Assignment - Business Research Methods
A research proposal is an outline of approximately 1,200 words (including references and bibliography not included in word count) which gives an insight into the originality, research design and methodology of the proposed project which you are about to undertake as part of your studies. The research proposal is used to gain insight into the quality and originality of your planned research, how you are thinking critically and how well you have an understanding of the relevant literature. This then provides an overview of the perspectives you intend to take on your research area which is helpful when assigning a supervisor.
You are required to give a concise description of your research project under the following headings:
• Proposed title of dissertation
• Client organisation
• Rationale for the proposed research study including an explanation of the topic of interest, objective of the research, background and relevance.
- Define what the problem / opportunity is that you wish to address.
• Proposed Research Questions
- Secondary Research Questions
- Primary Research Questions
• Proposed Literature review: Identify sources that will be used in your literature review and in particular the theoretical framework underpinning your research.
- As you are conducting an original piece of research, you should demonstrate that your proposed area has relevance to the literature and you need to identify your niche / question / hypothesis.
• Intended Methodology: Give an explanation of how you plan to research the topic of interest
- Give an overview of your epistemological and ontological position and how it relates to the intended methodology.
- You will need to demonstrate an awareness of the methodological approaches and data collection techniques available to you and show some understanding of which would be suitable for your research.
• Expected Outcomes
- Explain what you believe the results will reveal and how you think these outputs will impact the client organisation.
- Detail any assumptions including time horizon and delimitations of scope for your project.