Planning for your MBus

Thesis (90 pts) or Dissertation (60 pts)

or BBus (Hons) Dissertation (45 pts)
 AGENDA
 Thesis versus dissertation
 Choosing a topic
 Finding a supervisor
 PGR1 form
 Preparing your proposal
 Research question(s)
 Abstract
 Literature review
 Design / plan of the study
 Do you require ethics approval?
 Resources and budget
 Timelines
 Resources available
2
PROGRAMME AND PAPER CODES

180-POINT MASTER OF BUSINESS AK1060

90-point Thesis BUSS998

60-point Dissertation BUSS987

120-POINT BACHELOR OF BUSINESS (HONS) AK3712

45-point Dissertation BUSS896

3
 MBUS THESIS vs. DISSERTATION
MBus 90-point Thesis
Focus Substantial project which
tests theory, or synthesizes
theory and data. Makes a
contribution to knowledge.
Coverage A larger, broader topic
Breadth Extensive literature review,
and located in theory
Depth
Theory A greater emphasis on
Building theory – applying theory
Size 20,000-40,000 words,
depending on the topic and
research method
MBus 60-point Dissertation BBus(Hons) 45-point
Dissertation
Smaller in extent and A critical literature review,
complexity. leading to
- Conceptual model, or
- Research design
Identify the contribution of
your research
More narrow topic, focused
on the immediate issue
Less extensive literature
review, focused on the issue
being investigated
Less requirement for theory
building
10,000-30,000 words, Around 10,000 words
depending on the topic and
research method
4
 Examples of MBus Thesis
An examination of the experiences of organisational restructuring on the working lives of
older women. 12 semi-structured interviews. Aligns with evidence from life course research.
The research contributes to theory by exploring experiences of a cohort seldom researched.
Values, employee perceptions and organisational change: A case study. Interpretive case
study. Interviewed 11 people in the case study firm. Developed a framework of four levels of
values, and looked at how these values shape employees and managers’ perceptions of change
in an organisation.

Retail’s Social Side: How conventional and unconventional employee appearance influences
customers from different cultures? Used a factorial 2 (employee appearance: conventional
vs. unconventional) X 3 (cultures/ethnicities) between-subjects experimental design.

Examples of MBus Dissertation

The impact of digital platforms on New Zealand firms’ entry strategies: The case of Alibaba.
Semi-structured in-depth interviews with four participants from four New Zealand companies.
An exploration of fatigue amongst caregivers. Five face-to-face semi-structured interviews.

Example of BBus(Hons) Dissertation

Ethical issues in use of software on smartphones that affect consumer choices –
Critical literature review
5
 CHOOSING A RESEARCH TOPIC

Work, media,
personal interest
Journal articles –
areas for future
Coursework papers,
research
readings

Interest in your
field?
Data accessible?
Gap in knowledge

Match you
capabilities and
interests
Start with a broad
topic .. narrow it DON’T LEAVE IT
down TILL THE LAST
MOMENT
 FINDING A SUPERVISOR
 Very important decision
– Topic
– Methodology
– Personality
– Experience

 Discuss your ideas with your lecturers – ask if interested in being

your supervisor

 Look up staff research interests

https://www.aut.ac.nz/research/academic-departments/

 Meet potential supervisors

Don’t leave it till the last moment

7
 PREPARING A RESEARCH PROPOSAL

• What is the proposal, and why is it important?

• PGR1
• Student Hub Online/Postgraduate
Research/Postgraduate forms, policies and
procedures/Postgraduate forms
https://student.aut.ac.nz/postgraduate-research/pg-forms-policies-and-
processes/postgraduate-forms

8
 PGR1 FORM
 Student details
 Thesis/Dissertation – Points Value
 Format
 Off-campus registration
 Whether the research should be
embargoed
 Working title
 Research Question(s)
 Abstract / summary
 Literature / past research review
 Design / plan of the study
 Ethics
 Resources and budget
 Location
 Timetable for completion
 References
 Student’s signature
 Supervisor’s signature
 Head of Department’s
signature on resources
 Associate Dean’s signature
is not required from the
student.
9
 PREPARING A RESEARCH PROPOSAL

Research Question(s)
• what is it that your research intends to find out?
• should capture the essence of your intended project and also help to put
boundaries around it
• for example, what is the relationship between two or more concepts,
variables, phenomena, events, OR, how or why a phenomenon occurs
• if it is a quantitative study testing a model, state your hypotheses here
• should be stated clearly – be specific

Example:

• Is leadership different between male and female managers?

– What type of leadership?
– In which situation or context?

• What gender differences, if any, are there in transformational leadership

practices amongst senior managers in the New Zealand hospitality
industry?

10
 PREPARING A RESEARCH PROPOSAL

• Abstract / Summary (one or two paragraphs)

• present a brief introduction to the issue
• why the problem is important
• include a possible implication or contribution of your work, if
successfully completed

11
 PREPARING A RESEARCH PROPOSAL
• Literature Review (One page)

• Show that you are familiar with the most important research on your
topic.
• Convince the reader that your project has a solid foundation in existing
knowledge or theory.
• Should be an integrated argument that explains why these studies or
theories are important to your research.
• Demonstrate how your project will contribute to conversations in the field.

Service
quality

Satisfaction Repurchase

Trust
12
 PREPARING A RESEARCH PROPOSAL

Design/Plan of the Study:

• The research design section should describe the overall approach and steps you
will take to answer your research question(s).
Research type • Will you use qualitative or quantitative approach?
• Will you collect original data or work with primary or secondary
sources?
Sources • What or who will you study?
• How will you select subjects or sources (e.g. random sampling,
purposive sampling, case studies)?
• Sharing data
Research • What methods will you use (e.g. surveys, interviews, observations,
Methods experiments) to collect the data?
• What tools and procedures you will use to analyse the data (e.g.
regression, thematic analysis)?
13
For critical literature review:

Search terms What are the key terms you will search on?

Sources What databases / other sources will you search?

Timeframe What period of time will the sources cover?

Analysis Identify themes, compare and contrast

14
 PREPARING A RESEARCH PROPOSAL

Ethics

 Ethics Approval would be required if data is being collected from

human subjects – surveys, interviews, focus groups, etc.
 Work with your supervisor to apply on the Ethics Approval (form
EA1) as soon as possible – the process may take up to 2 months
(the application for Ethics Approval must be submitted after the
PRG1 is approved)
 Data cannot be collected until Ethics Approval has been received

 See COVID-19 ethics guidance for researchers

 https://www.aut.ac.nz/research/researchethics

15
 PREPARING A RESEARCH PROPOSAL

Resources and Budget

 Your anticipated research expenses must have been
detailed in the “Resources and Budget” section of the PGR1
 Your budget will be approved by the PGR1 Exam Board at
the time of approval of the PGR1
 Refer to Master’s Contestable Funds guidelines – on
Blackboard
 Normal application limit: $500 for dissertations and $1,000
for theses

16
 Type of expenditure that may be covered:
• Set-up costs for online data collection and panel data
• Transcription of interviews
• Travel (if specifically related to data collection, and within the normal fund
limit)
• Funds can be used for koha or gifts for research participants, where this
has been approved via ethics application to AUTEC

 Type of expenditure that will NOT usually be funded

• Proof reading expenses
• Labour costs
• Printing and binding of thesis or dissertation

 If you require a digital audio recorder for your interviews, you may
request to borrow a recorder from the pool available to Faculty staff
(subject to availability)

17
 PREPARING A RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Timetable for Completion
Research Phase Objectives Deadlines

• Background research Describe the tasks you will Put approximate date for
and literature review complete within each the objective to be met
• Research design phase
planning
• Ethics application and Must fit within the
approval thesis/diss timeline
• Data collection and
preparation
• Data analysis
• Writing
• Revision and
submission

18
 PREPARING A RESEARCH PROPOSAL

References

• Make sure you provide a References list

• Use a consistent style of referencing,
e.g. APA 7th

19
 PGR1 OUTCOMES
 Approved without amendments
 Approved with clarifications/feedback
 Approved with minor amendments (to be
completed within a week)
 Revise & Resubmit to the next Exam Board meeting
 3 reasons for amendments or revise & resubmit
1. Research questions or aims not clearly stated
2. The research design not well explained (method,
sample, justification)
3. Budget, timeline issues (minor)

20
 RESEARCH TIMELINE (MBus)
Semester One 2021 Start
PGR1 submission Semester Progress report due Submission for
due date start date examination
Thesis
Full-time 23 November 2020 22 February 2021 • August 2021 31 January 2022

• August 2021
Thesis
23 November 2020 22 February 2021 • February 2022 31 January 2023
Part-time
• August 2022

Dissertation
Full-time 23 November 2020 22 February 2021 • May 2021 30 July 2021

Dissertation
Part-time 23 November 2020 22 February 2021 • August 2021 31 January 2022

• Submit the PGR1 to: pgr.forms-bel@aut.ac.nz by the deadline

• There will be no extensions to the examination submission deadlines, unless for unforeseen
circumstances. Extensions may incur additional fees.
• It is important to note that the examination process will take at least 2-3 months, especially
over the Christmas / New Year period, and this will affect your graduation date
21
 RESEARCH TIMELINE (MBus)
Semester Two 2021 Start
PGR1 submission Semester Progress report due Submission for
due date start date examination
Thesis
Full-time 25 June 2021 12 July 2021 • February 2022 29 July 2022

• February 2022
Thesis
25 June 2021 12 July 2021 • August 2022 31 July 2023
Part-time
• February 2023

Dissertation
Full-time 25 June 2021 12 July 2021 • October 2021 31 January 2022

Dissertation
Part-time 25 June 2021 12 July 2021 • February 2022 29 July 2022

22
 BBUS(HONS) 45-POINT DISSERTATION
 BBus (Hons) 45-point Dissertation most students will complete a
literature review; some may choose to collect primary data
 Students must submit their competed PGR1 to the Faculty PG
Research Office before the semester start date (by Friday 19
February 2021) for approval by the Director Postgraduate Research
Programmes
 45-point BBus (Hons) Dissertation students should submit their
dissertation for examination to their supervisor by week 12 of the
semester
 The dissertation will be marked by the supervisor and one other
examiner (moderator)
 Results for the dissertation will normally be released at the same
time as end-semester coursework results are released

23
 Timeline
While completing coursework
paper(s) and research methods
paper(s) in the first semester of BBus
(Hons)
Prior to the start of the second
semester of BBus (Hons)
Week one of semester
Weeks 1-12 of semester
End of week 6
End of week 12 of semester
Weeks 13-15
Week 17
First Semester of BBus(Hons)
Select topic and supervisor
First draft of research proposal (PGR1)
Submit your completed PGR1 pgr.forms-bel@aut.ac.nz by
Friday 19 February 2021 for approval by the Director
Postgraduate Programmes
Second Semester of BBus(Hons)
Dissertation enrolment begins. Student enrols in the
dissertation 45-points) and a 15-point coursework paper
Student works on the project and attends regular meetings
with the supervisor
Supervisor assists with ethics application (if necessary)
Submit a progress report (PGR8) to the PGR Office
Student submits the dissertation for examination
Dissertation examination
Dissertation result is approved by the Postgraduate Exam
Board and final result is released to the student. The class of
honours for BBus(Hons) is approved by the Graduate Research
School.
24
 PGR FORMS

Electronic copies of all PGR forms must be downloaded

from Postgraduate Research tab
on Student Hub Online:

https://student.aut.ac.nz/postgraduate-research/pg-
forms-policies-and-processes/postgraduate-forms

25
 ETHICS

Check the Ethics Knowledge Base at this link on the AUT

website:

http://www.aut.ac.nz/researchethics

Ethics Coordinator at AUT: Charles Grinter

Faculty of Business, Economics and Law Representative on

AUTEC:
Dr Katey Thom
Email: katey.thom@aut.ac.nz

26
Faculty Research Processes Handbook
On Blackboard

Business Postgraduate Research Programme Information / Research

27
 RESOURCES
• Online resources for research students – Student Hub Online

28
 RESOURCES
• Library

29
 RESOURCES

• Studiosity is a personal online help service

available free of charge via Blackboard to
provide guidance and feedback with your
academic writing.

30
 PGR1 Approved, Now What?

• The PGR office will organise a follow-up

session with you after your PGR1 has been
approved, to explain how to progress with
your thesis/dissertation, and other research
processes.

31