Section A

i) The choice of a suitable research topic

The ability to develop a suitable research topic is an important research skill for
researchers. There is a range of techniques that can be used to find and choose a research topic
that include rational thinking and creative thinking. The quality of a research depends on the
suitability of the research topic. A good research proposal or project may run the risk of being
rejected simply because the topic was poorly formulated or is not suitable for any research.
Choice of the topic plays an important role in the outcome of the research, hence, it is vital to
spend time formulating and clarifying a research topic (Saunders et al., 2009). Selecting a good
topic is not so easy. A good topic has to be narrow and focused enough to be interesting, yet
broad enough to find adequate information. Formulating and choosing the research topic is the
starting point of any research project (Ghauri & Grønhaug, 2010).

The choice of a suitable research topic is also determined by area of career interests that can
potentially contribute to the achievement of career objectives. Prior any research, researchers
need to have at least some idea of what they want to do. This is probably the most difficult, and
yet the most important, part of any research project. Therefore before selecting a topic,
researchers have to brainstorm for ideas, choose a topic that enables understanding of relevant
literature, ensure the topic is manageable and that literature is available, identify key words,
defining the proposed topic as a focused research question, researching more about the topic as
well as gathering evidence or facts. Another way of choosing research topic is to explore
personal preferences using past project reports from universities. Relevance trees and the Delphi
technique may also prove useful in generating and selecting a suitable research topic (Saunders
et al., 2009).

ii) Identify the attributes of a good research topic

There are several attributes of a good research topic. The most important attribute is that if a
research topic meets the examining body’s requirements (Saunders et al., 2009). The other
attributes include capability (feasibility) and appropriateness (worthiness). A good research topic
is something with which one is really fascinated, which is achievable within the available time
and financial resources. Additionally, a good research topic contain issues that have a clear link
to theory and also if research question(s) and objective(s) can be stated clearly. The other
important attribute is whether it relate clearly to the phenomenon under investigation. According
to Saunders et al. (2009), another attribute of a good research topic is whether the findings for a
research topic are likely to be symmetrical.

For a good research topic, there should be adequate source of information and literature to give a
broad view of the issues to be researched on (Cooper & Schindler, 2014). According to Gill and
Johnson (2012) a good research topic should have the following qualities, access (will data
required for the research easily accessed), achievability (will the research project be completed in
the allocated time), symmetry of potential outcomes (will the research be of value regardless of
the outcome), capability (is the researcher capable of undertaking the research) as well as value
of the research topic (will the findings of the research topic be valuable to others). In summary, a
good research topic should be clear, well-defined, relevant, succinct, should be concerned with
an issue of current major concern to the researcher and possibly the case study, should have
sufficient scope and depth to form the basis of a research, should be manageable, given time and
resource constraints and should be relevant to course and career of the researcher.

iii) Define the key terms ontology, epistemology and axiology and explain their
relevance to business research

Ontology, is concerned with nature of reality.

iv) Explain the relevance for business research of philosophical perspectives such as
positivism, realism, pragmatism and interpretivism

v) Distinguish between main research approaches: deductive and inductive;

Section B

i) Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the ‘understanding’ approach to research

(350 Words)

ii) Explain the concepts of validity and reliability and identify the main threats to validity
and reliability. (350 Words)

iii) Explain the differences between quantitative and qualitative data collection techniques
and analysis procedures (400 Words)

iv) identify the main research strategies and explain why these should not be thought of as
mutually exclusive. (400 Words)

References

Saunders, M., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A., 2009. Research methods for business
students. England: Pearson Education Limited.

Ghauri, P. and Grønhaug, K., 2010. Research methods in business studies (4th ed.). Harlow:
Financial Times Prentice Hall.

Gill, J. and Johnson, P., 2012. Research methods for managers. Sage.

Cooper, D.R. and Schindler, P.S., 2014. Business Research Methods. McGraw-Hill Companies.