Unit 16 Computing Research Project Assignment- Mobile Security: Protecting Data on Smartphones and Tablets

Research Proposal

Section One: Title, objective, responsibilities

Title: Mobile Security: Protecting Data on Smartphones and Tablets.

Main question: How effective are existing mobile security practices in keeping user data on smartphones and tablets safe.

Objective: The objective of this research is to determine if sufficient security practices are being implemented in order to keep mobile phone users’ data safe.

Responsibilities:

I will use google forms to create a survey which I will then disseminate amongst my class (as a ‘snowball’ sample)

I will utilise academic websites and journals including Microsoft Academic and Google Scholar to accumulate a repository of data supportive of my research.

Section Two: Reasons for choosing this research project.

The main reason I’ve chosen to do this research is that I want to investigate the different practices that could help people safeguard their smartphone and tablet data.

I also want to find out how effective existing security practices are in protecting people’s smartphone user data.

Section Three: Literature sources searched.

• Ali, R. (2023). UK mobile phone market statistics 2023. [online] Uswitch. Available at: https://www.uswitch.com/mobiles/studies/mobile-statistics/mobile-phone-market-statistics/.
• Alsaleh, M., Alomar, N. and Alarifi, A. (2017). Smartphone users: Understanding how security mechanisms are perceived and new persuasive methods. PLOS ONE, 12(3), p.e0173284. doi:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0173284.
• Lee, D. (2016). Apple v FBI: US debates a world without privacy. BBC News. [online] 2 Mar. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-35704103.
• Zinkus, M., Jois, T. and Green, M. (2021). Data Security on Mobile Devices: Current State of the Art, Open Problems, and Proposed Solutions. [online] Available at: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2105.12613.

Section Four: Activities and timescales

• Conduct research on the topic to gain more knowledge and understanding with the use of primary (through survey) and secondary (finding articles, research paper through google scholar, etc). Use credible sources from Google Scholar, government and institutional websites, library resources and reputable news outlets to build a foundation before moving on to Milestone 2.
• Once a foundation has been established, the next step will be to begin writing a report that explores how existing mobile security practices help keep user data on smartphones and tablets safe. The data gathered will come from quantitative, qualitative, primary, and secondary research. I will evaluate this information and provide my own opinion on how current mobile security practices protect user data on smartphones and tablets. I will also use graphs and charts based on the survey results I conduct.
• The research paper will be divided into different segments: an intro, primary and secondary research, paragraph points and a conclusion with a reference page.

Milestones

Section Four: Research approach and methodologies

• Qualitative
• Quantitative
• Mixed methods
• Experimental: This is where research is conducted in a scientific experimental way to examine the cause-and-effect relationship between independent and dependent variables in a controlled environment. For example, when studying the growth of plants with different types of soil, the dependent variable would be the growth of the plants, while the independent variable would be the type of soil used. Other factors such as water, light, and temperature are kept constant.
• Descriptive
• Analytical

Explain 3 : Research approach and methodologies

The research methodologies that will be used include quantitatively, qualitatively and mixed methods approaches to provide a better understanding on how effective the existing mobile security practices are in keeping user data on smartphones and tablets safe.

The qualitatively research will primarily come from survey that I will conduct, while the quantitatively will be gathered from credible and reliable web sources. This is to better understand user experience with mobile security practices and their opinions on them.

Using quantitatively research will be used to gather the date and statics from articles and Google Scholar to provide a more factual and accurate account of the mobile security practices. This helps to measure how effective the current security practices in the current state and also to analysis unbiasedly with the facts.

The use of mixed methods approach will be applied-by combining both types of data to gain a more comprehensive understanding. To see how effective the current mobile security practices are in keeping user data on smartphones and tablets safe.

Comments and agreement from tutor

Comments (optional):

I confirm that the project is not work which has been or will be submitted for another qualification and is appropriate.

Agreed: ………………………….      (Name) ……………………………………….      (Date)………………….

Comments and agreement from project proposal checker (if applicable)

Comments (optional):

I confirm that the project is appropriate.

Agreed: …………………………………………………..      (Name) …………………………………………………………      (Date) ………………………………………………

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