BA5004 Business Research Methods : Develop Practical Research Skills

Purpose of the assignment:

• To develop practical research skills
• To develop a critical awareness of some of the issues involved in research
• To be able to reflect on the significance of these issues in terms of the broader research project
• To link these issues to the relevant academic literature

Students will be required to submit a report based on the two tasks introduced in the workshops and evaluate their own experience and the suitability of these two methods.

The 2 tasks you need to complete for the Assessment:

Design, prepare and undertake an interview including a full interview transcript.

You are to conduct a semi-structured online live interview (via zoom) with one of the members of your research methods seminar group.

The interview should last approximately 20 minutes.

The subject of the interview should be (loosely) based upon the topic chosen for assignment one. 

It is to be a semi-structured interview conducted in English.

The interview should be recorded and transcribed. You will need to submit the transcript of the interview as an appendix to your assignment

Design, prepare and evaluate a questionnaire

You are required to design a pilot questionnaire of 10/12 questions, to investigate the same topic as the subject of your interview.

You should give the questionnaire to 5 of your fellow students to critically evaluate.

Ask them to comment on the style and form of the questions  

• Did they understand the question asked /
• Do they agree that you have asked the right type of question?
• Are any scales used appropriate?
• Were any of the questions ambiguous?

You should attach as an appendix to your assignment with copies of the questionnaire annotated by your reviewers with comments.

The critical commentary:

An account and discussion of upto 2,500 words (+/-10%) plus appendices which critically examines the way in which you conducted the research, problems faced and lessons learnt.  

Your work should also consider the impact of the different methods on research findings and the broader research topic under discussion.  

You must make use of appropriate academic references and use the APA referencing system.  Plagiarism will not be tolerated.

Please be aware:

Markers will stop reading after the + 10% point and the grade will be based on what the marker has read up to this point.  

This word limit relates to the word count given by the word counters in Microsoft Word and should be included at the end of the document.  

Tables and Appendices should only be used to provide data and information as reference points.  They should not be used to present new information.  

The following applies as and where appropriate:

(a) appendices should not be included in word count;

(b) tables should not be included in word count if these are used to present quantitative data, but should be included if they are constructed using words;

(c) quotations and citations should be included in word count

(d) the reference list should not be included in the word count;

(e) abstracts and executive summaries should be included in the word count.

Assessment Criteria

• Knowledge and understanding
• Analysis and Review
• Application of a range academic literature to support the assignment
• Presentation, communication and referencing

Submission requirements

Report Format

It is not necessary to submit a full business style report. All that is required is an introduction, a discussion section, a conclusion and the required appendices.

You are NOT required to include a contents page, abstract etc. If you do these should not be included in the word count.

The format expected will be very similar to an essay accept the use of headings, bullet points, tables etc will be acceptable where appropriate.