Research method category and research methods for dissertation report writing

Research method category and research methods for dissertation report writing. This suggested category and research methods list for for illustration for writing the chapter of Research Methodology (Chapter 3) in dissertation report writing:

Research method category 1: primary research

Research method 1: Questionnaire survey research

Research method 2: Participatory observation research

Research method 3: Interview research

Research method 4: Focus group

..... etc.

Research method category 2: secondary research

Research method 1: Empirical data and document study in the public domain (via the Internet)

Research method 2: Newspaper article study

Research method 3: Empirical data and document study from the academic sources

.... etc.

Reference

On secondary research: study materials

Study materials on pilot testing/ study in research project

 Study materials on pilot testing (including pilot study) in research project:

1, Pilot testing: a briefing

2.Pretesting and pilot testing (video)

3. Pilot studies in research (video).

4. Why is a pilot study important? (a note).

e-resource on hypothesis testing for research methods learning

 e-resource [videos] on hypothesis testing for research methods learning [for my research methods students]

1. Hypothesis - an introduction.

2a. Hypothesis testing: null vs alternative.

2b. One-tailed test and two-tailed tests.

2c. Confidence and significance level.

3. Hypothesis testing - correlation.

4a. Why do we say Fail to Reject the Null Hypothesis? 

4b. Why did I get null results?

4c. On falsification.

5. Problem Statement and Hypothesis

6. Research Questions Hypothesis and Variables

e-learning materials on secondary data and secondary research

 e-learning materials on secondary data and secondary research

1a. Using secondary data in research

2. How to conduct secondary research.

3. Primary and secondary research.

4. Finding and using secondary data in research.

5. Secondary quantitative data.

6. Primary, secondary and tertiary sources of data.

A table on research type clarification (primary and secondary), written by me.

Research method and type		Data analysis type	Data capture type
Interview research conducted by the researcher (primary research)	Data analysed by the researcher (primary)		Interview conducted by the researcher (primary)
Interview research conducted by another researcher [A] (secondary research)	Raw data analysed by the researcher (primary)		Interview conducted by the researcher (secondary)
Interview research conducted by another researcher [B] (secondary research)	Analysis content [from another researcher] analysed by the researcher (secondary)		Interview research conducted by another researcher [A] (secondary)
Desk research conducted by the researcher [A] (secondary research)	Statistical analysis conducted by the researcher (primary)		Economic statistics provided by official institutions (secondary)
Desk research conducted by the researcher [B] (secondary research)	Analysis report by a magazine writer analysed by the researcher (secondary)		Magazine analysis report content (secondary)

** regarding the table, primary means first-hand from the researcher; secondary means second-hand from another researcher.

A related topic is Research Methods: official statistics. (video)

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e-learning materials on levels of intellectual learning

e-learning materials on levels of intellectual learning, with special reference to Bloom's taxonomy of learning:

1. Bloom's Taxonomy: Why, How, & Top Examples [video]

2. Bloom's Taxonomy Explained with Example [video]

3. Bloom's taxonomy (slideshare).

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A low-risk high-return dissertation project topic: a note

 A low-risk high-return dissertation project topic: a note

An illustration:

Project title: A study of consumers' acceptance of the new XXX products using the XXX technology acceptance model

Project background: the XXX products constitute a big product market; need to find out how to make new product acceptance in the marketplace; the XXX technology acceptance model is useful but it needs improvement.

Project objectives: 

1: to understand why consumers are interested in new XXX products

2. to find out and test the the XXX technology acceptance model in the topic of new XXX product acceptance.

Research methodology: to conduct a questionnaire survey and do hypothesis testing & correlation analysis with regard to the XXX technology acceptance model application.

The underlying process of literature review and research design is depicted in the following diagram:

Main features of the underlying process:

1. One primary research method to use: e.g. questionnaire survey

2. Two or more data analysis to use: descriptive statistics + multiple regression analysis (supportive of hypothesis testing) + multidimensional data analysis (e.g. using Excel pivot table)

3. Literature review primarily focuses on 1 academic theory

4. Business concern and research gap identification are made via literature review (1), plus some topic contextualization based on some preliminary secondary research (2), e.g. using newspaper article study and local business magazines.

5. Not doing single case study research and thus no gatekeeper consent is required.

Why attractive: 

(1) easy to do idea and research cloning with low turnitin similarity index (with sufficient writing skills)

(2) not difficult to write a dissertation report in 12,000 words.

(3) not difficult to earn very high dissertation report mark from some dissertation project markers

(4) not very time-consuming and "reasonable" research effort; low-risk and high-return.

So, what can be the "issues" with doing this type of dissertation projects?

Answers: 

1. no problem at all

2. no problem under certain conditions

3. no problem to achieve certain clear study goal, especially on short-term goal.

Then, why should we learn the more complicated approaches, such as the ALRA??

e-resources: a Facebook group on relevant academic literature; the low-risk, high-return dissertation project is is based on positivism primarily.

Literature review strategy for an innovative topic: a note

Literature review strategy for an innovative topic: a note on the topic of marketing strategy management competence as an example

It happens sometimes that there are very few directly useful academic references for a relative innovative  (uncommon) topic such as the one in this research objective: to evaluate the marketing strategy management competence of ABC Ltd.

Now then, there are quite a lot of academic references on (i) marketing strategy and (ii) managerial competence. 

Step 1: My first task is to find out the activity/ function scope of strategic marketing and then explore what core competence/ managerial competence are required to manage this strategic marketing scope. On the scope of strategic marketing, I refer to the book of Strategic Marketing: Planning and Control, by Drummond et al (2008). the following 13 activities of strategic marketing I identified are as follows [the list is based on the topics in the table of content of the book of Strategic Marketing]:

1. external analysis activity

2. activity on competitive intelligence management

3. activity on segmentation management

4. internal analysis activity

5. activity on future orientation management

6. activity on marketing strategy formulation

7. activity on targeting, positioning and brand strategy management

8. activity on product development and innovation management

9. activity on alliance and relationship marketing management

10. activity on strategic marketing planning management

11. activity on strategic implementation management

12. activity to manage control function in marketing management

13. activity to deal with contemporary strategic marketing issues, including that of marketing ethics.

A concrete outcome of step 2 is that at least three academic ideas would have been collected for the high-level research task of "to evaluate the marketing strategy management competence of ABC Ltd".

Step 2: Now, the next set of concepts come from the core competence topic, which are related broadly to:

1. tangible and intangible resource controlled (e.g. owned) by the organization (e.g. ABC Ltd).

2. managerial and organizational capability to manage the resources (1 above) to contribute to the competitive advantage of the organization (e.g. ABC Ltd).

More specific academic ideas on core competence/ managerial competence need to be sourced from this academic literature. Similarly, a concrete outcome of step 3 is that at least three academic ideas would have been collected for the high-level research task of "to evaluate the marketing strategy management competence of ABC Ltd".

Step 3: Lastly, by using the academic ideas gathered from the strategic marketing and core competence literature, examine the research task of what and how organizational core competence and managerial competence are to be employed to manage the strategic marketing scope of an organization (e.g. ABC Ltd), in the form of a conceptual framework that link up all the academic ideas that you have gathered.  Such a conceptual framework is your original intellectual to investigate the marketing strategy management competence of ABC Ltd. [I do not construct such a conceptual framework for students; it is up to the student to do the synthesis of ideas to come up with his/her own conceptual framework; nevertheless, some illustrative frameworks can be found via Google search: on strategic marketing framework and core competence frameworks]

The outcome of these three steps is to be presented in Chapter 2 of literature review that responds to the research objective of "to evaluate the marketing strategy management competence of ABC Ltd". The total academic ideas gathered should at least be 6, which meets the targeted quantity for a core-focus-domain item on a theoretical framework level 1a.

Lastly, the intellectual exercise to construct this conceptual framework is itself useful to practice high-level learning (notably at the "create" level) in terms of Bloom's learning taxonomy.

How to write an abstract for a housing dissertation report: a note

 

Use this template for Housing Dissertation Report work

Abstract:

Purpose

This study aims to examine ... [present tense]

DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH

Research data was collected from ... [past tense]

FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The results indicate that ... [present tense]... It is recommended that ... [present tense]....

RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS

The choice of single telecommunication industry in a single country, Indonesia, provides a limitation ... [present tense]

ORIGINALITY/VALUE

This study extends the knowledge ....[present tense]

An example for illustration

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this report is to provide additional evidence that housing prices significantly impact aggregate refinancing and thus directly influence mortgage termination.

Design/methodology/approach

Regression analysis is applied to examine refinancing activity in US cities.

Findings [this example does not provide recommendations; yours need to have them]

The evidence shows that positive appreciation in housing prices provides the borrower with positive incentives to refinance in response to the associated increased borrowing capacity when mortgage rates have declined. On the other hand, depreciation in housing prices may depress refinancing.

Research limitations/implications

Housing price movements, not only collateral constraints on refinancing but also the disincentive to engage in cash‐out refinancing caused by depreciation as well as the incentive for cash‐out refinancing brought by appreciation, should be included in modeling total termination risks of mortgage‐backed securities.

Originality/value

In contrast to previous studies, this report provides empirical support for both the incentive and the disincentive to engage in cash‐out refinancing produced by housing price changes, in addition to support for the traditional collateral constraint effect of housing prices on refinancing.

***A related reading.

e-resource on academic writing style

 e-resource on academic writing style:

1. academic style (academic writing)

2. academic style

3. what is academic writing?

4. Hedging language.

5. what is an academic writing style?

6. Myths about academic writing

7a. Academic English: how is it different?

7b. 25 academic English words

8a. How to improve your academic English fast?

8b. Five ways to improve academic writing

9. Strong writing: Reducing vagueness in research writing

10. Certainty & Uncertainty in thesis & research writing: Hedges and Boosters

11. Writing paragraphs - Thesis writing

12. How to Quote in Under 5 minutes

13. How to Paraphrase in 5 Easy Steps

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Some information to check for your proposal ideas in synopsis form

 Some information to check for your proposal ideas in your synopsis form (based on the agile literature review approach)

Checklist items: 9 items in total:

1. Is the organization unit in focus clear: an industry, an organization, a department, a store?

2. Are the roles and role relationship clear: who are the gatekeeper and the major stakeholders? what is the relationship of the researcher with the gatekeeper and the organization unit in focus?

3a. What are the management concerns, notably the main management concerns involved? How are these management concerns related? Do these management concerns cover (i) environmental drivers, (ii) organizational capabilities, (iii) outcomes and (iv) solutions?

3b: Have you actually conducted some exploratory interview with the gatekeeper and a few related stakeholders to learn and identify the management concerns?

3c. Are you certain that the gatekeeper has given you the "informed consent" to conduct the research project in the organization unit in focus?

4. What are the main research objectives? And are they explicitly related to the management concerns identified?

5. What are the main research methods to use? Are there two research methods that involve primary data gathering? Are the research methods explicitly related to specific research objectives?

6a. Are there a few specific management theories to be used to inform specific research objectives?

6b. Have you actually conducted the preliminary literature review to gather the few management theories to be used?

7. Is there a preliminary reference list that includes about 5 academic references?

8. Have you checked your proposal title such that it captures the key ideas of your main research objectives?

9 Have you checked your research objectives to ensure that they are clearly expressed and largely in line with the MBA education perspective [note: review again the syllabus of the University MBA programme].

Statement of originality and authenticity

The cover page of the dissertation report

** beginning of the page **

Dissertation project title: An investigation of the managerial competence and sales force competence of ABC Ltd

 

Statement of originality and authenticity 

I confirm that the work I am submitting is an original and authentic piece of work compiled by myself that satisfies the University rules and regulations with respect to Plagiarism and Collusion. I further confirm that I have fully referenced and acknowledged all material incorporated as secondary resources in accordance with the Harvard System. 

I also clarify that I have taken a copy of the submission, which I will retain until after the Programme Assessment Board has published the results, and which I will make available on request in pursuance of any appropriate aspect of the marking and moderation of the work within the University Regulations. 

Name: Tony Jaa

Registration Number: 30624700 

Programme of Study: PGBM161 MBA Project (1922/2 – UOSHK - K01 – SEM1) 

Signed………………………………

** end of the page **

******

The original extract from the module guide is as follows:

How to split 1 zone 2 (organizational capabilities) item into 2 items: a note on item splitting in the ALRA.

In one of the research methods class discussion, I have come across a case study from a MBA student's whose dissertation project is quite focused on luxury brand management. In the discussion, it was thus very clear that the zone 2 (organizational capabilities) item (re: the ALRA) is:

In management-concerns diagram: concerned about the adequacy of the luxury brand management competence of ABC Ltd.

And the corresponding item in theoretical framework level-0 is: to evaluate the luxury brand management competence of ABC Ltd.

I then suggested that the student to discuss with her case study gatekeeper to come up with 1 more zone 2 item to make the total zone 2 items into 2 items. This can also be achieved by splitting the identified zone 2 item of "concerned about the adequacy of the luxury brand management competence of ABC Ltd" [1 item] into two items by studying a textbook on luxury brand management. I now refer to the table of content of the textbook of MICHEL CHEVALIER and GE´RALD MAZZALOVO (2012) Luxury Brand ManagementA World of Privilege Second Edition, John Wiley & Sons Singapore Pte. Ltd., which shows the following topics, among others:

Chapter 8: communication

Chapter 9: Retailing

Chapter 10: Licensing strategy.

In this case, the student could discuss with the case study gatekeeper (and other stakeholders) to consider the following luxury brand management topics for item-splitting:

Option 1: "concerned about the luxury brand communication management competence of ABC Ltd."

Option 2: "concerned about the luxury brand retailing management competence of ABC Ltd."

Option 3: "concerned about the luxury brand licensing management competence of ABC Ltd.

The student could then choose 2 of the three options above to make up the 2 zone 2 items in the management-management concerns diagram and the corresponding theoretical framework diagram.

Lastly, the student needs to do literature search for these two items as well as studies the underlying management topic of core competence.

Consolidation and direct transfer in findings treatment in dissertation projects: a note

Consolidation and direct transfer in findings treatment in dissertation projects: a note

For MBA dissertation projects that employ the agile literature review approach and the table of content template, I come up with the specific terms as related to findings:

Chapter 4: presentation of research findings

Findings direct from the data gathering phase of research methods are called research findings [RFs]. These research findings are relatively raw in the sense that they have not be further processed with theory-driven analysis (theories from theoretical framework 1a) and data analysis (quantitative and qualitative research analysis). Nevertheless, in this chapter, some treatments are specifically made on the minute research findings (i.e. minute findings) before a set of research findings are finalized; the treatments on minute findings are two kinds: (i) consolidation and (ii) direct transfer.

Chapter 5: discussion of findings

Discussion findings [DFs] are the processed outputs from research findings [RFs] as inputs, via the treatment of (i) theory-driven analysis and data analysis as well as (ii) consolidation/ direct transfer on RFs.

The consolidation and direct transfer treatment of findings are depicted in the following diagram:

Regarding the diagram, (a) several minute research findings can be consolidated to produce one research finding and (b) a minute finding, being a critical one, can be directly transferred to gain the research finding status. The two treatments of consolidation and direct transfer can take place in Chapter 4: presentation of findings, Chapter 5: discussion of findings and, lastly in Chapter 6: conclusions and recommendations. In Chapter 6, (a) two or more discussion findings [DFs] can be considered to support the formulation of 1 recommendation [the consolidation case] and (b) one critical discussion finding [DF] can be considered to support the formulation of 1 recommendation [the direct transfer case].

Finally, it is important to refer to these findings, with clear pointers and pointer labels, in your dissertation discussion in essay form to clearly establish your line of reasoning.

Note: the ideas of (a) research and discussion findings as well as (b) the treatment of findings are also useful ones for my Housing Studies students to learn and employ in their dissertation report work. They probably will have one consolidated chapter on findings and analysis instead of two chapters on presentation of findings and discussion of findings.

References

1. How to formulate research findings

2. Chain of evidence design and execution

3. Making recommendations in dissertation reports.

A rapid test (RT) of quality of reasoning (QOR) in MBA dissertation reports using the agile literature review approach

A rapid test (RT) of quality of reasoning (QOR) in MBA dissertation reports using the agile literature review approach

Having following all the practice notes on how to structure and present the content of the MBA dissertation reports that employ the agile literature review approach, some students remain worried about the content of their reports, notably on the quality of reasoning of the report. This topic of quality of reasoning (QOR) has to a large extent been addressed by the "chain of evidence" guidelines. Here, I offer a rapid test (RT) that students can utilize to assess their reports' quality of reasoning (QOR):

Step 1: select a high-level research task (also known as the research objective) such as:

"To evaluate the Information Technology management (ITM) competence of ABC Ltd", and answer the following question:

What is your evaluation viewpoint (general or specific) on the ITM competence of ABC Ltd?

Now, your answer [the evaluation viewpoint] could be: The ITM competence of ABC Ltd is inadequate to cope with the existing external challenges facing it.

Step 2: could you support your evaluation viewpoint with a specific discussion finding in your dissertation report, chapter 5?

Your answer [based on a specific discussion finding in Chapter 5] could be: our existing IT Department staff do not have adequate technical and managerial knowledge to enhance the existing e-commerce infrastructure of our company.

Step 3: could you further support your discussion finding by referring to one or more research findings [re: Chapter 4 your dissertation report] as well as the corresponding specific research method [re: Chapter 4] and analysis method/ theories [re: Chapter 5] used.

Your answer [on research findings/ research methods/ theories used] could be: this discussion finding is based on the research findings about the non-IT department heads' opinions from the interview research [re: Interview research method (research method 2: research finding 7) as interpreted by the XYZ theory [academic idea 3.4]. This interview research gathered and evaluate non-ITM department heads' evaluation viewpoints on the ITM competence of ABC Ltd.

A recap of the "quality of reasoning" rapid test steps:

1. Examine a specific high-level research task

2. Examine a specific discussion finding as related to 1.

3. Examine one or more research findings and the corresponding research methods and theories involved in generating the discussion finding (2 above).

The rapid test (RT) judgement criteria

If the line of reasoning (QOR) is clear, relevant and focused [and I am not talking about whether the line of reasoning is insightful or sophisticated], then the rapid test on quality of reasoning (QOR) is passed.

Indications of QOR failure of the RT:

1. The discussion finding [re: chapter 5] cannot be related to the high-level research task.

2. The research finding [re: chapter 4] (and the corresponding research method) cannot be related to the discussion finding (point 1 above).

3. The academic idea appears not relevant to serve the high-level research task under the rapid test exercise.

One common problem with the QOR is that the discussion finding is related to a management concern associated with zone 3b (solutions-related) while the high-level research task being reviewed belongs to zone 2 (organizational capabilities). [a case of incorrect location of analysis: zone considered in the wrong place]

A reminder: the cost of quality [cost of failure of QOR as detected by the QOR RT] is much higher than the cost of quality [quality prevention defects in the chain of evidence design]. Correcting QOR defects when the deadline of dissertation report submission is near can be very stressful, to say the least.

Reference

Chain of evidence design and execution