1. MA in Practice-based Play Therapy Webinar 1: The Research question (or Where do I begin?)

2. ‘Begin at the beginning,’ the King said gravely, ‘and go on to the end; then stop.’ (Alice in Wonderland)

3. Imagine you climb into a lift with a good friend and you press the button to take you to the top floor. Your friend turns to you and innocently asks: “What’s your MA about then?” You have just 1 min to explain, what would you say?

4. MA in Practice-based Play Therapy Module 7 Write a research proposal (4,000 words) Submit to Student Ethics Project Committee (SPEC) for approval Once approved – submit to AS for 1 st marking Module 8 Carry out your research project Write up into research dissertation (12,000 words) – submit to AS for 1 st marking

5. Research Proposal Template Working title Research question Aims and objectives Introduction (and/or Background) Literature review Study design Methodology and methods Data analysis Ethical considerations Study timetable References

6. Research Proposal Template Webinar series: webinar 1 Working title Research question Aims and objectives Introduction (and/or Background) Literature review Study design Methodology and methods Data analysis Ethical considerations Study timetable References

7. Research Proposal Template Webinar series: webinar 2 Working title Research question Aims and objectives Introduction (and/or Background) Literature review Study design Methodology and methods Data analysis Ethical considerations Study timetable References

8. Research Proposal Template Webinar series: webinar 3 Working title Research question Aims and objectives Introduction (and/or Background) Literature review Study design Methodology and methods Data analysis Ethical considerations Study timetable References

9. Just four types of question … What’s the situation here? (descriptive) What’s happening here? (interpretive or illuminative) What happens when? (deduction or inference) What is related to what (causation)

10. What’s the situation here? (descriptive) What’s happening here? (interpretive or illuminative) What happens when? (deduction or inference, relationships between things) What causes what? (causation) NB. Red denotes danger!!! Descriptive questions must lead on to illuminate, interpret, deduce or infer. Causation is very difficult to prove – one thing may correlate with another but very hard in our field to prove that one thing definitively causes another.

11. Your question is more important than your title Hint: in your research proposal have a ‘working title’ This can be finalised once you have finished your dissertation!!

12. A good question... What effect does non-directive play therapy using a basic African-style play therapy toolkit have on emotional and social behaviours in 4-6 year olds in a peri-urban environment? What effect does an early perinatal reflective parenting programme have on maternal reflective functioning of deprived mothers?

13. A poor question... How effective is play therapy for groups? How are puppets used to help children? What is the effect of supervision on practice?

14. Aims 2 or 3 aims which if you complete will answer your research question Show a clear understanding of what you need to achieve in order to answer your question

15. A good question and aims... Question: Does the use of a series of non- directive play therapy sessions affect separation anxiety in primary-aged deaf children of hearing parents? Aim: To evaluate the effect of non-directive individual play therapy sessions on the separation anxiety of deaf children of hearing parents. Aim: To discuss changes in separation anxiety and its relation to attachment schema.

16. Next steps … Write a draft introduction section for your research proposal which would follow your working title, research question and research aims Set the scene for your research (policy, legal context, statistics, etc) Set the tone for your research Catch the reader’s interest Why are you doing this piece of research?

17. Health warning!! Research is disciplined and well-balanced enquiry conducted in a critical spirit (Thomas, 2011) Thorough Balanced Fair Ethical It is NOT about proving a position or campaigning for an issue A researcher is an unbiased investigator Ultimate test: are you happy that if the answer to your research question is negative that you will still have a valid finding and equal chance of an excellent mark?

18. After the introduction …? Time to get ready to delve into what has been written already about your research question and closely related area Prepare by highlighting the key words in your question The key words will be used to first devise and then carry out a detailed literature search using academic databases Your plan for the literature search is known as your search strategy and will be included in your final dissertation write-up

19. Identify your key words What effect does an early perinatal reflective parenting programme have on maternal reflective functioning of deprived mothers? Does the use of a series of non-directive play therapy sessions affect separation anxiety in primary-aged deaf children of hearing parents?

21. Additional student- friendly reading Thomas, G. (2011) How to do your research project. London: Sage. Ansdell, G. and Pavlicevic, M. (2001) Beginning Research in the Arts Therapies: A practical guide. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.