HOW TO WRITE RESEARCH PROPOSAL BY DR. NIK MAHERAN NIK MUHAMMAD

THE FORMAT CHAPTER 1 Introduction Background of the study Problem statement Objective of the study Research questions Definition of Terms Significant of the study Conclusion

CHAPTER 1 Introduction Explain the focus of the study (your dependent variables) How it relates to your other factors/variables (independent variables, moderating variables or mediating variables) Explain the overall purpose/objective of the study

Background of the study Work setting environment Previous related study – based on the literature review you have conducted. That relates on all the variables connected to your study even though not being studied. If you focus on specific company Background of the company

Problem statement Why this research is needed. What are the problem that need to be solved? What are the questions that need to be answered? Problem can be identified based on 2 perspective: –Practical perspective –Theoretical perspective –Gap Identification »Area that is not yet studied »Variables that is not yet tested »Methodology that has never being used

Objective of the study What do u want to achieve at the end of the day. –The objective must be: understandable logical

Research Questions Related to the objective But more specific detail

Definition of Term Concise Only for the key terms: – that is important to the study –Can be conceptualize differently in different context.

Significance of the study Theoretical significant Gap identification Contribution to the body of knowledge Practical significance How the study will help in improving work- setting environment Contribution to the practitioners.

Conclusion Summarize the purpose of the study The contribution of your study Why should you conduct this study What is the different between your study with the previous one

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW –What are the previous study looked at in the similar area of yours… –Why yours is different from the previous one.

How to write literature review Review not summarize Important information in the literature review Variables used their findings The methodology used

How to write literature review Start from general to specific –Discuss on the general area of the study E.g. finance, strategic management, accounting etc. –Discuss on the related theory –Specifically discuss on the specific variables used in the study

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK Based on the literature review, theoretical framework can be formed. Explain what are: The construct; The concept; The dimension; The element; in your framework

HYPOTHESES DEVELOPMENT You can’t just hypothesize based on your assumption… It must be supported by a short preamble Your hypotheses must be justified…. WHY???

CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 1.Research design 2.Variable and measurement 3.Questionnaire design 4.Population and sample 5.Data analysis method 6.Conclusion

1.Research Design Exploratory Descriptive Hypothesis testing Case study

Exploratory Research Qualitative study Data are collected through observation, interviews, focus group Explore new areas of organizational research Undertaken when little is known about the situation – preliminary information E.g. Study on quality of life office romance Islamic financing

Descriptive Research To describe the characteristics of the variable of interest in the situation To learn about and describe the characteristics of a group of employees – e.g age, educational level, job status, etc.

Hypotheses testing Explain the nature of certain relationships Establish the differences among groups Explain the variance in the dependent variable or to predict organizational outcomes

Case study Gathering in-depth information on a single entity Involve contextual analyses of similar situation in other organizations. Qualitative in nature

Type of investigation Clarification Exploratory/descriptive study Correlation At least two variables move simultaneously Hypotheses testing method Causal One variable causes a movement in another variable

Time Horizon Cross-sectional studies Data are gathered just once –A period of days, week, months Longitudinal studies Across over period of time Study individual or phenomena at more than one point in time.

Unit of analysis Focus of the study (dependent variable) The nature of information gathered Individual Company Dyad – two person interaction Country System process

2. Variables and measurement Explain the variables Dependent Independent Moderator Mediator How to measure those variables (how to operationalize) Based on primary data? Questionnaire Secondary data?

3. Questionnaire design Adapted? Adopted? Self constructed? How it is design? What are the measurement scale Nominal data Ordinal data? Interval data? –Likert-like scale

4. Population and Sample Population – entire group of people Sampling frame – a listing of all the elements in the population Sample – subset of the population Sample size

Sampling Process of selecting number of elements from the population Probability vs. non-probability sampling Probability: 1.Simple random sampling 2.Stratified random sampling 3.Cluster sampling Non-probability 1.Convenience sampling 2.Purposive sampling

Data analysis method Statistical tools used What are the analysis obtained Goodness of data Inferential analysis

Goodness of Data Representativeness of the data Response rate Non-response bias Validity reliability

Inferential analysis Descriptive analysis Test of differences Correlation analysis Regression analysis

Table 4.13: Descriptive statistics of Independent Variables Decision N=118 VariablesMean Std. Deviatio n X1: Extent of scanning Technology Economic/financial Competition X2: Method of scanning Technology Economic/financial Competition X3: Source of scanning (Personal/Impersonal) Technology Economic/financial Competition X4: Source of scanning (External/Internal) Technology Economic/financial Competition Notes: X1 scale range: 1(not at all) to 5 (great amount) X2 scale range:1 (informal) to 5 (formal) X3 scale range: 1(impersonal) to 5 (personal) X4 scale range: 1(external) to 5 (internal) Findings presentation and Interpretation

Table 4.21: ANOVA results - Other variables (Decision Quality, IPC, Nature of Decision) by demographic profile DEMOGRAPHICDependent variable Moderating variable Control variable Decision quality IPCNature of Decision F- valu e p- valu e F- value p- value F- value p- valu e Respondent’s profile: Position Education level Field of expertise Years in the industry Years in the current firm Years in current position Company’s profile: Type of industry Years in operation Size of company -No. of employees - Average revenue Decision’s profile: Type of decision Size of investment

Table 4.25: Model summary of multiple regression analysis Model 1 (control variable) Model2 (independent variables) Model3 (moderating variable) Model4 (Interaction variables) F value ***3.535*** 3.112*** R square Adjusted R square R square change F change ***11.401*** 2.086*** ***significant at the 0.01 level, ** significant at the 0.05 level, * significant at the 0.1 level