UMCDVE-15-3 Business Project in Theory Assessment Brief | UWE Bristol

UMCDVE-15-3 Module intended learning outcomes assessed by this task:

1. Demonstrate understanding of developing research design and ethics associated with writing a research proposal
2. Identify a suitable business issue for the purpose of conducting research
3. Deal with complex literature and show evidence of self-direction in thinking critically about contemporary business issues
4. Identify a gap in the existing literature and formulate a compelling research question
5. Demonstrate ability to conduct a literature review on a selected business issue
6. Identify and evaluate different approaches to methodologies including the advantages and weaknesses associated with each methods
7. Explain the choice of data collection from various sources and assess the reliability of the identified sources and data

UMCDVE-15-3 Completing your assessment 

What am I required to do on this assessment?

You are asked to develop a 2000-word research proposal comprising:

• A literature review on a business topic of interest from a list that will be provided
• Explain the purpose of your business project and the main research question(s)
• Discuss the methodology including the chosen methods, the sampling strategy, data collection, and data analysis plan)
• Explain the scope of the research and discuss any limitations and challenges that you see
• Include a timetable in the proposal and discuss the theoretical contributions of the project.

The following structure is illustrative (and can be modified according to your content).

Cover Page

Title of your project, Module name, Student Number and Word CountContents PageIntroduction• The business issue and the purpose of the study

• Background and the importance of the study
• Structure of the remainder of the proposalLiterature review
• Critical evaluation of the literature
• Theoretical framework (if applicable)
• Where your research fits in and the main research question(s) Methodology
• Identification of paradigm
• Justification for choice of methodology and methods
• Scope of the research
• Limitations of the research design and constraints relating to costs and other resources
• Consideration of ethical issuesResearch Timetable
• Gantt ChartReferences 
• An alphabetical list of all the sources cited in the text
• Use UWE Harvard referencing style

Appendix

Attach completed Ethics Form (with four digit code provided by your tutor) that has been signed by your Seminar Tutor

Where should I start?

General guidance on developing research proposal

The Research Proposal will draw on contemporary business issues, giving you a choice of issues to focus upon in the ‘idea cloud’. In order to create an appropriate proposal, you are required to analyse the existing academic and practitioner literature in your area of interest,identify an aim and objectives, and develop a strategy for sampling, collecting and analysing data. You are responsible for proposing either a qualitative or quantitative research project; if you are using primary data you might design questionnaires, observation sheets or interview guidelines. From this you are required to outline how you will analyse and interpret data, and discuss the ethical implications and potential limitations of your research.

It is essential that you properly reference all books, academic articles, reliable datasets, and other reference sources used in your proposal.

Guidance on reviewing the literature

The literature review process helps you to identify gaps in the body of knowledge on your topic and allows you to develop research that builds on the work of others. To do so:

• It is recommended that you critically review a minimum of five journal articles
• Your literature review should have a clear introduction, main body, and conclusion, and should follow a logical structure.
• Literature review is NOT a summary of literature. You need to adequately discuss the key findings of your review and evaluate the research articles you chose to review- Your research question(s) will be written at the end of your Literature Review.

UMCDVE-15-3 Guidance of developing methodology

The methodology section outlines the methods that you will be using in your research project, and it should cover:

• Evaluate the chosen methods you are planning to use to address your research questions
• Explain the sampling strategy you will use prior to data collection
• Discuss the data collection and data analysis plan*
• Explain the scope of the research and identify the challenges associated with the chosen methods* 

Finally, include a timetable in the proposal. 
** You will also need a completed Ethics Form (with four digit code provided by your tutor)that has been signed by your Seminar Tutor included as an Appendix after the ReferenceList.