DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS

ADMINISTRATION
Assignment

Business Research Methods (621)

Submitted by
Selambanch Asaminew

Submitted To
Dr. Dereje T/mariam

Jan 2020
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 1. How to select a very good research topic?
The ability to develop a good research topic is an important skill. An instructor may assign you a
specific topic, but most often instructors require you to select your own topic of interest. When
deciding on a topic, there are a few things that you will need to do:
a. Brainstorm for ideas; choose a topic that interests you. Use the following questions to help
generate topic ideas.
b. choose a topic that will enable you to read and understand the literature;
c. ensure that the topic is manageable and that material is available;
d. Make a list of key words; Keep track of the words that are used to describe your topic.
e. be flexible;
f. define your topic as a focused research question;
g. research and read more about your topic;
h. formulate a thesis statement;
2. What is a research proposal?
A research proposal is to present and justify the need to study a research problem and to present
the practical ways in which the proposed study should be conducted. The design elements and
procedures for conducting research are governed by standards of the predominant discipline in
which the problem resides; therefore, the guidelines for research proposals are more exacting and
less formal than a general project proposal. Research proposals contain extensive literature
reviews. They must provide persuasive evidence that a need exists for the proposed study. In
addition to providing a rationale, a proposal describes detailed methodology for conducting the
research consistent with requirements of the professional or academic field and a statement on
anticipated outcomes and/or benefits derived from the study's completion.
3. What are the contents of a research proposal?
A research proposal must include the following elements;
a. Full title of the research
b. Background of the problem/study
c. Problem statement /problem Identification
d. Research objective/ research question
e. Scope of limitation of the study
f. Significance of the study
g. Literature review
h. Conceptual framework / if acceptable

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 i. Hypotheses / if acceptable
j. Research methodology / research design/ sampling / data collection/ plan for data analysis
k. Study plan /Gantt chart
l. List of reference
4. What are the qualities of a very good research proposal?
Qualities or characteristics make a research a successful research, every step of the research study
is important. Negligence in any step can affect the complete study and not just that part. There are
certain characteristics that are necessary in every research; these characteristics make the research
a valid and generalizable study. Having just information and data is not enough for good research
paper; we must know qualities of good research paper to present it in proper way.
1. Rigorous

Research is a laborious and hard work in reality and it requires great patience and control.
Research paper requires rigorousness to maintain its quality. There can be several factors that can
affect the quality and the outcome of the research, the researcher should have a control over these
factors. Some factors will affect the research positively while other factors can negatively affect
the research. Negative factors can decrease the validity of the research, so these factors should be
kept in control by the researcher.

2. Controlled

Another very important and basic characteristic of a research paper is that it should have to be
controlled or measured. Everything that you add in a research paper is preplanned and cannot
happen just by chance. The first step in conducting a research is choosing a research topic, from
that step till the end, writing the research paper the researcher should keep control over the
research study. He should measure the consequences of each step that he has planned to take prior
to taking it.

3. Accurate

Accuracy is important because without accuracy the research paper cannot be valid and
generalizable. In every step of the research the researcher has to check the accuracy. When the
researcher is reviewing literature he/she should write down the references along with the
literature review so that when writing those reviews he/she can accurately write the reference of
each review. While testing the hypothesis the researcher should write down the results of the tests
accurately so that there is no error. In research the researcher should leave no chances of error by
himself. He /she should ensure the accuracy of his/her research to 100 percent.
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4. Clear

A research paper should have to be free of ambiguities and it should have great clarity. Clarity is
one of the main essences of research and without clarity the research paper is useless.

5. Concise

As a researcher you do not need to add a lot to the research paper to make it unique or interesting
rather you should add only relevant and original content. The readers will be able to understand a
concise research more easily; there should not be unnecessary details in the research.

6. Valid

Validity is the most important concern in writing and conducting a research. The actual strength
of the research paper is its validity. A valid research is applicable to various situations in general
or it can be applied to any specific situation, people or society.

7. Verifiable

The data the researcher adds in the research paper should have to be verifiable and provable. The
researcher should be able to demonstrate the research paper and there should not be any loopholes
in the information.

8. Sequential

The research should have to be conducted and written in a logical manner. The researcher should
follow a sequence so that he cannot get troubled in the end as to how to compile this research. It
is better if you start writing the research paper as you are conducting it.

9. Precise

Preciseness means that the research paper should have completeness and it should contain
detailed investigation of the research topic.

10. Original

The research paper should contain only original content and copy work should be completely
avoided. You can add literature from other sources in various forms like in the form of literature
review but you should never compromise on the originality of the research paper.

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11. Coherent

Coherence is necessary because it makes the research paper a complete and one unit. Every part
of the research paper should be so linked that it makes a whole.

12. Academic style of writing

Writing a research paper is the last step of the research and writing requires rigorousness. The
researcher should follow an academic style of writing and any ostentatiousness in writing should
be avoided. The language of the research paper should have to be simple and easy to understand.

13. Generalizable

The research paper findings should be generalizable and the findings should be applicable to the
society in one way or other. Sometimes the purpose of the research is to develop new research
tools, techniques or data collection instruments. Such research may not be useful for the society
in general but in the long run researchers will be able to use these tools or techniques to conduct
more researches.

A research problem is a statement about an area of concern, a condition to be

improved, a difficulty to be eliminated, or a troubling question that exists in scholarly
literature, in theory, or in practice that points to the need for meaningful understanding
and deliberate investigation. In some social science disciplines the research problem is
typically posed in the form of a question. A research problem does not state how to do
something, offer a vague or broad proposition, or present a value question.

The purpose of a problem statement is to:

1. Introduce the reader to the importance of the topic being studied. The reader is
oriented to the significance of the study and the research questions or hypotheses to
follow.
2. Places the problem into a particular context that defines the parameters of what is to
be investigated.
3. Provides the framework for reporting the results and indicates what is probably
necessary to conduct the study and explain how the findings will present this information.