WHAT IS A RESEARCH PROJECT/ CONSULTANCY

REPORT?
WRITING UP & STORING INFORMATION
Aim
To help students start the process of developing a
research project/ consultancy report and writing up
Learning outcomes
Students will have a critical understanding of a
research project/ consultancy report and the
research skills and organisational skills required to
complete a research project

RESEARCH SKILLS
Skills
Identification of a field of study;
Formulation of research questions;
Problem solving;
Data collection and analysis;
Inference (assumption, conclusion, conjecture,
consequences, deduction, etc.);
Proof (confirmation, substantiate);
Dissemination (broadcasting, publication),and
Communication.

CORE SKILLS
Two basic types of skills for a researcher:
Core skills and abilities: these skills can be applied in
different situations with different topics and problems.
Ability to integrate theory and method: an
understanding of the inter-relationship between
theory, method and research design, practical skills and
particular methods, the knowledge base of the subject
and methodological foundations.

AIMS OF RESEARCH PROJECT/

CONSULTANCY REPORT
Aim:
To test a students performance against the educational
objectives of breadth, depth, and synthesis in the field
To train students in the recognition, formulation,
execution, and writing-up of a specific project
To give students experience of working independently
on a single medium size project under staff supervision

OBJECTIVES
To provide the student with the opportunity to:
Demonstrate the ability to devise, select and use a range of
methodologies appropriate to the chosen project;
Show the application of the skills of data collection, critical
analysis and concept synthesis necessary for the formation of
defensible conclusions and/or recommendations;
Demonstrate an ability to draw appropriate conclusions argued
from the evidence presented;

Provide a forum in which you may demonstrate the skills of

structuring and presenting a balanced, informed, complete, clear
and concise written argument,

PROJECT TOPIC & PROJECT TITLE

Project topic: a specific area to investigate
Topics may come from international
marketing, international competition, financial
markets, business strategy, E-logistics, Ecommerce, smaller businesses...
Project title: a heading for the dissertation,
only finalised after the project has been
written so it can reflect dissertation content.

PROJECT TOPIC
Relevant to the your degree (i.e. to the field of
International Business);
Related to one or more of the courses or areas of
study within the degree programme;
Focus clearly to facilitate an in-depth approach,
subject to the availability of adequate sources and to
your own knowledge; and
Of value and interest to you and your personal
development

PROBLEMS IN CHOICE OF
RESEARCH
The imaginative and creative task of generating ideas for the research
investigation (i.e. What can I look at)
The difficulty of determining the feasibility of the project. Need to ask
yourself:
Will the necessary information be available?
Can you get the support and facilities you need?
Has the topic been exhaustively researched before?
What sort of work is needed?
How long will it take?
The decision about whether the topic is sufficiently interesting and
worthwhile for you to want to do it.

HOW TO CHOOSE

Inspiration and ideas from one of your taught courses

Current events in the field
New sources of data may have become available
A published case study which would be interesting to replicate
in a different context
Your career interests
Your own interest
Special interest of staff in the Business School at the
University of Greenwich.

REFINING IDEAS

What are your personal interests and aims?

What outcome would you like to achieve?
Identifying research questions or hypotheses;
Literature review of research already
published;
Starting with some exploratory research.

CHECKLIST OF QUESTIONS

Is this subject specific enough?

Is this subject narrow enough?
Do I have a clear aim?
Do I have feasible approach to this subject?
Is there a good chance that Ill come up with an
interesting conclusion?
Do I have enough knowledge and interest in this
subject area?

TASK

Make a shortlist of possible subjects that you are interested in

Which areas/topics are of any interest to you?

By next week:
Look at some of the past dissertations in the Universitys library;

Compile a list of topics that have been covered;

Identify different areas of research;

What sort of issues or problems have they looked at?