BAM5006 2017-18/2/J Research Methods in Business

Learning Outcomes

LO3: Analyse primary research data effectively

LO4: Demonstrate understanding through the production of a research plan and a practical research project

Assignment Outline:

Within this assessment you are expected to produce a report (minimum 2500 words) outlining your Research Proposal and Plan. This report should present a critical discussion of research methodology, methods and data collection theory relevant to your proposed aim and objectives outlined in the previous assessment. Through this discussion you are also expected to outline and justify a suitable research design framework and submit a fully completed Research Ethics (RE1) 

This form should be completed and signed-off by the module leader BEFORE you undertake an initial ‘pilot study’ (exploration) to test the validity of your selected research tools by capturing and analysing a small sample of primary data. For the purpose of this assessment you must undertake both quantitative and qualitative research through (1) a questionnaire with at least 20 respondents and (2) at least 3 interviews or 1 focus group with 3 participants. In addition you will also be expected to provide an indication of your plan (in the form of a Gantt chart) for completing your honours dissertation project.

In essence, your report should look to include the following indicative content:

• Introduction:
  • Concise insights into overall research including outline of research aim and objectives (providing information into any changes made from Assessment 1 based on feedback);

• Brief outline of report structure

• Research Methodology through an explanation (demonstrate your knowledge) and justification (why? advantages and disadvantage?) of:

• Elements of Philosophy (Ontology / Epistemology / Axiology);

• Opposing Philosophical extremes (Objectivism / Subjectivism);

• Research Paradigms (Radical Humanist / Interpretivist / Radical Structuralist / Functionalist);

• 5 Major Philosophies (Positivism / Critical Realism / Interpretivism / Postmodernism / Pragmatism);

• Research Methods through an explanation (demonstrate your knowledge) and justification (why? advantages and disadvantage?) of:

• Research Approaches (Deductive / Inductive / Abductive);

• Research Choices (Mono Method / Mixed Method / Multi-Methods);

• Research Strategies (Experiment / Survey / Case Study / Action Research / Grounded Theory / Ethnography / Archival Research);

• Research Time Horizons (Cross-Sectional / Longitudinal)

• Research Design through an outline and justification (advantages and disadvantage) of:

• Data Collection Techniques (Interview / Questionnaire / Focus Group / Observation / etc.)

• Participant Sampling Strategy (Population, Frame, Size, Method)

• Questionnaire and Interview or Focus Group Design/Protocol;

• Data Analysis Method, Technique, Procedure (Which qualitative analysis method? Which statistic test? Why?)

• Explain and justify overall research design, including a fully rationalised research design diagram;

• Identify any issues relevant to Research Ethics (include approved research ethics form RE1 in appendix) with explanation of how they can be avoided

• Results from Pilot Study:

• Report the results from pilot study (with appropriate figures, tables and diagrams);

• Basic analysis and discussion of these results;

• Conclusion and Dissertation Plan:

• Explain possible research limitations;

• Outline any changes based on pilot study;

• Provide a draft dissertation plan (Gantt Chart) with explanation