INSTRUCTIONS
1. Remove this page before submitting your Proposal. These instructions will help your final product to look organised, well thought-out, and orderly.
2. Remember the key rules about Harvard citation style and presentation:
a. All fonts are suggested either Arial 12 or Times New Roman 12
b. All text are suggested to be Justified (meaning you align text to both left and right margins.)
c. All references must to be in Harvard citation format.
d. References are not justified or right-justified- they are left aligned.
3. Present yourself as totally unbiased in all of your writings and remember to write in the third person.
PLEASE REMEMBER TO
REMOVE THIS COVER PAGE BEFORE SUBMITTING
BMA600 – Business and Management Project
Dissertation Proposal
Proposed Dissertation Title:
Student Name:
Student Number: 345386
Your Email:
Dissertation Advisor and email:
Ethical Checklist Completed (yes or no)? ______
Date:
1. Research Background
Including business background and academic background; the reason for you to choose this topic; the potential benefits and value of this research.
You need to include a brief introduction of your topic area, with any appropriate background information and an explanation of why it is of interest to you (and others). What is motivating your research? What underlying academic theories and concepts are of particular relevance to your research? What is the scope of your intended investigation? You will need to be able to demonstrate that this is feasible for a 6-month project.
2. Research Aim and Objectives/Questions
What are you intending to achieve from your dissertation i.e. what are your Research aim and objectives/questions that you will address? These should be specifically identified for what they are.
Research aim generally summarises the purpose of your research. Normally, you are suggested to just have one research aim. It should be broken down into steps. For each step, you give an objective (in statement style) or a question (in question style). You are not suggested to have more than 3 research questions. Too many research questions distract your research focus as well as increase the workload of data collection and analysis, which may become unmanageable when coming to data collection stage. Creating a focused research aim and clear research objectives/questions are essential for your research.
3. Preliminary Literature Review
This section is to summarise and synthesise the existing research findings against your research aim and objectives.
Use at least 10 sources of academic information (references) connected to the work you propose to do and analyse them to show how your work may fill or extend an existing gap between the existing publications and the practice.
Compare and contrast the sources with each other and with your research aim and objectives.
At least half of the sources must be from refereed academic journals, which will be found in the library database, such as Business Source Complete. Only citations from the main textbooks used for your modules are NOT sufficient here.
4. Research Methodology
In this section, you will discuss your research methodology.
• Rationalise the nature of your research. Is it qualitative in nature or quantitative in nature?
• Select research method – a qualitative approach, or a quantitative approach or a qualitative-quantitative combined approach. Why?
• Select research strategies – a survey? A case study? Or a survey and a case study? Or other strategies? Why?
• Select data collection methods – a questionnaire-based survey? Interviews? Observations? Others? Briefly explain each of your selection.
5. Time Schedule
Milestone Description Due date
1 Stage 1: Area of interest identified
2 Stage 2: Specific topic selected
3 Stage 3: Proposal written and submitted
4 Stage 4: Literature Review and Introduction Chapters
5 Stage 5: Research Methodology Chapter
6 Stage 6: Data collection and analysis
7 Stage 7: Writing up
8 Stage 8: Final draft prepared— submission of dissertation
6. Feasibility and Resources
Feasibility: Do you have the necessary resources (such as access to requisite data, consent of your targeted organisation, some indication of the willingness of subjects to be questioned or interviewed, etc.)?
References:
Ethics Review Checklist for Undergraduate and Taught
Postgraduate Research
This checklist should be completed for every student research project that involves human
participants. The purpose of this form is to consider the maximum benefit of the proposed
research, while minimising the risk of actual or potential harm to both the participants and the
researcher.
Before completing it, you may find the Epigeum online Ethics training ‘Research Integrity 2.0 useful
– this is not mandatory, however if you feel that it would be useful to you, we encourage you to
access it. Instructions for accessing this training and other resources are available here on the
Research Integrity Hub Pages.
Section 1 (to be completed by student)
Name of student:
Student ID no.
Programme of
Study
Module Code
Date of submission of application:
Supervisor name and department name:
Title of research project:
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1. Brief overview OF THE STUDY: Please very briefly (200-300 words) summarise your
research, stating the aims and purposes of the research proposed, the research question,
who will participate, the number of participants and the methods to be used. Please also
include a very brief overview of any ethical considerations specific to your proposed study,
as well as the main types of participants you intend to collect data from.
RESEARCH ETHICS CHECKLIST
Please confirm you have consulted the guidelines of a professional association relevant to your
discipline (i.e. BERA, BSA or BPS) in completing this checklist (please consult your supervisor if
necessary) ✓n/a
Please confirm that you and your supervisor (if appropriate) have discussed research ethics and
safety issues ✓ yes
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_____________________________________________________________________
Section 2 (to be completed by student in conjunction with supervisor)
Students and supervisors should together answer each question below by ticking the appropriate box:
Yes No
1. Does the study involve participants who are particularly vulnerable or unable to give
informed consent? (e.g., children, people with learning difficulties, patients, people
receiving counselling, people living in care or nursing homes, people recruited
through self-help groups).
NB: People may also be vulnerable due to having undergone traumatic or adverse
emotional events, or because of an affiliation with marginalized or stigmatized social
groups (especially with regard to research relating to such events or group affiliation).
2. Will the study involve actively deceiving the participants? (e.g., will participants be
deliberately falsely informed/will information be withheld from them/will they be
misled in such a way that they are likely to object or show unease when debriefed
about the study)?
3. Will the study involve discussion or collection of information on sensitive topics?
(e.g., sexual activity, drug use, mental health, perceived or actual discrimination
relating to gender or ethnicity
4. Will drugs, placebos, or other substances (e.g. drinks, foods, food or drink
constituents, dietary supplements) be administered to the study participants?
5. Will tissue samples (including blood or saliva) be obtained from participants?
6. Does the study risk causing psychological stress, anxiety, or physical harm/pain
beyond that normally encountered by the participants in their life outside of the
research?
7. Is there a possibility that the safety of the researcher may be in question?
8. Will financial inducement (other than reasonable expenses and compensation for
time) be offered to participants?
9. Will research involve the sharing of data or confidential information beyond the
initial consent given?
10. Will the research involve internet participants or other visual/vocal methods where
participants may be identified even after a reasonable attempt at anonymising the
data has been made?
11. Will any aspect of the research take place outside of the UK?
12. Has or will this research be submitted to any other research ethics committee (e.g.
externally)
If Yes, please provide further info:
Name of Committee:
Date of submission:
Submission or approval reference number (if known/applicable):
13. Will the research involve gathering personal information on identifiable living
individuals?
14. Will the research involve gathering confidential information of any kind (i.e.
information not currently in the public domain)?
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This completed and signed form must be sent to your supervisor
If you have answered NO to all of the above questions in Section 2, then a more detailed
submission is not required and you can proceed once this form is completed and signed by your
supervisor.
If you have answered ‘YES’ to any questions – you will need to submit a full application (Section A,
B, and C form) for ethics approval to your supervisor, who will then review it with 1 other tutor.
Please note that it is your responsibility to follow any relevant statutory guidelines in the conduct of
your study. This includes providing information about the study, consent forms and debriefing
information as appropriate and ensuring confidentiality in the storage and use of personal data*.
Furthermore, any changes to your proposed study’s methods that may affect the answers to the
questions above will require the need to resubmit this checklist for further review.
Signature of student(s):
Date:
Section 3 (to be completed by supervisor)
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Note to Supervisor: Please ensure that all boxes are ticked. The study cannot begin until all boxes
have been ticked and this form is signed by you.
The student has read and understands, in the context of this study, guidelines of a
professional association relevant to their discipline (i.e. BERA, BSA or BPS)
The topic merits further research
The student has the skills and, where appropriate, Disclosure and Barring Service
clearance to carry out the study as described
The information to be provided to participants has been inspected and is appropriate
The procedures for recruitment and obtaining informed consent have been inspected and
are appropriate
Debriefing information to be given to participants has been inspected and is appropriate
Appropriate measures are in place to safeguard the confidentiality of personal data used
or collected in the study*
Once completed and signed, your supervisor will deposit this in the relevant
secure folder for your course.
Signature of supervisor:
Date:
*Your processing of (obtaining, recording, holding, etc.) personal data in connection with your research
should comply with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)t. More information can be found at:
https://www.bathspa.ac.uk/regulations/data-protection
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/29/contents
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