Hypothesis formulation based on knowledge: a note

Hypothesis formulation based on knowledge [justified beliefs]: a note for research methods students doing correlation study.

Formulating hypothesis statements requires justification with relevant knowledge (i.e. justified beliefs):

Beliefs are justified with knowledge from"

1. academic literature review (top choice)

2. Government publications,

3. newspapers, and 

4. personal personal observations.

A classical example for discussion purpose is:

A hypothesis (null) : all swans are white. (based on existing findings from credible sources, e.g. the academic literature)

An alternative hypothesis is: not all swans are white.

The main aim of hypothesis testing is not "to prove that the null hypothesis statement is correct"; but to find out if the empirical evidence (e.g. your sample statistics) is sufficient to reject the null hypothesis (re: study Popper's falsification).

*** Now, note these: 

a. If your hypothesis test result rejects your null hypothesis, it does not mean that your research method exercise (e.g. hypothesis testing on correlation relationship) is a failure.

b. If your hypothesis test does not reject your null hypothesis, it does not prove that you null hypothesis statement is correct; it just means that that your test result (on you sample statistics) does not reject your null hypothesis.

MBA dissertation report chapters: info about the content, 2022

 MBA dissertation report chapters: info about the content, 2022 (as per the latest module guide )  [2020 /21 (October 2020 cohort)]:

(** bear in mind that 1 page is about 400 words)

Executive summary:

There should be an Executive Summary (approximately 200 words) at

the beginning which should review what has been covered and the

main outcome proposed.  

Chapter 1, Introduction, and context of the study. This should cover a strategic overview

developing and enhancing the first section of the proposal covering the rationale

for the project and its importance to an organisation or business sector.

This may be expressed in terms of sustaining competitive position or improving that position. 

This section might usefully consider the subject from the threats, opportunities,

and business contextual factors. It should avoid too broad a scope.

This might discuss improvement to internal business processes:

customer care, service quality, improvement in skills and or organisation of resources etc.

It might include better service delivery, marketing strategies or identification

of new markets and or products or services to the external business environment.

These are illustrative only. (Approximately 500 words)

Chapter 2, Literature Review The work will include a robust and critical literature review.

The main purpose is to establish the important areas of research and enquiry

such that the project objectives can be achieved.

It serves an important purpose in expanding the body of knowledge that we have

with which to understand current performance and as a secondary base to build

better informed practices for the future. It should review both the academic literature

and the empirical practices that organisations operate.

Your ability to shape the ideas and practices is one of the key skills.

It is not just a question of presenting other authors ideas without comment.

The better marks are to be achieved whereby you identify areas of difference

and consensus and from these works draw a strong conclusion as to

what is important in managing the particular area under review.

The outcome is likely to have not much more than 4-6 key ideas and principles in the

conclusions and will be framed around the question ‘what makes this a successful

strategic business practice- and how can it be managed effectively in practice’.

These will be the areas you will further examine in your research.

This needs to be written in logical and coherent chapters that flow together.

It should be clear as to what is being covered and it should avoid extending into too many areas otherwise critical depth is lost.

The number of primary sources will vary. We expect a good range of relevant

and contemporary sources but the treatment of them is more important than shear number. (Approximately 2000 words). 

Chapter 3 Methodology The project must include a critical review of both primary and secondary research methods that are possible but more importantly those deployed in the project from the perspective of such things as selecting valid and reliable sources of information against the objectives. Discussion of sample sizes and drawing reliable conclusions). It should address specific tools used (interviews, questionnaires, case studies etc.)  and the various strengths of these and how they can be best designed and used for the designated project.  (Approximately 2000 words)

Chapter 4 Presentation of Research findings There must be a strong section which presents and discusses the research findings from both primary and secondary sources but emphasising new material collected specifically for the project. This section is important as this is the area where you engage with new and original material that you have collected and the skills deployed here are definitive in terms of the scope final assessment grade together with the recommendations. Data must be presented systematically and structured clearly around tables – if appropriate- or in terms of outcomes against the areas identified from the literature and linked back to project objectives. (Approximately 2000 words)

Chapter 5 Discussion of Findings Having presented the data descriptively you will be expected to interrogate the findings by asking questions of your information such as: what is significant here, where is there key agreements between participants /sources what are the main areas of disagreement, how does this information reflect the outcomes (confirm or deny) from the literature review etc. What does this say about important ideas to shape policy /strategy and its implementation. (Approximately 2000 words) 

Chapter 6 Conclusion and Recommendations You will need a conclusion which draws together the findings from your research and the literature review and start to feedback and comment on the possibilities that now arise in terms of meeting the objectives. It should shape the agenda and start to define what it is you now think can be done.  It should summarise main points and decide what stance you are taking with respect to the practice /policies under review. It should flow naturally from the earlier work. This section should not introduce new ideas or new debates even if you have discovered new information! If this is the case earlier chapters need reworking. (Approximately 1000 words)

Recommendations should follow the conclusions. At this stage you move away from a research stance and adopt a leadership stance. Here you will advocate a possible direction for the organisation or sector. It can be specific as to future strategy and policy or it might offer an alternative view and scenario depending on particular future contexts. It should be carefully presented in management   terms.  Imagine you are presenting to a body of interested organisational managers with different levels of commitment to what you are proposing! It should clearly state what issue / opportunity is being addressed and the impact desired. It should state what should be done and it should say something on the implementation around; resources, barriers, risk, timescales, and organisation of the changes. It should not overly direct to further work or decisions otherwise the project is likely to be overly ‘contextual ‘and general and not solution driven. Again, no new ideas should be introduced here and it should be clear how the recommendations can be derived from the foregoing work. (Approximately 500 words)

Chapter 7 Reflections on developing your personal competence. This chapter provides the opportunity for you to reflect on your programme experience and the learning which has impacted on the development of your professional identity. Drawing on evidence you have collated throughout the module you are to write a reflective commentary which addresses the following: what were your initial motivations for undertaking a MBA and what were the central components of your professional identity during semester 1? What did you learn about yourself as a developing business professional and how that learning will shape your future professional self? (Approximately 2000 words)

The dissertation/project should be approximately 12000 words. However, the exact make-up of the sections may vary. It is unlikely you will be able to meet the learning outcomes in terms of depth and range of analysis in a study of less than 12000 words. 

The remainder of the dissertation/project should comprise your research proposal (final) and the reference list and appendices which evidence content in the main body of your report. Appendices should be carefully selected. They should be referenced in the main body of the study and should clearly relate to and provide further important reference for the reader. They should not be included if they have no central bearing on the study or simply a catalogue of all organisational information you can find.   

Please treat all word guides flexibly as different projects will emphasise different priorities and weightings so these are indicative.

Consolidation and expansionism in the agile literature review approach (ALRA) diagramming: a note

Consolidation and expansionism in the agile literature review approach (ALRA) diagramming: 2 examples:

Example 1: how diagramming consolidation** and expansionism are done

In the management-concerns diagram of ABC Ltd

1, Concerned about the weak managerial competence on staff recruitment

2. Concerned about the weak managerial competence on staff retention

In theoretical framework level 0

Poor formulation:

1. To evaluate the managerial competence of ABC Ltd. on staff recruitment

2. To evaluate the managerial competence of ABC Ltd on staff retention

Improved formulation:

1. To evaluate the human resource management competence of ABC Ltd, with special reference to staff recruitment and retention

Example 2: how diagramming consolidation and expansionism are done

In the management-concerns diagram of ABC Ltd

1, Concerned about the poor customer information quality in ABC Ltd

2. Concerned about the poor competitor information quality in ABC Ltd

In theoretical framework level 0

1. To evaluate the marketing information system of ABC Ltd, with special reference to customer and competitor information.

** consolidation means combining 2 or more items (notably in the management-concerns diagram) into 1 item in the theoretical framework level 0.

Underlying rationale: Diagramming consolidation and expansionism foster a more complicated, holistic and strategic comprehension [in the form of the theoretical framework] on the the management concerns of an organization under investigation.

The topic of vision, mission and objective in agile literature review diagramming: a discussion

The topic of vision, mission and objectives [VMO] in agile literature review approach [ALRA] diagramming: a discussion:

Some students want to examine the topic of vision, mission and objectives [VMO] in their dissertation projects. They suggest that the VMO concern be located in Zone 1 of the agile literature review approach [ALRA] diagrams (i.e. management concerns diagram and the theoretical framework diagrams]. To start with, zone 1 deals with environmental drivers. These factors influence an organization but the organization cannot "control" nor "create" them. VMO is formulated by the top management of an organization, under the stewardship of its board of directors. It is, by definition, not an environmental driver.

There are two ways to deal with the topic of VMO, if it is an important one to be examined in the student's dissertation project, namely, the explicit way and the implicit way:

The explicit way involves introducing a zone 4 [VMO] in the management concerns diagram and the corresponding theoretical frameworks. Zone 4 in this case has linkages with Zones 1, 2 and 3a/3b. This way of treating VMO is mainly useful for dissertation projects with VMO being treated as a core-focus-domain item.

Statement examples: 

Management concern [zone 4]: Concern about the VMO of the company being unclear (or unattractive).

Theoretical framework [zone 4]: to evaluate the VMO of ABC Ltd in terms of its feasibility and attractiveness to the stakeholders involved.

The implicit way is to bring up the the topic of VMO in the literature review and findings analysis of the student's dissertation report. This way of treating VMO is more appropriate when it is not a core-focus-domain item in the dissertation project work.

Two more questions to consider:

Question 1: who is to decide whether VMO is a core-focus-domain item or not? It is decided by the dissertation project student who is sufficiently informed about the management concerns and the prevailing situation of the organization under investigation.

Question 2: what if (a) the topic of VMO is not a core-focus-domain item but still of some significance to the dissertation investigation and (b) the student feels confident to work with ALRA diagrams with 4 zones [i.e. a bit more complicated than  3-zone diagrams]?. In this case the explicit way can be employed. This case is a borderline one on the choice of implicit and explicit ways.

A guideline on how to assemble theories on specific management domains for organizational capability analysis in ALRA

 A guideline on how to assemble theories on specific management domains for organizational capability analysis in the agile literature review approach (ALRA): 

For literature search and review of analytical ideas to conduct high-level research tasks as identified in the theoretical framework [of the agile literature review approach], sometimes it is not easy to find analytical ideas for evaluation on a specific management domain, notably on organizational capability [Theoretical framework zone 2].  In this case, do the following steps [my suggested guideline], 

Step 1. find out the main activities involved in the management domain (e.g. production management, marketing communication, cost and management accounting, etc). For example, what are the main processes, tasks and sub-functions involved in the management domain. Do literature research on the models and ideas to gather useful concepts (group 1 concepts)

Step 2. adopt the resource based view (and core competence view) by considering what resources (tangible and intangible) are involved (re group 1 concepts on the processes and tasks involved) and what management capability required to manage these resources to create competitive advantage for the company concerned. Do literature review on the topic of resource-based view and core competence to gather useful concepts on these two topics (group 2 concepts)

Step 3. blend groups 1 and 2 concepts together to make up a tailor-made intellectual framework to inform the conduct of the high-level research task to evaluate the organizational capability of your chosen management domain, such as "to evaluate the production management capability of ABC Ltd" a high-level research task] and "to evaluate the marketing communication capability of ABC Ltd" [a high-level research task].

These steps are especially useful if you cannot find any specific organizational capability theories on the management domain [in zone 2] that you have chosen to study.

Some advice on linkage-type research objective in the agile literature review approach

 Some advice on linkage-type research objective in the agile literature review approach:

An example of a linkage-type research objective:

Example: to evaluate how managerial competence affects frontline employee turnover of ABC Ltd.

Comments on this objective in six points:

Point 1. to evaluate how managerial competence [zone 2 item] affects frontline employee turnover [zone 3a item] of ABC Ltd.

Point 2. Changed to [revised linkage-type research objective]: to evaluate the managerial competence of ABC Ltd, with special regard to its influence on the frontline employee turnover

That is: "to evaluate how managerial competence affects frontline employee turnover of ABC Ltd." changed to "to evaluate the managerial competence of ABC Ltd, with special regard to its influence on the frontline employee turnover"

Point 3. The revised linkage-type research objective has two sub-objectives

Research objective 1.1: to evaluate the managerial competence of ABC Ltd. [zone 2 item]

Research objective 1.2: to evaluate how managerial competence affects frontline employee turnover of ABC Ltd. [a linkage item {an arrow in the theoretical framework level 0 connecting two items} between zone 2 and zone 3a]

Point 4. Note that in Zone 3a, there is also a research objective on employee turnover as follows:

Research objective 2: to evaluate the frontline employee turnover status of ABC Ltd.

Point 5. Alternative, just express your interest in the revised linkage-type research objective in the theoretical framework level 0:

Zone 2: "to evaluate the managerial competence of ABC Ltd"  ----->

Zone 3a: "to evaluate the frontline staff turnover status of ABC Ltd".

If you adopt Point 2, the dissertation title becomes: 

An investigation to evaluate the managerial competence of ABC Ltd, with special regard to its influence on frontline employee turnover

If you adopt Point 5, the dissertation title could become: 

An investigation to evaluate the managerial competence and frontline staff turnover of ABC Ltd 

Point 6. I need to remind students that you need to do relevant literature review on these three research objectives explicitly in this case. 

Research objective 1.1: to evaluate the managerial competence of ABC Ltd.

Research objective 1.2: to evaluate how managerial competence affects frontline employee turnover of ABC Ltd.

Research objective 2: to evaluate the frontline staff turnover status of ABC Ltd.

The advice given endorses the agile literature review approach principle of "fostering a more complicated [including comprehensive, systemic and richer] view on management concerns and theoretical frameworks" in dissertation project.

What can be done with assignment turnitin similarity index is high - some advice

 What can be done with assignment turnitin index is high - some advice

The student question: my assignment turnitin similarity index is high (at 27%); is it OK?

Reply: it is not OK; try to reduce the similarity index to within 15%; study the following videos and reduce the index:

1. how to do quotation

2. how to paraphrase

3. how to avoid plagiarism

** Also ensure you do proper harvard referencing.