Description
BCAS Campus
British College of Applied Studies
Unit 19 – Research Project Assignment Brief
Unit Number and Title Unit 19 : Research Project
Academic Year : 2024/2025
Unit Tutor : Ms. Thilini Thalangalle
Assignment Title : Research Project
Issue Date : 13th Oct 2024
Submission Date : 9th March 2025
Word count : 3000 words
Unit Learning Outcomes
LO1 Examine appropriate research methodologies and methods to identify those appropriate to the research process
LO2 Develop a research proposal, including a supporting literature review
LO3 Analyse data using appropriate techniques to communicate research findings.
LO4 Reflect on the application of research methodologies and process.
Transferable skills and competencies developed
Analytical Skills
Quantitative and Qualitative Research
Academic Writing
Statistical Data Analysis
Vocational scenario
Assume that you are working as a trainee business consultant for a Sri Lankan organization committed to Artificial Intelligence (AI), As the company is working on the improvements of AI and the top-up management is expecting to gather data related to the area. You are requested to do a research related AI and provide the proposal first to the board meeting which is schedule. In this role, you will propose a research plan outlining chosen methodologies and processes, supported by an academically underpinned literature review.
Assignment activity and guidance – Task 1
You must present a research proposal, including how you are going to address the identified problem area providing both theoretical and practical justifications.
In doing so, you will have to follow the following steps:
- Complete a Literature Review
You need to know what the key literature is related to the research objective in order to plan a research study to explore the phenomenon. Conduct a literature review using a range of sources relating to the research topic. Evaluate the validity and reliability of the sources, discussing current understanding on the research topic area. In your report discuss the sources of literature found and how they relate or otherwise to the research topic. Your report should critically evaluate literature in order to assess the validity of the literature in supporting the research topic.
- Develop a project proposal for researching the research objective identified.
Your research proposal identifies the purpose of the research project with clear aim and objectives and justifies the chosen research methods in terms of the research question. Discuss the ethical issues which will need to be considered and examine the research methods and approaches to be taken. Prepare an action plan with target dates and methods for monitoring and updating your activities to ensure you meet the deadline for the final written report.
You may use the following structure in preparing your research proposal.
Title Page
It is important that you state clearly, at the beginning of the assignment, what its title is, which module it applies to and your name as the author. You should also include the College name, report title and the date.
Executive Summary
A summary should be provided, so that people can see at a glance what the report is about. You should mention your key findings, conclusions and recommendations. This summary is usually printed immediately after the title page.
Contents Page
Page numbers as well as section/chapter titles should be included If the report incorporates some appendices, their titles should be listed.
Acknowledgements
A list of names, roles and organisations (if relevant) of all of those who helped you when compiling the report should be listed.
- Background of the study
The background of the study establishes the context of the research. This section explains why this particular research topic is important and essential in understanding the main aspects of the study. The background forms the first section of a research article/thesis and justifies the need for conducting the study and summarizes what the study aims to achieve. In this section, you can outline the historical developments in the literature that led to the current topic of research concisely.
- Research Problem
Provide a definite or clear expression [statement] about an area of concern, a condition to be improved upon, a difficulty to be eliminated that you intend to study. Provide a clear declaration of originality mentioning a knowledge gap, which would be supported by the literature review. In this section you should additionally, provide some key information about the organization in which your research is based and state why the study is important to the organization. There should be an indication of the central focus of the study, and an explanation of the study’s significance or the benefits to be derived from an investigating the problem.
- Research Questions
These are a series of questions that ‘unpack’ the problem. Break down the problem into 2 – 4 sub questions. Answering the research question should lead to answering the research problem. The formulation of research question entails,
- Identifying key issues that contributes to the problem
- Identifying how the problem is constructed by different interrelated components.
Once you’ve answered the research questions your research problem should have been answered.
- Research Objectives
These should be directly drawn from research questions. Like research questions, objectives should also be clear. They should be stated in action form. They should also state the empirical domain of the study. Some useful terms: To identify/investigate/compare/evaluate.
- Significance of the Study
The significance of the study is basically the importance of your research. Significance of the study provides information to the reader on how the study will contribute. It must be specifically stated, however, what the study will contribute and who will benefit from it.
- Scope and Limitations
The scope of a study explains the extent to which the research area will be explored in the work and specifies the parameters within the study will be operating. Basically, this means that you will have to define what the study is going to cover and what it is focusing on. Similarly, you also have to define what the study is not going to cover. This will come under the limitations. Generally, the scope of a research paper is followed by its limitations.
- Literature Review
A literature review is a comprehensive summary of previous research on a topic. The literature review surveys scholarly articles, books, and other sources relevant to a particular area of research. The review should enumerate, describe, summarize, objectively evaluate and clarify this previous research. It should give a theoretical base for the research and help you determine the nature of your research. The literature review acknowledges the work of previous researchers, and in so doing, assures the reader that your work has been well conceived. It is assumed that by mentioning a previous work in the field of study, that the author has read, evaluated, and integrated that work into the work at hand.
- Conceptual Framework
A conceptual framework is used to illustrate what you expect to find through your research, including how the variables you are considering might relate to each other. The basic design components are boxes, arrows, and lines. Create a box for each variable. Use arrows to indicate cause-effect relationships. Each arrow should start from the variable that has causal influence and point to the variable that is being affected.
- Hypotheses
A hypothesis is a tentative statement about the relationship between two or more variables. It is a specific, testable prediction about what you expect to happen in a study. Make sure the hypotheses you draw are supported by the literature and consistent to your model.
- Research Design
State the philosophical stance that you will take, the research approach and research strategy.
- Sample
This section discusses about the target population, sampling technique use to draw the sample and the sample size of your own study.
- Data Collection
Mention about the type of data used, method used to collect the data.
- Data Analysis Methods
To answer your research questions, you will have to analyze the data you collected. In this section you have to specify the techniques that you will be using to analyze that you will be collecting.
Quantitative data analysis: To analyze numerical data, you will probably use statistical methods. These generally require applications such as Excel, SPSS or E Views. Statistical methods can be used to analyze averages, frequencies, patterns, correlations between variables and regression. When creating your research design, you should clearly define your variables and formulate hypotheses about the relations between them. Then you can choose appropriate statistical methods to test these hypotheses.
Qualitative data analysis: Analyzing words or images is often a more flexible process that involves the researcher’s subjective judgements. You might focus on identifying and categorizing key themes, interpreting patterns and narratives, or understanding social context and meaning. When creating your research design, you should consider what approach you will take to analyze the data. The main themes and categories might only emerge after you have collected the data, but you need to decide what you want to achieve in the analysis.
- List of References
All references within the body (intext citations) should be listed in the correct Harvard format (end text citations).
Important Notes
- Use credible sources of references. Research articles on relevant topics are highly recommended and appreciated.
- Any sources of references without the author and the published date are not recommended.
- Use Harvard Referencing. Improper referencing will be considered academic misconduct and will be penalized.
Recommended Resources
Please note that the resources listed are examples for you to use as a starting point in your research – the list is not definitive.
FLICK, U. (2020) Introducing Research Methodology: A Beginner’s Guide to Doing a Research Project. 3rd Ed. London: SAGE.
GRAY, D. (2017) Doing Research in the Real World. 4th Ed. London: SAGE.
SAUNDERS, M., LEWIS, P. and THORNHILL, A. (2019) Research Methods for Business Students. 6th Ed. Harlow: Pearson.
Task 2
Assignment guidelines
Conduct research based on the proposal and communicate to the intended audience the research findings and outcomes, including justified recommendations by providing a critical reflection of self and for future research.
Submission Format
Submission is in the form of an academic report. This should be written in a concise, formal business style using font size 12. You are required to make use of headings, paragraphs and subsections as appropriate, and all work must be supported with research and referenced using the Harvard referencing system. A bibliography should be provided using the Harvard referencing system. The recommended length is 4,000 – 6,000 words, but you will not be penalised for exceeding this. You must ensure you support the written report with a range of graphical illustrations and appropriate appendices. There will be a viva session at the end of task 2 completion and the participation is mandatory.
General Formatting
- Margin – right, top and bottom -1”, left 1.5”
- Font – Times New Roman
- Font size – Body 12, Heading 14(for heading first letter capital excluding preposition and conjunctions, bolded)
- Line spacing – 1.5
- Paragraph – Single line
- Footer – page no. at the right
Vocational scenario
With related to the task 1, based on the research proposal you have submitted, conduct a research and present the findings with relevant conclusion and recommendations.
Assignment activity and guidance
Upon the approval of the proposal for the selected organization you are required to undertake the following steps to collate, analyse and present your findings. This will be presented in the form of a research report in the board meeting of the company. This would mandate you to continue with the following steps.
Carry out independent primary research
Design, implement, collect and critically analyse data. For example, using a survey/questionnaire/interview or other primary research technique collect data and then present and analyse findings. Present your findings using visual illustrations e.g. bar charts/pie graphs/tables. Your report will include the critical analysis of data and the advantages and disadvantages of the research methods and approaches taken to data collection.
Communicate outcomes – Report
Develop a report that provides valid and justified recommendations for the business organisation based on the analysis of the research both primary and secondary. Your findings and outcomes must be based on the research proposal objective/s and refer back to this in drawing your conclusions. Finally, critically reflect on how you have conducted the project, the lessons learnt and the alternatives you would consider in the future with recommendations for actions to be taken forward.
Please see below for guidance on a report format:
Title Page
It is important that you state clearly, at the beginning of the assignment, what its title is, which module it applies to and your name as the author. You should also include the College name, report title and the date.
Executive Summary
A summary should be provided, so that people can see at a glance what the report is about. You should mention your key findings, conclusions and recommendations. This summary is usually printed immediately after the title page.
Contents Page
Page numbers as well as section/chapter titles should be included. If the report incorporates some appendices, their titles should be listed.
Acknowledgements
A list of names, roles and organisations (if relevant) of all of those who helped you when compiling the report should be listed.
Terms of Reference
Refer to your project proposal.
Introduction
This section should provide some of the background of the subject that forms the principle theme of your report. If the report is designed to solve a perceived ‘problem’, the history of the ‘problem’ can be reviewed here, culminating in the situation that prompted the report to be written. You should also provide some key information about the organisation in which your research is based.
Methodology
This section is needed for the reader to judge the authenticity of the ‘evidence’ that comprises the main body of the report. All sources should be mentioned and, if appropriate, describe how you put together your questionnaire or survey. Copies of questionnaires, interview questions etc. should be included in the appendices. If any published documents were studied, this should be mentioned here.
Main Body
This is likely to comprise many paragraphs or sections. It is often useful to break up your assignment into subheadings. This section should be structured around the key themes of your research. Use tables, charts if possible. Your presentation of data is important. This section should bring together your secondary and primary research and your findings.
Conclusions
In this section you should say what your facts or findings mean i.e. discuss the key implications arising from the wealth of detail you may have collected. Your findings and outcomes should be related back to your initial research objective and proposal. The conclusions should not incorporate any new facts.
Recommendations
Your recommendations should clearly spell out your ideas to enable them to be acted upon. In particular, if your proposals involve expenditure, you must supply a cost benefit evaluation to show what it costs and what management will get from it.
Bibliography
All references in the report should be listed in the correct Harvard format.
Appendices
All detailed statistical tabulations, graphs, lists, questionnaires etc. should be organised into separate appendices. Include a list of references (sources that are actually cited in the report itself). Nothing should be included that isn’t referred to in the main body of the report.
Guidance for Students
You should read this information before starting to define and work through your research brief. You should refer to these instructions as you are completing work for this unit.
- Conduct your research as outlined in the proposal agreed with your tutor.
- Carry out your research, analyse your research findings and draw conclusions. Apply qualitative and/or quantitative research methods to evaluate data collected from primary research.
- Communicate your research outcomes in a manner appropriate to your audience.
- You will be asked to reflect on the success of your research project and evaluate the problems/ issues encountered.
- You must complete the research project in order to complete your work for this unit.
Important Notes
- Use credible sources of references. Research articles on relevant topics are highly recommended and appreciated.
- Any sources of references without the author and the published date are not recommended.
- Use Harvard Referencing. Improper referencing will be considered academic misconduct and will be penalized.
Recommended Resources.
Please note that the resources listed are examples for you to use as a starting point in your research – the list is not definitive.
FLICK, U. (2020) Introducing Research Methodology: A Beginner’s Guide to Doing a Research Project. 3rd Ed. London: SAGE.
GRAY, D. (2017) Doing Research in the Real World. 4th Ed. London: SAGE.
SAUNDERS, M., LEWIS, P. and THORNHILL, A. (2019) Research Methods for Business Students. 6th Ed. Harlow: Pearson.
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