Research Proposal Format

There is a mandatory format for the research proposal, and must consist of four components. Therefore use
the following checklist to help structure your work and adhere to the assessment criteria.

 Am I interested in the topic?

 Is my question focused?
Research  Is my question forward looking?
Question  Is my question targeted at an issue or a decision which is still relevant for the
business organisation and not something which has already happened/finished?
 The question is based on a decision the firm is considering, not one I think they
should consider?
 Can I make recommendations for further action?
 Can I obtain the necessary data from the chosen organisation?
 Has my teacher agreed it is suitable?

 Rationale for study

Proposed Why did you choose to investigate this specific question? The reasons should be
Methodology
business related - what is the context of this issue or decision to the management
of the organisation? E.g. what is the weakness, future decision to be made or
change in the external environment that means there needs to be a change. You
could use the format below:

Introduce business briefly

Introduce the problem/opportunity and what they are thinking of doing?
Why do they want to do that?
*Secondary data can be used above too. Make sure any data is referenced.

Note: this is not personal motivation such as ‘I want to study Accounting at

University’ or that the investigation is of a family firm that you want to or will join in
the future. It must be a business rationale and relate to the business problems
and decisions. For example, sales and profits may be falling, lower productivity,
staff turnover increasing, rising competition or the firm is considering expansion
options’.

 Areas of the Business Management syllabus to be covered

Specifically state the name and sections of the course that will be included, with a
brief justification as to their relevance as a tool/theory aiding you to answer your
research question. E.g.: “The extended marketing mix 4.6, especially Physical
evidence will be considered as I will be comparing marketing strategies between
Café X and its main rival Café Y in the trendy Gangnam neighbourhood” OR I will
look at/consider…… to see how……

If you find this easier, you could put it into a table:

Topic Reason

Information adapted from Subject Report, IBO, In Thinking and IB Professional Development Workshops and the OCC 10
 Proposed
Methodology  Possible sources of information (methodolodgy)
Continued
o What are the main primary methods you will use to get your information? E.g.
interviews with certain people, surveys with certain people, focus groups…
o Why have you chosen these? How do they help you answer the question?
o What are the advantages and possible disadvantages to these methods?
o What supporting secondary information will you use and why?

Note: Primary data needs to be from a range of sources beyond just the owners
or managers or just customers. Aim for 3 for the highest mark band, but a
minimum of 2.

Method Reason Pros Cons

 Organisations and individuals to be approached

o Who will you ask the questionnaire/survey to?
o Do you have useful contacts? What is their role?
o Who do you think will be the most useful person approached?
o What information do you hope to get from these people?

Who Role Reason

 Methods to be used to collect and analyse data, and the reason for choosing
them
o How will you collect primary data? E.g. will you use a survey/ interview/
questionnaire/ focus group?
o Which sampling methods will you use (including number of respondents) and
why? Will this information be useful? *it must be a large and not a small
sample, worthy of making a decision from
o Which methods will you use to collect secondary data and why?
o Which tools (business or other) do you plan to use to analyse your data?
o Will you investigate using percentages or graphs for quantifiable data?

 The order of activities and timescale of the project

o When will you complete your activities – in what general order?
o What are likely to be the delays in your project?
o What is the total timescale
o How might delays impact your plan?

Information adapted from Subject Report, IBO, In Thinking and IB Professional Development Workshops and the OCC 11
 Note: this can be with your action plan and difficulties section respectively

 Anticipated difficulties e.g. limited or biased resources

o As explicitly stated in the title, what difficulties regarding data sources and
bias will you have? Also understand that all sources just about contain bias,
but be more critical when assessing bias. E.g. do you think it will be difficult
getting information from a certain group?

o What other problems do you think you will face? (e.g. language barrier etc.)
How do you propose attempting to solve these problems?

o Do you see yourself facing any confidentiality/sensitivity issues and how

will you solve these? Remember, you cannot write a strong recommendation
based on weak information.

o Some financial data is essential to achieving the top grades.How do you

propose attempting to solve these problems if it is hard to collect?

 Action plan

o A table stating the tasks to complete (action), when it will be completed and a
column left empty for modifications. This can be generic
o Modifications will be entered after you have completed your IA by hand
o A Gantt chart showing all of your tasks and timetlines in detail e.g. primary
research when you will collect and analyse each different form.

 Does not exceed 500 words – your action plan is

 part of your word count

 Word count included on the title page
 I have cross referenced all of my work with the assessment criteria

Note: You must make sure that you review this regularly with your teacher and modify or rewrite it
as necessary if circumstances change.

Information adapted from Subject Report, IBO, In Thinking and IB Professional Development Workshops and the OCC 12
 Written Report
Your written report will include the main findings of your research and must include the following sections.

 Professional
 Research title
 Clear indication of the content of the project
 Course
Title Page  Name (this must be your legal name)
 Candidate Number
 Intended audience
 Date e.g. November 2016
 Word Count – note that this does not include acknowledgements, title page,
acknowledgements, contents page, executive summmary, tables of statistical
data, diagrams or figures, equations, formulae and calculations, citations (if
used must be in the body of the commentary and interpreted), references (if
used must be in the footnotes/endnotes) bibliography or appendices.
Note that if you use Business Management definitions and terms, quotations
are included in the word count and must be in the body of your work.

 Recognition to any individual/s and/or organisation that made the production

Acknowledgements of the research project possible.

 If you have a letter of authentication, although not required but great for a
moderator to see, add it in before the acknowledgements page. A sample
letter can be found at the end of this guide.

Note: Here you should thank the people that helped you complete your
research. Tip: do not thank your dad, your uncle, your cousin, etc. Keep it
formal. e.g. I would like to thank Mr. Smith for the time he took to meet with
me to discuss my assignment. Mr. Smith might be your dad, but your marker
doesn’t need to know that.

Contents Page  Included

 Checked to ensure it is correct
 No reference to reseach proposal

 A concise, clear and explicit summary of the document, including the

Executive Summary recommendations and conclusions. The research question and executive
summary should guide the reader to the substance of the report. The
maximum length of the executive summary is 200 words.

 The reader should be able to read this part and know everything you did –
from the beginning until the end. You have to try to include everything in
your summary, from the introduction, methodology employed, scope of
research, to your findings and conclusions/recommendations.
Information adapted from Subject Report, IBO, In Thinking and IB Professional Development Workshops and the OCC 13
 Note: This is like the blurb on the back of a book (giving the reader an idea of
what’s actually inside the book). However, you should include your overall
outcome/decision/recommendation. Basically, it is a mini version of your report.
Someone should be able to pick up your Executive Summary and understand
the issue surrounding your report, what you did to find your answer, and your
actual answer.

 Write it when you’ve finished of all your work! It should be in the past tense!

 A brief background on the organisation.

Introduction o Legal status, when did it start operating, where is it located, what does it
sell.
o Market share? Main competitors

 Give a clear outline of the issue or problem under investigation.

o Use secondary data where appropriate here e.g. nature of the market the
organisation operates in, competitive pressures, market share held, any
relevant economic issues that may be affecting demand patterns or
changing STEEPLE issues to provide the reader with a greater
understanding of the purpose of the investigation and benchmarks of
success

 Explain the methodology used to investigate the issue or problem

o Business tools, techniques and theory should be included to present the
commentary in appropriate business format and to support the analysis
and the judgments with relevant business concepts and theory.

 Ended with my research question e.g. This has therefore led to the following
question...

 Summary of primary (and secondary) research used.

Methodology o Who have you used, using which method and why to the person and
Employed
method
 Business tools, techniques and theories applied
 How valid and reliable is the data collected?
 What are the limitations of the research?
 Any changes made as work has progressed have been explained

Note: in this section you can use your research proposal.

Main Results and  A summary of what has been collected

Findings  Presentation of findings. This should be supported by graphs, tables and/or
statistics where appropriate. Questionnaires etc should be appendixed and
referenced.
Information adapted from Subject Report, IBO, In Thinking and IB Professional Development Workshops and the OCC 14
  All findings are sourced, titled and well labelled.
 No analysis
 Don’t forget to include cost implications if relevant – how much will it cost?
How will it be financed?
 If you are conducting ratio analysis in your analysis and discussion, including
industry average ratios here from secondary data.

Note: you do not need to analyse any of your findings here it is just a summary
of your findings. Therefore there should also be lots of referencing as the sources
are either the appendix (primary sources) or from some secondary sources.

It also does not need to include the results to every survey question. The title is
‘main’ results and findings.

Analysis and  Analysis of findings in the light of the title question

Discussion o Split your analsysis and discussion into sections e.g. For/Against or
Qualitative/Quantitative or Staff/Customers/Managers or Strategy
1/Strategy 2 as examples.
o In each section create PEEL paragraphs and explicitly answer your RQ.
o Ensure the use of business tools, technique and theories are
incorporated.

o P - What main themes/issues emerge from your findings? / What is one

of your points / What are the strengths and weaknesses of the various
positions on the issue or problem?
o Ex – why is this? What are the causes? What are the reasons for this?
E.g. this could be due to.....
o Ef - What are the implications of the above? What effects/impact does
your findings/points have on the organisation or stakeholders?
o L - Why and how are these helpful (or not) to answering your question? If
they are not helpful (e.g. biased or limited data) or could be better state
it. E.g. the approach to this study could have been better if..... you can
achieve your reflective thinking marks a lot easier!

So overall is a really important section of your report; this is where you actually
answer the question! Therefore:

Your answer should come from a formal discussion, and in your discussion you
should consider the causes, the effects and the solution (surrounding the issue).

Think about what the company needs, think about alternatives and think about
reasons.

Anything you state in your discussion should be backed up by your research and
your findings. In this section, remember to weigh up the arguments (evaluate),
look for possible reasons (rationalise) and examine and assess (for and against).
Be reflective too; that is, reflect on what you find or what you suggest: “this could
be due to…” e.g. just because employees state x, doesn’t mean it is fact – may
be biased, or worried about expressing true feelings, for example.

In this section, the moderator wants to see that you are able to come up with new
ideas and possibilities based on your research and findings. The moderator
wants to know that you were able to interpret your findings, rather than just insert
a whole lot of things into the report without actually understanding them.
Information adapted from Subject Report, IBO, In Thinking and IB Professional Development Workshops and the OCC 15
 Analysis and Anything you present should be logical and coherent, and clearly presented.
Discussion
Don’t forget to reference in this section, linking all your facts to your main finding
subtitles in the form of a footnote.

Conclusion(s) and  Make these two separate paragraphs – one for conclusion and one for
Recommendations recommendations

Conclusion:

 Summarise the key findings

 Any arguments made are evaluated e.g. what are the needs of the
company? Do the solutions work? Are there alternatives?

 However – what were the limitations in your research approach? E.g.

small sample, biased results, data you were told you could be given
wasn’t given – why were any of these a problem. What would you do
differently.

 There is no introduction of new facts or arguments that have not been

discussed in the commentary

Recommendations:

 Judgement made on what the company should do

 I have included aspects of the question that have not been fully answered
in the commentary or that might need further analysis or investigation to
be judged more effectively.

 I have included future action the organisation should take for any
unresolved issues e.g. what are your recommendations or solutions
which are based on evidence you have already put forward. Are these
recommendations viable? Costings – financial analysis, can they do it?

Reference any recommendations you have to your analysis and

discussion so that your claims are substantiated.

 I may have included the feedback given from the business on my project

So overall this section means:

The conclusions should follow on from the analysis and discussion; new facts
or arguments should not be presented. Recommendations should be precise,
answer the research question and be practical proposals for action that stem
from the conclusions.

You must answer the initial research question clearly and explicitly. Your final
conclusion does not have to be ‘correct’, but it must be supported by the
previous analysis and evaluation in the analysis section.

Information adapted from Subject Report, IBO, In Thinking and IB Professional Development Workshops and the OCC 16
 It is okay if you feel like you are repeating a little bit. You are supposed to be
Conclusion(s) and using your previous arguments and judgments
Recommendations
If the results of the research are inconclusive, further research should be
recommended.

Even if you are quite conclusive (meaning your conclusion is obvious), you
should still advise of further research to complete.

To be of practical value to management, the report should be forward-looking

and support the organisation’s decision-making process.

This means your recommendations (have more than one) should be useful
and relevant to their current issue or decision to be made. They should also
be substantiated and not just be a last minute idea that you had.

 Correct presentation of references

 Correct presentation of bibliography
References and
Bibliography  Only sources I have actually consulted have been included.
 The access dates to the web pages consulted have been specified.
 Reference to sources of any type have been referenced through the use
of footnotes.
 Reference format is the same throughout

Appendices  Correctly labelled

 Highlighted with reference to information that has been used
 Translated (if necessary)
 Not too many materials
 No tools or techniques I have made

Note: The appendices should contain only information or data that is required to
support of the text and should be clearly referred to where relevant. The
appendices will typically include examples of photographs, documents,
questionnaires, numerical raw data in tables and statistical calculations.

Additional checks:

 Follows acceptable practice in report presentation

 Does not exceed 2,000 words (see overleaf for exemptions) – words in boxes count!
 Word count included in the title page
 I have cross referenced all of my work with the assessment criteria
 Page numbered
 Fully referenced my findings throughout
 Spelling and grammar check – remember if you are using American or British English you must be
consistent throughout
 Proof read
 Included feedback from the organisation where given
Information adapted from Subject Report, IBO, In Thinking and IB Professional Development Workshops and the OCC 17
  Amended my research proposal – I have handwritten where things have changed (do this as you go
along!)
 Research proposal is before the report and not in the contents page
 Arial font, size 12, double line spacing

Remember items not included in the word count include:

• Acknowledgements
• Contents page
• Tables of statistical data
• Diagrams or figures
• Equations/formulae/calculations
• Citations (must be in body of commentary)
• References (if used must be in footnotes or endnotes)
• Bibliography

Note that footnotes or endnotes may be used for references only. Definitions of Business Management
terms and quotations, if used, must be in the body of the work and are included in the word count.

Please note that citation is a shorthand methods of making a reference in the body of the commentary,
which is then linked to the full reference in the bibliography.

Suggested word count…

Introduction: 200 words

Methodology Employed: 200 words
Main Results & Findings: 200 words
Analysis and Discussion: 1000 words
Conclusion(s) and Recommendations: 400 words

Tips:

1. Avoid the marketing mix as it is generally poorly answered and ambiguous. If you want to look at this
focus on one element and still break that topic down.

2. Avoid questions on motivation in general as it is a broad topic in general, focus on specific motivational
methods instead.

3. Additionally ensure that you are specific in the area of the syllabus, marketing and human resource
management as whole are too generalised and superficial, therefore are not achievable within the word
limit.

4. If you use a Fishbone diagram – use the diagram to summarise your main findings which identify the case
of the problem and reference each bone. You then need to summaris the causes

5. A SWOT may be an effective planning tool while preparing the commentary but may not always be
appropriate to include it. If a SWOT is included all elements must be sourced and evidenced. It is not
possible to do a SWOT analysis of an individual strategy/situation/proposal and these should not be
attempted.

Information adapted from Subject Report, IBO, In Thinking and IB Professional Development Workshops and the OCC 18
6. A SWOT analysis is a present situation of the firm and a STEEPLE analysis should also be included if a
SWOT is used. In addition you should ensure that the link between these models and the research
question is clear.

7. If you use a Force Field Analysis weightings given must be justified and evidenced and include
limitations of your findings. You must also be able to justify the driving or restraining forces too.

8. If you use Maslow, you must state the limitations of this theory.

9. If you use Ansoff, you must justify why the growth startegy is appropriate.

10. Connect all tools and theories together in your analysis, don’t analyse seperately. Connect their
similarities or differences to help you answer the question.

11. Failure to bring in quantitative tools and costings reduce the credibility of your conclusions and
recommendations.

12. Make sure you use qualitative and quantitative data. Note you can use estimates e.g. if you are looking
at investment you can estimate investment appraisals however the owner/source of your information
must give you these estimates, sign it and write a letter of authenticity to prove the data is real.

13. If you are using ratio analysis you must recognise that you need to identify trends over time, to make
comparisons with similar firms in the same industry or to combine the ratio results to find a story behind
the firm’s financial activities. There is an example at the end of this pack, but remember the
owner/manager must be specific and verify the figures that have been given.

14. Use secondary data for back-up e.g. from previous customer reports, blogs; market data. This is to help
support your primary data.

15. Use PEEL paragraphs ensuring you link every paragraph back to answer the question. Remember
analysis is using Business Management theory.

16. Be prepared to change your IA if you do not have enough research or documentation.

17. Review the research question throughout as well as at the end of the process, amending it if necessary.

18. Citing Wikipedia and textbooks as your major sources; is not good academic practice.

19. Do not include too many materials in the appendices. Be are aware that any tools and techniques
purely placed in the appendices will not be assessed. Appendices may not be read, so ensure all
analysis is in your main body.

20. If you use a web tool to prepare bibliographies, such as “bibme” and “citation machine” the bibliography
should also cite their use.

21. Use more than one primary source!

22. Upon submitting your final draft, ensure you submit 2 copies – one electronic and one hard copy.

Information adapted from Subject Report, IBO, In Thinking and IB Professional Development Workshops and the OCC 19