1 / 40

Dissertation & Research Methods

Session 1 – 1 rd October 2007 Amos Haniff School of Management & Languages. Dissertation & Research Methods. Introduction . Preparation for completion of dissertation Research, Literature reviews, Methodology, Analysis, Presentation

morgan
Download Presentation

Dissertation & Research Methods

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. Session 1 – 1rd October 2007 Amos Haniff School of Management & Languages Dissertation & Research Methods

  2. Introduction • Preparation for completion of dissertation • Research, Literature reviews, Methodology, Analysis, Presentation • Pre-requisite for the dissertation in management degrees • Assignment Dissertation • Amalgamates all learning to date • Life-long personal, work & employment benefits • Most interesting and involving (academic) experience to date • Requires commitment, motivation & focus

  3. Module Objectives • To generate an understanding of the social science research process. • To develop an appreciation of the nature of business & management research. • To provide the knowledge & skills required to conduct a sizeable piece of independent research. • To enable students to practise their skills & test their understanding of aspects of the research process. • To complete a successful dissertation

  4. Assessment • 100% coursework • 10% Research methods assignment • 80% Dissertation • 10% Oral presentation • Assignment • 10th November • 2000-2500 Research Proposal (pp2-3) • Introduction • Literature review • Research questions and objectives • Methodology • Timescale • References

  5. Timetable • Week 1 Introduction to research • Week 2 Conducting a literature review • Week 3 Research Design • Week 4 Data Collection Methods • Week 5 Collecting Quantitative Data • Week 6 Analysing Quantitative Data • Week 7 Collecting & Analysing Qualitative Data • Week 8 Presenting Dissertation

  6. Key dates • Assignment –week 6 • Marked & Feedback week 8 • Self-assessment progress report • Friday week 3 (spring term) • Dissertation • Week 2 (summer term) • Oral Presentations • Week 5 (summer term)

  7. Set Text Companion website http://wps.pearsoned.co.uk/ema_uk_he_saunders_resmethbus_4

  8. Proposals & Supervisors • Written under the guidance of a Supervisor • Member of Academic Staff • George Dickie (Accounting/Finance) • David Kilgour (Finance/IT) • Graham Pogson (Strategy/Business Policy) • Zoë Morrison (HRM) • Stuart Graham (Economics) • Cath Fenton (Marketing) • Andrew Grieve (Marketing/International Bus) • Amos Haniff (Strategy)

  9. Session 1 • Dissertation requirements • Introduction to research • Generating Ideas • Formulating the Topic

  10. What is a dissertation ? • a requirement for an advanced academic degree • a treatise (thesis) advancing a new point of view resulting from research • A thesis (literally: 'position') is an intellectual proposition. • “It is a long piece of academic writing, divided into headed sections or chapters, which detail researches, in detail, a particular management subject”

  11. Features of Dissertation • Is an independent piece of work. • Show detailed knowledge and understanding • Needs organisation and good planning • Project management • Shows critical & analytical thinking • Illustrates the context of existing knowledge • Has a high standard of communication & presentation • Written & Oral • Has an Scholarly approach -

  12. Value of the Dissertation • Academic • Work independently • Personal & Career • Develop expertise, skills & competencies • Organising • Criticising • Information gathering • Identifying & problem solving • Logical thinking • Time management • Data interpretation • Communication • Writing

  13. Skills required • Library & Information retrieval skills • Writing & note-taking skills • Research Skills • Project Management Skills • Interpersonal Skills

  14. Generic Dissertation Format • Introduction • Research Objectives • Literature review • Problem Definition • Research Method • Research Design • Data Gathering • Data analysis • Preparing the results • Conclusion • Interpretation • About 12000-15000 words

  15. Doing the dissertation • Time-consuming • Subjective • Often boring, but fun • Can take over your life • Gets into your dreams • More interesting than the results • Allows you to be nosey • Multiple methods • Uses everyday skills • Can lead to unexpected directions

  16. An Introduction to research

  17. An Introduction to research

  18. An Introduction to research • In-depth inquiry into a phenomena • In-depth understanding of a behaviour • Proving a theory • Systematic investigation into establishing facts • Attempt to find out something in a systematically and scientific manner • A search for knowledge

  19. An Introduction to research

  20. An Introduction to research

  21. What is research? • Newspapers • Collection and dissemination information • Personal interoperation of the facts • Little requirement of evidence • “Women on paternity leave” • “Is the web….” • Polls/Surveys • Collection and dissemination information • Recording of facts without interpretation • http://www.mori.com/polls/ • Web research • Unverified, Unlicensed • Aliens on Earth

  22. Research Types • Exploratory Research • Investigating a new problem/issue/topic • Testing-out research • Finding limits of existing previously proposed generalisations • Problem-solving research • Start from a particular problem “in the real world”

  23. Business Research • What makes business research distinctive? • Draw on knowledge developed by other disciplines • Considering future implications • Seeks commercial advantage • Practical consequences

  24. MODE 1 (Gibbons et al., 1994) • Traditional mode of organization in universities • Main objective is the production of new knowledge • “Pure” disciplines as the locus of knowledge production and scientific recognition • Staging processes of knowledge utilization: from fundamental to applied research • Peer review system as the predominant form of assessment (research, career) • Main target for diffusion of knowledge: Peer-reviewed journals

  25. MODE 2 (Gibbons et al., 1994) • Problem-solving is the main objective • Heterogeneous team + unstable social structure of production (ex.: task-oriented network) • Transdisciplinarity • Contextualization of research and the localization of research in new social spaces • End of academic monopoly on assessment of research • Diversification and de-institutionalization of knowledge diffusion activities

  26. Research types

  27. Research Process • Problem definition • Research Objectives • Research Design • Data Gathering • Data Analysis & Interpretation • Presenting the results • Dissemination of results • Application of recommendations

  28. The research process

  29. The research process

  30. Selecting topic - Originality • Not a restatement of arguments in existing literature • Draw comparisons between existing models • Develop new models / propositions • Extend/contribute to existing theories • Test existing hypothesis / propositions • Develop new theories

  31. Choosing Research Topics • Choose a study that you are capable of doing • Time • Resources • Location • Access • Choose a topic that interests you • Choose a topic that excites your imagination • Choose a topic that is linked to theory • Choose a topic that matches your career goals • Can you state your research objectives clearly

  32. Amos’ Advise • Follow your hunches • Choose a topic that is do-able • Choose a study that has clearly defined objectives • Look at/extend past research projects/papers • Basic researchnot Applied • Independentnot original • Testing outnot exploratory or Problem-solving • CompletionnotNobel Prize • KEEP IT SIMPLE

  33. Choosing a research Project • What are my interests? • Hobbies, Personal, Business, Grievances • What are my expertise? • What kind of questions grab my attention? • What is the actual problem? • What is the best way of solving this problem • What has been done in the past? • Literature search

  34. Supervisor Keep a note-book Explore personal preferences in past projects Dissertation web pages Identify projects of interest What appeals to you What is good/bad Literature Journals, reports, books Relevance/decision trees Brainstorming Discussion groups Delphi techniques Generating research ideas

  35. Research groups • Researcher briefs members of the group about research idea • Group seeks clarification • Group proposes independent/group ideas • Discussed by researcher • Documented by researcher returned to group for further discussion • Formulate Research Question & Objectives

  36. Research Questions • Main research question • Focus of the study • Forms the literature review • Forms the hypothesise or proposition • Supports conclusion • Secondary research questions • Identifies research objectives • Sets out methodology

  37. Research Focusing Questions & Objectives • What topic or broad area is your research concerned with? What is the context? • What is the nature of the phenomena, entities or “social” reality I wish to investigate? • What might represent knowledge or evidence of the phenomena, which I wish to investigate? • What is the purpose of the research? What am I doing it for?

  38. Research Question • It must not be too broad or general • although you will focus it even more later on in the process. • It shouldn't have already been answered by previous research • although replication with variation is certainly acceptable. • It ought to be a question that needs to be answered • i.e., the answer will be useful to people. • It must be a question that can be answered through empirical means • Conducting a research study

  39. Research Questions • Avoid closed questions? • What? • Why? • When? • Who? • Use questions with variables • “Why do students prefer to study in cities rather than rural universities?” • “What is the relationship between a students' ages and their level of degree award?” • “When in the dissertation process do students understand the nature of research?”

  40. Next week • Conducting a literature review • Research questions & objectives

More Related