Research Methodology Assignment: Comparative Analysis, Instrument Design, and Dissemination Strategy

You are asked to produce a report, which consists of three activities:

1. Section 1. Please provide a detailed critique of at least two well-used research methodologies.
2. Section 2. Please construct a research instrument that could be used to collect data in your capstone project. You will not be collecting any data – just designing the tool.
3. Section 3. Please reflect upon the audience and critical aspects of research dissemination in the specific context of your potential research findings and outcomes from the developed instrument.

The same assignment task as for the main assignment period applies to the resit. Resit deadlines will be published via Moodle. Visit the module’s Moodle site and check your Roehampton email account on a regular basis. The school is not obliged to check whether you have noticed re-sit deadlines.

For students who are offered a resit you are required to improve and resubmit your original work. You must resubmit your work using the specific resit Turnitin link on Moodle.

You should:

1. Review your previously submitted work and read carefully the feedback given by the marker.
2. Reflect on the feedback and identify lessons learned to help you improve your submissions in the future
3. If you need help understanding the feedback and how to improve, you can email the Module Convenor or contact them during their office hours to discuss your work.
4. Use this feedback to help you revisit and rewrite your work, improving it in the areas identified as weak in the original marking process

Please see marking rubric for the resit.

If you deferred your assessment the first time round, the resit deadline becomes your first sit opportunity and you must submit in the Deferral box where you will be marked using the original assessment rubric.

The same assignment task as for the main assignment period applies to the re-sit, with further instructions see below.

Any written work should be spell-checked, and a contents page should be included. Do not use various font sizes and colours. Black ink, Arial, size 11, 1.5 lines spaced is recommended. Use DIN A4 format and page margins of 2.5 cm or 1 inch.

Your report should be presented in good academic style, having been formatted using the Harvard referencing system and proofread for grammatical errors. It should not exceed 3,500 words including tables and figures but excluding references.

Select a topic of interest or business problem relevant to your degree specialism, e.g. strategy, supply chain management, international business & economics, marketing, finance, or human resources. Choose one of these topics that motivates you and that you are likely to pursue for your Dissertation or Consultancy Project (you may change your mind later, but it will be to your advantage if you stick to it, so choose carefully). This will require some preliminary research into that specific area.

Provide the following subsections and address the following tasks for the chosen business problem:

1.1 Research problem

Short explanation of the research problem and the particular question that you would want to study (about 150 words).

1.2 Selected key readings

An introduction that provides a brief commentary of key relevant literature. Be sure to justify your choice of these references in introducing the existing knowledge on your topic (about 500 words).

Attach a full visual presentation such as a mind map, a Venn diagram, or a grandfather, father, son literature map in the report’s appendix to show the scope of your review of literature. That visual presentation will be considered when marking together with your brief commentary.

1.3 Two appropriate research methods

A detailed critique of at least two well-used research methodologies in the literature you have reviewed. Discuss:

1. how they are applied;
2. how the methods were deployed to provide a worthwhile contribution to theory and research
3. what gaps the methods may leave that could lend the area to further analysis (and an opportunity for your own research).

Discuss pros and cons of methods in the context of the proposed research question / research problem; and demonstrate full awareness of constraints and limitations deriving from investigation (about 1,500 words).

Provide the following subsections and address the following tasks for the chosen business problem:

2.1 Instrument

• Provide the details of a proposed research instrument such as, an interview guide, survey questionnaire, or other appropriate instruments. Provide this as an appendix to your report.
• Write 500 words of reflection, regarding how you have designed the instrument and why the way you did. The instrument is only for illustrative purposes and does not necessarily have to be complete.

2.2 Conclusions

Concluding evaluation of instrument’s expected value for the research question(s) that you consider worthy of further investigation, and reflective by taking section 1 into account (about 350 words).

2.3 Bibliography (covers section 1 and 2)

A bibliography containing a minimum of 12 references to relevant journal articles from good academic sources, including at least 6 published in the last 24 months and all cited in your analysis. Please include all references referred to in section one and two here.

Note that the references listed in the full visual presentation (see subsection 1.2) must also be included here.

Provide the following subsections and address the following tasks for the chosen business problem:

3.1 Relevance and audience

Briefly explain who and why may be the right audience for implementing the potential findings from the suggested research (about 200 words).

3.2 Communication of research

Reflect what kind of summarising, media, and design of the report would be needed to disseminate the outcomes properly and most effectively. Who could be partners in public organisations, NGOs, associations, or industry? (about 200 words).

You are invited to produce a one-page outline specifying in brief full sentence bullet points how you think to address the following tasks:

• 1.1 Research problem, especially a precise definition and justification why chosen
• 1.3 Two appropriate research methods, especially how these are suitable to address the problem stated in 1.1.
• 2.1 Instrument, especially what research arenas & disciplines, ideas, examples read, techniques, or any other input will inform how that instrument is created.

The purpose of the formative submission is to receive feedback and to be advised what are the points with the most radical potential to improve the work. The formative assessment will not be marked, and it will not be considered in any form when the final submission is reviewed.

Essential Readings

• Baaij, M. (2014) An Introduction to Management Consultancy, Sage, London.
• Bryman, A., & Bell, E. (2015) Business Research Methods (4th edition). Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Recommended Readings

• Chen, A.H., Peng, N., & Hackley, C. (2008) Evaluating service marketing in airline industry and its influence on student passengers’ purchasing behaviour using Taipei: London route as an example. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 25 (2), 149–160
• Chen, A., Peng, N., & Hung, K. P. (2015). The effects of luxury restaurant environments on diners’ emotions and loyalty: incorporating diner expectations into an extended Mehrabian-Russell model. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 27(2), 236-260.
• Feng, M., Yu, W., Chavez, R., Mangan, J., & Zhang, X. (2017). Guanxi and operational performance: the mediating role of supply chain integration. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 117(8), 1650-1668.
• Fisher, C. (2010) Researching and Writing a Dissertation: An Essential Guide for Business Students (3nd ed.). Harlow, Essex: FT Prentice Hall.
• Gary, T. (2009) How to Do Your Research Project. A Guide for Students in Education and Applied Social Science. London, Sage.
• Hagos, S., Izak, M., & Scott, J. M. (2018). Objective institutionalized barriers and subjective performance factors of new migrant entrepreneurs. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research.
• Hung, K.P., Chen, A.H., Peng, N., Hackley, C., Tiwsakul, R.A., & Chou, C.L. (2011) Antecedents of luxury brand purchase intention. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 20 (6), 457–467.
• Loeffler, T. (2004). A photo elicitation study of the meanings of outdoor adventure experiences. Journal of Leisure Research, 36(4), 2159-6417.
• Massaro, M., Dumay, J., & Guthrie, J. (2016) On the shoulders of giants: undertaking a structured literature review. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 29, 767-801.
• Miller, T.W. (2019) Data Visualization and Text Principles and Practices: The Eye of Data Science. FT Press Analytics). Pearson FT Press, New York (forthcoming).
• Newton, R. (2016) Project Management Step by Step: How to Plan and Manage a Highly Successful Project (2nd edn.). Pearson, Harlow
• Ng, W. & Coakes, E. (2013) Business Research: Enjoy Creating, Developing and Writing your Business Project. Kogan Page, London.
• O’Mahoney, J. & Markham, C. (2013) Management Consultancy. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
• Slack, R., & Munz, M. (2016) Intellectual capital reporting, leadership and strategic change. Journal of Applied Accounting Research, 17(1), 61–83.
• Sturdy, A, Handley, K, Clark, T & Fincham, R (2010) Management Consultancy: Boundaries and Knowledge in Action, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
• Torraco, R. J. (2005). Writing integrative literature reviews: Guidelines and examples. Human Resource Development Review, 4(3), 356–367.
• Vourvachis, P. & Woodward, T. (2015) Content analysis in social and environmental reporting research: trends and challenges. Journal of Applied Accounting Research, 16 (2), 166–195.
• Wallendorf, M., & Arnould, E.J. (1991). “We gather together”: consumption rituals of Thanksgiving day. Journal of Consumer Research, 18(1), 13-31.
• Warren, S. (2018) Research using Secondary Sources: A guide for Business, Management and Organization. Routledge, Abingdon and New York.
• Weyrauch, V.; Echt, L., & Arrieta, D. (2013) How to Communicate Research for Policy Influence. Toolkit No.1: First approach to research communication. Buenos Aires. CIPPEC (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/57a08a16e5274a31e00003fc/Guia-01-serie-3-ingles.pdf).
• Willis, J.W. & Edwards, C. (2014) Action Research: Models, Methods, and Examples, Applied Research in Education and the Social Sciences, Age Publishing, Charlotte.
• Yang, X., Mao, H., Jia, L., & Bublitz, M. G. (2018). A Sweet Romance: Divergent Effects of Romantic Stimuli on the Consumption of Sweets. Journal of Consumer Research, 45(6), 1213-1229.
• Yu, W., Ramanathan, R., & Nath, P. (2017). Environmental pressures and performance: An analysis of the roles of environmental innovation strategy and marketing capability. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 117, 160-169.
• Zarantonello L., Formisano M., & Grappi S. (2016) The relationship between brand love and actual brand performance: evidence from an international study. International Marketing Review, 33 (6), 806–824.
• Zarantonello, L., & Luomala, H.T. (2011). Dear Mr Chocolate: constructing a typology of contextualized chocolate consumption experiences through qualitative diary research. Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 14 (1), 55-82.

You must use the Harvard System.

The Business School requires a digital version of all assignment submissions. These must be submitted via Turnitin on the module’s Moodle site. They must be submitted as a Word file (not as a pdf) and must not include scanned in text or text boxes. They must be submitted by the given date. For further general details on coursework preparation refer to the online information at https://library.roehampton.ac.uk/referencing/roeharvard

The University Mitigating Circumstances Policy can be found on the University website: Mitigating Circumstances Policy

Your work will be assessed by a subject expert who will use either the marking criteria provided in the section “Instructions for assessment” or the Marking rubric enclosed in the Appendix, as appropriate for this module.

When you access your marked work, it is important that you reflect on the feedback so that you can use it to improve future assignments.

Between you handing in your work and then receiving your feedback and marks, there are a number of quality assurance processes that we go through to ensure that students receive marks which reflects their work. A brief summary is provided below.

1. Step One – The module and marking team meet to agree standards, expectations and how feedback will be provided.
2. Step Two – A subject expert will mark your work using the criteria provided in the assessment brief.
3. Step Three – A moderation meeting takes place where all members of the teaching and marking team will review the marking of others to confirm whether they agree with the mark and feedback.
4. Step Four – Work at Levels 5 and 6 then goes to an external examiner who will review a sample of work to confirm that the marking between different staff is consistent and fair.
5. Stop Five – Your mark and feedback are processed by the Office and made available to you.