School of Psychology & Humanities 2023-24

EB3891 Research Methods for International Business Communication

ASSESSMENT BRIEF

Written Assignment: Small Research Project

3,000 words (worth 70% of total module mark)

Presentation: Size 12 font + double-spacing

Report format: use the headings below

Firstly, write your research title (problem to solve/ question to answer) in a header at the top of your work.

Introduction (250 words)

Chapter 1: Literature Review (approx. 1,000 words)

Chapter 2: Research Methods (500 words)

Chapter 3: Discussion of Findings (refer to data in appendices) (approx. 1,000 words)

Conclusion (250 words)

Reference List-not included in word count

Appendices to include Data Presentation- not included in word count

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW- approx. 1,000 words

As we discussed in class, your literature review will form. the foundation on which your research project is built. Its main purpose is to give you a good understanding of relevant previous research. Your literature review should help you further refine your research questions/objectives and to highlight research possibilities that have been overlooked / underdeveloped in the existing literature. When writing your literature review you will need to:

· Include the key academic theories in your chosen area.

· Demonstrate that your knowledge in this area is up-to-date.

· Show how your research relates to what is already there.

· Assess the strengths and weaknesses of work already published.

Adapted from: Saunders et al. (2004) Research Methods for Business Students, Essex; Prentice Hall.  Also, look at: Machi & McEvoy (2016) The Literature Review: six steps to success, London, Corwin.

The Structure of your Literature Review

Your Literature Review will have a brief introduction outlining the structure of this first chapter of your dissertation.

There will then follow a series of numbered sections and sub-sections on relevant topics. These may be ordered in a number of ways, for example:

· From general to more specific areas. (Imagine the shape of a funnel to help you with this)

· Chronologically from earlier to later theories / concepts

· According to different ‘schools of thought’ (ideas / perspectives) on the topic.

· In relation to arguments and counter-arguments.

In the Research Proposal, we asked you to prepare a plan of your Literature Review, including the headings and sub-headings that it might include. You may like to follow through now with this planned structure in your Literature Review. On the other hand, it may be that you have further refined your plan based on the greater reading that you will by now have done. Both of these options are acceptable. 

To help you with your Literature Review, you may like to review the slides from the previous sessions of EB3991 Research Methods module on Blackboard. You may also like to refer to some of the Research Methods publications on the EB3991 reading list online.

Do not begin sentences with And But or Because.

Do not use etc or and so n=poor style.

No contractions, i.e. isn’t →is not

Use paragraphing

Do not use about-use with regard to

Do not confuse to analyse=verb with analysis=noun

USE PHRASES LIKE:

The literature around this subject area focuses on…..

The literature shows that ………………….

The literature indicates that………………..

After reviewing the literature, it can be categorised into two/three main schools of thought. These can be summarised as follows…………

There are writers who have one perspective…..,  and others who believe……..

There appears to be a gap in the literature around………………..

You should demonstrate a good understanding of the published literature supporting your research topic.

You should demonstrate the level of your understanding by your ability to make critical comments on the strengths and weaknesses of the main theories/issues covered in your literature review.

You should demonstrate how your work fits in to what has already been published.  

There is no one correct way to structure a Literature Review, although some examples of ways you might do this are presented above. You should therefore demonstrate that you are able to structure your Literature Review in a logical way to support the aim/objectives/hypothesis of your study.

You should reference your Literature Review fully, using the Harvard Referencing system and present a references’ page and a bibliography. (Remember you use a references page for direct references, and a bibliography for publications you have read but not quoted or paraphrased)

You should demonstrate that you are able to clearly communicate your Literature Review in the English language. 

Please find the link below to the academic language resource http://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk/

CHAPTER 2: Research Methodology

· PROVIDE YOUR RESEARCH TITLE

· LIST AND NUMBER YOUR RESEARCH QUESTIONS (ABOUT 2-3)

· Research Methodology Chapter to include the following: Research questions

· Discuss a justification of your research approach and why it is appropriate for the topic research questions (quantitative –objective-deductive-explains data or qualitative-subjective-inductive understands/interprets data or mixed and why most appropriate for this topic/study- referring to various authors on research methods opinions-do not discuss lit review in this section-Also discuss different criteria for evaluation and judgement of approach and strategy chosen either validity/reliability and generalisability-Creswell (2009), Quinlan (2011) Bryman and Bell (2007) OR Trustworthiness-credibility, dependability, transferability and confirmability -Lincoln and Guba (1985) Silverman (2013)-authenticity, honesty

· Design of research tools (e.g. focus group/survey/questionnaire/interview (Kvale 2008) and type/observation-referring to various authors)

· Piloting research tools (how this is done to resolve any mistakes before going live)

· Sampling (why did you choose the study population-size, gender, age, nationality)

· Any ethical issues (researcher identity, bias, respondent confidentiality and anonymity…)

· Problems and/or limitations of this study (time, access, opportunity, lack of resources)

· Data collection process (a description)

· Findings

· A mini chapter conclusion (Did your choice of research approach and strategy together with methods/tools help to answer your research question. Is there a ‘fit’? or could it have been done better. How rigorous is this study and does it demonstrate good scholarship? (Grix 2002))

CHAPTER 3: Discussion of Research Findings and Conclusion (refer to Appendices- Presentation of data results)

· Appendices-You should report your data results in a logical and coherent way, illustrating with tables, graphs, and diagrams, quotations from interview transcripts or whatever is appropriate to your particular study. You should aim to clearly communicate your key findings to your reader. You should present your data results in an appropriate format.

· Discussion of findings-You should discuss your results in the context of your literature review, showing where your findings agree, disagree, or add to what has already been written about your topic. You should demonstrate high quality analysis of your data and of how your results fit with what has already been written about the topic.

· Communicate your conclusions clearly and summarise all the key points discovered through your secondary/primary research

· You should demonstrate an ability to communicate effectively in the English language.

· You should carefully reference your work using the Harvard referencing system.

Submission date:  Monday 22^nd March 2024 at 1pm: in electronic form. to Turnitin via Blackboard

Final checks for your assignment:

· Ensure you have included all the key components in the correct order

· Proof-read your work for content, structure and flow first,

· Then check your English grammar again before submission

· Ensure that the in-text referencing is faultless and that all references correspond fully to the reference list at the end. Do not confuse authors’ surnames with their first names.

· The reference list must be full and organised alphabetically, according to the Harvard Referencing standard on the Cite Them Right website.