The preliminary stages involved in the creation of an engineering research project

LO1 Conduct the preliminary stages involved in the creation of an engineering research project
Assignment Brief and Guidance:
Scenario:
You are employed as a research assistant at a University. A post has arisen within the Engineering faculty
for a full time research academic. As one of the potential candidates for this role you have been invited to
submit a proposal for a short research project. The University will inform its selection for the full time role
based on the quality of the proposals presented.
Task 1
In order to complete this task you are required to produce a project proposal for a potential research project.
The specification for the project shall clearly defined its objective. You will include a discussion of the
project goals along with a compelling rationale. In order to do this you will first need to develop a suitable
research question or hypothesis. This should have an engineering bias and be something that you have a
particular interest in.
Within the specification you will need to identify the project approach, e.g. will you be performing literature
studies, developing questionnaires, performing experimentation etc.
You will need to identify your project supervisor, it is important that you have a supervisor with applicable
skills in your proposed area of research in order to be able to provide adequate guidance.
Any resources required for the research activities should be clearly identified. If funding is required it must
be indicated where this will be sourced.
Before committing resources to a project the University will expect to see a comprehensive analysis of the
proposal including a clear understanding of any risks involved.