Contents

Before you Start… ....................................................................................................... 3

Key aspects of developing your Project ..................................................................... 3
Steps to develop your project ...................................................................................... 3
Sections of the Project Proposal ................................................................................. 4
General Style Guidelines ............................................................................................. 4
APPENDIX A: EXAMPLE PROJECT THEMES ................................................... 7
APPENDIX B: CONSENT FORMS .......................................................................... x
APPENDIX C: EXAMPLE INDUSTAL PROJECT REPORT .......................... xiv

ii
Before you Start…

Congratulations! As you commence your Project, you should be well on your way to
completing your MBA program.

These learning materials will be an invaluable resource to you as you undertake this proposal.
Please ensure that you read these learning materials carefully and refer to them often as you
complete the Project subject.

As will be covered in more detail below, you must complete a Project Proposal and defend it
to proceed with your project. You will then subsequently complete a Project Report (based on
the Project Proposal).

The main elements of these materials, which will help you undertake these assessments, are:

 Key aspects of developing your Project

 Steps to develop your project
 Sections of the Project Proposal
 Content within each Project Proposal section

We hope you thoroughly enjoy completing the Project and wish you the best of luck in
completing your MBA journey with IU.

Key Aspects of Developing your Project

Identify - A problem / challenge / opportunity - Core issue - Objective

Choose your unit of analysis - Organisation(s) or Industry

State your purpose - Analyse the issues/challenges/opportunities - Make recommendations

Steps to Develop your Project

Understand that the project statement is declaration of intent with the respect to the what, why,
how of your project

1) Select a theme, a topic, and a unit of analysis (organisation(s) and/or an industry)

2) Select an approach: analyse 1 organisation, or 1 organisation against another one, or 1
industry, or 1 organisation against the industry
3) Assess the availability of primary / secondary data for your organisation(s)/industry
4) Write the project statement, addressing each elements of your approach and following
the structure shared in the example
iii
Sections of the Project Proposal

The Project Proposal should be written in report format. All main Project Proposal sections and
sub-sections are numbered. Specific sections customised to the context of the Project Proposal
are:
Title page [Please include – Title, Student name, Student ID, Area of Specialization]
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Project related literature summary
3. Planed research methodology
4. Results and Findings
5. Conclusion
References
Appendices

General Style and References Guidelines

RFU prefers capitalized chapter headings at the beginning of chapters. New chapters should start

on new pages with the first line of the paragraph indented. After the sub-headings, the first line

of the paragraph is also indented.

Margins

Set margins to 1½ inches at the left side and 1 inch at the top, bottom, and right side. Do not

justify the right margins.

Spacing

Double-space everything including subsections. Tables, figures, and appendixes may be the

exceptions when necessary for clarity or visual effectiveness.

Acceptable Fonts for Printing Project

The only font recommended when printing a project is Times New Roman. The font size must

be 12-point all along the document. Typefaces that are either compressed or sans serif are highly

discouraged and should not be used.

iv
Headings

Headings within a manuscript identify different sections and subsections. In an APA-style

manuscript, you can have anywhere from one to five levels of headings. When setting up your

paper, if there is no room at the end of a page to include text under a heading, put the new heading

on the next page. The structure for these five levels is as follows (APA, 2010, p. 62):

Heading (Level 1) Centered, boldface, upper and lowercase

Heading (Level 2) Flush left, boldface, upper and lowercase
Heading (Level 3) Indented, boldface lowercase paragraph heading ending with a
period.
Heading (Level 4) Indented, boldface italicized, lowercase ending with a period.
Heading (Level 5) Indented, italicized, lowercase ending with a period.

References
List the references here in context to the in-text citations used throughout the document.
Bullets and any form of numbering should not be used. The references should be in
alphabetical order as per the APA format with hanging indent.
Book
Example: Newell, A. (1972). Human problem solving. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
(for one author)
Example: Newell, A., & Simon, H. A. (1972). Human problem solving. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
Prentice-Hall. (for two authors)
Journal article
Example: Carlson, J. G. (1985). Recent assessments of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.
Journal of Personality Assessment, 49(2), 356-365.
Magazine article
Example: Adams, M. T. (1998, January 17). Seeing the elderly mind deteriorate. Omni, 68, 62-
74.
Newspaper article
Example: Cancer therapy brings new hope. (1996, August 17). The Salt Lake Tribune, p. A6.
Article or chapter in an edited book
Example: Mendelowitz, E., & Schneider, K. (1989). Existential psychotherapy. In R. J. Corsini
& D. Wedding (Eds.), Current psychotherapies (8th ed., pp. 295-927). Belmont, CA: Brooks
Cole.

v
Web Site/Page - Informally Published or Self-archived Work
When discussing an entire web site (as opposed to a specific page on the web site), an entry
does not appear in the reference list, but is cited within text as shown in the following sample
sentence:
The International Council of Museums web site provides many links to museums, codes of
ethics, and the museum profession (http://www.icom.org/).
Landis, B. (1996). Carlisle Indian Industrial School history. Retrieved September 10, 2009,
from http://home.epix.net/~landis/histry.html

Appendices
Use appendices to display documents that are relevant to your Project Proposal, but would
interrupt the flow of your Project Proposal if they were included in the main text. You may
include, for example, explanatory information about the background of your study, pilot study
material, or questions for interviews.

vi
 APPENDIX A:
EXAMPLE PROJECT THEMES

vii
 MBA Project Themes

Option 1: Strategic management. For this project, students can choose:

 An analysis of the corporate strategy of two direct competitors.

 An evaluation of the emergent external issues in your industry and implications regarding
current or required internal capabilities of your organisation.

Option 2: Marketing. For this project, students can choose:

 Development of a market entry strategy for an organisation or product of your choice.

 Development of a market exit or product withdrawal strategy for an organisation of your

choice.
 An analysis of the marketing mix of two competitors within the same product-market domain.
 Development of a digital marketing strategy for an organisation or product of your choice.
 Development of domestic tourism

Option 3: Financial Management. For this project, students can choose:

 Financial performance and financial structures
 Factors affecting share price – internal and/or external
 Board of Directors characteristics, corporate strategy and firm finance
 Small and medium size firms, finance and performance
 Family firms and survival patterns.

Option 4: Human Resource Management. For this project, students can choose:
 Diversity and cultural change
 HR practices
 Leadership development
 Change management challenges/practices
 Strategic HRM initiatives
 Talent management.

viii
Option 5: Entrepreneurship. For this project, students can choose:
 Opportunity analysis
 Internationalisation
 Franchising.

Option 6: Logistics and Supply Chain. For this project, students can choose:
 Sustainable supply chains
 Project planning and management
 Analysis of logistics functions.

ix
 APPENDIX B:
CONSENT FORMS

x
There are two types of Consent Forms:

 Organisation Consent – this must be obtained when you intend to use an organisation
as your site of research and to obtain information about that organisation. It may be
your employer organisation or another organisation of your choice. The consent form
must be completed and signed by a senior person in the organisation who has the
authority to provide such consent on behalf of the organisation.

If your research involves obtaining information from more than one organisation, you
must ensure that you obtain such consent forms for each organisation.

 Individual Consent – this must be obtained when you intend to interview or otherwise
obtain information from individuals as part of your research. Each individual that you
interview or otherwise obtain information from must complete and sign the form.

If your research involves data collection through a mass consumer survey, where
respondents are randomly selected and not personally identified, completion of
individual consent forms is not required.

Organisation and individual consent forms are provided on the following pages. You must
ensure you use these consent forms when obtaining consent from organisations or individuals.

xi
 ORGANISATION CONSENT

I, ___________________________________________________________________

of___________________________________________________________________

understand that _______________________________________________________

is a student at the Iqra University (IU).

I further understand that the student has to complete a research project as part of the student’s
studies with IU and that the student wishes to base the research project on my organisation
named below.

Name of organisation:

...................................................................................................................

My consent is subject to the following conditions, which I insert in my own handwriting:

I hereby consent to the student basing their research project on my organisation and confirm
that I am authorised to grant this consent on behalf of the organisation.

I understand that the information obtained by the student about my organisation will be kept
strictly confidential and only viewed by the student, the project examiners and essential IU
staff, except where I have otherwise granted consent in writing.

Respondent’s signature: __________________________________________

Respondent’s job title: __________________________________________

Date of consent: __________________________________________

xii
 INDIVIDUAL CONSENT

I, ___________________________________________________________________

of___________________________________________________________________

understand that _______________________________________________________

is a student at the Iqra University (IU). I further understand that the student has to complete a
research project as part of the student’s studies with IU and that the student wishes to use data
from interviews with me and my organisation named below for the purposes of the research.

Name of organisation:

..........................................................................................................

I hereby consent to the student using data from interviews with me and my organisation for the
purposes of the research.

My consent is subject to the following conditions, which I insert in my own handwriting:

I understand that the information obtained by the student from me will be kept strictly
confidential and only viewed by the student, the project examiners and essential IU staff, except
where I have otherwise granted consent in writing.

I accept that my participation in this research is voluntary and that I may withdraw my consent
to participate at any time.

Respondent’s signature: __________________________________________

Respondent’s job title: __________________________________________

Date of consent: __________________________________________

xiii
 APPENDIX C:
EXAMPLE INDUSTRAL PROJECT REPORT

xiv
Write the title of the project with font size 12, bold and centred

A Proposal submitted

By

Full name (ID)

To

Department of Business Administration

In partial fulfilment of
The requirement for the
Degree of
MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
In
[Area of Specialization]

This Project has been

Accepted by the faculty

FACULTY OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Mr. [Name of Supervisor]

Advisor

Research Facilitation Centre – RFU,

Iqra University
i
 Executive Summary

The executive summary is written after the first draft of the project is complete. The executive

summary is usually about 200 words in length and should cover the following:

 A short theme sentence to orient the reader

 What was the purpose of the Project?

 Why did you do it, why is it important?

 What did you do and what happened? (research methodology, data collection and data

analysis)

 What were the results or findings (patterns or correlations in the data)?

 What are the implications and what is your work good for (for example, how does it

confirm or disconfirm the literature, and what are the recommendations for

management practice or for government policy)? The implications in the executive

summary can often be summarised in one short sentence; for example, that managers

in your local country or region can use the findings from your Project Report to improve

their practices.

Note that the executive summary should not contain any citations or references.

Citations appear only in the body of the report.

ii
 Table of Contents

Executive Summary .................................................................................................................ii

List of Figures ........................................................................................................................... v
Chapter 1 Introduction............................................................................................................ 1
1.1 Background of the Study 2
1.2 Problem Statement 2
1.3 Purpose of the Study 4
1.4 Significance of Study 5
1.5 Outline of Study 5
1.6 Definition of Terms (If required) 5
Chapter 2 Literature Review ................................................................................................... 6
2.1 Underpinning and Supporting Theories/Models 10
2.2 Empirical Reviews 10
2.3 Research Framework 10
2.4 Hypotheses 10
Chapter 3 Research Method ................................................................................................... 11
3.1 Research Approach 13
3.2 Research Design 13
3.3 Sampling Design 14
3.4 Instrument of Data Collection 15
3.5 Procedure of Data Collection 15
3.6 Statistical Technique 15
Chapter 4 Results and Findings........................................................................................... 17
4.1 Descriptive Profile of the Data 17
4.2 Validation of Model 17
4.3 Hypotheses Testing 17
4.4 Hypotheses Assessment Summary 17
Chapter 5 Conclusion, Discussion, Implications, Limitations and Recommendations .. 18
5.1 Conclusion 18
5.2 Discussion 19
5.3 Implications 20
5.4 Limitations 20
5.5 Recommendations 20
References ............................................................................................................................... 22
Appendix ................................................................................................................................. 23
iii
 List of Tables

S.No. TABLE Page

Number
1. Table 4.1: Title of the Tables 4

iv
 List of Figures

S.No. Figure Page

Number
1. Figure 4.1: Title of the Figure 5

v
Research Facilitation Unit - RFU 1

Chapter 1
Introduction

Project submitted by the graduate students must conform to established format

and style. Though RFU follows most of these guidelines, some exceptions are noted in

this document. Pointers stated below frequently pose difficulties for final acceptance of

project. This chapter should comprise on at least 4 pages (i.e., 1000 ±10% words).

The Introduction should cover five main items:

1. Establish the background field (the aspect of your degree studies that this

Project will focus on), and assert its significant position in theory or practice.

2. Summarise previous research (only one or two brief paragraphs at the most).

3. Indicate gaps, inconsistencies or controversies, and why they are important.

4. State the purpose of the present research (to address bullet-point 3), state briefly

the main aspects of how data was collected and analysed, and conclusions of the

research (and advanced students may add a sentence about their contributions

(relating to bullet-point 3).

5. Outline of the Project Report.

This chapter, in particular, contains following sub headings:

1.1 Background of the Study

1.2 Problem Statement
1.3 Research Question(s)
1.4 Purpose of the Study
1.5 Significance of Study
1.6 Outline of Study
1.7 Definition of Terms
Research Facilitation Unit - RFU 2

1.1 Background of the Study

Firstly, state what the background field is; this is usually one of the topics in one of

your degree subjects such as ecotourism, entrepreneurial characteristics or financial

reports.

1.2 Problem Statement

In problem statement, researches very briefly summarise previous research about that

established topic (as has been noted in the textbook and in some recent journal articles).

Then, point out that there is a gap, inconsistency or controversy about an issue within

that established field. For your project, the gap usually appears where there has been

little research about how managers in your country or region actually apply the

concepts. For example, the gap could be how ecotourism is done in Singapore or South

Australia, the characteristics of entrepreneurs in a manufacturing industry in Ghana, or

how financial statements are used in Vietnam. If you can, you might mention that this

gap is an important one because the area is significant, with supporting statements such

as: ecotourism is growing in Singapore; entrepreneurship is critical for the

development of Ghana; free enterprise is growing fast in Vietnam.

Example of a well written problem statement:

Much of the endorsement research focuses on what characteristics constitute an

effective celebrity endorser, namely in terms of their personal attractiveness

(McGuire, 1985), familiarity (Kamins, 1990; Misra and Beatty, 1990), likeability

(Erdogen, 1999), credibility, believability and expertise (Ohanian, 1990). Other

research examines whether the celebrity endorser’s image is consistent with the

image of the product, brand or organisation (Kamins, 1990; Kamins and Gupta,

1994; Lynch and Schuler, 1994; Till and Busler, 1998). Another stream of research
Research Facilitation Unit - RFU 3

assesses the impact of celebrity endorsements for marketing purposes, including

consumer attitude towards the brand and/or the advertisement and purchase intention

(Misra and Beatty, 1990; Lynch and Schuler, 1994; Tripp et al., 1994; Till and

Shimp, 1998). Recent research explores the deeper connections between consumers

and celebrities. Escalas and Bettman (2009) use McCracken’s (1989) meaning

transfer model, whereby the symbolic meanings associated with a celebrity are

transferred onto the brands the celebrity endorses, and in turn, these meanings are

then transferred from the celebrity to consumers through selecting brands that

communicate their self-concept, ultimately forming a self-brand connection.

Thomson (2006) investigates consumer–celebrity (or human brand) connections

through the varying levels of attachment consumers feel for celebrities. Although,

Thomson’s (2006) study identifies the existence of consumer–celebrity connections,

research is yet to investigate whether these celebrity connections influence consumer

attitude and purchase intention in an endorsement context.

Although the business case for celebrity endorsement may explain why multiple

endorsements by a celebrity are common features in today’s marketing world, too

little research is devoted to examining the effectiveness of multiple brand

endorsements (Mowen and Brown, 1981; Tripp et al., 1994). In addition, the impact

of consumer attachment to celebrities on consumer brand evaluations is not known.

As research only identifies the existence of consumer– celebrity attachment

(Thomson, 2006), it is not known whether consumer attachment to a celebrity affects

their attitude towards brands endorsed by that celebrity. While the implicit

suggestion of the meaning transfer process (McCracken, 1989) is that a positive

relationship exists between consumer attachment to a celebrity and consumer attitude

towards brands endorsed by that celebrity, these relationships have not been
Research Facilitation Unit - RFU 4

empirically tested. The influence of attachment within the brand endorsement

context is still unknown.

1.3 Research Questions

Research concerns are operationalized through research questions to which valid

answers are sought for during and are expected by the end of the study. Research

questions should be clear, concise, and as simple as possible, focused and empirically

answerable. They should not be questions that require a yes or no answer (Selamat

2008). They should be framed to provide the guide for the conduct of the study. For

descriptive empirical studies they are answerable through descriptive analysis of data,

for inferential study, they are answerable through testing hypotheses that emanate from

them. A study can have some research questions that are not convertible into

hypotheses, and then both research questions and hypotheses are accommodated in

such cases. This might call for a mix-method approach involving both quantitative and

qualitative methods. The research question should be framed in such a way that it will

not provoke “yes” or “no” answer. For example, based on the sample topic selected

earlier, the research question “to what extent does teachers’ satisfaction influence

students’ performance in mathematics?” is more appropriate than “does teachers’

satisfaction influence students’ performance in mathematics”

1.4 Purpose of the Study

Briefly describe some key aspects of your research, and in one sentence, describe what

your main findings were (to entice the reader to keep reading on). For example, ‘The

purpose of this research is to explore how one ecotourism operator in Pakistan actually

manages a small entrepreneurial business’, or ‘The purpose of this research is to

identify the four main characteristics of entrepreneurs in Pakistan’.

Research Facilitation Unit - RFU 5

1.5 Significance of Study

This section highlights the current study’s main contribution. Often start with a clear,

but concise statement of the core research problem to be investigated and of the study’s

specific research objectives specific research objectives Then explain the academic

(theoretical) and/or practical importance of the possible research findings…relate to the

issues/problems discussed earlier.

Example

This study seeks to extend ............by addressing the gaps in........ The study will

investigate the impact of four........... (1) ........., (2).........., (3) ............., and (4).......... In

addition, interrelationships among ............is examined based on what underpinning

theory…... Findings from this study are hoped….. (Theoretical)….. (Practical)…..

From this study are hoped….. (Theoretical)….. (Practical)

1.6 Outline of Study

The final paragraph of the introduction outlines the project report, starting with the

sentence, ‘This report has … (four, five or six) sections after this Introduction’. In this

final paragraph you should then give a brief summary of the sections – no more than

one sentence per section.

1.7 Definition of Terms (If required)

Research Facilitation Unit - RFU 6

Chapter 2
Literature Review

This chapter entails essence of research studies confined from various

research resources. It is compulsory to state the in-text citations here and its complete

reference (in the chapter of references) of the extracted research studies here to avoid

plagiarism.

Objectives of the Literature Review

Because of the timeframe for BBA/MBA Projects and because of the nature of the

degree (which is coursework), the research is relatively basic. Therefore, a literature

review will suffice instead of a comprehensive examination of the literature. The least

that IU expects is that you have made some sense of the literature, and that you know

the role of the literature and its place in your project.

You have three objectives to fulfil when writing the literature review. Firstly, you need

to introduce and review items of previous research in the area of study. Introducing and

reviewing items of previous research takes up the greatest part of the literature review.

Secondly, you need to indicate a gap in the previous research by raising a question

about it, or extending previous knowledge in some way. Finally, you must outline the

purpose or state the nature of the present research. Statements that achieve our second

and third objectives typically occur in the first and last paragraphs and sections of the

literature review.

Students often write and re-write the literature review a few times. Since each version

will serve a different purpose, you should not think you are writing the same thing over

and over and getting nowhere. Where you may have trouble is if you just try to take

whole sections out of an earlier version and paste them into the final version which, by

now, has to be differently conceived. The understanding of our Project changes day by
Research Facilitation Unit - RFU 7

day, therefore, what we have written earlier might not reflect our current understanding

of our Project.

In practical terms, it is necessary to have an overall picture of how the thread runs

through your analysis of the literature before you can get down to actually writing a

particular section. The strategy which writers use as a way to begin the literature review

is to proceed from the general, wider view of the research you are reviewing to the

specific problem. This is not a formula but is a common pattern and may be worth

trying. So if for example, you are interested in reviewing the role of employee safety in

the construction industry, the best place to start is to look at what employee safety is

and what it means to different organisations and industries before you finally focus on

the construction industry. This shows us the progression from general to specific and

the beginning of that thread which then continues through the text leading to the aims

of the Project.

Effective paragraphs in a literature review

The secret to good academic writing is how you construct your paragraphs. Let's

understand this further by learning how to structure paragraphs in our literature review.

A good way of understanding a paragraph is to think of it as a mini essay. The topic

sentence tells the reader the point the writer wants to make. The supporting sentences

expand on the point, points to, or discusses evidence, and the concluding sentence tells

the reader what the significance of the point is. In this way, the reader knows not only

what the point is, but also what evidence there is to make it, and importantly, why that

point is being made–it connects the paragraph to the overall argument. If you analyse

the example below you will see that the paragraph in it is written using this model. In

academic writing, in-text referencing must be included. Here is an academic paragraph

that would be typical for the body of a literature review:

Research Facilitation Unit - RFU 8

Self-awareness is a critical skill/ability for leaders. Self-awareness is the capacity to

be aware of emotions and feelings, moment to moment (Smith, 2013). If one is not

aware of one’s own emotions in an interaction, it would be impossible to regulate

one’s emotions, which is the second component in Goleman’s model (Goleman 1995;

Jackson, 2011). For example, if one is not aware of rising anger in oneself in an

interaction, the effectiveness of communication may be impeded by an inappropriate

outburst of anger. Thus, self-awareness is not only imperative for communication but

is also considered the foundation of emotional intelligence (Goleman, 1995; Mayer,

Salovey & Caruso, 2008).

Organising the literature review

It is through paragraphs that we will build the arguments in our literature review. Let

us review the example below which introduces a topic using the literature.

In the literature it is recognised that a dichotomy exists between agricultural and

business marketing because the marketing management approach is not prominent in

agricultural marketing theory. Johnson (2013) suggests that agricultural marketing

has traditionally incorporated everything that happens between the farm gate and the

consumer, therefore encompassing areas which ‘the purist’ may not consider

marketing. While analysis of government intervention and policy form the focus of

agricultural marketing theory, studies of the objectives and decisions confronting

individual businesses are central to business marketing theory.

The text moves on to specify issues at various levels. Although the focus is sharper, the

coverage at the same time opens out. Whatever the pattern which fits your work best,

you need to keep in mind that what you are doing is writing about what was done before.
Research Facilitation Unit - RFU 9

But, you are not simply reporting on previous research. You have to write about it in

terms of how well it was done and what it achieved. This has to be organised and

presented in such a way that it inevitably leads to what you want to do and shows it is

worth doing. You are setting up the stage for your work.

McDonald (2009) was the first to identify an agricultural marketing school of thought

focusing on business marketing theory, and this school of thought seems to be growing more

prominent. For example, Harris (2012) acknowledges that during the 1970s a minor paradigm

shift occurred in agricultural marketing with a move towards business marketing. He notes

how successive editions of Kohl’s agricultural marketing textbook (1972 and 1980) have

changed to describe the marketing concept. Jones (2010) points out a number of agricultural

marketers who have partially incorporated the marketing management approach, but mainly

focus on the behaviour of agribusiness companies (e.g. McGee, 2009; Harrison, 2011), rather

than individual farm firms.

By the time you conclude your literature review, you should have clearly signalled the

discipline and fields to which the literature relates, concisely represented previous work

on the topic area, and explained how your research will contribute to literature in your

field.

The apparent differences between agricultural marketing and business marketing theories

may not present a problem because both disciplines examine issues which are likely to require

different theories and techniques for analysis. However, concern must be expressed at the

failure of researchers to comprehensively examine the marketing strategies undertaken by

individual farm businesses. Businesses in the agricultural sector include farmers and other

often larger and more sophisticated agribusinesses, such as input suppliers and merchants.
Research Facilitation Unit - RFU 10

Business literature contains published articles examining the marketing strategies of large

agribusiness companies; however, little research appears to reach down to the farm business

level.

Notice also how the research begins by focusing on the main topic area and then

narrowing down to the gap in the research. This is the point when you should formally

state your research questions and outline what you plan to find out from the project.

Hopefully, you have understood the importance of a literature review and what its

essential components are.

Following points will be covered (as headings) in this chapter:

2.1 Underpinning and Supporting Theories/Models

2.2 Empirical Reviews

2.3 Research Framework

2.4 Hypotheses
Research Facilitation Unit - RFU 11

Chapter 3
Research Method/Research Methodology

Type “Research Method” (note, here and below, do NOT enclose headings in

the quotation marks) as a level 1 heading immediately after the literature review chapter

on a new page. This chapter is called “Research Method” and NOT “Research

Methods.” (This chapter should be 3-4 pages. This chapter include the following

components:

3.1 Research Approach

3.2 Research Design
3.3 Sampling Design
3.4 Instrument of Data Collection
3.5 Procedure of Data Collection
3.6 Statistical Technique
Identify, the approach to your research (e.g. single or multiple case study). Then explain
whether the unit of analysis is an organisation or industry. Moreover, it is important to
mention whether your study is exploratory or explanatory.

Approach

Select an approach out of the following four approaches using either inductive or
deductive logic:

Approach 1: You compare and contrast your organisation against another one

Approach 2: You compare and contrast two external organisations

Approach 3: You analyse the industry as a whole and then compare this to your
organisation or another

Approach 4: You can compare your own organisation to the literature (both
academic and industry literature)

Data collection
In order to answer the research questions you will need to collect data.
Research Facilitation Unit - RFU 12

Explain the primary data you plan to obtain and the data collection methods you will
employ such as observation, surveys, interviews and focus groups. What questions will
you be asking and which people or organisations will you involve?

Also, describe here the secondary data sources you will use. Are there specific
published materials that can be used to provide some background and form the
foundations of your research? There may be government, trade, industry or workplace
resources you can access.

Explain how the data will be analysed.

Principles of Analysis

1- ‘Analyse’ = compare and contrast

2- Analyse as you collect the data (ideally)
3- Assess the relevant tools to use for the analysis
4- Justify your tool(s) of choice:
 Depends on the topic you selected
 If it’s justified, it’s not a wrong answer
5- Iterative process

Will the data be analysed qualitatively or quantitatively. Examples of analytical tools

available to you are

 SWOT analysis
 PEST analysis
 Porter’s five forces analysis
 Porter’s generic strategies & five forces
 4Ps – products or 7Ps – services
 PESTLE
 Perceptual mapping
 Ratio analysis
 Trend analysis
 Sensitivity analysis / scenario analysis
 Benchmarking
 Business Plan
Research Facilitation Unit - RFU 13

 Opportunity Analysis
 Descriptive statistics (averages, standard deviation, bar chart, pie chart, range,
variance …)
 Inferential statistics (correlation, t-test, regression…)

3.1 Research Approach

There are two main research pathways that guide data collection and analysis. Your

research is either exploratory (or theory building) or explanatory (or theory testing).

Exploratory research typically asks ‘what’, ‘who’ and ‘how’ questions which are

answered through description or discussion. Exploratory research is appropriate when

not much is known about an issue and when relationships between different

components of an issue are not clear. Exploratory research is appropriate when you are,

literally, ‘exploring’ an issue.

Explanatory research typically asks questions about ‘how many’ and ‘what

proportion’ which can be answered with a number (or percentage) or with a simple

‘yes’ or ‘no’. Explanatory research is most effective when a lot of detail is already

known and when relationships between parts of the issue can be clearly articulated. It

is appropriate when you are testing something that is already known or when you are

trying to find an additional explanation for something known.

It is likely that you will be using exploratory research for your Project as you will be

exploring an issue in your organisation.

3.2 Research Design

The research design refers to the overall strategy that you choose to integrate the
different components of the study in a coherent and logical way, thereby, ensuring you
will effectively address the research problem; it constitutes the blueprint for the
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collection, measurement, and analysis of data. Note that your research problem
determines the type of design you should use, not the other way around!

Types of Quantitative Research Design

i) Correlational Design/Research
ii) Causal Research
iii) Experimental Study
iv) Descriptive Study
3.3 Sampling Design

Sampling is a means of selecting a subset of units from a target population for the
purpose of collecting information. In the description of sampling design, define
population, sample size and sampling technique. In particular, pronounce all relevant
characteristics of your sample (e.g., number of participants, mean age, gender
breakdown, etc.). Do NOT provide information that might identify the participants,
such as the name of their university of place of work, should not be given. Rather, give
information about the participants only in general terms, such as "students at regional
public university in Karachi."

3.3.1 Target Population

3.3.2 Sample Size

3.3.3 Sampling Technique

Probability Sampling
i) Simple Random Sampling
ii) Systematic (Random) Sampling
iii) Stratified (Random) Sampling
iv) Cluster (Random) Sampling
Non-Probability Sampling
i) Purposive Sampling
ii) Snowball Sampling
iii) Quota Sampling
iv) Convenience Sampling
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3.4 Instrument of Data Collection

These are the tools for data collection that includes questionnaire, interview,
observation and reading. Essentially the researcher must ensure that the
instrument chosen is valid and reliable. The validity and reliability of any research
project depends to a large extent on the appropriateness of the instruments.

3.4.1 Reliability and/or Validity of Instrument

3.5 Procedure of Data Collection

In this heading, details of data collection procedures are discuss as follows:

 Who will the data be collected about?
 Who will the group of interest be compared to?
 What locations or geographical areas will the data be gathered from?
 What categories will be used to identify the group of interest and comparator
group?
 What sources of data should be used to collect information?
o Pre-existing or official data
o Survey data

3.6 Statistical Technique

This heading comprise the proposed research technique to test the hypothesis.

(e.g. Regression, Correlation, Factor Analysis, t-test, ANOVA etc.)

3.7 Ethical considerations

Address standard ethics issues
Mention the standard ethics issues relating to research Projects (confidentiality,
privacy, basic rights of participants) and what you are doing to manage these issues.
You need to explain that, in order to ensure ethical research conduct, you will:
 obtain consent from all participants
 respect any additional requests for privacy and confidentiality identified by
individual participants
 store information securely
 de-identify the source of specific pieces of information in the final report.
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Address additional ethics issues (where relevant)

Identify the additional ethics issues specifically relating to your particular Project.
Especially if your Project falls in the ‘low risk’ (rather than the ‘no’ or ‘negligible risk’)
category, you must highlight the fact that you are aware of the potential for discomfort
among your participants. You will have to also explain what you are doing to minimise
discomfort. For instance, you may want to enable participants to opt out of the research,
to not answer questions, to leave the room or to stop their participation at any time.
Also, you may plan to draft your interview questions carefully so that you show
sensitivity to the participants in order to minimise discomfort.

Use of consent forms

Mention that you have obtained consent from the organisation to undertake the Project
and append the signed consent form with the Project Proposal. Explain that you will be
arranging for each interviewee or respondent to sign the Research Consent Forms (as
provided in Appendix B) and that you will include those forms as an appendix to your
Project Report.

3.8 Schedule for completion

I expect to complete this Project in three months from the date of obtaining approval
for the Project Proposal. Specific milestones in the Project are as follows:

30 Sept 20xx
Approval of Project Proposal received
Literature review commences 1 Oct
Data collection commences 5 Oct
20 Oct
Data collection concludes
30 Oct
Literature review concludes
Writing of first draft commences 1 Nov
20 Nov
Submission of Draft Project Report
15 Dec 20xx
Submission of Project Report (final)
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Chapter 4
Results and Findings

Start your Results chapter immediately after the end of your Method chapter

on a new page. Type the heading “Results” as a level 1 heading. In your results

section provide a verbal description of what you found supported by reports of all

relevant descriptive statistics (e.g., Means and standard deviations and correlations)

and inferential statistics (e.g., t-test, Analyses of variance).

The results are identified in this chapter along with its interpretations and

findings in relevance to the hypotheses tested. This chapter should also include the

Hypotheses Assessment Summary (Table form). This chapter should be at least 4

pages. This chapter includes the following components:

4.1 Descriptive Profile of the Data

4.2 Validation of Model

4.3 Hypotheses Testing

4.4 Hypotheses Assessment Summary

When reporting inferential statistics report the following information: The

observed value of the statistic, the degrees of freedom, p-value and any effect size

statistics. The general format to follow is: F(2, 39) = 9.67, p = .014, l)2 = .06. When

reporting descriptive statistics, report group means, standard deviations, and confidence

intervals. You should report 95% or 99% confidence intervals. For example: (M = 5.31,

SD = 1.18, 95% CI [5.08, 5.54]). For more complex analyses, you may report the results

in tables.
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Chapter 5
Conclusion, Discussion, Implications, Limitations and Recommendations

Start the Conclusion chapter immediately after the end of the results section on

a new page. Type the heading “Conclusion” as a level 1 heading. Start off this chapter

by reminding the reader of the purpose of the study, methods & procedures, major

findings, summary of results.

Provide links between your results and previous research and theory (with citations)

that you reviewed in your introduction. End your conclusion chapter with an assessment

of limitations in your research. Draw overall conclusions about the current state of

knowledge given your findings and previous findings. State why it is important to

continue to pursue this line of research and include ideas for future research. This

chapter should be at least 3 pages and includes following components:

5.1 Conclusion
5.2 Discussion
5.3 Implications
5.4 Limitations
5.5 Recommendations

5.1 Conclusion

The conclusions relate directly to the research questions or objectives. They represent

the contribution to the knowledge. They also relate directly to the significance of the

study, which is always, in some way, to improve the human condition. These are the

major generalizations, the answer to the problem(s) revealed in Chapters 1 and 2.

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5.2 Discussion

This heading refer to the hypotheses, objectives, or questions. Assess the meaning of

the results by evaluating and interpreting. Speculation should be reasonable, firmly

justified, and subject to test. List the primary research questions from Chapter 1 and

answer them with the results. Cite several studies from Chapter 2 for comparison and

contrast with the results.

Example of Discussion Section

Our findings show that PRA is not related to ECD. Such may be due to respondents’

ECD being less likely to be stimulated by their physical needs for protection and

functionality, emotional needs of expressing their personality, and psychological

needs of identity building. The insignificant relationship between PRA and ECD may

also be explained by the respondents perceiving less importance of PRA than SRA

when making purchase decision on ECD. As shown in the results, SRA positively

influences ECD. In line with our theorization, this suggests that SRA plays an

important role in respondents’ eco‐fashion purchase decision making although it only

has some positive effect on ECD.

On the other hand, our findings are in line with prior studies (e.g. Lloyd et al., 1993;

Roberts, 1996) that PP is associated with ECD. Prior studies reported that high PP

discourages ECD as fashion consumers have a tight budget (Dodds et al., 1991; Bratt,

1999) or do not want eco‐fashion consumption to cause any sacrifice (Bratt, 1999) or

inconvenience (Carrigan and Attalla, 2001; Joergens, 2006). Our findings suggest

that respondents are open to environmental protection, and thus more willing to pay

a premium for eco‐fashion to protect the environment (Yeung, 2005; Harris, 2006;

Lee, 2009).
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5.3 Implications

It is important to remember that the study set out or was designed to contribute a

solution to a given specific problem, or to satisfy a specific interest or curiosity, so, to

complete the logical loop of the research process, such problem should be restated here,

and the implications of the findings of the study to the solution of this problem

highlighted. What is the implication of the findings of the study to the various

stakeholders? What do the findings of the study suggest or what do evidences from the

study suggest to each stakeholder? What are theoretical, practical and policy

implications of the findings of your study?

5.4 Limitations

What are the unavoidable limitations conditions (not within your control) surrounding

your study and within which conclusions to the study must be confined? What

limitations exist in your method, design or approach, sampling restrictions,

uncontrollable variables, faulty measurements, and other compromises to internal

validity? For example constraining characteristics of methodology/ design that tend to

limit the interpretation and application of the research findings. For example the

constraint in, or lack of simple random sampling places limitation on generalizability

of the findings.

5.5 Recommendations

Recommendations must be such that would facilitate the solution to the problem for

which the study was out to contribute a solution. Present appropriate recommendations

that follow directly from the findings of the study. How can the results of your study

be used? Having found a contribution to the solution of the problem at hand what role

can each stakeholder play in implementing this solution? Be very clear, specific and

practical in your recommendations. Specifically, to whom are you directing each

Research Facilitation Unit - RFU 21

recommendation? Here again the recommendation should target each of the

stakeholders of the study. These can take two forms: recommendations for further

study, or recommendations for change, or both. This section answers the question,

“what other related studies should be carried out in order to add to the contribution to

the solution to this problem?”

Note: Do NOT give personal reactions such as, “I was shocked/surprised/disappointed

to find...”
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References

List the references here in context to the in-text citations used in the chapter of

literature review. Bullets and any form of numbering should not be used. The

references should be in alphabetical order as per the APA format with hanging indent.

Newell, A. (1972). Human problem solving. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall

Newell, A., & Simon, H. A. (1972). Human problem solving. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:

Prentice-Hall

Carlson, J. G. (1985). Recent assessments of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.

Journal of Personality Assessment, 49(2), 356-365.

M. T. (1998, January 17). Seeing the elderly mind deteriorate. Omni, 68, 62-74.

Cancer therapy brings new hope. (1996, August 17). The Salt Lake Tribune, p. A6.

Mendelowitz, E., & Schneider, K. (1989). Existential psychotherapy. In R. J. Corsini

& D. Wedding (Eds.), Current psychotherapies (8th ed., pp. 295-927).

Belmont, CA: Brooks Cole.

The International Council of Museums web site provides many links to museums,

codes of ethics, and the museum profession (http://www.icom.org/).

Landis, B. (1996). Carlisle Indian Industrial School history. Retrieved September 10,

2009,

from http://home.epix.net/~landis/histry.html
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Appendix

This chapter should include the supplementary material for the research carried

out, as follows:

- Cover Letter

- Questionnaire (one unfilled)

- Gantt Chart

- Outputs