Posted: March 16th, 2022

RESEARCH BRIEF and ASSESSMENT TASKS

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RESEARCH BRIEF and ASSESSMENT TASKS
1. Research Project Guidelines.

Select an Organisation to conduct business research. Identify the key business issue/problem. This could be an internal organisational, market or consumer/customer related business issue. Design the research problem and collect the appropriate data that will address the key business problem. Once you have analysed the data, outline key recommendations the organisation can implement. Use both secondary and primary data as your source of information. Base your research problem around a theoretical framework. This will Help you in conducting the appropriate literature review to support your research. In order achieve this outcome here are some examples you can consider as part of your research project;

Examples – Market and Consumer/ Customer issues.

• Determine the size, structure and growth of the Organisation’s market in Australia or overseas. What are the current trends in the market.
• Determine Organisation’s competitiveness in the market: strengths and weaknesses. What are the key opportunities and key barriers for market entry?
• What are the key segments in the market and which segments represent the greatest opportunity? What are some of the key variables you need to consider to find the most attractive segments to target.
• What is target market description and profile and how can the organisation position its products and services in the target market? What is the market share potential?
• Who are the potential customers? How can the organisation attract new customers?
• Who are the direct and indirect competitors in the market? How can the organisation gain a competitive advantage against its main competitors? How competitive is pricing in relation to competition?
• What would motivate customers to purchase the organisation’s products and services? How satisfied are current customers and how can the firm improve customer satisfaction?
• How is the supply chain structured and what are the key areas of improvement in the supply chain?
• What are the key factors that differentiate this business from competition?
• How is the business strategically positioned in the market? What are the key strategies for differentiation.

Example: Internal organisational issues
• How does the current structure of the business impact on the performance of the organisation? How can the structure be improved to be more competitive and align with strategic goals of the organisation?
• How does the culture and the leadership in the organisation impact on performance? How effective is the current leadership in delivering organisation’s vision?
• Is the staff recruitment and employment practices in line with best practice? How can the organisation improve its position in this area? How can the organisation attract the best talent?
• What are the key managerial competencies in the organisations how do these competencies align with the organisation strategic intent. How successful is the business in creating a competitive advantage using internal resources?

NOTE: (The above are only business issue examples you do not need to answer all the questions. Pick the areas that are relevant to the organisation you are analysing. You need to address no more than one or two business issues. You can also come up with your own business issue to research)

Use the following templates to complete each assessment task.

Assessment 1 – Research Proposal – (Use template in Appendix A)

Assessment 2 – Research Presentation (Use outline in Appendix B)

Assessment 3- Final Report (Use Template in Appendix C)

Assessment 1 – Research Proposal Template

APPENDIX A

1. BACKGROUND

a. Description of the Business under Study.

b. Location.

Where the study to be is conducted e.g. Australia, Sydney

2. PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

Write a paragraph on the events leading up to the research and what research has been previously conducted on the market, category, product and any market learning that will aid the researcher. Also identify what the research is trying to solve and the background to the organisation.

3. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK/ LITRATURE REVIEW

Theories are formulated to explain, predict, and understand phenomena and, in many cases, to challenge and extend existing knowledge within the limits of critical bounding assumptions. The theoretical framework is the structure that can hold or support a theory of a research study. The theoretical framework introduces and describes the theory that explains why the research problem under study exists.
A theoretical framework consists of concepts and, together with their definitions and reference to relevant scholarly literature, existing theory that is used for your particular study. The theoretical framework must demonstrate an understanding of theories and concepts that are relevant to the topic of your research paper and that relate to the broader areas of knowledge being considered.

The theoretical framework is most often not something readily found within the literature. You must review course readings and pertinent research studies for theories and analytic models that are relevant to the research problem you are investigating. The selection of a theory should depend on its appropriateness, ease of application, and explanatory power.

The theoretical framework strengthens the study in the following ways:

An explicit statement of theoretical assumptions permits the reader to evaluate them critically. The theoretical framework connects the researcher to existing knowledge. Guided by a relevant theory, you are given a basis for your hypotheses and choice of research methods. Articulating the theoretical assumptions of a research study forces you to address questions of why and how. It permits you to intellectually transition from simply describing a phenomenon you have observed to generalizing about various aspects of that phenomenon. Having a theory helps you identify the limits to those generalizations. A theoretical framework specifies which key variables influence a phenomenon of interest and highlights the need to examine how those key variables might differ and under what circumstances.

4. RESEARCH PROBLEM AND QUESTIONS

When determining the research or business problem, ensure that it is the causes of the business problem and not the symptoms that are addressed. When defining the problem, be specific and identify the problem and then develop five key research questions related to the problem you are investigating (see lecture notes for definitions.)

5. DATA COLLECTION

Identify and list the general questions that can be explored or answered to solve the research problem.
The following question should be addressed here:
“What information is needed in order to solve the research problem?”

a. Measurement.

Primary Data: The measurement process will depend on the data needed (interviews, questionnaires, observation, eye tracking are some examples of methods). Usually in market research qualitative methods (e.g. focus groups) are used as an initial investigation process to highlight the key variables. For in-depth analysis of key variables quantitative methods using questionnaires are common.

Ultimately, you are asking questions, regardless if you are observing or using a questionnaire. The questions are structured or unstructured. Structured questions have pre-specified answer choices, for example “strongly agree” or “strongly disagree”. Unstructured questions have open-ended answers, for example, the respondent simply writes what s/he observes or thinks.

Secondary Data: This is syndicated data you can use in your research, Secondary data comes from other sources and does not require a specific questionnaire method

6. RESEARCH DESIGN

There are three types of research design: Secondary and Primary data collection

a. Exploratory research: collect data in an unstructured and intuitive process (usually qualitative or observational research). Secondary data is also used in observational research
b. Descriptive research: describes the consumers’ attitudes, intentions, and behaviours (usually quantitative with qualitative and observational research as the base).
c. Causal research: this is a scientific method and used primarily in regression analysis. It requires that you explore whether one particular independent variable has an effect on the dependent variable while all else is constant.

7. THE SAMPLING PLAN

There are three main issues regarding the sampling plan:
Determine who or what is to be sampled. This comes from defining the research problem.
Determine the unit of the entity to be sampled, called the sample element.
Determine sample size. Not true that the larger the population, the larger the sample must be.

8. ANALYSIS AND STISTICAL METHODS TO BE USED TO ANALYSE THE DATA

Describe the type of quantitative or qualitative methods you will be utilizing to analyse the data you have collected and why you have selected these types of methods.

9. TIMING

Outline the milestones and time frame for each component of the project. Develop a detailed timetable outlining key activities you are going to conduct during the research process.
Specify when you are going to collect your data.

Appendix B
Assessment 2 – Presentation Format:
Utilising the findings from your report prepare a 10-minute presentation covering the following areas.
Please use the following format for your research presentation:
1. Brief Industry Background and Objectives of the Research – (1 Slide)
2. Research Problem Statement and Research Questions – (1 Slide)
3. Methodology/Literature -(Very brief description) – (2 Slide)
4. Key Findings – Interpretation of the data both secondary and Primary – (4 Slides)
5. Conclusions and Recommendations – (2 slides)

Tips for the presentation;

1. Be concise and present information that best describes your analysis and builds a strong persuasive idea.
2. Reference data sources and make sure it is on the presentation chart. Always specify the size of the sample when presenting data.
4. Try to stay focused on the discussion you are presenting, don’t give too many unnecessary examples.
5. Make sure your conclusions and recommendation are evidence-based – that is from the data you have collected.

All presentations are to be constructed in PowerPoint following the format outlined on Moodle. For each PowerPoint slide, you must also have notes under the slide in the notes section.

Assessment 3 – Appendix C
Final Report Format
When writing your report make sure it is written in persuasive language using the following format and structure;

TOTAL WORD LIMIT: 3500-4000 words
Part Description Page Limits
Aprox.
Prefatory Part • Acknowledgement
• Table of Contents
• Executive Summary (~ 1 Pages)
Chapter I: Introduction • A brief introduction of the study.
• Organization Overview
• Research objectives
• Research Problem Statement (~ 1 pages)
Chapter II: • Extensive Literature Review: Covering key concepts and issues relevant to the research topic. Including relevant studies that support the research questions and hypothesis.
• Theoretical Frameworks in the literature that apply to the research framework and key variables.
• Explain relationship among components/variables and the theoretical framework to articulate theorized relationships.
(~ 3 pages)
Chapter III: Research Methodology • Statement of Problem, Research Questions and Hypothesis.
• Research Methodology; Research Design & Data collection methods; Limitations (~ 2 pages)
Chapter IV: Analysis and Interpretation • Data Analysis & interpretations
• Application of suitable frameworks to support data and interpretations.

(~ 4 pages)
Chapter V: Conclusion • Key Conclusions
• Outcome /Managerial Recommendations
• Future scope (~2 pages)
Appendix To support the findings and research investigations as above. References, Code of Ethics,
Use the following templates to complete each assessment task.
Assessment 1 – Research Proposal – (Use template in Appendix A) Assessment 2 – Research Presentation (Use outline in Appendix B) Assessment 3- Final Report (Use Template in Appendix C)
APPENDIX A
Assessment 1 – Research Proposal Template
1. BACKGROUND
a. Description of the Business under Study.
b. Location.
Where the study to be is conducted e.g. Australia, Sydney
2. PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
Write a paragraph on the events leading up to the research and background on the organisation, market, category, product. Also identify what the research is trying to solve stating the main aims and objectives.
3. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK/ LITRATURE REVIEW
Develop the conceptual/ theoretical framework you will be applying to your research project. The theoretical framework does not need to be discussed in detail for the proposal. A more general approach highlighting the key variables that will be included in your study and how the theoretical framework applies to your research problem. The literature supporting the theoretical framework can be listed but at the proposal stage we do not need to analyse the literature. The analysis of the literature will be required for your final report.
Note: (Theories are formulated to explain, predict, and understand phenomena and, in many cases, to challenge and extend existing knowledge within the limits of critical bounding assumptions. The theoretical framework is the structure that can hold or support a theory of a research study. The theoretical framework introduces and describes the theory that explains why the research problem under study exists.
A theoretical framework consists of concepts and, together with their definitions and reference to relevant scholarly literature, existing theory that is used for your particular study. The theoretical framework must demonstrate an understanding of theories and concepts that are relevant to the topic of your research paper and that relate to the broader areas of knowledge being considered.
The theoretical framework is most often not something readily found within the literature. You must review course readings and pertinent research studies for theories and analytic

models that are relevant to the research problem you are investigating. The selection of a theory should depend on its appropriateness, ease of application, and explanatory power.
The theoretical framework strengthens the study in the following ways:
An explicit statement of theoretical assumptions permits the reader to evaluate them critically. The theoretical framework connects the researcher to existing knowledge. Guided by a relevant theory, you are given a basis for your hypotheses and choice of research methods. Articulating the theoretical assumptions of a research study forces you to address questions of why and how. It permits you to intellectually transition from simply describing a phenomenon you have observed to generalizing about various aspects of that phenomenon. Having a theory helps you identify the limits to those generalizations. A theoretical framework specifies which key variables influence a phenomenon of interest and highlights the need to examine how those key variables might differ and under what circumstances.)
4. RESEARCH PROBLEM AND QUESTIONS
When developing your research problem and questions refer back to the theoretical framework/variables and also the research brief provided in this document. The research problem should be written in statement form. The study should include no more than five questions based on the variables being researched.
Note: (When determining the research or business problem, ensure that it is the causes of the business problem and not the symptoms that are addressed. When defining the problem, be specific and identify the problem and then develop five key research questions related to the problem you are investigating (see lecture notes for definitions.)
5. DATA COLLECTION/ METHODOLOGY
The data collection has two components;
I. Measurement – Primary Data and Secondary data collection.
II. Research Design – Exploratory, Relational, Causal, Descriptive Design.
Note: It’s important to remember the most important element in this section is “What
information is needed in order to solve the research problem?” 7
I. METHODOLGY
Primary Data: The measurement process will depend on the data needed (interviews, questionnaires, observation, eye tracking are some examples of methods). Usually in market research qualitative methods (e.g., focus groups) are used as an initial investigation process to highlight the key variables. For in-depth analysis of key variables quantitative methods using questionnaires are common.
Ultimately, you are asking questions, regardless if you are observing or using a questionnaire. The questions are structured or unstructured. Structured questions have pre-specified answer choices, for example “strongly agree” or “strongly disagree”. Unstructured questions have open-ended answers, for example, the respondent simply writes what s/he observes or thinks.
Secondary Data: This is syndicated data you can use in your research, Secondary data comes from other sources and does not require a specific questionnaire method
II. RESEARCH DESIGN
There are three types of research design: Secondary and Primary data collection;
1. a) Exploratory research: collect data in an unstructured and intuitive process (usually qualitative or observational research). Secondary data is also used in observational research
2. b) Descriptive research: describes the consumers’ attitudes, intentions, and behaviours (usually quantitative with qualitative and observational research as the base).
3. c) Causal research: this is a scientific method and used primarily in regression analysis. It requires that you explore whether one particular independent variable has an effect on the dependent variable while all else is constant.
8
6. THE SAMPLING PLAN
There are three main issues regarding the sampling plan:
Determine who or what is to be sampled. This comes from defining the research problem. Determine the unit of the entity to be sampled, called the sample element.
Determine sample size. Not true that the larger the population, the larger the sample must be.
7. ANALYSIS AND STISTICAL METHODS TO BE USED TO ANALYSE THE DATA
Describe the type of quantitative or qualitative methods you will be utilizing to analyse the data you have collected and why you have selected these types of methods.
9. TIMING
Outline the milestones and time frame for each component of the project. Develop a detailed timetable outlining key activities you are going to conduct during the research process. Specify when you are going to collect your data. 9

RESEARCH PROJECT-MGNT922 -T3 -2021
APPENDIX B
Assessment 2 – Research Presentation
Presentation Format:
Utilising the findings from your report prepare a Power Point presentation covering the following areas.
Please use the following format for your research presentation:
1. Brief Industry Background and Objectives of the Research – (1 Slide)
2. Research Problem Statement and Research Questions – (1 Slide)
3. Methodology/Literature -(Very brief description) – (2 Slide)
4. Key Findings – Interpretation of the data both secondary and Primary – (4 Slides) 5. Conclusions and Recommendations – (2 slides)
Tips for the presentation;
Please make sure the presentation is no more than 10 minutes. We will not have time for Q and A.
The areas to consider when presenting;
Be concise and present information that best describes your analysis and builds a strong persuasive idea.
Reference data sources and make sure it is on the presentation chart. Always specify the size of the sample when presenting data.
Make sure your conclusions and recommendation are evidence-based – that is from the data you have collected.
Use PowerPoint for your presentation with notes in the notes section outlining the presentation in detail as you would present it.
Presentations are due in Week 10.
10

Assessment 3 – Appendix C
Final Report Format
Note: When writing your report make sure it is written in persuasive language using the following format and structure;
Word Limit – 3500 – 4000
Prefatory Part • Acknowledgement
• Table of Contents
• Executive Summary (~ 1 Pages)
Chapter I: Introduction • • •
A brief introduction of the study. Organization Overview
Research objectives (~ 1 pages)
Chapter II: • Extensive Literature Review: Covering key concepts and issues relevant to the research topic. Including relevant studies that support the research questions and hypothesis.
• Theoretical Frameworks in the literature that apply to the research framework and key variables. (~ 3 pages)
Chapter III: Research Methodology • Statement of Problem, Research Questions and Hypothesis.
• Research Methodology; Research Design & Data collection methods; Limitations of the data collection. (~ 2 pages)
Chapter IV: Analysis and Interpretation • Data Analysis & interpretations
• Application of suitable frameworks to support data
and interpretations. (~ 4 pages)
Chapter V: Conclusion • Key Conclusions
• Outcome /Managerial Recommendations
• Future scope (~1 page)
Appendix To support the findings and research investigations as above. References, Code of Ethics,

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