You will be able to develop a deep understanding of the epistemology and ontology bases for research, as well as research methodology in the field of management. You will appreciate the different phases of research, and the nature and characteristics of each of them.

You will be able to (1) critically examine scholarly literature and to select, focus, and reflect on choice literature that motivates your (business and management) research to write up a critical review of your chosen literature; (2) understand research design issues, and conceive, frame, and articulate one or more personal research questions that motivate(s) your research; (3) critically evaluate, draw on, and present, orally and in writing, appropriate research methods to collect empirical data for your research project; (4) critically evaluate, select, and draw on quantitative and/or qualitative data analysis methods for your research project.

Instructions for assessment

Your coursework assignment is designed for you to demonstrate your knowledge of management research methods and to prepare you for writing your research proposal to meet the requirements of the dissertation module. You are required to write a report of 3,500 words on a topic of your choice as explained below.

Step 1: Select a topic of interest or business problem relevant to your degree specialism or pathway,
if you are on the generic International Management degree, your topic will have an International Management theme. If you are taking a pathway within that degree, you will focus on a topic related to the pathway (marketing, finance, or HRM). The MBA would focus on topics relevant to strategic or operations management within an international business context. Choose one of these topics that motivates you and that you are likely to pursue for your dissertation (you may change your mind later, but it will be to your advantage if you stick to it, so choose carefully). This will require some preliminary research into that specific area.

Step 2: For your chosen topic identify the body or bodies of knowledge that you consider relevant and find at least four or five academic journals that publish literature in this field. You should use key words or terms to search for the most relevant articles in these journals on your topic and identify the key authors by comparing the cited references across these papers. You should start to build up a bibliography of relevant literature, which you will analyse to ascertain the research questions or problems addressed, theories drawn upon or developed and the range of research methods used.

Step 3: Present your analysis within a report containing 6 elements as detailed below:

1) An introduction that provides a brief commentary of key relevant literature. Be sure to justify your choice of these references in introducing the existing knowledge on your topic. (About 250 words)

2) A further section discussing particular conversations taking place in the relevant journals you have selected with a map of the literature using a visual presentation in the form of either a mind map, Venn diagram, or grandfather, father, son literature map. The map should show the relationship between key knowledge contributions (seminar 3 will cover suggested formats for your map). (About 750 words)

3) An analysis section which documents the research questions, theories, and methods used in the literature, including at least one table to show the extent of use of alternative research methods (seminar 3 and 4 will cover suggested formats for this table). (About 500 words)

4) A detailed critique of at least two well-used research methodologies in the literature you have reviewed. Discuss a) how they are applied; b) how the methods were deployed to provide a worthwhile contribution to theory and research and c) what gaps the methods may leave that could lend the area to further analysis (and an opportunity for your own research). (About 1500 words)

5) A conclusion with regard to those research question(s) you consider worthy of further investigation in the light of your analysis above, and a suitable research methodology for your own proposed investigation and potential research question/s. (About 500 words)

6) A bibliography containing a minimum of 12 references to relevant journal articles from good academic sources, including at least 6 published in the last 24 months and all cited in your analysis (seminar 4 will cover how to find quality articles and reference correctly).

Your report should be presented in good academic style, having been formatted using the Harvard referencing system and proof-read for grammatical errors. It should not exceed 3,500 words including tables and figures, but excluding references.