Business Research

SET 1

Komal Gangi, Asst. Professor, TIAS

Business Research

SNO.

TOPICS Covered

1.

Writing A Research Proposal

2.

Ethical Issues in Data Collection

SET 1

Komal Gangi, Asst. Professor, TIAS

Business Research

SET 1

Writing a Research Proposal

The Research Proposal
All research endeavours in every academic and professional field are preceded by a research
proposal. It informs your academic supervisor or potential provider of a research contract of your
conceptualization of the total research process that you propose to undertake, and examines its
suitability and validity. In any academic field, your research proposal will go through a number
of committees for approval. Unless, it is approved, you will not be able to start your research.
Hence, it is important to study closely what constitutes a research proposal
A research proposal is an overall plan, scheme, structure and strategy designed to obtain
answers to the research questions or problems that constitute your research project.
A research proposal should outline the various tasks you plan to undertake to fulfill your
research objectives, test hypothesis or obtain answers to your research questions. It should state
the reasons for undertaking the study.
Broadly, a research proposals main function is to detail the operational plan for obtaining
answers to your research questions. In doing so, it ensures and reassures the reader of the
validity of methodology for obtaining answers to your research questions accurately and
objectively
In order to achieve this function, a research proposal must tell you, your research supervisor
and reviewers the following information about your study:

What you are proposing to do;

How you plan to proceed;

Why you selected the proposed strategy.

Contents of a Research Proposal

A research proposal should contain the following information about your study:
1. An introduction, including a brief literature review;
2. Theoretical framework that underpins your study
3. Conceptual framework that constitutes the basis of your study
4. Objectives or research questions of your study
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Komal Gangi, Asst. Professor, TIAS

Business Research

SET 1

5. Hypotheses to be tested if applicable

6. Study design that you are proposing to adopt
7. Setting for your study
8. Research instrument that you are planning to use;
9. Sampling Design and sample size;
10. Ethical Issues involved and how you propose to deal with them
11. Data processing procedures
12. Proposed chapters of the report
13. Problems and limitations of the study
14. Proposed time frame for the project
A research proposal should communicate the purpose and plan of research in such a way
that it enables you to return to the proposal of your own guidance in decision making at
different stages of the research process;
Convinces your research supervisor or a reviewer that your proposed methodology is
meritorious, valid, appropriate and workable in terms of obtaining answers to your research
questions or objectives
Proposal should follow the suggested guidelines and be written in an academic style
Must contain appropriate references in the body of the text and a bibliography at the end
Survey of literature review should cover major publications on the topic
Theoretical framework must emerge from this literature review and must have its
grounding in empirical framework
Literature review should also raise issues relating to the methodology you are proposing
For eg- it may examine how other studies operationalised the major variables of relevance to
your study
Critiques of methods and procedures should be included under the respective headings
For ex- a critique of the sampling design you adopt should be included under sampling
Critique to study design should be discussed under study design

Komal Gangi, Asst. Professor, TIAS

Business Research

SET 1

1. Preamble/ Introduction
Proposal should start with an introduction to include some of the information listed below
In writing this section , literature review is of central importance as it serves two main
functions:
1. Acquaints you with the available literature in the area of your study, thereby broadening
your knowledge base
2. Provides you with information on methods and procedures other people have used in
similar situations and tells you what works and what does not
3. The type, extent and quality of literature review are mostly dependent upon the academic
level for which you are writing the proposal
4. The contents of this section may vary greatly according to the subject area under study
a) An overview of the main area under study;
b) Historical perspective (development, growth, etc. ) pertinent to the study area
c) Philosophical or ideological issues relating to the topic;
d) Trends in terms of prevalance, if appropriate;
e) Major theories, if any;
f) The main issues, problems and advances in the subject area under study;
g) Important theoretical and practical issues relating to the central problem under study;
h) Main findings relating to the core issue(s)

Example
-

Suppose that you are conducting a study to investigate the impact of immigration on the
family. Introduction should include:

Origin of migratory movements in the world

General theories developed to explain migratory behaviour

Current trends in migration

Impact of immigration on family roles and relationships

Komal Gangi, Asst. Professor, TIAS

Business Research

SET 1

2. The Problem
Identify some of the gaps in the existing body of knowledge
Identify some of the unanswered questions
Knowledge gained from other studies and the literature about the issues you are
proposing to investigate should be an integral part of this section. This section should
include:
a) Identify the issues that are the basis of your study
b) Specify the various aspects of/ perspectives on these issues
c) Identify main gaps in the existing body of knowledge
d) Raise some main research questions that you want to answer through your study
e) Develop a rationale for your study with particular reference on how your study will
fill the identified gaps
Example:
What settlement process does a family go through after immigration?
What adjustments do immigrants have to make?
What types of change can occur in family members attitudes?
What is the possible impact of settlement on family roles and relationships? Etc.

3. Objectives of the study

Include a statement of both your studys main and sub-objectives.
MAIN objective indicates the central thrust of your study whereas the sub-objectives
identify the specific issues you propose to examine
Objectives should be clearly stated and specific in nature
Each sub-objective should delineate only one issue
Use action- oriented verbs such as to determine, to find-out and to ascertain in
formulating sub-objectives, which should be numerically listed
If the objective is to test the hypothesis, you must follow the convention of hypothesis
formulation in wording the specific objectives
Example:
Main objective:
To determine the impact of immigration on the family

Komal Gangi, Asst. Professor, TIAS

Business Research

SET 1

Sub objective:
To determine the impact of immigration on husband/wife roles as perceived by
immigrants
To find out the impact of immigration on marital relations
To Ascertain perceived changes in parental expectations of childrens academic and
professional achievement
4. HYPOTHESES TO BE TESTED
Hypothesis is a statement of your assumptions about the prevalence of a phenomenon or
about a relationship between two variables that you plan to test within the framework of
the study.
When formulating a hypothesis you have an obligation to draw conclusions about it in
your text report. Hypotheses should have a particular style of formulation
You must be acquainted with correct way of wording them
In a study, you may have as many hypotheses as you want to test
However, it is not essential to have a hypothesis in order to undertake a study
A perfectly satisfactory study without formulating a hypotheses can be conducted
Example:
H1 = In most cases there will be a change in husband/wife roles after immigration
H2 = In a majority of cases there will be change in parents expectations
Hi = etc.
5. STUDY DESIGN
Describe the study design you plan to use to answer your research questions. For eg- it is
a case study, longitudinal, cross-sectional etc.)
Identify the strengths and weaknesses of your study design
Include details about the various logistical procedures you intend to follow while
executing the study design
One characteristic of a good study design is that it explains the details with such clarity
that, if someone else wants to follow the proposed procedure, she/he will be able to do
exactly as you have done.

Komal Gangi, Asst. Professor, TIAS

Business Research

SET 1

Study design should include:

1. Who can make up the study population?
2. Can each element of the study population be identified? If yes, how?
3. Will a sample or the total population be studied?
4. How will you get in touch with the selected sample?
5. How will the samples consent to participate in the study be sought?
6. How will the data be collected (e.g. by interview, questionnaire, or observation)?
7. In the case of a mailed questionnaire, to what address should the questionnaire be
returned?
8. Are you planning to send a reminder regarding the return of questionnaires?
9. How will confidentiality be preserved?
10. How and where can respondents contact if they have queries?
Example
The study is primarily designed to find out from a cross-section of immigrants _____, ----and ______ (names of countries) the perceived impact of immigration on family roles.
Initial contact with the ethnic associations will be made through elected office bearers to
obtain a list of members.
Few immigrants will be selected from the list at random, and will be contacted by phone
to explain the purpose of the study and its relevance and to seek their agreement to
participate in the study.

6. THE SETTING
Briefly describe the organisation, agency or community in which you will conduct your
study. If the study is about a group of people, highlight some of the salient characteristics
of the group (e.g. its history, size, composition and structure) and draw attention to any
available relevant information
If your research concerns an agency, office or organisation, include:
The main services provided by the organisation
Its administrative structure;
The type of clients served
Information about the issues that are central to your research.
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Komal Gangi, Asst. Professor, TIAS

Business Research

SET 1

If you are studying a community, briefly describe some of the main characteristics:
The size of the community
A brief social profile of the community (i.e. the composition of the various groups within
it);
Issues of relevance to the central theme of your study

7. Measurement procedures
This should contain a discussion of your instrument and the details of how you plan to
operationalise your major variables. To start with, justify your choice of research tool,
highlighting its strengths and pointing out its weaknesses. Then outline the major
segments of your research tool and their relevance to the main objective under study.
Discuss the availability of evidence on reliability and validity. Also, discuss the scales
used

8. Ethical Issues
All academic institutions are particular about any ethical issues that research may have
To deal with them, all institutions my have some form of policy on ethics
You need to be acquainted with your institutions policy
It is imperative that you identify any ethical issues and how you propose to deal with
them in your proposal.

9. Sampling
It should include:
The size of the sampling population (if known) and from where and how this information
will be obtained
The size of the sample you are planning to select, and your reasons for choosing this size
An explanation of the sampling design you are planning to use in the selection of the
sample (simple random sampling, stratified random sampling, quota sampling, etc.)

10. Analysis of Data

In general terms, describe the strategy you intend to use for data analysis.
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Komal Gangi, Asst. Professor, TIAS

Business Research

SET 1

Specify whether the data will be analysed manually or by computer

For computer analysis, identify the program and the statistical procedures you plan to
perform on the data. Also identify the main variables for cross tabulation.
Example:
Frequency distribution in terms of:
-

Age;
Education;
Occupation;
Number of children;
Duration of immigration, etc.

11. Structure of the Report

As clearly as possible, state how you intend to organise the final report. In organising content for
your report, the specific objectives of your study are of immense help. Plan to develop your
chapters around the main theme of your study. The title of each chapter should clearly
communicate the main thrust of its contents.
The first chapter is INTRODUCTION.
Second chapter should provide some information about the study population itself that
is some if its socio-economic demographic characteristics or the study population
Titles of rest of the study may vary from study to study

Example:
It is proposed that the report will be divided into the following chapters:
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: The socioeconomic- demographic characteristics of the study population
Chapter 3: The impact on husband/wife roles
Chapter 4: The impact on marital relations
Chapter 5: The impact on expectations of children
Chapter 6: The impact on attitude towards marriage
Chapter 7: The impact on expectations of children

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Komal Gangi, Asst. Professor, TIAS

Business Research

SET 1

12. Problems and Limitations

This section should list the problems you thought you might encounter concerning, for
example,
The availability of data
Securing permission from the agency/ organisation to carry out the study
Obtaining the sample
Or any other aspect of the study

13. Appendix
As an appendix, attach your research instrument and a list of references.

14. Work Schedule

You must set yourself dates as you need to complete the research within a certain time
frame.
List the various operational steps you need to undertake and indicate against each the date
by which you aim to complete that task.
Remember to keep some time towards the end in case the research process does not go as
smoothly as planned.

11

Komal Gangi, Asst. Professor, TIAS

Business Research

SET 1

Ethical Issues in Data Collection

ETHICS

Most Professions have an overall code of conduct that governs the way they carry out
research. Many research bodies have developed the code of conduct specifically for research.
Medicine, business , law, education, psychology and other social sciences have well
established code of ethics for research .

Acc. to Collins Dictionary, ethical means in accordance with principles of code of conduct
that are considered correct, especially those of a given profession or group.
What are these principles of conduct?
Who determines them?
In whose judgement must they be considered correct?
Are they universal principles of conduct that can be applied to all professions?
Do these change with time?
Should they?
What happens when a professional does not abide by them?

There are certain behaviours in research such as

Causing harm to individuals,
breaching confidentiality,
using information improperly and
introducing bias
In whose judgement must a code of conduct be considered correct?
Who decides whether a particular practice is wrong?
If a procedure is carried out wrongly, what penalties should be imposed?
Stakeholders in Research
It is the overall body of professionals or government organisations that collectively develop a
code of conduct and form a judgement as to whether or not it is being followed. It is important to
look at the ethical issues in relation to each of the shareholders.
The shareholders are:
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Komal Gangi, Asst. Professor, TIAS

Business Research

SET 1

The participants of subjects;

The researcher
The funding body
Participants
Participants depend on the profession. In the field of medicine, public health and nursing, the
patients and non-patients become the part of a study, information collection exercise, experiment
or drug trial and service managers and planners who contribute information. In social sciences,
participants include Individuals, groups and communities providing information to help a
researcher to gain understanding of a phenomenon, situation, issue or interaction

Researcher
Anyone who collects information for a specific purpose, adhering to the accepted code of
conduct, is a researcher. She/he may represent any academic discipline

Funding organisation
One who provides funds such as business organisations, service institutions, research bodies
and/or academic institutions.Funds are given for specific purposes.

Ethical issues concerning research participants

1. Collecting information
2. Seeking consent
3. Providing incentives
4. Seeking sensitive information
5. The possibility of causing harm to participants
6. Maintaining confidentiality

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Komal Gangi, Asst. Professor, TIAS

Business Research

SET 1

Ethical issues concerning Researcher

1. Avoiding bias
2. Provision of deprivation of a treatment
3. Using inappropriate research methodology
4. Incorrect reporting
5. Inappropriate use of the information
1. Avoiding bias
-

It is unethical. Bias is different from subjectivity. Subjectivity, as mentioned earlier is

related to your educational background, training and competence in research, and your
philosophical perspective. Bias is a deliberate attempt either to hide what you have found
in your study, or to highlight something disproportionately to its true existence

2. Provision of deprivation of a treatment

- Both the provision and deprivation of a treatment may pose an ethical dilemma for you as
researcher. When testing an intervention or a treatment, a researcher usually adopts a control
experiment design. In such studies, it is ethical to provide a study population with an
intervention or treatment that has not yet been conclusively proven effective or beneficial?
But if you do not test a treatment/intervention, how can you prove or disprove its
effectiveness or benefits?
On the other hand, you are providing an intervention that may not be effective. Is this
ethical? Is it ethical to deprive a control group of a treatment even if it may prove to be
slightly effective? And beyond the issue of control groups, is it ethical to deprive people who
are struggling for life of the possible benefit, however small it may be, which may be derived
from a drug that is only under trial? As a researcher you need to be aware of these ethical
issues.
There are no simple answers to these dilemmas. Ensuring informed consent, minimum risk
and frank discussion as to the implications of participation in the study will help to resolve
ethical issues.
3. Using inappropriate research methodology

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A researcher has an obligation to use appropriate methodology in conducting study

Unethical to use a method or procedure you know to be inappropriate

Komal Gangi, Asst. Professor, TIAS

Business Research
-

SET 1

(e.g. selecting a highly biased sample, using invalid instrument or drawing wrong
conclusions.

4. Incorrect reporting
-

- To use an appropriate methodology, but to report the findings in a way that changes or
slants them to serve your own or someone elses interest is unethical

5. Inappropriate use of information

How will the obtained information be used by the researcher?
Use of information that directly or indirectly adversely affects respondents is unethical
Can information be used to adversely affect the study population?
If so, how can the study population be protected?
Example- study to examine the feasibility of restructuring an organisaton
Restructuring may be beneficial to the organisation but may be harmful to some individuals
If information is to be used against them , let the individuals decide whether they want to
participate or not

Ethical issues concerning Sponsoring organization

1. Restrictions imposed by the sponsoring organization
-

Funds may be given to develop a program or evaluate it;

To examine its effectiveness or efficiency
To study the impact of a policy
To test a product
To study a phenomenon, issue or attitude
There may be direct or indirect controls exercised by sponsoring organisations
They may select the methodology , prohibit the publication of what was found or
impose other restrictions on the research that may stand in the way of obtaining or
disseminating accurate information

2. The misuse of information

How is the sponsoring body going to misuse the information?
How is this likely to affect the study population?
It is unethical to use research as a reason for justifying management decisions
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Komal Gangi, Asst. Professor, TIAS