QUESTION:

Produce a 2,500 word research proposal based on an empirical study (i.e. will involve some element related to primary data collections). This will identify, with justification, a specific research question or hypothesis and describe the appropriate methodology and study design. A suggested outline is given below. Suggested outline for an empirical study (approximate distribution of words in brackets)

1. Title and name of investigator

2. Context and background to the study to establish relevance and importance. You should explain the broad background against which you will conduct your research. Here you should identify key historical factors, including relevant ideological/political influences, policy and legislation. You should include a brief overview of the general area of study within which your proposed research falls, summarising the current state of knowledge and recent debates on the topic. This will allow you to demonstrate a familiarity with the relevant field as well as the ability to communicate clearly and concisely (500 words)

3. Literature review – here you should focus on 3 key relevant studies/pieces of literature related to your chosen research topic (350 words for each). These should be drawn from academic journals and/or published research. You should offer a critical appraisal of each piece using the following schema:

•A brief description of the research problem/question/s being addressed.

• A discussion of implicit or explicit theoretical or ideological influences.

• An appraisal of the research design – methodology for data collection and associated problems, weaknesses, limitations, biases, ethics etc.

• A description of the key findings/conclusions and problems in interpretation and limitations (i.e. what questions it answers, what it does not answer and what new questions arise from the piece?)

• The relevance of the study to your chosen topic. 4. Research question(s), aims/s and objectives. (200 words) The proposal should set out the central aims and questions that will guide your research. Before writing your proposal, you should take time to reflect on the key questions that you are seeking to answer. Many research proposals are too broad, so reflecting on your key research questions is a good way to make sure that your project is sufficiently narrow and feasible 5. Research methodology and methods (600 words) The proposal should outline your research methods, explaining how you are going to conduct your research. Your methods may include visiting particular libraries or archives, field work or interviews. Most research begins with a literature search and in this regard you should briefly explain your search strategy. Regarding the field work or empirical data collection, you should provide details about this (e.g. if you plan interviews, who will you interview? How many interviews will you conduct? Will there be problems of access?) How you intend to analyse your research findings? How you intend to disseminate your findings? 6. Ethical considerations (200) – Here you should briefly highlight key ethical concerns in your proposed study and how you intend to address those concerns. Given the importance on user/patient involvement, you should also identify how they will be involved in the study, or justification for their exclusion. Time-scale of research Learning Outcomes At the end of this module, it is intended that you should be able to demonstrate:

1. A critical understanding of different approaches and methods of social research in relation to underpinning epistemological foundations, design and practical application.

2. Awareness of a range ethical considerations and requirements in relation to conducting research.

3. Skills in searching and critiquing research literature.

4. A critical awareness of research-based approaches to their respective professional discipline and their limitations PAPER Health and Safety Legislation in the UK care Facilities Context and Background to the Study Patients and healthcare providers always depend on the health and social facilities provided within and outside their environs. However, the need to ensure the safety of these establishments cannot be gainsaid as far as patients’ and employees’ health is concerned. In a bid to tackle the foreseen challenges, the UK government set laws that guide on the safety procedures that should be embraced at these health and social facilities (Health and Safety Executive[HSE] 2014). It is a calling to all health and social workplaces to provide services to people irrespective of their age, race, gender, social and political alignment or religion. These facilities always have systems, plans, and protocols in place to ensure that both the patients and the healthcare practitioners can either receive or convey information conveniently. Besides, they have measures that gear towards protecting the safety of any person using the facility. This shows that the safety and health concerns of the stakeholders form a crucial facet of the health and social facilities. It is worth noting that the given systems implemented always include administrative, structural and control ones that provide guidance in line with how data will be disseminated across departments and among the stakeholders (Coiera 2006). These incorporate the callings of the council leaders who are always at the helm of the organisation, principal officers, departmental heads, employees, and the clients who form the gist of the responsibilities in these facilities. This research study will be conducted at a care facility connoted as Christy, which hails from the central locality of East London. This entity is revered for the social and healthcare services it provides to patients across all divides, which shows the diversity embraced in its policies. As such, the way the entity implements its policies that touch on the health and also the safety of the stakeholders of the institutions is crucial. However, the entity faces challenges that ensue from its safety docket, which encompasses the health of both the employees and the clients that visit the facility. In a bid to weed out these challenges, the institutions have a calling to follow given policies and legislations that would foster its sustainability, both in the short-run and long-term. These policies are out to bolster the health and safety of not only the healthcare practitioners but also the clients, who form the gist of the facility. It is worth noting that the given practices and safety policies always have a significant impact on all the stakeholders of the health and safety care services. This research is also out to heighten on how the mentioned policies can be implemented, monitored, modified, and controlled to suit the interests of all the concerned parties. In essence, both the healthcare and social service providers and patients have these rules and policies at their mercies; hence, the need to foresee the implementation of the facets that will promote their health and safety. Besides, the research will be out to understand the implications that both policies embraced and the practices of the firm have on the patients and even the employees. Literature Review Health and Safety Executive (2014) posits that the workplace occupational health and safety are essential to the health conditions of different workers. Besides, the guidelines set talk about the way workers are treated while performing a given task is a major determinant of their body and psychological problem. Further, some of the tasks carried out at a given workplace put the lives of the employees at risk of getting deadly diseases and injuries. This means that after envisaging the potential risks that may or arise from the different workplace, the HSE (2014) compels various health and social facilities’ providers to avail occupational safety and health necessities to their employees. Notably, the HSE (2014) defines occupational health and safety as the maintenance and promotion of the social, mental and physical well-being of employees. As a result, many employers find it beneficial when they invest in safety and health of their employer since they consider it to be a part of employee motivation as well as reducing the costs that would have been spent in case the employee gets a problem while in the line of duty. Nevertheless, the discussion below is focusing on the occupational health and safety in the UK hospitals where patients and nurses are vulnerable to different risks as well as assessing the standard precautions availed to reduce hospital hazards. The occupational health and safety in the hospitals are paramount due to a variety of risks employers are likely to experience. Notably, a hospital is where different patients with various infections gather, which implies that both patients and nurses are vulnerable to a variety of hazards. Further, respective of the infections nurses and physicians may contract from the patients, the equipment, and the medical wastes put their lives at risk (HSE 2014). In the UK hospitals, it is mandatory for the hospital operators to mark each section in the premises considered risky so that patients, visitors, and health workers will adhere to these precautions in order to minimise risks. For example, radioactive labelling is used to provide safety precaution to the people who access the hospital premises where the radiation activities are conducted. Further, packages that contain radioactive materials are labelled to ensure that unauthorised individuals do not tamper with it. MacEachen (et. al, 2016) touched on the planning facets that are called for in the medical realm. Through their research, it was imminent what constitutes medical wastes, which hail out as the products that accumulate from the hospital, laboratory, and other medical facilities which are infectious to human life of either patients or nurses. The wastes include the discarded vaccines, patients robust and liquid wastes, the materials stained with blood, and the pathological wastes. These researchers expounded on how medical wastes can be exposed to the infectious agents, and when individuals at the hospitals get in touch with them, they are likely to contract respective diseases. In this aspect, it means that even though some of the wastes in healthcare centres are treated, it is necessary to take precautions to avoid any risks ensuing from the same. Accordingly, in some hospitals little is done to ensure that such medical products are treated and disposed of effectively. These could include instances when a doctor accidentally steps on the sharp object that was used to inject an infected patient, which was carelessly disposed of in the hospital. Such a stance, as postulated by UKGBL (2012), would mean that the physician is likely to suffer from that particular infection. Therefore, the doctors and patients exposed to such agents of infection are vulnerable to many hazards either long term or short term and may even claim their lives. UKGBL (2012) also touched on other risks that ensue in the medical realm. Radiation is another hazard in the hospital, and if it is not systematically controlled, people who are exposed to it are likely to suffer from severe infections. In a study conducted by UKGBL (2012), the UK hospitals adopted the use of radiation technology in tools like x-ray machines, radionuclides, and linear accelerators, which are significant towards saving the individual’s life. However, the same research team posited that they cause a severe hazard to both the physician and the patients. For example, if a single procedure of using radiation-based machines is breached, the doctor and the patients are likely to suffer from various incurable cancers. Therefore, standard precaution should be implemented by the authorities responsible for enforcing occupational health and safety to ensure that employers and patients are free from the effects of radiation in the hospital. Taylor (2010) talked about other health concerns in these facilities. He called on the medical practitioners to ensure that they have put in standard place precaution in the hospitals to make sure that both nurses and patients do not fall victims because of ignorance. In an authoritative voice, Taylor (2010) postulated the standard precautions and how it helps the person who has accessed the hospital premises from entering, touching, or even going to the most dangerous point where only the authorised officials are granted entrance with or without the guidance of another person. However, his calling failed in one aspect, as they did not consider the safety measures in these facilities. Wearing safety gears is another precaution enforced by the occupational health and safety regulatory authorities to ensure that individuals in the hospitals who access risky sections can prevent or minimise the risks of infection (Ball & Ball-King 2011). The latter gave an example, of physicians who work in the radioactive section are denied access to the operation rooms in case they have not put on safety gears like overall masks. This is an aspect that lacked in the work of Taylor (2010). Furthermore, Ball & Ball-King (2011) posited that a precaution also guides people who are responsible for medical wastes that they should not tamper such product when they have not put on masks or gloves. Despite Taylor (2010) postulating about the health concerns and safety in the medical realm, he failed to factor in other hazards that ensue in the same facet. Bouder and Löfstedt (2010), in their assessment, heightened on the entities responsible for enforcing occupational health and safety in the UK hospitals. They hypothesised how these are credited to the strong procedures that they have adopted regarding maintaining and prevention of medical risks. The above discussion indicated that both nurses and patients are vulnerable to infectious agents and other hazards harboured within the hospital premises. Bouder and Löfstedt (2010) expounded on how labelling is a standard precaution that has a variety of positive effects on both nurses and patients. Through their works, it was explicit that the occupational health and safety compel the hospital administrators to label each potentially dangerous section as well as the equipment and drugs. Therefore, if labelling is effected as a standard precaution by occupational health and safety regulatory authorities, individuals can be saved from the effects of radiations. Additionally, the Bouder and Löfstedt (2010) posted about the hazards that arise from medical waste products, and use of radiation technology is the major agents that risk the lives of the individuals in the hospital. However, the standard precautions enforced by occupational safety and health regulatory entities have played a great role in reducing such risks. Therefore, precautions must be given particular attention by both nurses and patients to ensure hospital occupational health and safety. Research question(s), aims/s and objectives • The research study aims at heightening the significance of safety policies in the health and social care facilities. • It is also out to provide solutions to challenges that are faced by the health and social care settings. • Besides, it will offer the perfect way of implementation of these safety guidelines as provided by the UK law. Research methodology and methods The section below focuses on the study design used to determine the structure and the type of the report findings. Also, the section focuses on the data collection methods and tools used to collect raw data from various respondents in the field, sampling procedures, data analysis, ethical considerations as well as reliability and validity of the research quality. The mixed research methodology will be applied to ensure the strategic flow of the study findings. Notably, the study will incorporate both qualitative and quantitative research methods (Merriam 2009). Mixed research methodology ensures that all angles of the study are handling, and the audience attains reliable findings from both statistical and theoretical findings of the topic. Research design The research design to be embraced is explanatory in nature because the study was based on the secondary data findings. Nonetheless, the study is intended to establish a causal effect relationship between the variables, which made explanatory design the ideal layout. Moreover, the research will also focus on understanding the personal behaviours and perceptions of the respondents and it could only be critical research that could bring out this element. Besides, this will give the researcher an opportunity to examine the subjective reasoning of the respondents and relating them to the available literature to draw the conclusion. This design is adopted in the cases where researchers focus on gaining new insights from phenomenon and when observing existing phenomenon in a new way. The best research approach to use in an exploratory research design is the qualitative approach. A qualitative approach is one in which no numerical information is gathered or analysed. The qualitative method is contrasted with the quantitative approach that involves gathering and analysing numerical data using statistical tools. In this study, the researcher will apply the exploratory design to consolidate and gain new insights from the existing literature and empirical evidence on the differences between inquisitorial and adversarial systems of the trial. Due to the nature of the study, the researcher will apply content analysis on the data that will be gathered. Data collection In this study, the researcher will collect and analyse both secondary and primary data. Primary data is original in nature or data that has not been altered from the manner it was gathered for the first time. Primary data is one that has not yet been analysed. Court cases are examples of the primary data that the researchers will explore. Conversely, secondary data is one that is not original in nature. Secondary data may emerge because of an analysis of primary data. In a first stage, the research will introduce and discuss the content of each system, separately in civil process and criminal procedure, with the instruction of case study and code. In this stage, the research will also examine the historical context in which the development of both systems. The research will embrace different tools to obtain the raw data. Because the study embraced a mixed research methodology, the researcher will use both interview and questionnaire during primary data collection. The questionnaire will be majorly used in areas where specific, statistical and scientific answers were needed. Nonetheless, a literature review was the major form of information that provided the researcher with the necessary secondary information from the available documents related to the study topic. Video and audio recorders were also used to ensure that further analysis of the respondents’ contribution is done tactically and professionally. Data collection instruments

• Questionnaire

• Interview guide

• Camera

• Laptop

• Field diary Data analysis To ensure that the relationship between the research variables is established, data mining will be employed as the analysis technique. The technique is considered vital because it was able to analyse and categorise the statistical field data and simplified it for the research hence identifying the causal effect relationship between the variables. Ethical considerations The researcher will have to seek permission from the centre of various concerned authorities before engaging in the research activities. There should be an exercise of maximum respect to the dos and don’ts of the research process, which implied that the researcher obtained information from the respondents voluntarily. Nonetheless, the researcher always explained to the randomly selected customers in specific healthcare service provider the important and reasons for engaging them in the study. Notably, those who do not felt free with it, they should not force to cooperate with researcher but move on to the next person. Although this research will make use of a standard and tested instrument for the survey, the research design does not allow for the in-depth consideration of contextual factors that may affect consumer satisfaction. Such variables, for instance, the level of experience of the attendants, as well as the exposure of the consumers, greatly hindered contextualization of the study findings. Further, the big budget also limited the study. However, the used of mixed research methodology was able to solve the issue of in-depth consideration of the contextual factors, and the issue of the budget was handled by the critical and economical handling of the funds which were available. Reference List Ball, D.J. & Ball-King, L. 2011. Public safety and risk assessment – improving decision making, Earthscan 251. Bouder, F. & Löfstedt, R. 2010. Improving health and safety – An analysis of HSE’s risk communication in the 21st century. Health and Safety Executive Research Report 785. www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrhtm/rr785.htm Coiera, E. 2006. Communication Systems in Healthcare, Clin Biochem Rev. 27(2): 89–98. Health and Safety Executive[HSE] 2014. Health and safety in care homes. The Stationery Office: HSE. MacEachen, E. Kosny, A. Ståhl C, O., Hagan, F., Redgrift, L. Sanford, S., Carrasco, C., Tmpa, E. & Mahood Q. (2016). Systematic review of qualitative literature on occupational health and safety legislation and regulatory enforcement planning and implementation. Scand J Work Environ Health, 42(1):3-16 Merriam, B.S., 2009. Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Taylor, J B (2010). Safety culture. Assessing and changing the behaviour of organisations. Gower Publishing Ltd and Ashgate Publishing company, pp. 136. UKGBL (2012). Comply with health and safety rules. UK government business links a subsidiary of UK HM Government. [online] Retrieved from http:// www.businesslink.gov .uk/bdotg/action/detail?itemId=1074407127&type [Assessed on 05 December 2016] MARKER’S COMMENTS ILO 1 ¬ a critical awareness of research approaches and methods ¬ not met: you don’t appear to have grasped the basis of qualitative or quantitative research, or explained why you wanted to take a mixed methods approach ILO 2 ¬ ethical considerations ¬ met (barely) ILO 3 ¬ skills in searching relevant literature ¬ barely met: you didn’t really justify your choice of sources, though you did discuss them ILO 4 ¬ A critical awareness of approaches in relation to their discipline ¬ not met. You didn’t really justify why you wanted to take a mixed methods approach, and your research aims weren’t clear I think you would benefit from further tutorial support. Your research aims need clarifying, and you need to demonstrate a critical understanding of how methodologies and methods would support your aims.