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FBL Postgraduate Scheme Dissertations

FBL Postgraduate Scheme Dissertations. Writing the research proposal. The proposal. You must submit two complete copies of your proposal and keep a spare copy for yourself – the submitted copies will not be returned. Why write a proposal. The dissertation is about quality research

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FBL Postgraduate Scheme Dissertations

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  1. FBL Postgraduate Scheme Dissertations Writing the research proposal

  2. The proposal • You must submit two complete copies of your proposal and keep a spare copy for yourself – the submitted copies will not be returned

  3. Why write a proposal • The dissertation is about quality research • Proposals are used to organize your plans and sell those plans to others • For funding • For permission (e.g. ethical release; gaining access to your sample)

  4. The purpose of research is to… • Review or synthesize existing knowledge • Investigate existing situations or problems • Provide solutions to problems • Explore and analyse more general issues • Construct or create new procedures or systems • Explain new phenomenon • Generate new knowledge • Or a combination of any of the above! (Collis & Hussey, 2001)

  5. Different types of research • Exploratory • Descriptive • Analytical • Predictive

  6. Research approach • Quantitative/qualitative • Deductive/inductive • Deductive inductive specific general specific general

  7. Summary of proposal content • Working title • Not necessarily your final dissertation title • Keep the title • Clear and short (succinct, unambiguous) • Focused and interesting (what is the topic area – context and subject/theory)

  8. What are the problems with these titles? • Analysis the Strategic Alliances of Delta Air Lines – the Skyteam Alliance. • Analyzing the competitive advantage of ???? Industry. • Compare & Analyse the Management System Difference between MNEs & Local Firms in ??? Market. • Comparing & contrasting the successful property development strategies of developers during the period 1945-1990. • Corporate Culture: A Case Study of Aventis-Pasteur, Ltd. (Canada).

  9. Stages of the research process • Establish a general field of interest; discuss with supervisor/tutor • Undertaken preliminary & background reading on the subject to be researched to discover with what is known already and to suggest the choice of an appropriate research methodology • Narrow your ideas to a workable topic or research proposal and give it a title. Decide on the most appropriate methods for gathering data,e.g. questionnaire; observation; review of available information etc. • Preparation of information gathering tools, e.g. questionnaires, interview sheets etc (if relevant) & then information gathering stage. This can take a significant amount of time, so allow plenty of time for this. • Collation, analyse and interpretation of research data. Continue reading on the topic to make connections with other current and related research. • Write first draft of research project report • Revision and re-write dissertation; submit dissertation

  10. Introduction • What is the topic about • Why did you pick this topic • not just personal reasons • Is it topical? • Is it important, to who and why? • Signpost the document

  11. Aim/objective and terms of reference • What is your research aim/objective? • SMART • What are the key terms of reference? • ‘Sub’ objectives/activities that build toward achieving your objective • E.g. Review the literature on … • Survey employees/customers about levels of satisfaction … • Make specific recommendations regarding… • Significance of the research objective • Literature

  12. Theoretical framework/s and an indication of initial reading • Relevant academic theory MUST guide your work • Which key sources have you used so far? • You should see this as the start of your literature review • At this stage outline 3 or 4 key sources (including refereed articles) and introduce the key themes relevant to your work

  13. Methodology Timeline • Your proposed methodology must be clearly introduced • What do you plan to do? Research approach • How will you do it? (data collection and analysis) • Why is it appropriate? (how will it achieve your objective?) • What problems do you anticipate and how will you address them? • What are the limitations of your method?

  14. Timeline • Please include a time plan • Simple outline • Flowchart • BE REALISTIC

  15. Indicative (annotated) Bibliography • Your theoretical introduction is only a starting point • Which other sources have you identified? • Theoretical • Empirical (existing research evidence; help with methodology) • How are they relevant to your dissertation? • Annotated bibliography includes a brief summary of each source (2-3 lines)

  16. Reference List • Start as early as you can • You must include a full reference list with all work submitted • Remember • The reference list should include all, and only, sources cited (used) in the text. • Follow standard Harvard format • One integrated list only. Please DO NOT subdivide into different types of sources

  17. Make your decisions!

  18. Background reading • What has been done in the past! • Identify research possibilities • Help to develop a research methodology • Justify your choice of research topic at the research proposal stage.

  19. Checklist for literature review • the purpose of the previous study • How was it conducted • Findings • Limitations and weakness • Tips: identify a few key books or articles on chosen topic area and expand.

  20. Proposals in general • Link each part of the proposal to others • Don’t write too much (1500-2000 words long) – be guided by your supervisor • Don’t forget Ethical issues for dissertation research • Ethics release forms must be submitted for all dissertations

  21. Remember the key questions to address in the proposal • What… • Puzzles/intrigues me? • Do I want to know about better? • What are my key research questions? • Why… • Will this be of interest to others (researchers, practitioners)? • Does this research ‘contribute to knowledge? • How – conceptually… • Models, concepts, theories can I draw on/develop? • How can these be used to provide a conceptual framework to guide my research? • What – practically … • Investigative techniques shall I use to gather material and analyse it • How shall I gain and maintain access to information sources? (Watson 1994)

  22. Ethical considerations in research • The right of privacy of individuals • Voluntary nature of participation- and the rights of individuals to withdraw partially or completely from the process • Consent and possible deception of participants • Maintenance of the confidentiality of data proved by individuals or identifiable participants and their anonymity • Reactions of participants to the ways in which researchers seek to collect data • Effects on participants of the way in which data is analysed and reported • Behaviour and objectivity of the researcher Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill (2003, p131)

  23. How to fill in the research ethics release form • If your project not involving human participants (e.g. only using secondary data), you need to fill out and sign off the Research Ethics Release Form- Project not involving human participants with a separate sheet attached in which you should outline the titles of main books, journals, archive material etc under a heading of “Sources to be used”.

  24. How to fill in the research ethics release form • If your project involving human participants (e.g. conducting primary data such as questionnaire and interview), you need to fill out and sign off the Research Ethics Release Form- Low risk project involving human participants with separate sheets attached in which you need to use the following two headings: • (2a) Human Participants Involved – in this section you are required to outline your sample.  • (2b) Relations with Human Participants – in this section, you are required to give details of proposed interaction with human participants.

  25. Example of a covering letter An example of cover letter

  26. Example of ethics form for interviews • An example of consent form Thank you for agreeing to be interviewed for this research: (put your research title here) Your participation will remain confidential and all data will be anonymised to ensure your identity, and that of any colleagues or companies you might mention, is not revealed. You are also able to withdraw from the interview at any time. The interview will be audio-recorded in order to capture the detail of the discussion. The recording will be transcribed and the audio recording destroyed in one year’s time (this allows us the option of returning to the original recording if the transcription is unclear). Please sign below to indicate your consent to participating in the research. Name: Signature: Date:

  27. Some useful internet sites for business studies • Bank of England (UK economic reports) www.bankofengland.co.uk BIZED (useful site for business studies students) www.bized.ac.uk BIDS (academic publications) www.bids.ac.uk DTI Publications (UK government) www.dti.gov.uk/publications Economist (magazine) www.economist.com Emerald (academic publications) http://Fiordiliji.emeraldinsight.com European Union www.europa.eu.int FAME (financial and other data from Companies House) Http://fame.bvdep.com

  28. Some useful internet sites for business studies • Financial Times (new and annual reports service) www.ft.com Freepint (range of useful market Research resources, including featured articles, archive and student ‘bar’ for help on tricky research questions & issues) www.freepint.com HMSO publications (UK government) http://www.hmso.gov.uk HRM (links and guides for HRM in UK, USA, Canada & Australia) www.HRMGuide.net HSBC (Business-profiles: economic & business information for over 40 countries) www.hsbc.com.hk/hk/bps ICAEW (accounting publications) www.icaew.co.uk/library Ingenta (academic publications) www.ingentaselect.co.uk Institute of Fiscal Studies (UK taxation and economics) www.ifs.org.uk ISI web of science (citation index) http://wos.mimas.ac.uk JISC (academic publications) http://www.jisc.ac.uk

  29. Some useful internet sites for business studies • Listed companies (annual reports for listed companies in Europe and USA) www.carolworld.com National statistics online (UK government) http://www.statistics.gov.uk Mintel (market analysis) www.mintel.co.uk Niss (news, publications & other information & good links to academic libraries) http://niss.ac.uk Research Index (list of UK market research & telemarketing companies) www.researchindex.co.uk Small business Portal www.smallbusinessportal.co.uk/index.php Small business service (UK government) www.sbs.gov.uk Social Sciences information Gateway (including business, economics & research methods) www.sosig.ac.uk UKOnline (UK government) www.ukonline.gov.uk United Nations (news & publications) www.un.org WWW Virtual Library (useful links to business related sites) www.vlib.org

  30. Final reminders • Your ethics release form must be submitted with your proposal and agreed before any data can be collected • You MUST include a signed statement of originality and authenticity with the final dissertation (appendix 1) • Use the dissertation handbook

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