BRM Lecture3
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Transcript of BRM Lecture3
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The Research Proposal
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Purpose of the Research
Proposal
• To present the question to be researched
and its importance• To discuss the research efforts of others
who have worked on related questions
(Literature Review)
• To suggest the data necessary for solving
the question
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The Research Sponsor
• All research has a sponsor in one form
or another:• In a corporate setting management
sponsors research
• In an academic environment the studentis responsible to the class instructor
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Benefits of the Proposal to a
Researcher
• !llows the researcher to plan and review the
pro"ect#s steps
• $erves as a guide throughout the investigation%
& ! review of management and research literature indeveloping the proposal encourages the researcher to
assess previous approaches to similar management
questions and revise the research plan accordingly%
• 'orces time and budget estimates
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Types of Research Proposals: Internal
and External
• Internal & Internal proposals are short and snappy a
one to threepage memo from the researcher
to management outlining the problemstatement study ob"ectives research designand schedule is enough to start an e*ploratorystudy%
& In the small scale proposal the literaturereview is not stressed and can be statedbriefly in the research design%
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Types of Research Proposals contd.
• +*ternal & !n e*ternal proposal is either solicited or
unsolicited%
& ! solicited proposal is developed in response
to a request for proposals (R',) and is likelyto compete against several others for thecontract or grant%
& !n unsolicited proposal represents a
suggestion by a contract researcher for aresearch that might be done% $uch proposalsdo not compete against others%
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Proposal Complexity
• 3 leels of complexity:
& The exploratory study is used for the most
simple proposals
& The small-scale study is more comple* and
common in business
& The large-scale professional study is the most
comple* costing millions of dollars
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Structurin! the Research
Proposal
• -reate proposal modules
• ,ut together various modules to tailor your
proposal to the intended audience
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"odules in a Research Proposal
• +*ecutive $ummary• ,roblem $tatement• Research .b"ectives• Literature Review
• Importance of the $tudy• Research /esign• /ata !nalysis• 0ature and 'orm of Results• 1ualifications of Researcher • 2udget
• $chedule• 'acilities and $pecial Resources• ,ro"ect 3anagement• 2ibliography• !ppendices
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RP "odules: Executie Summary
•+*ecutive $ummary is essentially an informativeabstract giving e*ecutives the chance to grasp
the essentials of the proposal without having to
read the details%
• It should include brief statements of themanagement dilemma and management
question the research ob"ectives4research
question(s) and the benefits of your approach%
• If the proposal is unsolicited (voluntary uncalled
for) a brief description of your qualifications is
also appropriate%
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RP "odules: Executie Summary
• Internal proposals are more concise (tothe point) than e*ternal ones% ! onethreepage memo from the researcher tomanagement outlining the problemstatement study ob"ectives researchdesign and schedule is enough to start ane*ploratory study%
• !n e*ternal proposal is either solicited orunsolicited% ! solicited proposal is often inresponse to an R',%
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RP "odules: Pro#lem Statement
• $tatement of the management dilemma
its background its consequences and the
resulting management question clearly
without the use of idioms%
• !ny areas of the management question
that will not be addressed should also be
included in this section%
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RP "odules: Research
$#%ecties• This module addresses the purpose of investigation%
Laying out e*actly what is being planned by theproposed research% & In a descriptive study the ob"ectives can be stated as the
research question% The research question can be further brokendown into investigative questions% If the proposal is for a causalstudy the ob"ectives can be stated as a hypothesis%
• The ob"ectives module flows naturally from the problemstatement giving the sponsor specific concrete and
achievable goals%• The research question or hypothesis if appropriate
should be separated from the flow of the te*t for quickidentification%
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RP "odules: Research
$#%ecties contd.
• The research ob"ectives section is the
basis for "udging the remainder of the
proposal and ultimately the final report%
• This section verifies the consistency of the
proposal by checking to see that each
ob"ective is discussed in the research
design data analysis and results section%
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&iterature Reie'
• This section e*amines recent (or historicallysignificant) research studies company data orindustry reports that act as a basis for theproposed study%
• 2egin your discussion of the related literatureand relevant secondary data from acomprehensive perspective moving to morespecific studies that are associated with your
problem%• If the problem has a historical background beginwith the earliest references%
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&iterature Reie' contd.• !void details (no comprehensive report) and
give a brief review of literature%• !lways refer to the original source%
• +mphasi5e the important results andconclusions of other studies the relevant data
and trends from previous research andparticular methods or design that could beduplicated or should be avoided%
• /iscuss how the literature applies to the study
you are proposing show the weaknesses orfaults in the design discussing how you wouldavoid similar problems%
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&iterature Reie' contd.
• If your proposal deals solely withsecondary data discuss the relevance of
data and the bias or lack of bias in it%
•-lose the literature review section bysummari5ing the important aspects of the
literature and interpreting them in terms of
your problem%
• Refine the problem as necessary in the
light of your findings%
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Importance of the Study
• Importance4benefits of the study depends
on the needs for the research%
• Research cannot solve a potential
unioni5ation problem%
• 6our research can help the management
in responding to employees concerns and
forge a linkage between those concerns
and unioni5ation%
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Research (esi!n
• The design module describes what you are
going to do in technical terms%
• It provides information on your proposal design
for tasks such as sample selection and si5edata collection method instrumentation
procedures and ethical requirements%
• It discusses the method you have re"ected and
why your selected approach is superior%
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(ata Analysis
• ! brief section on the methods used foranaly5ing the data is appropriate for large scale
contract research pro"ects and doctoral thesis%
• 7ith smaller pro"ects the proposed data
analysis would be included within the researchdesign section%
• It is in this section that you describe your
proposed handling of the data and thetheoretical basis for using selected techniques%
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(ata Analysis contd.
• This module is often a tough section to write%6ou can make it easier to write read and
understand your data analysis by using sample
charts and tables featuring 8dummy9 data%
• The data analysis section is so important toevaluating contract research proposals that the
researcher should contract an e*pert to review
the latest techniques available for use in the
particular research study and compare these to
the proposed techniques%
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)ature and *orm of Research
• :pon finishing this section the sponsor
should be able to go back to the statement
of the management question and research
ob"ectives and discover that each goal ofthe study has been covered%
• .ne should also specify the types of data
to be obtained and the interpretations thatwill be made in the analysis%
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+ualifications of Researchers
• This section should begin with theprincipal investigator and then providesimilar information on all individuals
involved with the pro"ect% Two elementsare critical; & ,rofessional research competence (relevant
research e*perience the highest academic
degree held and membership in businessand technical societies)%
& Relevant management e*perience%
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Bud!et
• The budget should be presented in the form the
sponsor requests%
• The budget statement in an internal research
proposal is based on employee and overheadcosts%
• The budget presented by an e*ternal research
organi5ation is not "ust the wages or salaries of
its employees but the person4hour price that the
contracting firm charges%
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Schedule
• The schedule should include ma"or phases of thepro"ect their timetables and the milestones that
signify the completion of a phase%
& 'or e*ample ma"or phase may be i) e*ploratory
interviews ii) final research proposal iii) questionnairerevision iv) field interviews v) editing and coding vi)
data analysis and vii) report generation%
& +ach of these phases should have an estimated time
schedule and people assigned to work% -hart yourschedule using
& -,3 if the pro"ect is large%
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*acilities and Special Resources
• .ften pro"ects will require special facilities or resourcesfor instance a contract e*ploratory study may needspeciali5ed facilities for focus group sessions% -omputerassisted telephone or other interviewing facilities may berequired%
• !lternatively your proposed data analysis may requiresophisticated computer algorithms and therefore youneed access to an adequate system%
• These requirements will vary from study to study% Theproposal should carefully list the relevant facilities andresources that will be used%
• The costs for such facility use should be detailed in yourbudget%
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Pro%ect "ana!ement
• The purpose of this section is to show to thesponsor that the research team is organi5ed in away to do the pro"ect efficiently%
• ! master plan is required for comple* pro"ects toshow how all the phases will be brought
together% The plan includes; & The research team organi5ation & 3anagement procedure and controls for e*ecuting
the research plan
& +*amples of management and technical reports & The research team#s relationships with the sponsor & 'inancial and legal responsibility and & 3anagement competence
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Bi#lio!raphy
:se the appropriate and required format
for listing references%
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Referencin!
• The research paper should follow anacademic style of referencing%
• There are four referencing systems from
which to choose (2utcher <=><) and
• 6ou need to adopt the one that is
acceptable to your university and
academic discipline%
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Referencin!
•?The first of these is used in most generalbooks the second mainly in science and
social science books the third and fourth
less frequently# (2utcher <=>< p%<@A)%
• The four referencing systems are;
The shorttitle system
The authordate system The reference by number system
The authornumber system%
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,ritin! a Bi#lio!raphy
• There are several wellestablished
systems for writing a bibliography andyour choice is dependent upon thepreference of the discipline and university%
• In the social sciences some of the mostcommonly used ones are (Longyear <=>Bp%>B);
The Carvard system
The !merican ,sychological !ssociationsystem
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Bi#lio!raphy ,ritin! Systems
The !merican 3edical !ssociation
$ystem
The 3cDrawCill $ystem
The 3odern Languages !ssociation
$ystem
The footnote system%
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,hat to include in the
Appendices-
• ! glossary of concepts constructs and
definitions
• $amples of the measurement instrument
• .ther materials that reinforce the body of
the proposal