Independently develop a research problem guided by gaps in existing knowledge and an organisational issue, and determine appropriate research strategies
Learning Outcomes Assessed by this Assignment:
- Independently develop a research problem guided by gaps in existing knowledge and an
organisational issue, and determine appropriate research strategies - Demonstrate critical rigour in analysis of literature and data by making effective use of
multiple and critical sources of data/information/knowledge - Derive new insights based on critical review of the literature and findings of management
and organisational practice - Operate at the interface between theory and practice to derive valid and reliable
conclusions - Demonstrate skills depending on research methods chosen but these can include:
interviewing, questionnaire design and administration, focus group management (including
diary management), project management, information search, text analysis, content
analysis, statistical techniques - Communicate the research outcomes in a manner that demonstrates clarity of
organisational thinking, logical argument and practical recommendations for further
research and for practice
Assignment Guidelines:
Your dissertation should include the following: - Title page – Please use the non-anonymous cover page on Aula
- Acknowledgement – This is your opportunity to thank people that supported you on the
course. - Abstract – This should not be more than 1 page. Your abstract should provide a summary
of your dissertation and should include a description of your research, how the research
was conducted, the main findings of the research and the overall implications of your
research findings - Table of Content – In addition to including all chapters, sections, sub-sections, it should also
include the list of figures, tables and abbreviations if any - Introduction chapter –This should include research question and your research aims and
objectives. In addition, this should include a clear justification of your research in the
context of the literature. You should clearly answer the question, Why is it important to
conduct the research? The justification should be clearly argued on the bases of theory (the
literature) and business. - Literature review chapter – This should be a critical and very comprehensive review of
relevant, current literature with a focus on your research aim and objectives. This will
inform the questions in your questionnaire and interview guide. - Methodology chapter (refer to Research Onion in Saunders et al, 2016) – Research
design relates to the research opinion (philosophies, approaches, strategies, choices, time
horizon). You are expected to make strong justifications in support of your chosen research
design. Data collection relates to the last phase of the research onion (techniques and
procedures). Identify how specifically the data will be collected (i.e. questionnaire, focus
group, etc…). You are expected to provide the advantages and disadvantages of the various
data collection methods and select the most appropriate data collection method(s). Your
chosen method Research design and Data collection must clearly align to your research aim
and objectives. If secondary data collection is used: where it is collected, a description of
variables (sample) used in the analysis and the econometric model if any, needs to be
clearly discussed and justified with supporting references. Where primary data is
conducted, a copy of your questionnaire or semi/unstructured interview questions should
be presented as part of the appendices. The sample need to be clearly justified with
supporting references. Your ethics certificate MUST be added to the appendices, ethics
must be approved before collecting primary data. - Findings chapter – This chapter presents the results of the analyses, usually in order by
research question, and any results of further analyses (that is, analyses that were not
proposed but which were carried out).The data should be clearly presented in tables and
charts if it’s a quantitative study and direct quotes if it’s a qualitative study. - Discussion chapter – this is where the findings should be clearly discussed in the context of
the literature review and research objectives. Discuss the implications of the results by
aligning your results with supporting theoretical arguments and very relevant current
literature findings already discussed in your literature review chapter. You should clearly
answer the question, did your findings provide support or vary from existing theoretical
arguments? In addition, recommendations, the limitations of the study and implications
for further research should be discussed. - Reference list – Make sure you follow the APA Referencing Style
- Appendices – This should include the research instruments like questionnaire and interview
guide. It should also include your ethics certificate and meeting diary. In some cases a sample of
your interview transcript can be needed
Layout
Your work should be a word document in accordance with the following:
Font style, Arial, font size 12
1.5 line spacing.
The page orientation should be ‘portrait’
Margins on both sides of the page should be no less than 2.5 cm
Pages should be numbered
You should use a fully completed non-anonymous cover sheet
Week 11 Presentation:
You are required to deliver a 20 minutes presentation of your dissertation. Your supervisor will have
an additional 10 minutes to ask you questions on your presentation. You should refer to the slides
on the ‘Guidelines of Week 11 Presentations’ on Moodle for more details on the presentation
The objectives of your Week 11 presentation are to demonstrate: - Your experience as an independent learner and the research and work you have carried out
to produce your Dissertation. - Your research aim and objectives, a summary of your literature, your analysis, findings and
conclusions of the work you have carried out and how you have evidenced this in your
Dissertation. - Your ability to answer questions from your supervisor on the content, facts or figures used
in your Dissertation.
