FE6P04 - Dissertation

Lecture 2: Developing Your Research Proposal

Lecturer: Dr. Juhee Jain

Email: j.jain@londonmet.ac.uk
 Student Handbook & Formative Assignment
• Student handbook

o Let’s go through it, together…

• Presentation for your research proposal

o Presentation - with/ without a visual aid (such as a power point presentation)

o Presentations to be held in Week 11 and Week 12

o Presentation to include: (i) Introduction (research question; aims; objectives; why is your question relevant?); (ii) Literature review
(brief background about your research topic. Discuss what work has already been done and link it to your research question); (iii)
Proposed methodology and data [whether you propose to use qualitative or quantitative methodology? Which data source: primary or
secondary? Data collection technique? Data analysis technique (If possible)?]; (iv) Contribution to knowledge (what is your
contribution through your research?); (v) Timetable and budget (discuss feasibility of your project with regard to time to be taken and
data access); (vi) References (Refer to the literature sources used where relevant)

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 Writing a Research Proposal
• Purposes of the research proposal

o To organise your ideas

o To convince your audience

o To contract with your client (your tutor)

o To meet ethical requirements

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 Contents of a Research Proposal
• Title: likely to change during the process (simple, concise, summarises your research
question)

• Background: introduce the research problem; rationale for it; academic context (literature)

• Research questions and objectives: what you seek to achieve

• Proposed Method: can be in two parts – (a) research design; (b) data collection and analysis

• Timescale and Resources: timetable/ Gantt chart; in terms of finance, data access,
equipment, etc.

• References: include literature sources

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 Evaluating a Research Proposal
• How the components of the proposal fit together

• Viability of the proposal

• Absence of preconceived idea

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 Best Research Topics & Questions
• Best research topics:

o Theory dependent
Tell your audience/
readers: readers:
o Organised ideas
• What will be done and why
• Best research questions: • How it will be achieved

o Formulate and clarify the topic

o Meet the requirements of the examining body

o Use a variety of techniques when generating research ideas (creative and rational thinking)

o Are questions focused, clear and based on relevant literature

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 The Research Proposal
• Cover Page

• Content

• List of tables / graphs

• Abstract

• Introduction (research question, aims & objectives)

• Literature Review

• Proposed methodology and data

• Contribution to knowledge

• Timetable (dates) and budget (if applicable)

• References

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 Focus of Research
• Start from a broad area and then narrow down to 3 or 4 areas of potential
interest.

• Assess viability of topics:

o Undertaking collection/ review of articles (trade magazines and academic journals) via on-line
abstracts

o Books

• Criteria for whether topic is 'good’ (appropriateness, capability, interest)

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 Research Topic
• Focus the topic by describing it succinctly, drafting a working
title, and consider whether it is researchable

o e.g. “The impact of A on B”

• Keep title simple (12 words or less)

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 Research Question/ Working Title
• Measurable question

o e.g. “A comparison between A and B”

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 Abstract
• For Proposal

o Should provide a basic background

o Introduction to the research problem/ question

o Explanation of why this is worth studying

o Proposed methodology/ modes of data collection

• For Dissertation

o What did you do and why? (Research question and rationale for doing it)

o How did you do it? (methodology)

o What did you find?

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 Example - 1
Title: Analysis of Competitive Advantage – The case of online Financial Services
Commerce

• Abstract:

o The Internet is affecting almost all areas of business with e-commerce growing in importance. Research to-date has primarily
focused on on-line businesses from a marketing perspective, whereas it is the intention of this research to assess the strategic
impact of Internet technologies. More specifically, the aim is to assess how competitive advantage is created and sustained by
on-line businesses. Data will primarily be gathered from secondary sources on listed companies in the UK, where a ‘market
share’ definition of competitive advantage will be adopted. The research objectives are to understand the importance of first
mover advantage and entry timing as well as looking at the role of resources and capabilities in creating and sustaining
competitive advantage, where capabilities are more likely to be accountable for both initial and ongoing sources of
competitive advantage than initial resource endowments.

(Source: Bakhru)
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 Example – 1 revisited
Title: Analysis of Competitive Advantage – The case of online Financial Services
Commerce

• Abstract:

o The Internet is affecting almost all areas of business with e-commerce growing in importance. Research to-date has primarily
focused on on-line businesses from a marketing perspective, whereas it is the intention of this research to assess the strategic
impact of Internet technologies. More specifically, the aim is to assess how competitive advantage is created and sustained by
on-line businesses. Data will primarily be gathered from secondary sources on listed companies in the UK, where a ‘market
share’ definition of competitive advantage will be adopted. The research objectives are to understand the importance of first
mover advantage and entry timing as well as looking at the role of resources and capabilities in creating and sustaining
competitive advantage, where capabilities are more likely to be accountable for both initial and ongoing sources of
competitive advantage than initial resource endowments.

(Source: Bakhru)
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 Example - 2
Title: Can Financial Ratios Detect Fraudulent Financial Reporting
• Fraudulent financial reporting is a matter of grave social and economic concern. The Treadway Commission recommended
that the Auditing Standards Board require the use of analytical procedures to improve the detection of fraudulent
financial reporting. This is an exploratory study to determine if financial ratios of fraudulent companies differ from those
of nonfraudulent companies. Fraudulent firms were identified by examining the SEC's Accounting and Auditing
Enforcement Releases issued between 1982 and 1999. The fraudulent firms (n=79) were then matched with
nonfraudulent firms on the basis of firm size, time period, and industry. Using this matched-pairs design, ratio analysis for
a sevenyear period (i.e. the fraud year -/+ 3 years) was conducted on 21 ratios. Overall, 16 ratios were found to be
significant. Of these, only three ratios were significant for three time periods. Of the 16 statistically significant ratios, only
five were significant during the period prior to the fraud year. Using discriminant analysis, misclassifications for fraud firms
ranged from 58 percent to 98 percent. These results provide empirical evidence of the limited ability of financial ratios to
detect and/or predict fraudulent financial reporting.

(Kamisnki et al,2003 in Management Auditing Journal)

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 Example – 2 (revisited)
Title: Can Financial Ratios Detect Fraudulent Financial Reporting
• Fraudulent financial reporting is a matter of grave social and economic concern. The Treadway Commission recommended
that the Auditing Standards Board require the use of analytical procedures to improve the detection of fraudulent
financial reporting. This is an exploratory study to determine if financial ratios of fraudulent companies differ from those
of nonfraudulent companies. Fraudulent firms were identified by examining the SEC's Accounting and Auditing
Enforcement Releases issued between 1982 and 1999. The fraudulent firms (n=79) were then matched with
nonfraudulent firms on the basis of firm size, time period, and industry. Using this matched-pairs design, ratio analysis for
a sevenyear period (i.e. the fraud year -/+ 3 years) was conducted on 21 ratios. Overall, 16 ratios were found to be
significant. Of these, only three ratios were significant for three time periods. Of the 16 statistically significant ratios, only
five were significant during the period prior to the fraud year. Using discriminant analysis, misclassifications for fraud firms
ranged from 58 percent to 98 percent. These results provide empirical evidence of the limited ability of financial ratios to
detect and/or predict fraudulent financial reporting.

(Kamisnki et al,2003 in Management Auditing Journal)

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 Introduction
• Background to the research

• Research question

• Why is this area important?

• What are the key issues?

• Basic statement of the research aims and objectives

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 Literature Review
What are the
key theories,
concepts, and What are the
ideas? main questions
and problems
What are the that have been
key sources? addressed to
date?

Literature
Search &
Review of
What are the
the Topic How is
major issues knowledge on
and debates the topic
about the structured and
topic? organised?

What are the

origins and
definitions of
the topic?

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 Research Aims & Objectives
• Development of research questions

• Explicit statement of the research aims and objectives

• Development of propositions/hypotheses

o Hypotheses as testable propositions e.g. Service companies will achieve superior performance
when they utilise a value marketing strategy

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 Methodology
• Research approach: • Quality issues (to be addressed by
o Quantitative vs qualitative the methodology):
o Inductive vs deductive o Reliability: Will my conclusions stand up
to scrutiny? (replicability)
• Techniques of data collection used
o Validity: Do the findings accurately
o Sample selection represent what is really happening?
o Choice of variables/constructs o Generalisability: Are the findings
(Operationalisation: definition and applicable to other organisations?
measurement)
o Limitations
• Data Collection
• Ethical considerations
o Primary vs secondary sources
o Mode of collection

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 Hypothesis
• Use existing theory to develop hypotheses
• Hypothesis is conjectural statement of the relationship between two or more variables
• Validity of hypotheses is unknown and, hence, aim to test hypotheses through the study
• Hypothesis tells you what data to collect
• Importance of “operationalisation”
o e.g. The use of accounting software increases with firm size

o need to find out “use” – how will ‘use’ be measured/ operationalised

o relationship between use and firm size

o direction of relationship is specified

• Opposite of hypothesis is “null hypothesis”

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 Sampling
• Quantitative: Sampling is process of selection of few from a larger population

o aim is to represent larger population

o design sample to minimise probability of sampling error

o general rule is the greater the sample size, the more representative of larger
population

• Qualitative: Sampling tends to be more purposive or theoretically-driven

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 Sampling and Type of Research
• If aim is to generalise from research, sampling frame assumes importance

o *Generalise to wider population of which the sample is representative

o Key issue with case study research is ability to generalise, i.e. is one organisation
representative of others in the same sector?

• Qualitative sampling frames

o Bound by theory than statistics

o Concept of saturation (Glaser and Strauss, 1967)

* Generalisation may not be relevant for a case study

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 Sample Size
• Greater the sample size, the more accurate your estimates

• Depends on type of data analysis

• Depends on what you want to do with the findings and the type of
relationships you wish to establish

• Quantitative statistical tests often require n>30

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 Developing the Sample
• Consider what you are going to study for empirical research, i.e. unit of analysis:

o Organisation

o Process

• Research access:

o Sector considerations

o Identify organisation(s)

• Method of data collection, i.e. interview, survey

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 Timetable & Budget
• Plan each part of the process against time available
o time to negotiate research access

o include time for data analysis

• How much is cost of collecting data?

o Time and travel costs for interviews

 Restrictions of research in summer period

• Survey – email vs postal

o Follow-ups

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 Methodology
• Definition
o A system of methods and rules to facilitate the collection and analysis of data

• Approaches: Research can be

o qualitative or quantitative

o inductive or deductive

• Key issue is to consider what are the goals of the research, i.e. exploratory,
descriptive or explanatory, in choosing a research approach

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 Primary Vs Secondary
• Primary data vs Secondary data

o Primary data: collecting new data specifically for the purpose

o Secondary data: data that were collected initially for some other purpose

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 Management Research
• No single method is “appropriate” for research into management issues
• Complexity: Complexity of organisations and the environments in which they
operate
o Difficulties in observing phenomenon of interest – data collection

o Difficulties in measuring phenomenon – data measurement

• Applying scientific methodology to real-world complexity is blamed for limited

success of management science
o Separation of practitioners from researchers

o Issue of dissemination of management / academic ideas

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 References
• Clough, P. and Nutbrown, C.(2002) ‘A Student’s Guide to Methodology, Sage,
London

• Phillips, E. M. and Pugh, D. S. (2010) ‘How to get a PhD’ 5th Ed Open University
Press McGraw Hill, Maidenhead

• Saunders M., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A. (2012) ‘Research Methods for Business
Students’6th Pearson Education Limited, Harlow, Essex

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Thank You for your attention 