We expect a number of projects funded by the FFCoVE will be either research projects or case studies. The difference between these two types is minor and they share a mostly identical methodology:
- Research is the study of a given field or problem to surface new facts or provide more detail to the understanding of a topic. In some cases, a research project might seek to solve an immediate problem by limiting its scope to a defined issue and searching and analysing the breadth of available knowledge to identify a solution or solutions
- A case study is an in-depth analysis of a current or historic situation or sequence of events to understand contributing factors such as:
- why the situation arose
- why the action taken worked or didn’t work
- what learning might contribute to avoiding that situation in the future or achieving a better outcome
- etc.
Both types of project have the same structure:
- Identify and define the research question(s)
- Select the topics, knowledge sources (people, documentation, literature review etc.) and determine the best techniques for data collection and analysis
- Collect the data
- Evaluate and analyse the data
- Prepare the report
Note that ethics approval is required when human participation or personal data are to be used as part of the knowledge/data gathering phase.. This must be obtained before any work is undertaken
In every other respect, the normal project management methodology will apply.