SBA / DISSERTATION Introduction Identifying a Research Question/Topic Writing your Research Proposal

Agenda Style Evaluating Research The role of your Supervisor Identifying a topic/research question(s) Writing the Proposal Structure Template A reminder for the Dissertation students – secondary data ONLY

Style You need to demonstrate knowledge and understanding beyond undergraduate level and should also reach a level of scope and depth beyond that taught in class. All work must be presented in an appropriate academic style and format. You will find an example Literature Review on VITAL which will give you an idea of what you are aiming for.

Style SBA individual Reports should culminate in a critical evaluation of the extent to which the research that has been surveyed in your literature review is useful to managers and key decision makers (e.g. policy makers). Is the research prescriptive? Is the research designed for practice? Is the research about practice? What are the implications for management education? What future directions should the research take?

Style Dissertations must clearly demonstrate how the precise aims of the dissertation are met. It is important that the aims and objectives of the dissertation are clearly expressed and are achievable within the scope of the dissertation framework and available data. Your dissertation literature review should identify gaps/inconsistencies in the extant research and your study should culminate in a demonstration of how your aims and objectives have been realised, with clear answers to your research question(s).

Style Academic style does not just refer to the clarity of expression, grammar, use of citation and referencing but relates to a clearly structured approach to form a precise analysis and critical evaluation.

The role of your supervisor To advise you whether or not the project appears to be feasible and the possible risks that may be involved, for example problems in trying to access information from secondary sources To assist you in tailoring the proposal to the time and other resource constraints To assist the you at the outset in finding useful and relevant reading material To advise you on the process of critically reviewing the literature To advise on the choice of suitable methodological approach(es) – Dissertation only To advise you on appropriate data analysis techniques – Dissertation only To monitor progress and to advise on what is required to achieve a satisfactory outcome

Identifying a topic/research questions Almost without exception the starting point is too ambitious and lacks focus – you are constrained by time, resources and the word limit! The best place to start is to choose a topic that particularly interests you e.g. marketing experience goods, joint ventures, organisational culture, strategy as practice, managing diversity Dissertation : Please Note: Your research questions should be derived from the literature and an identification of gaps and inconsistencies in the current body of knowledge

Identifying a topic/research questions DISSERTATION Be clear on the distinction between the ‘empirical world’ and the theoretical foundation of your proposed project e.g. your empirical world might be international joint ventures in Asia and your theoretical foundation might be transaction cost analysis

Identifying a topic/research questions Dissertation: There may be nothing or very little that has been published about the empirical world you are interested in, particularly if it is an innovation, new technology or management practice – but THERE WILL BE PRIOR RESEARCH that will provide you with your theoretical foundation and it is likely to be a substantial body of literature – your supervisor will be able to help you with this

Identifying a topic/research questions SBA: Your starting point should be to identify whether there is sufficient literature and/or what your focus will be You may need to focus on a particular aspect of the literature where there are a significant number of research papers investigating your topic e.g. you could choose a specific context or aspect of theory You should aim to review between 30 and 40 research papers

The Proposal - Dissertation The proposal shows that you have thought through the main research objectives and located these in the academic literature, that you have identified the main sources of secondary data and that you have given thought as to the research methodology. The proposal should provide your academic supervisor with a ‘detailed skeleton’ of the whole dissertation; the fine details are added when the literature review is completed and the desk research has been undertaken.

The Proposal - SBA The proposal shows that you have identified a body of literature that is sufficiently large to provide a good basis for a review, but not too broad so as to lack focus and be unmanageable In the proposal you should be able to discuss seminal works in your field and give a broad overview of the types of research that have been undertaken i.e. methodologies You will need to explain why this body of research is noteworthy

Types of Literature Review - NARRATIVE A narrative literature review is interpretive-qualitative in nature and identifies gaps or inconsistencies in a body of knowledge. It critiques and summarizes and analyses a body of literature and draws conclusions about the topic. For the SBA report the conclusions you draw will be related to the usefulness (or not) of the literature review for practice. Managers Policy makers Management Education Future research For the Dissertation you will use the review to develop research questions that address gaps and inconsistencies in the research.

Types of Literature Review - SYSTEMATIC A systematic review is a piece of research in its own right and, by its nature, is able to address much broader questions than single empirical studies. Systematic reviews are characterised by a systematic search process to locate studies which address a particular research question.

Types of Literature Review Please note that these two types of literature review are NOT mutually exclusive. The main difference is that the systematic review addresses a specific research question(s) and is arguably more challenging. Unless you have prior experience of writing a systematic literature review, the narrative literature review will be the most appropriate option for you It is worth noting that in the literature review you ARE NOT REQUIRED TO DEVELOP A PERSUASIVE ARGUMENT! It is purely an appraisal of the extent and nature of research that has been done in a particular field.

Literature Review You are NOT describing or explaining a topic You are NOT applying any frameworks or theories You are NOT developing a methodology You are reviewing the characteristics of research undertaken on a specific topic, for example: Key themes Theories Context Methodology Key Findings; and for the SBA - implications for Managers, Policy Makers, Management Education, Future Research Please refer to the example literature review on New Product Development as a guide

Discussion Exercise You have been provided with an example narrative literature review to use as a guide: In pairs please discuss the following: Table 1 on page 347 – how would you go about starting to organise the research papers on your topic into themes or categories? Tables 1, 2 and 3 on pages 349, 355 and 360 – what do these tables represent? How were they constructed? Please refer to Table 3 on page 355 – produce a summary evaluation of the contents of the analysis shown on this table in the form of a short paragraph Please note: For your literature review you are advised to adopt a similar procedure: Identify themes or categories Analyse each category Write an evaluation of your analysis of each category

The Proposal Dissertation - 1,000 words minimum - 2,000 words maximum, excluding appendices and references SBA – 600 – 1,000 words excluding appendices and references This proposal will not be marked. However, it is an essential part of the process and needs to be completed to a high standard. Having a valid proposal approved by your supervisor should go a long way to ensure that you have a viable project leading to a successful outcome.

Structure of the Dissertation Proposal The proposal should be structured as follows;   Problem Definition Background to the research Clear aims and objectives/ research question(s) strongly grounded in the relevant academic literature A statement of the theoretical framework(s) you will test or develop A clear and detailed indication of main sources of secondary data and an explanation of how these will inform your research questions Justification of research – from an academic perspective (identification of key conceptual/theoretical frameworks and location in the academic literature) and a practical perspective (implications for management practice) Plan of work

Dissertation Proposal template Title Overview/Introduction Introduce the proposed research area and clarify how your particular research question(s) or problem locates within the chosen context (academic literature and empirical world). At this stage you should identify your theoretical foundation. Here it is useful to give a brief indication of why you think this research is timely. Aims and Objectives Tell the reader in a succinct and precise way the intended outcomes of your research and formulate specific research questions. The aims and objectives/questions of your research project should reflect your initial knowledge of the relevant literature and any research relevant to your topic area from academic sources. It is important that the research you propose can make an original contribution and that work can be completed in the time proposed in your proposal. Research Design/Methodology (including a clear and detailed indication of data sources and how these relate to research questions) Plan of work

Structure of the SBA proposal Explanation of topic and definitions of key concepts Background to the topic providing a brief overview Systematic Review - Clear aims and objectives/ research question(s) Narrative Review – Clear indication of why this topic is of interest A clear and detailed indication of sources of literature and an explanation your literature review search strategy Justification of the review - from an academic perspective (identification of key controversies and debates in the literature) and a practical perspective (implications, if any, for management practice, policy makers, management education, future research) Plan of work  

SBA Proposal Template Title Introduction A clear explanation of the topic An indication of why the research relating to your topic is worthy of reviewing Justification for Review Topic 2-3 paragraphs giving a broad overview of the research into your topic that includes an indication of seminal works in your area. An excellent proposal will demonstrate a grasp of the key debates and controversies in the literature. You can include an indication of theoretical frameworks/concepts; types of methodology; key findings and an indication of any limitations or shortcomings in the research to date.

SBA Proposal Template/… Methods An indication of your literature search procedure e.g. literature search strategy including key words, target journals, main sources, how you will assess what to include and what to exclude, how you will assess quality – please avoid GOOGLE RUBBISH – your literature should be high quality and peer reviewed material only. If in doubt, consult the library, who will be happy to help. A plan of work.

References A minimum of 6 and a maximum of 10 key references at this stage should normally be enough to convince the reader that you are knowledgeable about the topic area. A good proposal will have identified and referred to the ‘seminal’ literature in the field e.g. Barney (1991) and Peteraf (1993) are considered to be examples of seminal works in the resource-based view of the firm

Dissertation - Secondary data The use of secondary data will place considerable constraints upon how you arrive at your research questions. It is vitally important that you make sure that there is sufficient data of the required depth and quality to investigate your research aims and objectives. You may have to go through several iterations of looking at the literature to identify potential research aims/objectives and then referring back to the data sources to see if they are adequate. YOU MUST HAVE AN INDICATION OF THE DATA SOURCES AVAILABLE IN RELATION TO YOUR RESEARCH QUESTIONS AT THE PROPOSAL STAGE

Module Registration You are registered on ULMS719 Strategic Business Analysis by default. To register for the ULMS790 you must have achieved an average mark of =>60% in Semester 1. You must discuss your intention to do the Dissertation and not the SBA with your Director of Studies. If you decide on the SBA you are already registered by default You must then get written approval in the form of an e-mail from your Director of Studies. You must send an e-mail to ulmsenq@liv.ac.uk to confirm that you will take the dissertation and forward your DoS approval to ulmsenq@ by 21st April AT THE LATEST