subsequently on the variables involved, its measurement scale (nominal, ordinal and scale ) and number of variables considered at a time.

Stage 6: Report writing

The important step in any project study is that of preparing the project report. The report records the purpose, the importance, the procedure, the findings, the limitations and the conclusion of the project study. This should be prepared in such a way that it is easily understood and is helpful to other research or project workers in a similar field.