Business Research Methods

Academic year 2021-22 – Spring Term and Summer Term
BE218 Business Research Methods (100% of the total marks; no exam)

You are expected to write an essay in form of a research project proposal of no more than 2,000 words (minimum 1,800 and max. 2,200 words).

All submissions must be presented in typescript (MS Word format), 12pt, 1.5 line spacing. Note that late submissions will not be accepted unless full details of extenuating circumstances are provided. For details of extenuating circumstances please see the link in Moodle. If you have any query about extenuation please contact Academic Services (Gateway Building, 3rd floor).

Submission of individual essay: week 30, as per Faser.

Please read the additional notes below carefully

Assignment

For this individual assignment, you are expected to write a full research proposal as preparation for your Capstone Research Project in year 3. The detailed structure with guiding points for sections in the proposal is suggested as follows.

1. Title of the research project

2. Introduction – Outline the research project. Use around 100 words here to summarise the whole project. Key information to be included:

• What format will you be following (dissertation, consultancy report, etc.)
• What would be the central research question and its significance?
• How you will be approaching the topic, including the type of primary and/or secondary source materials required?

3. Rationale for the research (around 400 words). This is the part where you explain:

• What is your research idea?
• How did you come up with the research idea and what drives you into conducting this research?
• How do different modules in your programme contribute to your understanding of this research idea and provide the foundation (and confident) for you to explore your research project further?
• Why do you think that your research will be an interesting one to explore in terms of its novelty and value?
• Insert an explicit research question and some research objectives

4. Research context (around 400 words)

• Providing a detailed context including the understandings of the particular product, industry sector, location, institutional environment, etc.
• Highlight the unique characteristics that may leads to differences from a more conventionally studied context.

5. Literature review underpinning your research (around 500 words)

• Identify the streams of literature that are crucial to your research question
• Explain how the learning from different modules help you understand the different streams of literature contributing to your research question.
• Explain how the learning from your modules then further drives you into further enquiries of what else is available within the existing literature.

6. Proposed method and data (around 500 words)

• What will be your chosen research methodology?
• Drawing from your knowledge acquired in BE218 Business Research Method, what are the main advantages of using the chosen research approach over other methods?
• What are the main limitations of using this particular research approach for your research and how do you intend to minimise these them?
• What are the sources of information collected? How will you be collecting your data, and who are the respondents (people, managers from firm, experts of particular industry sector, etc.) targeted? How collecting the information would help you to answer your research question?
• How will you be analysing the data?
• Provide a sample questionnaire/ interview questions in your appendix (note: this part in the Appendix does not counted towards your final wordcount)

7. Proposed timeframe (100 words)

• Utilising a visual timetable, illustrate when will you be starting and completing your:
  1. Research question formulation
  2. Design of your surveys and interview questions

• Writing up your literature review

1. Data collection
2. Research analysis
3. Final write up of the dissertation

8. If you are planning to use primary data, provide a sample questionnaire/ interview questions in your appendix (note: this part in the Appendix does not count towards your final wordcount). Suggested: at least five questions.

8. References – This will provide detailed and academic based reference and will avoid Wikipedia, Investopedia and non-academic based sources (note: this part does not count towards your final word count). The reference list must refer only to references used in the text explicitly; do not add extra ones, just because your read them.

Important information:

• Please note this is your research project/coursework. It is not a ‘paper’. I recommend you address it as a coursework or research project.
• Pages will have numbers.
• If you want to include a figure or a table, these will have a caption (number and title).
• Content included in a table/figure will NOT be counted towards your final count.
• The reference style will be the Harvard or American Psychological Association (APA) 7^th edition style. It is also recommended to use a software such as Endnote or Mendeley.
• An executive summary or abstract is not essential, however if you want to have one, this will count towards your final count).
• It is highly recommended to consider, study and incorporate in your coursework the learning resources available on Moodle.

The module’s learning objectives

• Develop critical understanding of the nature of scientific inquiry in the context of the business environment
• Demonstrate appropriate skills in research techniques for effective problem solving, in-depth investigation of key issues, and use of relevant learning materials
• Become aware of research methods for producing empirical data analysis, quantitative and qualitative research outputs
• Develop critical understanding of research methods, research design and instruments and their application in various business contexts

Marking criteria

An excellent coursework (marks between 72% and 100%) must address all points indicated above and must show a level of originality in studying the country and the selected industry. A certain level of sophistication is required in presenting the theoretical argument. The research question must flow logically from the theory. The literature review will be accurate and updated. Theoretical concepts relevant for business research methods will be presented and referenced in the correct way. The coursework should demonstrate a good understanding and appropriate use of the BE218 keywords and arguments discussed during lectures and seminars. Learning resources will be incorporated in the coursework in the appropriate way. Citation and reference style will be correct.

A good coursework (marks between 62% and 68%) must address all major points indicated and present these in a very well structured form. It might not show a high level of originality in presenting the relevant literature. Theoretical concepts relevant for business research methods will be presented and referenced in the correct way. The report should demonstrate a good understanding and appropriate use of the BE218 keywords and arguments discussed during lectures and seminars. Citation and reference style will be correct.

A Lower Second Class report will fail in addressing one or more requested points but will be satisfactory overall and will not show critical thinking. The coursework will fail in demonstrating a good understanding of the BE218 keywords and will not use the appropriate jargon in the correct way. Citation and reference style will be correct.

A Third Class report will provide acceptable summary of the literature without an in-depth analysis. It will address only few points and in a marginal way. It does not support the discussion with a critical elaboration. Methodology will not be coherent or satisfactory, but still sufficient for a start.

A report will fail if it doesn’t not show an effort to address the suggested points, that is it does not meet key criteria nor provides an adequate level of work.

EBS MARKING SCHEME