Management Research Proposal: Selecting, Planning, and Assessing a Research Project

1.Select and justify an appropriate project for management research, including its context and significance in management praxis

2.Demonstrate the application of knowledge and skills to plan a substantial research based project

3.Assess and evaluate potential ethical and practical challenges to conducting a research-based project

C: Assessment Task

Students are required to produce an individually-assessed research proposal which develops a strong research scope, justification and methodology to the management research in action project (3,000 +/- 10%)

The proposal should include the following;

• Project scope, justification and impact factor (35% weight of the marks)
• Initial literature review (25%)
• Outlined methodology (25%)
• Proposed plan of work, via a Gantt Chart, resource and risk assessment and ethics form signed and approved prior to submission (15%)

D: Specific Criteria/Guidance

Please see Pg. 5-6 for full marking criteria.

Section 1 (35%)

• Project scope, justification and impact factor – critical commentary about the context about the researcher, career aspirations, relevant personal work experience.
• Title of the proposed dissertation
• Background context
• Research question
• Research aim(s) and typically 4 x objectives of the study
• Research justification - why is this management research worth doing? Using the 5 x important criteria (focus, scope, access, impact for business, impact for yourself)

Section 2 (25%)

• Initial literature review – critical engagement and evidence of initial reading and the use of relevant literature to conceptualise the specific problem in the wider literature.  

Section 3 (25%

• Outlined methodology -
• Details of, and rationale for methodological paradigm & research design e.g. how you will design questions, pilot etc.
• Critical analysis and decision of case-study site or research population & sampling method
• Evaluation of specific empirical research methods with rationale
• Alignment of the above with topic / question
• Evaluation and consideration of methods of data analysis
• Critical assessment and consideration of research standards (e.g. validity, reliability & generalizability / or equivalence of qualitative research standards)

F: Submission Guidance

• You must submit assessments in Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint or PDF format.
• The file must be no larger than 40MB.
• Your writing is expected to conform to Standard English in terms of spelling, syntax and grammar.
• You must include your Assessment Number (J Number) in the header or footer.
• Include your word count at the end of the assignment or the front cover.
• Set up your page for A4 paper in portrait style.
• The font size must be a minimum of point 12 Calibri (or equivalent) for the body of the assessment and footnotes must be 2 points smaller.
• Line spacing in the body of the assessment must be 1.5 lines.
• Number the pages consecutively.
• Students should submit work before 12 noon on the deadline date electronically via Moodle. Please follow the ‘Turnitin submission’ link on the module space and follow the on-screen instructions, paying particular attention to any specific instructions for each assignment.
• You must submit your work with the following details written on the first page:

-Title of your work

-Module title and code

-Module Leader and Seminar Tutor (if relevant)

-Number of words

-Your student assessment number (J Number)

Student work that does not have this information on will not be identifiable after marking has taken place and risks being recorded as a non-submission.