You will be able to plan how you will conduct a dissertation based on your own area of investigation which will consolidate your in depth knowledge of business and management or of the specialism of your business degree and its relationship to the wider organisation.
Intellectual/transferrable:
You will be able to identify and outline an appropriate methodology you will use to conduct an investigation, the results of which, through synthesis and evaluation, address a problem related to your degree discipline and/or its practice; plan which range of sources of information you will draw upon to support the investigation and which procedures and techniques will be appropriate to the analysis of a complex business situation. You will be able to plan how you will demonstrate criticality (independent thinking) in the evaluation and synthesis of information relating to the discipline and/or its practice. You will be able to present your plans/proposal in a professional or academic style.
Aim: This assignment is intended to form the foundation for a final year business project or dissertation. The proposal is expected to address a business-related problem of practical and academic interest.
Word length: 2500
Learning outcomes:
1) Reflect critically on theoretical and methodological issues in business research, including critically evaluating published journal articles;
2) Understand research design issues, frame appropriate research questions, and employ appropriate research methods;
3) Appreciate the historical, social and political contexts of business research choices;
4) Critically evaluate existing literature in order to produce a reflective, critical literature review for a research project;
5) Choose, justify, and, where necessary, design appropriate research methods to collect empirical data for a business research project;
6) Prepare a research proposal.
Structure of the Research Proposal
Title: A full descriptive title for a business-related research problem to be investigated. This is usually related to your research questions and it should sound interesting.
1. Introduction: This section should describe concisely the significance of the research problem (why it matters) and the reason behind your choice of this topic. If your research design involves a case study this section may also include some background information about the case study organization (approx. 150 words).
2. Literature review: This section should report and critique the existing research about your chosen topic (and its pertinent subject area), which will eventually lead to the development of your research question(s). It is important that the literature you are reviewing and discussing (i) relates to your research question(s) (and vice versa); (ii) is contemporary and based on some recent articles and (iii) emphasises the research gap that you have identified and will attempt to address in your research study (approx. 1200 words)
3. Research questions: This should be based on your literature review and you usually commence this section with a brief recap on what is already known about your chosen topic and its pertinent subject area and then you conclude this section with a comprehensive discussion about your research question(s), research objectives/hypotheses and the ‘unexplored' areas of the research problem that you are planning to investigate (approx. 500 words)
4. Method: This section should discuss how you intend to answer your research question(s). It should explain very clearly the rationale (with justification) behind your choice of data collection method(s) and technique(s) (qualitative or quantitative). In summary, it should cover the following areas (approx. 500 words):
- Research approach: Qualitative/Quantitative (or mixed), as well as justification for the chosen research design;
- Research instruments, data collection techniques and procedures;
- Sampling strategy you have chosen and the reason for making this choice.
5. Access and Ethics: This section should discuss what you consider to be the key ethical implications of your work and it should also explain how you will gain access to the research field, i.e. how you will find the information you need (approx. 150 words).
6. Appendices: Preliminary draft of questionnaires, interview or observation structures and so on should be included in the appendices (not included in the word-count).
Referencing
You MUST use the Harvard System. The Harvard system is very easy to use once you become familiar with it.