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Student Guide for a Research Proposal

You are working as a senior researcher for a company (of your own choice) to conduct
business research in order to solve an issue/situation. The issue/situation the company
is facing could be a problem, such as declined revenue, or a potential opportunity, such
as the introduction of a new product or the exploration of new market. The issue that the
company is facing requires rigorous business research. It is not a problem that can be
resolved through simple thinking or discussion. The rigorous business research requires
the researcher set up a research plan, collect and analyze data, and draw conclusions.
The research proposal/prospectus is the research plan that you, as the senior
researcher, submit to the management for approval before conducting the research. It is
a contract between you and management in terms of the steps of the business, budget
and timeline.
You first need to select a company and a research problem that you want to study.
Then you need to write a research proposal indicating the background of the problem,
the problem statement, the purpose of the study, the studys hypothesis (es), the
methodology to be employed in the study and a review of the literature pertaining to the
problem. In a Prospectus--a plan to do research--you do everything except collect and
analyze the data.
Formatting
The paper should be 5-10 pages long and double-spaced using Times New Roman 12
font. The maximum is 10 pages including references and appendix, if any. If you are not
familiar with the formatting of research paper, it is highly recommended that you follow
APA style. You can also select other styles of your own choice.
Here is a tutorial on APA style:
http://gseacademic.harvard.edu/~instruct/articulate/apa_mod/APA_Intro/player.html
Your paper will be graded based on the formatting with a small weight. However, keep
in mind that the senior VP of the company is NOT impressed by APA style as the major
outcome of your work.
Specific Information
Note 1: Even though you will NOT be implementing the research plan you design
in the proposal prior to writing your paper, your plan must be a realistic plan that
you personally have the knowledge and resources to implement upon request.

Note 2: Your paper must be your own original work! Be sure to give proper
credit when you borrow or use someone else's words and ideas, including your
own previously written works. See the 6th edition of the Publication Manual of the
American Psychological Association pages 15-16 for specific information on
Plagiarism and Self-Plagiarism. If proper credit is not given in your paper to the
work of others, the paper will be assigned a grade of 0.
Note 3: Write your paper in third person. Scholarly works generally are written in
third person to avoid reader concern about bias in an empirical study. A research
prospectus should be concise. If you find yourself using phrases like As
mentioned previously then you are repeating yourself without providing new
information.
Note 4: You should use a neutral tone while stating the issues. Keep in mind that
your audience is the senior VPs of the company that hired your for this research
work.
Note 5: There is no need to provide detailed company information or the history
of the company. Since the audience of the research prospectus is the senior VPs,
they already know the companys history and past achievement.
Note 6: You are proposing to conduct business research to help a company to
solve an issue. So there will be no conclusion and thus you should not provide
any firm suggestions, such as the company should.
Grading
The grade for the paper will be based on content, organization, and format. Although
the entire paper will be graded, the major focus of grading will be on content, especially
problem statement and study hypothesis.

Required layout of the research proposal


Abstract
An abstract is a brief descriptive summary of your study (150 - 250 words, one
paragraph, no paragraph indent). A good abstract is accurate, non-evaluative,
coherent, readable, and concise.
Chapter I Introduction
You should consider the following elements when preparing Chapter I (all elements may
not be required). You may also wish to look at pages 123-125 of the 9th edition of your
text.
1. Background: What led you to address this problem? What are the symptoms
that led you to believe this problem needs to be addressed by business research.
2. Problem Statement: Problem Statement - What is the problem of your proposed
study? Be very specific in stating the problem. When you address a problem in
research, it does not mean that you are addressing something that is wrong.
For example, your problem might be that you do not know the attitudes of your
consumers about a specific product.
3. Purpose of Study: What is the purpose of your research? Be very specific in
stating the purpose. For example, your purpose might be that you want to
investigate the attitudes of consumers about a specific product and their
decisions to purchase that product.
4. Research Questions (optional) and Study Hypotheses (required)
a. Research question(s) - Clearly state at least one question that will guide
your research. For example:
What are the attitudes of consumers in Texas about a specific product?
What is the difference in attitudes between male and female consumers
about a specific product?
To what extent do consumer attitudes affect decisions to purchase a
specific product?
b. Hypothesis(es) - What do you predict will be the outcome of your
proposed study? The hypothesis is an educated guess about the results
of your proposed research. (Note: Hypotheses are to be tested, while
research questions are to be answered.) For example:

There is no difference in attitudes between male and female consumers


about a specific product. (null hypothesis)
Consumers with positive attitudes about a specific product will purchase
that product. (directional hypothesis)
5. Study Limitations and Delimitations--optional.
a. Limitations are factors, typically not in the researcher's control, that may
affect the results of the study or how the results are interpreted. For
example: Due to the small sample available for the study, results may not
be generalizable beyond the specific population from which the sample
was drawn.
b. Delimitations are factors that affect the study over which the researcher
usually has some degree of control. Delimitations describe the scope or
parameters of the study. For example: Due to the large number of
potential participants in the study population, the population involved in the
current study focused only on consumers located within Hunt County in
Texas.
6. Definitions--optional: Include definitions for terms used in the proposal that are
unusual or not widely understood. In addition, common terms that have special
meaning in the study should be defined in this section. Acronyms (except those
in common usage) require definition.
7. Budget and time schedule: any complete research proposal should include a
schedule of how long it will take to conduct each stage of the research and a
statement of itemized costs. Although you may not have a very good idea about
the budget and time schedule, you are supposed to provide such information to
your best knowledge.
Chapter 2 Review of Related Literature
This Review of Related Literature section should contain a synthesis of scholarly and
peer-reviewed literature on your topic. It should provide evidence as to what types of
studies have been conducted in relation to your research problem and further confirm
the need for you to conduct your proposed study meaning, this is not a problem that
has already been solved, but one needing more research and/or ideas for research.
A review of the literature should incorporate several studies summarized in your own
words. For example--A study conducted by Woodstock and Brown (2006) determined

that dog owners are extremely appreciative of the loyalty displayed by canines. Other
studies, (Scooby, 2005; Yogi, 2006) concluded similar findings.
Remember that content within this section is not about your personal experiences or
opinions, but rather the conclusions from previous researchers. All studies that are cited
within the text of your literature review should be on your reference list at the end of the
document.
A minimum of two references are required.
Chapter 3 Methodology
Note: You will not collect the actual data for this paper.
The Methodology section describes in detail how the study will be conducted. This
allows the reader to evaluate the appropriateness of the proposed methods. It also
allows the reader to replicate the proposed study.
The Methodology section should discuss the source of data. What data will be used in
the study and how are they going to be collected. You should also specify the variables
to be used, including the dependent variable and the independent variable.

References
Each source cited in your paper must be listed in the reference section. Each entry in
the reference section must be cited in the body of your paper.
Remember to use a minimum of two current references from reliable sources such as
scholarly or peer-reviewed journals. No Wikipedia please.

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