Coursework must be submitted electronically via TURNITIN by the hand-in date at 16:00.
Coursework – Research proposal
Coursework Topic: Gender Gap in Oman
Research questions: How has public accepted policies in Oman for reach gender gap?
The proposal is your plan for how you would investigate a topic/problem of interest that is worth researching. The topic may be related to your specific route (i.e. marketing, finance, and international business), or your chosen future career or potential organisation you would like to work for.
Your proposal will be assessed against the following various marking criteria and should be structured into the appropriate sections listed below.
The requirements are the following:
- Background: What is the background to the topic/organization/problem? [5 marks]
- Justification: Why is this topic/problem/question worth researching? [10 marks]
- Research Question: Your general focus research question. [5 marks]
- Objectives/Hypothesis: What you will have to do to answer the research question. [5 marks]
- Critical Literature Review: You must summarise the current body of knowledge in your chosen field. You must refer to refereed journal articles and up-to-date textbooks. To be critical you need to compare and contrast the different views on your topic. [40 marks]
- Methods: What is your research philosophy (positivism, interpretivism etc)? What is your research approach (induction, deduction etc)? What is your research strategy (survey, ethnography etc)? What data do you need to collect to fulfil your objectives and answer the research question? How will you collect the data? How will you sample and access your subjects? How will you analyse the data? [25 marks]
- Timescale: What activities do you plan to undertake and when? Imagine you begin work on your project in July 2020 and have to hand in the completed work in April 2021 (to be implemented at Level 6).
- References: In your assignments, you should ensure that you cite and reference all your sources according to the Harvard convention. If you have doubts about how to use this convention, refer to the online Harvard Referencing Guide (link: https://www2.ljmu.ac.uk/StudentServices/StuServices_Docs/HarvardReferencingGuideMayTwentySixteen.pdf ). You should include references to all cited sources in a single list at the end of the assignment. [10 marks]
Word Length: 2500 words.
Feedback
Feedback is a crucial part of the learning process and is taken very seriously in all modules. You need to take note of all the feedback you have been given and link this to actions for your learning. If you are not clear on what is meant by the feedback or how you might use it to improve or develop please make an appointment to see a tutor or use other opportunities such as tutorials to seek clarification.
Feedback will be available three weeks after the assessment deadline. Unless otherwise stated, you should expect to receive feedback on assessed written coursework (not examinations or dissertations) three weeks (15 working days) after the assessment deadline. Feedback may mean marks (but they will be provisional subject to moderation) as well as more detailed written comments.
Feedback will relate to the assessment criteria. All assessment tasks are marked according to assessment criteria. Tutors will use these criteria when providing you with feedback in order that you are better able to understand how well you have done and why. In this way, feedback should be helpful to you in future similar assessment tasks in any modules.
Prescribed textbooks
- Saunders, M.N.K. and Lewis, P. (2012) Doing Research in Business and Management: An Essential Guide to Planning Your Project. London, Prentice Hall
- Wilson, J. (2014) Essentials of Business Research: A Guide to Doing Your Research Project. London, Sage
Indicative References
- Beech, J. (2015) Doing Your Business Research Project. London, Sage
- Bryman, A and Bell, E. (2015) Business Research Methods. Oxford, Oxford University Press
- Easterby-Smith, M., Thorpe, R. and Jackson, P.R. (2015) Management and Business Research. London, Sage
- Fisher, C. (2010) Researching and Writing a Dissertation: An Essential Guide for Business Students. Harlow, Pearson [ebook]
- Horn, R. (2012) Researching and Writing Dissertations: A Complete Guide for Business and Management Students. London, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
- Ng, W. and Coakes, E. (2014) Business Research. Enjoy Creating, Developing and Writing Your Business Project. London, Kogan Page