babm dissertation week 4-1

7/23/2019 BABM Dissertation Week 4-1

1/17

Research Proposal

Jon Warwick


2/17

Learning outcomes

o Understand what a proposal is;o Appreciate the purpose of the proposal;o Develop the knowledge and abilit to

write a proposal using the frameworkprovided.


3/17

Writing a Research ProposalWriting a research proposal is a crucial part ofthe research process; the proposal shows!

"# what ou plan to do in the future;$# wh ou want to do this;

%# how ou are going to do it;

when ou plan to do it; and

'# where ou plan to do it#


4/17

Purpose of the Proposal


5/17

(ramework for the Proposal

)itle *ackground and problem

definition

Research +uestions Research ob,ectives

Literature review

)heoreticalframework-.potheses-/oncepts

0utline of methods 1

sampling techni+ues

Data collectiontechni+ues

Data analsis techni+ue

Research ethical issues Data validit and

reliabilit

/ontribution Research Pro,ect Plan

References-*ibliograph


6/17

/hoosing a Research )opic)wo factors are important here!

a2 3ou must have an interest in the discipline areaand topic ou choose;

b2 )he research must be feasible withinconstraints of time4 cost4 access to data4 ourown e5pertise4 competencies etc#


7/17

6dentifing Research 7uestionsWell structured research +uestions can make the rest ofthe research pro,ect much easier8

6t is suggested that there are three broad areas to be

considered in writing good research +uestions!

"2 9arrowing our topic into specific and researchable+uestions;

$2What makes for a good research +uestion;

%2:etting ideas for research +uestions#


8/17

" 9arrowing 3our )opic(irst attempts at research +uestions are often

too broad to be of real value#


9/17

" 9arrowing 3our )opicAsk ourself a +uestion!

=What do 6 mean b each of the phrases in green?>

*enefits!

(rom which perspective? @taff4 managers4 .R4

finance4 customers4 marketing What tpe of benefits B financial4 personal4

reputational4 business processes4 staff morale4 etc#


10/17

" 9arrowing 3our )opic6nformation )echnolog!

What tpe? Personal Claptop4 desktop424 LA94internet4 social media4 mobile phones etc#

Which applications? (inance4 /R4 .R4 stock

control4 agriculture4 medicine etc#

What purpose? /ommunication C


11/17

" 9arrowing 3our )opic*usiness!

Which sector? Public4 private4 third sector#

anufacturing4 education4 health4 finance etc#

Within a business which function? arketing4

.R4 production4 support services etc#


12/17

" 9arrowing 3our )opicAnswering these +uestions will help to narrow

our topic down and also begin to point ou

towards a particular research approach#


13/17

$ B What is a :ood 7uestion?a2 .ow well grounded is the +uestion in e5isting

theor or literature?

/an ou draw on the work of other people tohelp ou structure our research?

b2 .ow =researchable> is it?

6s it eas to identif the data needed4 thevariables that are important4 the tpe ofanalsis re+uired?

c2 .ow important is the +uestion?


14/17

% B :etting 6deas

@ome was of generating ideas for research

+uestions!

)heor! confirming4 refuting4 comparing4 merging4conte5tualising;

Practical problems! understanding causes4 findingsolutions;

Prior research! e5tending to a new conte5t4 addingvariables4 overcoming observed problems4confirming findings4 alternative e5planations#


15/17

% B :etting 6deasAnalog!looking for similarities between

problems in different conte5ts#

3our own e5perience: what problems have ouobserved or been part of that would benefitfrom further research?

/onsult our tutor or supervisor: Ask +uestionsabout whether our +uestions are sufficientlclear and crisp#


16/17

Research! ore than ,ust (acts

Research that is ,ust aimed at finding outnumerical facts and figures is ver limiting

in scope# *ut facts can be a usefulstarting point#

*etter to tr and define a researchpro,ect that tries to uncover the reasons4views4 opinions or causal relationshipsbehind the facts#


17/17

Research: More than just FactsFact Possible Research QuestionsThe UK Governmenthas introducedincreased university

tuition fees as ofSeptember !".

#ver the $ast %! years&the avera'e number ofdai$y ne(spapersbou'ht per day hasdropped from ".) to !.*

per househo$d.

". +hat has driven the Government,s a'enda on

tuition fees since they (ere first introduced in

"--/

. +hat has been the impact of tuition fees on

student numbers at 0ritish universities since they

(ere introduced/ +hat prompts students to (ant

to attend University/

1. +hat is the $i2e$y impact of tuition fees on student

numbers over the ne3t "! years/". 4o( has the $andscape of ne(s media chan'ed

over the $ast %! years/

. 4o( do consumers prefer to en'a'e (ith ne(s

out$ets/

1. 4o( are pub$ishers respondin' to the chan'es in

consumer preferences/

babm dissertation week 4-1

Documents