The requisite characteristics of dissertation projects: a note

The requisite characteristics of dissertation projects: a note for undergrad and master degree students (e.g. for my MBA students and housing studies students [honor's degree level]):

1. Exhibit independent thinking and declaration of the researcher's positionality
2. Ensure that the report theme and findings are of originality value (note the related topic of research gap)
3. Exhibit reflection on the whole research project effort (i) for intellectual self-learning and (ii) for research methods quality evaluation [e.g. with qualitative and/or  quantitative research methods  quality criteria]
4. Make use of [preferably updated] concepts and theories from the academic literature and the academic subject of research methods
5. Show high transparency of the dissertation project process and dissertation report content (e.g. clear chain of evidence in dissertation report content).
6. Show strong endorsement with the ethical principles of academic research.
7. Show proper dissertation report writing skills (e.g. on dissertation report structure and academic writing style).

Relevant e-study materials (videos)

A fake example of an informed consent form for interview research

 A fake example of an informed consent form for interview research

Interview Informed Consent Form for the research project of xxxxx carried out by __Betty Fu_ (Research investigator name) for the MBA programme study at the University of Sunling, U.K.

To:   ___Mickey Mo___________  (Interview research participants name), job title: _Sales Manager_____ of ABC Ltd. (organizational unit name).

This consent form is necessary for us to ensure that you understand the purpose of your involvement and that you agree to the conditions of your participation in the dissertation project of (research investigator name) for his study of the MBA Degree programme (programme code) of the University of Sunling University. The main research objective of the dissertation project is: ____  and the main inquiry scope of this interview research is  ______.

1.    Interview participant information and nature of consent

1.    I am over the age of 18

2.    I have read and understood the attached study information and, by signing below, I consent to participate in this study

3.    I understand that I have the right to withdraw from the study without giving a reason at any time during the study itself.

4.    I understand that I also have the right to change my mind about participating in the study for a short period after the study has concluded.

 

2.    Interview research exercise information

·       The interview will take (enter amount of time), in the venue of  (place) and semi-structured in nature.

·       The main interview questions are about: 1….. and 2……

•   The interview will be recorded and a transcript will be produced

·       You will be sent the transcript and given the opportunity to correct any factual errors

 

3.    Risk assessment and safeguard

 

4. Confidentiality safeguard

We don’t anticipate that there are any risks associated with your participation, but you have the right to stop the interview or withdraw,

What if I have concerns about this research? If you are worried about this research, or if you are concerned about how it is being conducted, you can contact the dissertation project supervisor Yip Man (name of the project supervisor), of the University of Sunling (phone no: ….. and email address:…..).

5.    Who review this interview research study?

This research has been reviewed and approved by the Ethics Board of the University of Sunling University UK.. If you have any further questions or concerns about this study. The final dissertation report is to be reviewed by the dissertation project supervisor as well as the external examiners of Sunling University, UK.

 

6.    Quotation Agreement 

I also understand that my words may be quoted directly. With regards to being quoted, please initial next to any of the statements that you agree with:

I wish to review the notes, transcripts, or other data collected during the research pertaining to my participation.

I agree to be quoted directly. I agree to be quoted directly if my name is not published and a made-up name (pseudonym) is used.

I agree that the researchers may publish documents that contain quotations by me.

All or part of the content of your interview may be used:

·       In academic papers, policy papers or news articles

·       On our website and in other media that we may produce such as spoken presentations

·       On other feedback events  In an archive of the project as noted above

 

7.    Possible benefits of participation in the interview research

 

8.    Contact Information 

 

9.    Research parties and approval signature

Name of researcher: Betty Fu

Student number at the university of Sunling University UK.

Programme of study: MBA programme

Tel:              

E-mail:   

You can also contact Yip Man (Researchers name) supervisor at Sunling University, UK:           

Tel:             

E-mail:    

Approval Signature

Printed Name : Mickey Mo

_____________________________________  ____________________

Participants Signature                           Date 

 

Printed Name :Betty Fu

_____________________________________  ____________________

Researchers Signature                           Date

_____________________________________  ____________________

 

 

Printed Name :Betty Fu (Finance manager of ABC Ltd)

_____________________________________  ____________________

Witness Signature                           Date 

 

Tks for participation in the interview research exercise

 

Regards,

Betty Fu

Dated: April 1, 2024

How many informed consent forms to use in a dissertation project: a note

How many informed consent forms to use in a dissertation project: a note.

This note is mainly for my MBA students doing dissertation projects. While the university has produced an informed consent form template to students, quite a number of dissertation project students are still not clear (a) how many informed consent forms to construct  and (b) how to adapt the informed consent form template to work out a specific informed consent form. 

I try to offer some clarification and help to students here.

Situation one: doing a case study with a specific organization:

Form 1: Produce a gatekeeper informed consent form (e.g. a fake example)

Form 2: participant informed consent forms

Form 2.1: interviewee participant informed consent form (if research interview is to be conducted). (e.g. a fake example)

Form 2.2: questionnaire participant informed consent form (if questionnaire survey is to be conducted) [most likely, the introduction section of the questionnaire serves the function of an informed consent form].

Situation two: doing primary research with the general public

Form 1: interviewee participant informed consent form (if research interview is to be conducted).

Form 2: questionnaire participant informed consent form (if questionnaire survey is to be conducted) [most likely, the introduction section of the questionnaire serves the function of an informed consent form].

Gatekeeper consent form sample for MBA student: a fake example

Gatekeeper Consent form and Participant information sheet for dissertation project work

 

To Ms Elaine Musk, CEO of ABC Ltd.

I would like to seek your approval to me for conducting an evaluative research study on the innovation capability of the Retail Sales Unit of ABC Ltd.

My name is Sam Hui, and I am a Master of Business Administration (MBA) student at the University of Sunling, conducting a dissertation project titled “An evaluation of the innovation capability of the Retail Sales Unit of ABC Ltd. The purpose of this evaluative study is on the innovative capability of the Retail Sales Unit of ABC Ltd. Two primary research works, i.e. interview research and questionnaire survey, are to be conducted in March, 2024. The overall duration of the primary data gathering exercise in ABC Ltd. is 2 weeks. Further information on the primary research works in ABC Ltd are follows

 

1.    On Face-to-face interview research

1.1          Interview participants to be invited: sales representatives and Sales managers of the Retail Sales Unit.

1.2          Basic information and confirmation to be collected from the interview participants are:

·       I am over the age of 18

·       I have read and understood the attached study information and, by signing below, I consent to participate in this study

·       I understand that I have the right to withdraw from the study without giving a reason at anytime during the study itself.

·       I understand that I also have the right to change my mind about participating in the study for a short period after the study has concluded.

1.3          The scope of the interview questions is mainly on the participants’ view on the innovation capability of the Retail Sales Unit.

1.4          The interview is semi-structured with 4-5 questions to ask.

1.5          Duration of the interview per participant is about 30 min.

1.6          The interview is to be conducted in the office of ABC Ltd.

 

2.    Questionnaire Survey research

2.1          Survey participants to be invited: non-sales staff of the Retail Sales Unit.

2.2          Basic information and confirmation to be collected from the survey participants are:

·       I am over the age of 18

·       I have read and understood the attached study information and, by signing below, I consent to participate in this study

·       I understand that I have the right to withdraw from the study without giving a reason at anytime during the study itself.

·       I understand that I also have the right to change my mind about participating in the study for a short period after the study has concluded.

2.3          The scope of the questionnaire survey questions is mainly on the participants’ view on the innovation capability of the Retail Sales Unit.

2.4          Electronic survey questionnaire is to be distributed to the staff via their office email address.

2.5          The questionnaire comprises 18 questions

 

3.    Benefits

While there will be no material gain from allowing me to conduct research study in your organization, you may gain valuable insights from the findings of the research.

4.    Risks

There are no inherent risks associated with this research study.  The interview questions and survey questionnaire are to be reviewed by you (the gatekeeper) beforehand in this regard.

5.    Confidentiality

All information collected during this study will be kept confidential.  The dissertation report uses a faked name for the company. The research and data will be solely used for the MBA dissertation.  The dissertation report is to be examined by the dissertation supervisor as well as the dissertation project examiners only. It is not to be accessible to other parties.

6. Review of the research project

The research design and the final dissertation report are to be approved and assessed by the dissertation project supervisor and the external examiner of the University of Sunling, UK.

7.    Contact Information

 If you have any further questions or concerns about this study, please contact:

Researcher: Sam Hui

 

MBA Student of University of Sunling MBA Research Project MMMGTM05

Student No 3062470000

Phone: 26636666

Email: Sam.hui@dragonball.com

 

You can also contact Sam Hui’s supervisor:

Supervisor: Rambo Wan

Phone: 77774848

Email: Rambo.wan@Sunling.com.hk

 

 

8.    Approval signature

Signature of gatekeeper on approval for the conduct of the dissertation project in the Retail Sales Unit of ABC Ltd.

 

________________________________

Signature of Ms Elaine Musk, the CEO of ABC Ltd, as the gatekeeper of the case study research  Date

 

 

Signature of researcher

 

________________________________

I believe the gatekeeper is giving informed consent  on this study

Signature of researcher Date

 

 

 

Thank you for your time and consideration.

 

Sincerely,

Sam Hui

 

 

Contributors to the construction of management-concerns diagram in the agile literature review approach

Contributors to the construction of management-concerns diagram in the agile literature review approach

To understand why it is not adequate for a researcher to just interview a senior manager of a client organization for the construction of management-concerns diagram (in the agile literature review approach), one should recognize different types of interview candidates who hold useful viewpoints and knowledge on the problem-situation under study. They are:

Type 1: powerful decision-maker(s): these people hold strong formal authority in the organizational context under study.

Type 2: stakeholder(s): they hold less formal authority (in contrast to type 1), while having vested interests in the problem-situation under study.

Type 3: witnesses: they have insignificant vested interest in the problem-situation under study; but as eyewitnesses in the problem site, they hold some relevant (e.g. useful) viewpoints and observations of the situation that could inform the research investigation by the researcher.

Finally, the management-concerns diagram is to be co-created by the interview candidates and the researcher; thus, the researcher has to employ his/her critical thinking and intellectual knowledge to produce the management-concerns diagram in a way that also meets his/her academic interest (e.g. in specific management subjects or topics for MBA students).

In short: total contributors to the construction of management-concerns diagram (A) = types of interview candidates (B) + the researcher (C)

That means, the researcher (e.g. an MBA student doing dissertation project) should not just interview one interviewee and captures only the interviewee viewpoint to produce the management-concerns diagram.

Some clarification on ethical form and informed consent form: some comments

The one from google drive is from the university ethical platform. I download from the university  ethical platform and post it on my google drive to make it easier for students to download from there also, Jacky. The other staff may not know what you are talking about when you mention google drive (in this case created by me). 

There are no such things called consent form and ethical form (too simple a saying) as two separate form-filling tasks; there is a university ethical platform to fill in all ethical considerations for review by the supervisor and external examiner. The informed consent form is, under certain circumstances, required to be uploaded on the university ethical website (you could call it an ethical form - an analogy of its interface). The requirement of informed consent is a topic in research ethics. This requirement originates from the medical field: https://josephho33.blogspot.com/2024/04/e-resource-on-informed-consent-and.html. (video resource on informed consent). The informed consent topic is a major one on research ethics; to do revision, study my blog note: https://josephho33.blogspot.com/2021/11/on-basic-ethics-concepts-and-ethics.html. There is a lengthy video on research ethics included in this blog note. The topic of research ethics has been covered in my research project lecture. 

The consent form template from Sunderland university can be adapted by you (the student) to produce a specific gatekeeper consent form and specific informed consent forms. Such adaptation requires information from the student's research project proposal.

You could study many other examples of consent forms, via google search, to work out your own consent forms. Then draft your forms and seek for your supervisor's advice/ comments. UK staff are also very helpful to provide feedback on the ethical platform on aspects that need to be clarified. 

I think one can explore the possibility to ask chatgpt to produce informed consent forms to you based on your specific requirement. 

e-resource on informed consent and informed consent form

 e-resource, mainly videos, on informed consent and informed consent form

1. How to read an informed consent form.

2. Evolution of informed consent process.