HR9537: Management Research and Analysis
Instructions on Assessment:
During the course of the module, you will develop a research question in enough depth that you are able to create a research strategy. The ultimate deliverable you must provide is an INDIVIDUAL research strategy of 2,500 words in length (excluding appendices) which is worth 100% of the module grade.
Your research strategy must include comparison, appraisal, and reflection on the detail you include on the elements outlined in the template below. You are advised to include examples of the work developed throughout the module as appendices e.g. rich pictures, surveys, hypothesis tests, thematic maps, analysis and dashboards etc. which you will refer to in the strategy to support your appraisal and reflection of your choices. The report developed will provide the foundations for developing research proposals in workplace research projects and / or Level 6 study, therefore aiding placement work and final year capstone options: Dissertation, Management Enquiry and Consultancy Project. The following section provides a template structure for you to use as a guide to develop your strategy.
Research Strategy Template with Mapping to Module Teaching
This is a draft template structure for a research strategy, based on the areas covered in the module. The table below provides a brief overview of the elements to be included in the strategy, with mapping to where the different elements are covered in the module i.e. the week(s) the topics are covered in the Teaching and Learning Plan (TLP).
Key points:
Ø The Research strategy must be developed based upon an individual research question which you will develop during the teaching weeks of the semester. Tutors will offer guidance in the development of this strategy.
Ø You need to develop an individual research strategy, which must be made up of the elements outlined in the table below. It is strongly recommended that you add and amend the strategy as you work through the module so that a full draft is complete by the start of week 12 in time for the revision support sessions.
Ø The strategy should include any appropriate documentation and / or links developed over the course of the module as appendices e.g. rich pictures, survey designs, hypothesis tests, thematic maps, example analysis outputs.
Ø You must include reasoning and justification of your choices throughout the strategy, supported by appropriate appendices.
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Strategy Sections (with grade weighting for each section). The grade for each section will take into account the appropriate supporting work provided in the appendices)
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Wk(s) covered
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1. Introduction (10)
· In this section, you will introduce the strategy, highlight the problem, and provide background / rationale for the topic. It must address the overall aim of your proposed study.
· You must set the scene by outlining the area / topic of investigation. This must be a business-oriented research topic
· The topic could be based on a rich picture. If you do this it is useful to add your rich picture to an Appendix
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Week 2
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2. Development of research questions / hypotheses (10)
· This section will provide further insights into the topic, incorporating academic literature and industry insights to highlight the problem
· Research question(s) and discussion of how you arrived at this research question (e.g. based on insights gathered from literature)
· Provide hypotheses and your rationale for choosing them.
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Week 3
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3. Research Methodology Choice (20)
· An overview of the methodological options (qualitative or quantitative) that could be used to understand the problem further and answer the research questions / hypotheses.
· Whilst some larger research projects with greater resource and time may use a mix of methodologies, you must select only one method as your primary choice. You must justify your choice of methodology with reasoned argument, analysis, and comparison as to why you feel it is the best choice in comparison with the other options.
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Weeks 3-4
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4. Detailed description of the Research Method to be used (20)
· What specific method do you propose to use (e.g. survey, interview, focus groups, experiment, observation, etc.) and why
· What resources would be needed to carry out this method (e.g. access to software, time, human resources, consent, etc.)
· Who would be the ideal participants of the study e.g. customers, general public, employees, managers, competitors, etc., and the number of participants to be involved e.g. number of interviewees, focus groups or survey sample size
· Ethics: Outline of the ethical considerations to be adopted e.g. data security, anonymity, participant rights
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Weeks 3-4
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5. Analysis Methods (20)
· What method(s) of analysis do you propose to use e.g. statistical, thematic, content
· What tools would be needed to conduct the analysis e.g. SPSS, Excel, Power BI, NVivo)
· What specific tests / analysis would be conducted on the data gathered from the quantitative or qualitative research e.g. statistical, thematic etc. Whilst you would not normally have collected data at this stage you will be provided with some sample data related to a case study in class for you to carry out appropriate tests on. You will then be able to include examples of the test outputs in your appendices to demonstrate and support your reasoning for proposing the use of them in relation to your research question.
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Weeks 5-10
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6. Deliverables (10)
· How do you propose to present the analysis to the appropriate audience e.g. report, tables, graphs / charts, dashboard etc. Examples should be included in appendices.
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Week 11
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7. Conclusion (10)
· A short conclusion of the strategy to summarise the key points made
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Week 11
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Marking & Feedback:
Marks will be awarded against the Template outlined on Page 2.
The comments and feedback can be generally categorised as follows, and refers to the skill level evidenced in areas like writing, cross referencing, examples, use of references and appendices, presentation, grammar, layout
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Excellent / Outstanding
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Very Good
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Good
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Average
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Below Average
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Poor
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Comments
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70-100%
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60-69%
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50-59%
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40-49%
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30-39%
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0-29%
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Feedback and Feedforward comments will be provided in a marking rubric on Turnitin.
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