On research method design specification in an MBA dissertation proposal

 On research method design specification in an MBA dissertation proposal

I am a lecturer on Research Methods for part-time MBA students. In order to guide my students to describe more clearly their research method design in their dissertation proposals, could you offer me a research method design specification template with 4 main information on each of the following research methods:

1. Semi-structured interview

2. Questionnaire survey

3. Focus group

4. Participant observation

5. Secondary data analysis (on reported case studies)

6. Document study (for a specific organization)

 

Research Method Design Specification Template

Ask students to complete the same four fields for each method they propose. This makes the design transparent: what evidence they need, from whom or where, how they will obtain it, and how they will analyse it. The method should follow directly from the research questions rather than being chosen merely because it is convenient.

Research method	1. Purpose and research-question link	2. Data source, sampling and access	3. Data collection procedure	4. Analysis, quality and ethics
Semi-structured interview	State which research question(s) require participants’ experiences, interpretations, motives, or decision processes. Explain why guided but flexible interviewing is appropriate.	Specify target participants, inclusion criteria, planned number of interviews, sampling approach (e.g., purposive, snowball), recruitment route, and access arrangements.	Describe the interview guide’s main themes, expected duration, mode (face-to-face/ online), recording and transcription arrangements, and any pilot interview.	State the analysis approach, such as thematic analysis; explain coding steps and how themes answer the research questions. Address informed consent, anonymity, secure storage, withdrawal rights, and reflexivity.
Questionnaire survey	Identify the research question(s) involving prevalence, attitudes, relationships, comparisons, or patterns across a defined population. State whether the design is descriptive, correlational, or explanatory.	Define the target population, sampling frame, sampling method, intended sample size, recruitment channel, expected response rate, and likely non-response limitations.	Specify questionnaire sections, key constructs/variables, question types, scale format, distribution method, data-collection period, and pilot test. Include how unclear or leading questions will be reduced.	Identify planned descriptive statistics and, where appropriate, tests of association or difference. Explain treatment of missing data, reliability checks for multi-item scales, confidentiality, consent, and data security.
Focus group	Link the method to research questions about shared meanings, group norms, disagreement, consumer reactions, or collective problem-solving. Explain why participant interaction matters.	Specify the participant profile, number of groups, planned group size, composition criteria, recruitment route, and whether participants know one another.	Describe discussion topics, use of a moderator and note-taker, session length, venue or online platform, recording, transcript preparation, and use of prompts or stimuli.	Explain how both individual views and group interaction will be analysed, normally through thematic analysis. Address consent, confidentiality limits in a group setting, respectful discussion rules, and protection of identifiable comments.
Participant observation	State the research question(s) concerning actual practices, behaviours, routines, interactions, or use of space that may not be captured well through self-report. Clarify whether observation is overt or covert.	Define the setting, people or activities observed, observation periods, selection of events or locations, researcher role (participant-as-observer or observer-as-participant), and access permissions.	Specify what will be observed, how field notes will be recorded, the observation schedule, whether an observation protocol will be used, and how reflective notes will distinguish observation from interpretation.	Explain how field notes will be coded into patterns, categories, or themes. Discuss observer effects, researcher bias, triangulation where feasible, privacy, informed consent, organisational permission, and protection of vulnerable participants.
Secondary data analysis: reported case studies	Identify the research question(s) addressed through existing published cases, such as strategic responses, implementation problems, or cross-case patterns. Define what counts as a “case.”	State databases and sources to be searched, search terms, date range, sector/ geographical limits, inclusion and exclusion criteria, and intended number of cases.	Describe the systematic search and screening process, information extracted from each case, use of a standard case-extraction form, and how duplicates or weakly documented cases will be handled.	Specify whether analysis will use within-case analysis, cross-case comparison, thematic synthesis, or pattern matching. Evaluate source credibility, completeness, publication bias, differing case contexts, and accurate citation of all sources.
Document study: one organisation	Link the method to research questions about official strategy, policies, organisational priorities, communications, governance, or reported performance. Explain why organisational documents are relevant evidence.	Identify the organisation, document types, period covered, document sources, inclusion and exclusion criteria, access restrictions, and approximate document corpus.	State how documents will be collected, catalogued, dated, and stored. Specify the document-review framework or coding categories, and explain how versions, authorship, and intended audience will be recorded.	Explain the planned content analysis, thematic analysis, discourse analysis, or comparison across document types/time periods. Evaluate authenticity, credibility, representativeness, possible public-relations bias, confidentiality, copyright, and limits on claims about actual practice.

Proposal Writing Prompt

Students can turn each row into a concise dissertation-proposal subsection:

“This study will use [method] to address [research question/objective]. Data will be obtained from [participants/documents/cases], selected through [sampling or selection criteria]. Data collection will involve [procedure and timeframe]. The data will be analysed using [named analytical approach]. Key issues concerning research quality and ethics include [two or three issues].”

A useful teaching check is to ask students: Which exact research question does each proposed method answer, and what evidence would that method produce that another method would not?

A collection of blog notes on using chatgpt for research purpose.