Reference no: EM133960568 , Length: Word Count:2000

Dissertation

Assignment - Research Proposal

Learning Outcome 1: Undertake a substantial piece of independent research intended to inform practice.

Learning Outcome 2: Challenge the literature, identifying an appropriate research design and methodology, analysing data, collating evidence, and considering the implications of their research for international business practice.

Learning Outcome 3: Lead, plan, project manage and organise a major research project.

Assignment:

Students are expected to develop a research proposal that shows their knowledge and understanding of the relevant research methods necessary for the realisation of feasible research objectives. The assignment asks students to develop a viable proposal that outlines the rationale for a topic, identifies the academic debates that inform the topic and put forward a viable research strategy.

Your proposal will be assessed against each of the SUB-HEADINGS outlined below. You must therefore ensure that it addresses each of these sub-headings.

TITLE
This should represent the content of your proposal, it must demonstrate clarity of focus and appropriateness of scope for an MSc International Business dissertation. The wording of the title should reflect both the topic and the specific research context.
It is recognised that this is a working title and may alter as your research progresses

RESEARCH PROBLEM AND RATIONALE- (INDICATIVE WORD COUNT 300 WORDS)
State your research problem or question clearly
You should express your research topic in the form of a problem which needs solving, a question that needs answering or something which you find exciting and has aroused your curiosity. You should aim to present an evidenced-based rationale for your proposed investigation. This should include reference to appropriate secondary data and academic literature.

REVIEW OF THE ACADEMIC CONTEXT-(INDICATIVE WORD COUNT 700 WORDS)
Provide an overview of the key themes from the academic literature
An overview of the key themes from the academic literature in relation to your research problem should be presented. You should reference these themes to their authors using the Harvard referencing system. The critical review should be organised on a thematic basis and should demonstrate knowledge of the relevant academic literature and show where your research fits into this literature. It outlines, compares and contrasts the key ideas from academic literature, which will provide the academic starting point for your dissertation and provides evidence that your research is grounded in the academic literature. Get AI-free online assignment help from experienced academic experts.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES-(INDICATIVE WORD COUNT 100 WORDS)
The research problem and overview of the relevant academic literature section should lead smoothly into clear statements of your objectives. There should be approximately 3 research objectives that reflect the scope of the research and the context of the proposed study e.g. a specific country/industry or organisation.

RESEARCH STRATEGY AND METHODS - (INDICATIVE WORD COUNT 600 WORDS)
This section will outline how you intend to go about achieving your research objectives and help establish that your proposal is viable. Its content will depend upon the form of Dissertation you intend to undertake.

Outline and justify your research strategy
You should explain briefly the strategy or strategies you intend to use (e.g. case study, survey etc.) and why the strategy is appropriate, justify your research strategy with reference to the research methods literature. If you intend to base your research within a single international business then you should state and justify this. However, if your research is more generic you should explain, for example, which sector(s) of the economy or group of employees you have chosen to research and why you chose these sectors or people.

Explain and justify how you will obtain your data?
If you are collecting primary data as part of your research you should state and justify, using the research methods literature the data collection techniques you intend to use (e.g. observation, interviews, questionnaires), your sample size, the method you will use to select your sample and the likely response rate. There is no need at this stage to have designed the questionnaire, interview protocol or observation schedule. However, you must have a strategy to ensure access will be granted to enable you to collect these data and report this in our proposal. For example, if you intend to collect data from an international organisation's employees, have you obtained commitment or been promised permission to do this from the organisation prior to submitting your proposal? How likely is it that you will be able to secure this? Consider how access to data impacts the feasibility of your proposed study.

If you are using secondary data as part of your research, you should state and justify this choice of method using the research methods literature. You must also ensure that you can gain access to the data you require. Where these data are organisationally based you must have checked their suitability for your research and obtained or been promised permission to do this from the organisation. This must be reported in your proposal. Where these data are published you must have checked their suitability for your research and provide precise references (in Harvard format) of these sources.

You should support and develop the discussion of the research strategy and data collection methods with reference to theories and frameworks associated with business and management research

RESEARCH ETHICS-(INDICATIVE WORD COUNT 200 WORDS)
This section provides evidence that you have considered issues associated with research ethics and that you intend to observe the highest ethical standards when undertaking research. You should outline briefly any ethical issues that are likely to arise in relation to your research and how you will deal with them.

TIME SCALE AND RESOURCES-(INDICATIVE WORD COUNT 100 WORDS)
Time scale- Include a Gantt chart which should present the key research activities you will need to undertake to complete your research, how long you expect each to take, note which needed to be complete before others can be started, and present them with clear completion dates using a Gantt chart. When doing this remember to include the activities in sufficient detail (e.g. designing questionnaire, piloting questionnaire, administering questionnaire) to ensure the time scale is meaningful.

Resources are particularly important. For example, if you are planning to interview people in different locations can you afford associated travel and accommodation costs? If you are using a paper questionnaire, have you budgeted for photocopying, stationary and postage costs? Alternatively, if you are using on-line statistical data, will you have to pay for this?

REFERENCING
It is important is that you reference all the sources to which you have referred in your proposal using the Harvard form of referencing.