Thank you for your submission. You will find below feedback on your thesis structure.

TUTORS REMARKS

Thank you for your submission. You will find below feedback on your thesis structure.

What you did well:

You have made use of some appropriate academic literature.

You have identified the gap in the research and devised research questions.

What you could improve

- What is the title of your study?

- Research GAP? It should emerge from inconsistencies in literature and limitations of previous research. - Research question(s) You are expected to develop a research question based on the literature review.

- Theories- You need to review relevant theories and state which of them you intend to apply to your research. It is not sufficient to just mention them.

-Methodology The methodology appears vague. Which variable will you analyse and why? It is unclear how this choice of method will help you address the RQs.

The following are ways in which you could improve for better performance in subsequent assignments. Despite your thorough interpretation review and approach adopted, explain the theories and select some for your study. Also, it would be beneficial should you demonstrate criticality of the literature and show any inconsistencies which can evidence a gap in literature. Additionally, when your review articles, check for the section future research which demonstrate evidence of what the author did not cover.

What you can take forward

-Develop an extensive literature review both theoretical and empirical for your dissertation for feedback. Ensure that you identify a research gap with justification from previous studies based on the literature review.

-Research methodology section must be properly aligned from research philosophy, strategy, approach, sampling, data collection sources, data collection techniques, data analysis, ethics and conclusion.

If you want to collect primary data, you have two options: 1. Quantitative analysis: organize a survey and send out it to companies (ideally, you should receive more than 100 respondents for the purpose of statistical analysis) 2. Qualitative analysis: select a specific company to do case study, and conduct at least 20 interviews, dig in detail how the company's performance is regarding your research question.

If you want to use secondary data,you also have two options: 1. Quantitative analysis: find related data from a database (go back to thesecondary databasessession recording on Moodle). The data information should be available to test your hypothesis and answer your research question.

Or,you can find a survey data (raw data) that has already been collected by others, the survey should relate to your research topic and be able to answer your research question. Based on the data, you cancarry outyourownstatistical analysis. 2. Qualitative analysis. You can conduct a case study by using secondary data that has already collected by others. Remember, it is a RAW data, so it would beA.an interview that has already been done by others, you find the interview online, and put down the transcripts and use the transcripts as your data OR a transcript of an existing interview;B.Information from the company's official websiteC.company data that has already collected and stored within the company, the CEO or the staff within the company agree to share the information with you. This would be their meeting records,diaryor other related internal information.D.Other useful information from the company's website, or company's data that has collected by others that you can find from internet (But,this must beraw data!)

The most important issue regarding the secondary data is that you need to make it clear where the data is from, is it reliable? Is the quality good or not? Write down a justification of the above information.Do not confuse secondary data collection with reading secondary literature.

Marker: Laura Muncey;gl41@gre.ac.uk

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BUSI-1359 INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS PROJECT:

GLOBALIZATION OF IKEA IN THE ASIAN MARKET

(Thesis)

by

Parikshit Umesh Joshi

001181216

Introduction and Research Question

Globalization is neither a single notion that can be identified and included in a specific time frame, rather it is a process with a distinct beginning and finishes. Additionally, it cannot be fully explained and applied to all persons and conditions with confidence. Globalization entails economic integration, policy transfer across boundaries, presented various, cultural consistency, power replication, relations, and ideologies. Itis a global process, a concept, a revolution, and the creation of an international economy free of geopolitical control. All these things are included in globalization (Robinson, 2019).

As the literature review laid out the plans which are necessary for IKEA for expanding its operational activities and retail outlets across the globe, here the focus will be on the directions and steps that IKEA will take to expand in the Southeast Asian market and furthermore classify its way into the prominent Indian industry. While there have been pieces of evidence that suggest the initiatives taken for this process have been producing results but the investments which have been put into these projects have turned out to be a bit less profitable sometimes and even stages where the recovery was breakeven. When a business plans to expand its operations overseas, this can turn out both ways, not every time it can expect benefits. This study concentrates on the research on the various challenges that IKEA faced while entering the South-Asian market and the solutions that we will be able to suggest enhancing its operations.

LITERATURE AWARENESS Strategy

The literature review had the layout of the complete steps which IKEA had taken in order to expand its global operations. All the essential connections and international plans were laid out in order to take over the development process as it began. Furthermore, it was studied that the global furniture and household retail industry had a vast market along its way around the globe, and at the same time, it was a competitive edge that was experienced through every project while making an entry into the specified market. It was also observed that IKEA had its own ways of tackling situations and hindrances that might arise in their course and hence it was important for the officials to make decisions benefitting both the organization and the customers at the same time. Apart from products and services, IKEA also has been indulging in activities for its internal workforce by establishing various programs for outreaching the perfect skills and knowledge that come along with the development of techniques of working and technologies. All these activities have been proved essential as they have been able to distinguish themselves as a unique brand in the global market and there has been more progress than decline.

EMPIRICAL CONTENT AIM OF THE RESEARCH

To begin with, IKEA has been one of the efficient upcoming brands on the rise, particularly in the household and furniture industry. The steps towards expansion have multiple outcomes, out of which there can be negative ones, positive ones, and neutral ones. This research would focus on both of these aspects of the business. An article regarding the furniture giants plans had been posted that had mentioned it suffered a major setback regarding its then-upcoming enterprise outlet in Hyderabad, Telangana, India which was started to set up in the year 2019, and then its construction came to a halt due to the pandemic and lockdown. This is the point where an organizations investment comes to a hold, and it cannot be expected to generate returns. Later, it was fully back on track with the establishment of the same and successfully completed the construction in 2021. This explains how time management can be successful as compared to this case (IKEA Rushes to Make Up Lost Time on India Expansion After Delays - BNN Bloomberg, 2022)

Another case explains how IKEA will be willing to push forward a Rs.9000 crore investment into the Indian market while entering the capital city of India and marking one of its biggest stores around the city, in the districts of Noida and Gurugram, which play the vital role in enhancing the developed part of the city. The Managing Director of IKEA, Ingka Canters, has also presented a forecast that by the year 2025, these stores would be operational as compared to recent developments (IKEA Malls Business to Invest Rs 9,000 Crore In India Amid Expansion Plans, 2022).

When it comes to the South-Asian market, IKEA has been progressing towards making an entrance in various countries such as South Korea, Singapore, China, and Macau. The first store in Macau was opened in the past recent years and it turned out to be a success as IKEA was able to provide its people with the affordability and accessibility of its range of household products and furniture. It also had plans for introducing a mini-store in South Korea where it plans to keep the area of the store small as compared to its other stores worldwide, and it was to be done by removing the playground or the built-in warehouse from the total area of the outlet (IKEA to open first small-store concept in Southeast Asia - Retail in Asia, 2022).

COHERENCE BETWEEN SECTIONS OF OUTLINE ACTION PLAN AND METHODOLOGY

As IKEA will be proceeding with expansion plans in multiple countries, it will surely be stretching its borders and there would be differences in every country as the laws and regulations may vary, the customer expectations may vary, and accordingly their profit margins would differ gradually. Every organization must identify the challenges first and then move towards developing solutions to the same to move forward and achieve their goal. Here we will discuss the challenges that IKEA might face when entering Asian countries:

Heavy Investment and returns

Local Furniture Manufacturers and Retailers

Walmart Co. Ltd. as its biggest competitor

Large space required for the store setup

Coming up with some solutions to the findings above would be a gradual process that would go along as IKEA settles in the industrial environment of the specified domestic market, firstly, it would be a huge investment as there would be land acquisition costs, legal documentation costs, marketing, advertising costs, construction costs and many more add along during the setup of a single outlet. Hence, they would be expecting a good return and recovery of their investment, so the suggestion would be to set up in the areas that are within a radius of five to ten miles outside the main city boundaries, as then the costs would go lower for land and setup. Secondly, in the context of the domestic furniture dealers in the current market, IKEA could propose a collaboration with them and there can be an agreed profit margin where both the parties would stand to find favourable. Lastly, the issues for large spaces would require the acquisition of property in an area that would be preferably nearby to the city they choose and comfortable for the customers to travel. These can also be solved by studying the maps to identify the specified areas in the cities which would be significant for a setup.

CONCLUSION

Finally, after the identification of the possible hindrances that might arise in their plan while moving forward, there are necessary solutions to be discussed so that IKEA can eradicate any stoppages because the construction costs and the maintenance of these projects are huge and even a single delay would cost them and hinder their investment portfolio. The above solutions can be suggested in order the smoothen their development process.

As IKEA progresses along its pathway towards global expansion, it is expected that it would be able to achieve their target market as they are one of the organizations providing homes at the most affordable prices.

REFERENCES

mint. 2022.Five challenges for Ikea in India. [online] Available at: https://www.livemint.com/Companies/hpM1JrPxNlQQHpvwykMLeN/Five-challenges-for-Ikea-in-India.html [Accessed 25 March 2022].

NDTV.com. 2022.IKEA Malls Business to Invest Rs 9,000 Crore In India Amid Expansion Plans. [online] Available at: https://www.ndtv.com/business/ikea-malls-to-invest-rs-9-000-crore-in-india-as-it-plans-expansion-in-delhi-to-boost-growth-report-2642949 [Accessed 25 March 2022].

BNN. 2022.Ikea Rushes to Make Up Lost Time on India Expansion After Delays - BNN Bloomberg. [online] Available at: https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/ikea-rushes-to-make-up-lost-time-on-india-expansion-after-delays-1.1573124 [Accessed 25 March 2022].

Retail in Asia. 2022.IKEA to open first small-store concept in Southeast Asia - Retail in Asia. [online] Available at: https://retailinasia.com/in-shops/ikea-to-open-first-small-store-concept-in-southeast-asia/ [Accessed 25 March 2022].

China Business Review. 2022.IKEA with Chinese Characteristics - China Business Review. [online] Available at: https://www.chinabusinessreview.com/ikea-with-chinese-characteristics/[Accessed 26 March 2022].

Knock sense. 2022.IKEA's expansion in India takes an ambitious route; New outlets in store for 30 cities in 7 years. [online] Available at: https://www.knocksense.com/india/ikeas-expansion-in-india-takes-an-ambitious-route-new-outlets-in-store-for-30-cities-in-7-years [Accessed 25 March 2022].

Robinson, G., 2019. Research in Globalization: Editor-in-Chief's introduction.Research in Globalization, 1, p.100001.

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BUSI1604 Foundations of Research and Scholarship

LITERATURE REVIEW

A STUDY OF VARIOUS TRENDS IN GLOBALIZATION CONSIDERING THE CASE OF IKEA

INTRODUCTION

Throughout the last 30 years, the commercial climate has changed dramatically. Many national governments were forced to reformulate industrial laws and other legislative requirements as part of the ease of doing business as a result of the globalization process' structural adjustment plans. It is augmented by two more improvements throughout this period. The first is a reduction in the strength and importance of labor unions in terms of collective bargaining power. Second, with the introduction of next-generation modern technologies, the relevance of industrial people in production and related institutions is diminishing. These sophisticated technologies are also required for mass manufacturing of high-quality, globally accepted products in order to compete and meet the challenges given by the globalization process.

Globalization has been playing an important role in almost all sectors of the world. This review discusses the various trends which are considered and followed by IKEA which is named after the initials offounder Ingvar Kamprad, Elmtaryd, the farm on which he grew up, and Agunnaryd, the nearby village. IKEA is a global organization that is involved in many day-to-day activities related to the consumer sector as well as the industrial sector. IKEA is involved in the exchange of products and services with multiple producers, manufacturers, retailers, resellers, etc., and continues to grow globally through its efficient working and contractual relations. In this review, the globalization trends of IKEA will be discussed and will be clarified according to their expansion in different parts of the world. It will focus on the advancements taking place worldwide and how IKEA is coping up with these changes and turning itself into an organization that is now spread through a huge network geographically because they were up to date with the technological as well as managerial progress which was made in these upcoming years.

MAIN BODY

IKEA, the global furniture retailer, was founded in 1943 and established its first storefront a decade later in Sweden. IKEA currently has large building flagship stores in 18 countries (Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, France, Belgium, West Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Canada, the United States, and Saudi Arabia), as well as smaller stores in Kuwait, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, the Canary Islands, and Iceland. IKEA owns the larger stores, whereas smaller stores are often run as franchises. IKEA publishes over 45 million catalogues every year, receives about 45 million visitors per year, and is constantly expanding its global idea.

IKEA sells the same items all around the world. Scandinavia (52 percent), Western Europe (21 percent), Eastern Europe (20 percent), and others are the countries of origin for these products (7 percent). However, because IKEA's worldwide purchasing strategy always chose producers with the lowest prices, a Scandinavian product may occasionally be constructed from pieces of various provenance. IKEA employs a big number of furniture designers who consider the necessity for small, space-saving packaging that can be stacked on pallets. The majority of IKEA goods require user assembly. IKEA saves money on distribution and warehousing as a result of this. The decor is contemporary, with light furnishings and pastel-coloured materials. The assortment available in international markets is smaller and more uniform in appearance than that available in Sweden. Levelling up in one area usually plays an essential role in other markets.

The retail model of IKEA is centered on low prices. Prices range from one market to the next, and IKEA has distinct cost structures in different areas. A price analysis of IKEA products in 8 markets revealed significant price differences. IKEA aims to maintain a consistent price appearance, although the price environment differs by market, and hence price levels in different nations. IKEA had to create its own network infrastructure because it was a pioneer in its field. IKEA stores are located on the outskirts of big cities, where rents are lower and access to major highways is easier. IKEA does not distribute its products; nevertheless, it works with automobile rental businesses to provide small trucks for clients who require this option.

IKEA's advertisements are usually eye-catching and often provocative. Because the target population is accessed through varied means of communication, such as early newspapers in one country but midnight publications in some other, medium choices differ from country to country.IKEA has a specific technique of entry: first, gain expertise in a small market that is like a large and important market, and then join the large market more forcibly. West Germany had a market in German-speaking Switzerland, France had a modest market in French-speaking Switzerland, Canada had a market in the United States, and so on. To keep its expansion under control, IKEA has decided to license its business model in specific markets to gain a competitive edge without overstretching its resources. The corporation also employs establishing outreach programs that are highly skilled and knowledgeable in fast opening new stores in order to astonish the industry.

Surveys with competitors in Sweden, Switzerland, West Germany, and Austria highlighted strategic positioning discrepancies between IKEA and other groups of enterprises. It demonstratedthat, when IKEA first entered the Swiss, German, and Austrian furniture marketplaces, most furniture sellers were not preoccupied with long-term planning. Consumers were willing to wait for their products to arrive, so shopkeepers were never required to take any chances by purchasing merchandise until they realized they might resell it.

Because merchants' lack of significant vision made it difficult for producers to obtain many levels of production, some of them began selling directly to customers. Experts in the industry estimated that German furniture retailers were substantially smaller than the required size of a store to ensure success. The situation was even worse in Switzerland and Austria, where many upholstery stores were run by one to three people. As a result, individual stores had no hope of competing with IKEA. Large-scale enterprises, such as joint buying groups and some of the larger German networks, can only perform comprehensive purchase planning. The biggest distinction between that and IKEA was that IKEA had considerably simpler collaboration and focus than the other enterprises, which were in certain cases quite disparate even though they related to the same group.

This to a certain extent does culture appear to be a decisive force. When the cost difference between alternatives grows too great, cultural values fade away and other considerations take their place. Fast food businesses like McDonald's provide the optimum solution on the market for a certain (extremely cheap) price. Those fast-food restaurants, on the other hand, would most likely lose customers if their prices were raised. According to a review of previous studies, the marketing program tends to become more integrated and far more uniform with time and with increasing experience of international operations in areas where the particular company has a say. Since IKEA had complete control over its distribution, it was able to harmonize it. Most businesses have no control over the production in other nations and are forced to accept the status quo. When it comes to strategic relations, two opposing forces are at work.

According to the internationalization trend, a consistent promotional strategy is quicker and more efficient. Another element, that is predicated on the growing understanding of how things can be done, makes it possible to grasp what inspires people from diverse cultures and, as a result, to take it into account when engaging with them. Products are becoming increasingly uniform. The time between product debuts in different markets has shrunk dramatically, especially for high-tech items. Prices are rarely standardised over the world, but price positioning is. All these conclusions are supported by the IKEA instance. It appears more reasonable to employ a notion like coordination rather than the more common standardisation of activities in additional research of international and intercontinental transactions. IKEA's capacity to undertake led to substantial is critical to its international market position. Considering rates that are consistently underneath the usual price level, there will always be adequate buyers willing to give the notion a try. A homogenized approach to pricing would not always result in the business's best average revenue.

IKEA might well have gone with a comprehensive option, but they didn't want to. The majority of shops seemed to have no alternative. A merchant in a traffic-congested location (which is far more prevalent in Europe than in the United States) cannot anticipate his people to send equipment considerable distances in order to get marginally reduced prices. Other businesses had storefronts on multiple floors, which created the same issues when consumers had to transport furniture up or down staircases or escalators. A tiny retailer lacks the appeal potential to settle in such locations like IKEA did in order to obtain lower rates. Retailers who had created a reputation for selling heavy-looking, non-knockdown furniture couldn't reverse their image immediately by unexpectedly providing Scandinavian-style flipped furnishings at affordable prices.

Even though his prices were cheaper than IKEA's, a dealer who attempted to stifle IKEA's popularity in Vienna stated that he did not offer anything with this type ofhome furnishings. The reason for this was that his regular customers were not expecting to see such items in his store. IKEA elicited significant and vehement responses from competitors. Again, for reasons stated, small merchants had little hope of competing with IKEA's branding strategies in the same businesscategories. Big stores had a chance, but it takes time for things to shift. Responses to IKEA throughout Europe necessitated the hiring of an attorney to represent it against all claims. Opponents frequently complained that IKEA had broken one or more local marketing regulations. It's still a business mystery if this was done based on the internationalization process or if it was simply a case of making errors that are common in export firms.

Clients in the areas analysed, particularly in the case of IKEA, never had the opportunity to show whether or not they enjoyed the values connected with IKEA's retail concept. It shows that consumers with lower occupational worry, low rigidity, minimal religious dogma, great education, white-collar jobs, and high wealth have fewer cross-cultural differences than other trade associations and are more flexible to implement their beliefs to new perspectives. "Young people of all ages," according to IKEA's targeted audience. Because new items, such as VCRs, were launched all over the world in such a brief span of time, advertisement of existing innovations is not to be engaged with social traditions to the very same level. Regarding organizational variations, IKEA has to consider real or structural disparities between regions.

The methodologies used by the various researchers and the articles have varied according to their concerns with the organization but mainly as we see, they were qualitative as well as quantitative because expansion on such a large scale requires hard pieces of evidence and facts which are needed to be seen and accordingly the strategies and plans for the future are prepared. The forecasting of future expansion plans of an organization needs to be clear, and it should be based on figures which are anticipated to be achieved. There were mixed methodologies involved in the review as being a global organization with multiple located branches and offices, it needed to clarify that the firms agenda and their aims are produced beforehand in order to complete their steps towards their result. There were figures which were anticipated in the research and also by the organization which played an important role in analysing the literature and supported the elaboration of the operations of IKEA in the various parts around the globe. There have been advantages as well as setbacks in the case of IKEA but in consideration of globalisation, it can be said that the figures which were presented by the firm, have successfully coped up with the trends that have been followed till this year. It has been proven that managing across cultures and communities is one of the most beneficial and positive efforts of IKEA to move its name in all the parts of the world.

CONCLUSION

I would like to conclude that this review of the IKEA organization based on various research has led to the result that IKEA has been successfully able to cope up with the globalisation trend which has been followed by most of the other organizations. There were many confusions and disagreements when considering their move towards the multiple countries they entered, but eventually, their strategic planning and internationally targeted aims were achieved and formulated out to be their current standing in the market as a whole. There were gaps in the literature as not every article contained the necessary proceedings and data required for the preparation of a fully coordinated projection of the organizations working operations in the different countries. Their entry modes and strategies have also been addressed in the gap which represented the flaws and hindrances which IKEA needed to overcome while moving towards their target market countries initially. This leaves us with the knowledge about IKEAs current global situation and their global standing as a firm and it helps to demonstrate the need for expansion in the countries in which IKEA has not yet set foot. This review will support the future optimization of data about the globalization concept and would also help learn the different scenarios and situations in which a global organization can get into while expanding its operations. There are developments in almost every sector of the industry, and this helps us to keep up with the major changes in trends that exist in our society and surroundings.

REFERENCES

Baraldi, E., 2008. Strategy in Industrial Networks: Experiences from IKEA.California Management Review, 50(4).

Bergh, A., Mirkina, I. and Nilsson, T., 2014. Globalization and Institutional QualityA Panel Data Analysis.Oxford Development Studies, 42(3).

Chishti, D., 2004. Globalization, Income Inequalities, Terms of Trade and Developing Countries.Foreign Trade Review, 39(1).

Dragievi, I., 2018. Integrated marketing communications on social networks: A case study on IKEA.Marketing, 49(2).

Ikea.com. 2021.Fresh home furnishing ideas and affordable furniture. [online] Available at: https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/ [Accessed 1 December 2021].

About.ikea.com. 2021.Get to know IKEA. [online] Available at: https://about.ikea.com/[Accessed 1 December 2021].

Hessami, Z., 2011. Globalizations winners and losersEvidence from life satisfaction data, 19752001.Economics Letters, 112(3).

HU, X., WAN, G. and WANG, J., 2020. THE IMPACTS OF GLOBALIZATION ON THE LABOR SHARE: EVIDENCE FROM ASIA.The Singapore Economic Review, 65(supp01).

Johansson, U. and Thelander, ., 2009. A standardised approach to the world? IKEA in China.International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences, 1(2).

Kim, S. and Kim, J., 2016. Overseas Strategy of Global Furniture Retailer : The Case of IKEAKorea.INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS REVIEW, 20(1).

McKay, S., 2007. Globalization and the Future of Labour Law ? Edited by John D. R. Craig and S. Michael Lynk.British Journal of Industrial Relations, 45(2), pp.447-449.

Pedersen, E. and Andersen, M., 2006. Safeguarding corporate social responsibility (CSR) in global supply chains: how codes of conduct are managed in buyer-supplier relationships.Journal of Public Affairs, 6(3-4).

Reynoso, J., 2009. Valuesbased Service for Sustainable Business Lessons from IKEA20091Bo Edvardsson and Bo Enquist. Valuesbased Service for Sustainable Business Lessons from IKEA. Routledge, 2009. , ISBN: 13:9780415458535.Journal of Service Management, 20(4).

Strategic Direction, 2013. Selling IKEA abroad. 29(9).

MODULE HANDBOOK

BUSI1359 International Business Project

2021-22

Contents

TOC o "1-3" h z u 1.Welcome to the Module PAGEREF _Toc11680079 h 22.Key Contacts PAGEREF _Toc11680080 h 33.Key Module Specification Details PAGEREF _Toc11680081 h 34.Enquiry-Based Learning and Research-Led Teaching PAGEREF _Toc11680082 h 45.Employability Skills Gained PAGEREF _Toc11680083 h 46.Key Dates PAGEREF _Toc11680084 h 57.Schedule of Teaching and Learning Activities PAGEREF _Toc11680085 h 58.Assessment Tasks PAGEREF _Toc11680086 h 59.Re-Sit Assessments PAGEREF _Toc11680087 h 710. Reading Lists PAGEREF _Toc11680088 h 711.Additional Module Specific Information and Costs PAGEREF _Toc11680089 h 812.Glossary of Terms PAGEREF _Toc11680090 h 813.Other Details PAGEREF _Toc11680091 h 8

Welcome to the Module

This term, you are about to complete all the taught elements of your post-graduate programme of study and are asked to complete and pass a final piece of assessment - the Project to complete your masters degree. This is a major piece of independent research that will enable you to apply the theoretical, methodological and substantive knowledge that you have acquired during your study of International Business to real-world situations. This is, in fact, one of the most interesting, enriching, and rewarding learning experiences of all your academic studies. However, be advised that for this to be possible, the project requires total commitment from you. It is an original work of scholarship that is of high quality and incorporates new ideas and knowledge-supported recommendations for business and/or policy decision-making. Use this project as a platform to showcase your critical thinking and analytical skills to a prospective employer. This means that your project should be relevant, should have a clear International Business Focus, and should contribute new knowledge to an industry or companys operations. Alternatively, the project can highlight new opportunities for business practices. Do your best and be assured that hard work, dedication, and gradual but substantial improvement of your research and writing skills will lead you to a most satisfactory achievement.

This document provides you with the basic information you need for the Project. It needs to be read in conjunction with your module guides for BUSI 1604 (Foundations of Scholarship and Research). Please also refer to your programme handbook.

Normally, your supervisor for the project is the same tutor you had for BUSI 1604 (Foundations of Scholarship and Research). Exceptions to this rule are rare, but possible. If the Department re-assigns you to a new supervisor, you will be informed at the end of BUSI1604 or earlier if possible. If instead, it is you who believe you would benefit from a change of supervisor, please be aware that any supervisor swap request is unlikely to be accepted unless you provide very strong reasons for it, notably concerning your (and your desired supervisors) research topics and interests.

Please bear in mind that your supervisor is also your personal tutor during this time.

You are welcome to contact the BUSI 1359 module leader for any Project-related matter that you cannot resolve with your supervisor.

However, queries that are not strictly related to the project but pertain to the masters programme as a whole, such as internships, visa, overall timing, other modules/exams, or School administration issues, such as resits, deadlines, graduation ceremonies, and results letters, should be directed to the School office.

This handbook provides essential information that you will need during your undertaking of this module. It is not intended to be exhaustive, but should help you to see at a glance key information about the module such as the aims and learning outcomes, the proposed schedule of delivery, assessment details, reading list and any additional resources that will be needed by you. Please ensure that you familiarise yourself with its contents.

The university will do all that it reasonably can do to provide educational services to support your learning. Sometimes circumstances may mean that we cannot provide such educational services or that the university has to withdraw or change aspects of this module and/or student services detailed in the information you have been provided with by the university. This might be because of, for example:

industrial action by university staff or third parties;the unanticipated departure or absence of key members of university staff;acts of terrorism;the acts of any government or local authority;

academic changes within subject areas; or

where the numbers expected on a module are so low that it is not possible to deliver an appropriate quality of education for students enrolled on it.

In these circumstances, the university will take all reasonable steps to minimize the resultant disruption to those services and to affected students, for example by making reasonable modifications, but to the full extent that it is possible under the general law, the university excludes liability for any loss and/or damage suffered by any applicant or student as a result of these circumstances.

The modifications we make may be to:

the content and syllabus of modules, including in relation to placements;the timetable, location and number of classes;the content or method of delivery of your module;

the examination process; and

the timing and method of assessment

Many of the changes that we make are in response to feedback from students and are intended to improve the experience of students and student outcomes.

In making any changes, the university will aim to keep significant changes to the minimum necessary and will notify and where reasonably possible also consult with you in advance about any significant changes that are required.

Key Contacts

The list below summarises the contact details of key individuals relevant to this module.

Module Leader: Nicola Perra Location: QM155

Email: n.perra@gre.ac.uk

Tel: 020 8331 8625

Office hours: TBA

External Examiner: Kent Springdal

Key Module Specification DetailsDepartment: International Business and Economics

Number of Credits: 30

Term of delivery: Term 2

Site of delivery: Greenwich Maritime site

Aims:

The module will enable you to:

complete a substantial piece of written work (about 10,000 words, 10%), professionally structured, argued and verified on the basis of relevant theories and evidence;study independently and take responsibility for going through the successive steps of the research process, with a view to meet a deadline;apply theoretical perspectives to a real-world economic, business or policy question;gain in-depth knowledge of the economics and/or business literature in the area chosen, with awareness of the state of the art;identify and use appropriate data and evidence;follow a logical flow of thoughts to draw conclusions (and possibly, recommendations) from evidence

Learning Outcomes:

When the project has been successfully completed, you will be able to:

perform a literature review

apply appropriate economic and international business/management principles to the selected topic

know how to identify, locate and use appropriate data and evidence

present conclusions and analysis that are based on evidence, and

complete a substantial piece of written work of about 10,000 words

Enquiry-Based Learning and Research-Led TeachingEnquiry-Based Learning (EBL)

Defined as an approach based on self-directed enquiry or investigation in which the student is actively engaged in the process of enquiry facilitated by a teacher. EBL uses real life scenarios (for example, from case studies, company visits, and project work) and students investigate topics of relevance that foster the skills of experimental design, data collection, critical analysis and problem-solving.

EBL will be used in the development of the thesis structure and the dissertation which aim to investigate real and relevant issues in international business

Research-Led Teaching (RLT)

An element of Enquiry Based Learning links to RLT, which involves faculty introducing students to their own research where it is relevant to the curriculum being taught as well as drawing on their own knowledge of research developments in the field, introducing them to the work of other researchers. RLT sees students as active participants in the research process, not just as an audience. This is achieved by discussing such developments in lectures and classes, and setting reading lists including recent research publications at the frontier of the field. The definition of a diverse assessment regime at the programme level (incorporating an expectation of familiarity with, and use of, such

publications in assignments) and the inclusion of projects at every level of the programme is also fundamental to achieving these objectives.

RLT will be a crucial part of the module and will drive the discussions in the tutorial in which students will develop the skills necessary to conduct academic research.

Employability Skills Gained

The module will help you developing a range of employability skills. In particular,

Cognitive skills. You will develop research questions. This will provide a unique opportunity to develop independent problem solving skills.

Personal and professional development. You will write a substantial written work, thus developing crucial and transferable skills such as such formatting, spelling, and story telling.

Technical ability. You will learn how to pose and answer research questions. Furthermore, you will learn how to collect and analyse both qualitative and quantitative data.

Youcan find out more about the Greenwich Employability Passport online

https://www.gre.ac.uk/articles/ils/greenwich-employability-passport-for-studentsInformation about the Career Centre is also available online

https://www.abintegro.com/public/career-transition-and-job-search

Youcan log on to the Career Centre withyour Portal ID and Password

https://orca.gre.ac.uk/cas/login?service=https://idp.gre.ac.uk/oala/auth.php

Key Dates2021/21 Term Dates

Please note that dates may differ depending on when you start your programme of study, and where you are studying. Please refer to https://docs.gre.ac.uk/rep/sas/term-dates for full details, and details of University closure dates.

Welcome Week 13th September 2021 24th September 2021

Term 1 27th September 2021 17th December 2021

Examination Period 10th January 2022 14th January 2022

Term 2 17th January 2022 8th April 2022

Examination Period 3rd May 2022 20th May 2022

Resit Examination Period 18th July 2022 22nd July 2022

Schedule of Teaching and Learning ActivitiesThe module continues with weekly one-hour teaching sessions during the second term and then individual

supervision sessions till submission date. Your supervisor normally leads all sessions.

The time of the weekly session will be shown on your timetable. All the module materials

(notes, tests, exercises, hand-outs, etc.) will be put on modules Moodle site.

Term One

Week Session Title and Description Reading to complete

19 Module Introduction for Thesis and Consultancy Projects

LEARNING OUTCOMES

You will be able to:

understand the aims of the module

understand how the module relates to other modules at this stage of the programme and other stages

understand the assessment requirements

understand how different pathways will affect the scope of a given project.

understand how to develop a consultancy project

READINGS

Module Guide available on the Moodle site

Saunders M., Thornhill, A. and Lewis P. (2019) Methods for Business Students (8th edition). Person Education: London.

Additional reading for students who consider working on a consultancy project:

Wickham, L. (2016) Management Consulting: Delivering an Effective Project: Delivering an Effective Project (5th Edition). Pearson: London.

EVIDENCE

Be ready to discuss a summary of your research proposal developed in BUSI1604, including your research aim and questions. Identify potentials problems in the structure of your research proposal. Refine the research proposal using your findings from the exercise. Chapter 1 and 2 of Saunders et al. (2019)

Chapter 1 of Wickham (2016)

20 Critically Reviewing the Literature

LEARNING OUTCOMES

You will be able to:

understand the purpose of the critical literature review and its different forms

be clear about the content of a critical literature review and possible ways to structure it; be aware of types of literature available

plan your literature search strategy and undertake searches

draft a critical literature review

READINGS

Saunders M., Thornhill, A. and Lewis P. (2019) Methods for Business Students (8th edition). Person Education: London.

Additional reading for students who consider working on a consultancy project:

Wickham, L. (2016) Management Consulting: Delivering an Effective Project: Delivering an Effective Project (5th Edition). Pearson: London.

EVIDENCE

Have a look at page 119 of Saunders et al. (2019). Create a mind-map of your literature review. Identify potential gaps in the map. Think about the different sub-topics you need to write about. Identify the key literature / papers for each sub-topic. Bring a list of these references to the next tutorial. Refining the literature review, using your findings from the exercise. Chapter 3 of Saunders et al. (2019)

Chapter 4 and 5 of Wickham (2016)

21 Understanding Research Philosophy

LEARNING OUTCOMES

You will be able to:

understand the main research paradigms that are significant for business research

explain the relevance for business research of philosophical positions such as positivism, critical realism, interpretivism, postmodernism and pragmatism

reflect on and articulate your own philosophical position in relation to your research; distinguish between deductive, inductive, abductive and retrodictive approaches to theory development.

READINGS

Saunders M., Thornhill, A. and Lewis P. (2019) Methods for Business Students (8th edition). Person Education: London.

EVIDENCE

Have a look at page 161 of Saunders et al. (2019). Fill out the HARP questionnaire and calculate your score. Reflect on your score (page 164) and bring your reflections to the tutorial. Chapter 4 of Saunders et al. (2019)

22 Formulating the Research Design

LEARNING OUTCOMES

You will be able to:

appreciate the importance of your decisions when designing research and the need to achieve methodological coherence throughout your research design

understand the differences between quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods research designs and choose between these

understand the differences between exploratory, descriptive, explanatory and evaluative research and recognize the purpose(s) of your research design

identify the main research strategies and choose from among these to achieve coherence throughout your research design

consider the implications of the time frames required for different research designs

take into account the constraints of your role as researcher when designing your research.

READINGS

Saunders M., Thornhill, A. and Lewis P. (2019) Methods for Business Students (8th edition). Person Education: London.

Hood, J.N. & Logsdon, J.M., 2002. Business ethics in the NAFTA countries: A cross-cultural comparison. Journal of Business Research, 55(11), pp.883890.

EVIDENCE

Have a look at page 222 of Saunders et al. (2019). Go through the different steps that are listed there. Based on these steps, formulate the research design you want to use for your dissertation. Be ready to discuss your reflection of this decision (Which method have you chosen and why?) in the tutorial. Chapter 5 of Saunders et al. (2019)

23 Negotiating Access and Research Ethics

LEARNING OUTCOMES

You will be able to:

be aware of issues associated with gaining traditional and internet-mediated access

evaluate a range of strategies to help you to gain access to organizations and to individual participants

be aware of the importance of research ethics and the need to act ethically

anticipate ethical issues at each stage of your research and in relation to particular techniques

be aware of the principles of data protection and data management.

READINGS

Saunders M., Thornhill, A. and Lewis P. (2019) Methods for Business Students (8th edition). Person Education: London

EVIDENCE

Have a look at page 282 of Saunders et al. (2019). Go through the different questions and answer them. In addition, search for Research Ethics-NB0634 on Moodle. Pass the Epigeum Research Ethics Course and submit your Ethics Approval Form. Failing to do so will counted as an academic offence! Chapter 6 of Saunders et al. (2019)

24 Case Study Design and Sample Selection

LEARNING OUTCOMES

You will be able to:

understand the need to select samples in business and management research

be aware of a range of probability and non-probability sampling techniques and the possible need to combine techniques within a research project

choose and use appropriate sampling techniques for a variety of research scenarios and justify your choices

to assess the representativeness of the sample selected

assess the extent to which it is reasonable to generalize from a sample; be able to apply the knowledge, skills and understanding gained to your own research project.

READINGS

Saunders M., Thornhill, A. and Lewis P. (2019) Methods for Business Students (8th edition). Person Education: London.

Yin, R.K., 2013.Case study research: Design and methods. Sage publications.

Additional reading for students who consider working on a consultancy project:

Wickham, L. (2016) Management Consulting: Delivering an Effective Project: Delivering an Effective Project (5th Edition). Pearson: London.

EVIDENCE

Have a look at page 330 of Saunders et al. (2019). Go through the step and select the most appropriate sampling technique and sample size for your research. Be ready to present an overview of your case, the original population, and sample (size) with appropriate justifications: why and how you have selected your sample?

Chapter 7 of Saunders et al. (2019)

Chapter 9 of Wickham (2016)

25 Utilizing Secondary Data

LEARNING OUTCOMES

You will be able to:

identify the variety of types of secondary data that are available

appreciate ways in which secondary data can be used to help to answer your research question(s) and to meet your objectives

understand the advantages and disadvantages of using secondary data in research projects

use a range of techniques to search for secondary data

evaluate the suitability of secondary data for answering your research question(s) and meeting your objectives in terms of measurement validity, coverage, precise suitability, measurement bias, costs and benefits

READINGS

Saunders M., Thornhill, A. and Lewis P. (2019) Methods for Business Students (8th edition). Person Education: London.

EVIDENCE

Chapter 8 of Saunders et al. (2019)

26 Collecting Primary Data through Qualitative Research Interviews

LEARNING OUTCOMES

You will be able to:

classify research interviews in order to help you understand the purpose of each type

be aware of situations favoring the use of particular types of research interview, and the logistical and resource issues that affect their use

identify potential data quality issues related to the use of research interviews and evaluate how to overcome these

consider the development of your competence to undertake semi-structured and in-depth research interviews

be aware of the advantages and disadvantages of different types of research interviews

be aware of the advantages, disadvantages and mode implications of telephone interviews; aware of types of Internet-mediated research interview to be able to evaluate their use

READINGS

Saunders M., Thornhill, A. and Lewis P. (2019) Methods for Business Students (8th edition). Person Education: London.

EVIDENCE

Have a look at page 491 of Saunders et al. (2019). Follow the different steps and answer the questions.

In addition, IF you want to conduct qualitative interviews for your dissertation, develop your interview guide (list of questions you want to ask your interview partners) and discuss it with your personal tutor!

Chapter 10 of Saunders et al. (2019)

27 Collecting Primary Data through Quantitative Questionnaires

LEARNING OUTCOMES

You will be able to:

understand the advantages and disadvantages of questionnaires as a data collection method

be aware of a range of self-completed (Internet, SMS, postal, delivery and collection) and researcher-completed (telephone, face-to-face) questionnaires

be aware of the possible need to combine data collection methods within a research project

be able to select and justify the use of appropriate questionnaire methods for a variety of research scenarios

be able to design, pilot and deliver a questionnaire to answer research questions and to meet objectives

be able to take appropriate action to enhance response rates and to ensure the validity and reliability of the data collected

READINGS

Saunders M., Thornhill, A. and Lewis P. (2019) Methods for Business Students (8th edition). Person Education: London.

EVIDENCE

Have a look at page 552 of Saunders et al. (2019). Focus on the first bullet point and be ready to discuss.

In addition, IF you want to conduct a quantitative questionnaire for your dissertation, develop the questionnaire and discuss it with your personal tutor!

Chapter 11 of Saunders et al. (2019)

28 Qualitative Data Analysis

LEARNING OUTCOMES

You will be able to:

understand the diversity of qualitative data and the interactive nature of qualitative analysis

identify the key aspects to consider when choosing a qualitative analysis technique and the main issues when preparing your qualitative data for analysis including using computer-aided qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS)

transcribe a recorded interview or notes of an interview or observation and create a data file for analysis by computer

choose from different analytical aids to help you to analyse your qualitative data, including keeping a reflective or reflexive journal

select an appropriate analytical technique or combination of techniques for your research project to undertake qualitative data analysis; identify the common functions of CAQDAS and describe the issues associated with its use

READINGS

Saunders M., Thornhill, A. and Lewis P. (2019) Methods for Business Students (8th edition). Person Education: London.

Carcary, M., 2011. Evidence Analysis using CAQDAS: Insights from a Qualitative Researcher. The Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods, 9(1), pp.1024.

EVIDENCE

IF you DO plan to use qualitative data, reflect on which analysis technique could be the most appropriate for you. Decide whether you want to use a CAQDAS program to analyze your data. Have a look at the further reading and reflect on the challenges you might face while conducting your qualitative data analysis.

IF you DO NOT the discussion will be still very relevant for you! Chapter 13 of Saunders et al. (2019)

29 Quantitative Data Analysis

LEARNING OUTCOMES

You will be able to:

identify the main issues that you need to consider when preparing data for quantitative analysis and when analyzing these data

recognize different types of data and understand the implications of data type for subsequent analyses

code data and create a data matrix using statistical analysis software

select the most appropriate tables and graphs to explore and illustrate different aspects of your data

select the most appropriate statistics to describe individual variables and to examine relationships between variables and trends in your data

interpret the tables, graphs and statistics that you use correctly.

READINGS

Saunders M., Thornhill, A. and Lewis P. (2019) Methods for Business Students (8th edition). Person Education: London.

Burns, R.B., Burns, R.A., 2008. Business research methods and statistics using SPSS. SAGE, Los Angeles; London.

EVIDENCE

IF you DO plan to use quantitative data, reflect on which analysis and visualization techniques could be the most appropriate for you. Decide which statistic software you would like to use (e.g. R, Phyton, SPSS, STATA). Have a look at the further reading and reflect on the challenges you might face while conducting your quantitative data analysis.

IF you DO NOT plan to use quantitative data, the discussion is still very relevant for you.

Chapter 12 of Saunders et al. (2019)

30 Writing your Dissertation / Consultancy Report

LEARNING OUTCOMES

You will be able to:

understand the issues about which you need to be concerned when undertaking writing for your project report

evaluate different ways to structure your project report

differentiate between a project report and a consultancy report

adopt an appropriate and accessible writing style for your report

write a project report focused on meeting the necessary assessment criteria

READINGS

Saunders M., Thornhill, A. and Lewis P. (2019) Methods for Business Students (8th edition). Person Education: London.

RESEARCH ACTIVITIES

Write an individual reflection about you learning process in this year. Think about what you have learned, which challenges occurred and how you overcame them. Think about potential challenges that might occur in the next months while you are writing up your dissertation. Think about how to handle such challenges. Write down a summary of your thoughts Chapter 14 of Saunders et al. (2019)

Final Thoughts on Writing-up

Think about how you can present your findings to consider different audiences (employers and clients, in particular) and how the end product would differ. For the consultancy project: you should be able to communicate and explain outcomes and recommendations in an appropriate way to the client organization. For the research project: you should be able to present your findings to a perspective employer as a demonstration of your knowledge of the field, cognitive ability, and your business acumen.

Above all, make sure that your language is clear and logical: Does your work pass the kitchen table test? Lief Johansson, the former CEO of Volvo, has suggested using the Kitchen Table Test to track your progress as a leader. At breakfast with his family on Saturday mornings, he asks himself:

How easy is it to explain what I have accomplished this week and the decisions I have made?

Does my family get it?

Does what I say make them proud?

Does it make me proud to tell them about it?*As an exercise, write an abstract of your thesis/consultancy project and bring it to the next class (for a refresher on writing an abstract, see your Foundations of Scholarship module notes).

Things to think about: What is critical reflection in research?

Why is it important to demonstrate reflection in your Masters dissertation?

What criteria do you think Masters examiners use when marking a dissertation?

Are there other uses for your Masters dissertation? Who else might gain insight from reading it?

Tutors will have reviewed the overall structure of the thesis and clearly outlined academic standards for ethical research, writing, and publication.

RESOURCES

*http://blog.timesunion.com/success/does-your-job-pass-the-kitchen-table-test/1423/; Accessed July 12, 2012.

Assessment TasksThe overall pass mark for this module is 50%.

Assessment Schedule

Assessment Title Weight towards final grade Length Due Date Anonymous

Submission Required? Anticipated Return Date Header Sheet number

Thesis Structure P/F 1,000 30/03/2022 No 20/04/2022 Dissertation 100% 10,000 12/09/2022 at 23:30 PM No 03/10/2022 Return of marked work with feedback will normally be given up to 15 working days after the due date indicated. In exceptional circumstances where you experience a delay in receiving this then you will be informed by the tutor.

Assessment Details

In the module you will have the possibility of choosing between two types of dissertations:

Classic academic dissertation based on a topic of clear international Business focus. If you select this route, you will have to conduct and develop research filling a research gap(s) in the relevant literature of International Business.

Consultancy route: If you chose the consultancy pathway, you are supposed to work on an actual management problem, preferably in cooperation with an existing firm. You are expected to focus on an international business problem when designing your consultancy project. This can concern e.g. export plans, international marketing strategies, M&A, entering new markets, international staffing, international supply chain management, or international cooperation networks. This route places you in the role of a business consultant who is usually hired for going into an organization where he/she is expected to address some problems/challenges the business has identified. All projects will involve gathering and analyzing information related to the business problem.

Independently of the type of dissertation you choose to purse, you will have to develop a 10,000 words dissertation as final outcome of the module (summative assessment) which will count for 100% of the final mark. Before that, you will be asked to submit a 1,000 words formative assessment: the thesis structure. The requirements and marking criteria for the thesis structure and dissertations are slightly different between the two types of dissertations. All details are reported below.

Thesis Structure Research Route

The first task that you will need to complete is the 1,000-word extended outline for your thesis. This is an important road map for the entire project and needs a great deal of care and consideration. The extended outline will give you and your supervisor a clear perspective of the research project. The outline is also important for good project management. It involves defining your research process, identifying key literature, demonstrating knowledge of the projects contents; and outlines the preliminary plan, which can then be analysed and improved. You must state the identified gap in the literature and explain how your research will contribute to the wider body of knowledge and managerial practice. Please note that the research should have a clear International Business focus. This is a formative task, thus it is a pass/fail assessment. Please note that you if dont submit or fail the thesis structure your grade of the dissertation will be reduced of 5 points. In evaluating your work your tutor will consider the following points:

Introduction and research question: Laying out the appropriate context for the study. Identifying and justification of the explanatory variables and dependent variables. Identification of the problem, awareness of industry trends.Literature awareness: Identification of key literature/authors of the topic: classics; landmarks; most recent developments.Empirical content: Justification of data type and approach to data collection. If primary data: Types of interviews to be conducted, sampling method and size, will pre-testing be done, identification of and solutions to potential problems; reasons for methodological choices made; accuracy, completeness, level of detail, and clarity of reported information. If secondary data: quality of data, reasons for choice, accuracy, completeness, and levelof detail.Coherence and logic between sections of outline/action plan: Each part of the writing should be appropriately connected to yield a seamless product that is functional for finishing the final document.Methodology: Suitability for the task at hand; identification of technical, statistical and analytical tools and/or software that will be used; awareness of methodological issues and of limitations of study; awareness of research integrity, honesty and ethics issues.Conclusions Findings: Possible outcomes or contingencies identified and briefly discussed.Appropriate writing standard: Correct use of grammar, spelling, and syntaxBibliography and Referencing: Correct use of Harvard referencing requirements.

Thesis Structure - Consultancy Route

If you have chosen to complete a consultancy report, you will need to write 1,000 words of an extended action plan/interim report. As each project is different, dealing with a problem or opportunity in a unique business setting, the exact contents of the interim report will vary. However, the report should include an overview of the company (profile), a clear definition of the problem, the amount of resources or access provided, time expectations (the length of the consultancy period), expected outcomes (or contingencies), key literature and techniques used in the problem resolution. If the project involves a strategic review, the interim report should also include an external environmental analysis.

This is a formative task, thus it is a pass/fail assessment. Please note that you if dont submit or fail the thesis structure your grade of the dissertation will be reduced of 5 points.

In evaluating your work your tutor will consider the following points:

Introduction and research question: Laying out the appropriate context for the study. Identifying and justification of the explanatory variables and dependent variables. Identification of the problem, awareness of industry trends.

Literature Review / Intelligence gathered and explanation: This should include a critical first reading of industry reports and other written materials from the client organization. An identification of key literature that links to the client organisations identified problem. Empirical content: Justification of data type and approach to data collection. If primary data: Types of interviews to be conducted, sampling method and size, will pre-testing be done, identification of and solutions to potential problems; reasons for methodological choices made; accuracy, completeness, level of detail, and clarity of reported information. If secondary data: quality of data, reasons for choice, accuracy, completeness, and level of detail.

Methodology: Suitability for the task at hand; identification of technical, statistical and analytical tools and/or software that will be used; awareness of methodological issues and of limitations of study; awareness of research integrity, honesty and ethics issues.

Coherence and logic between sections of outline/action plan: Each part of the writing should be appropriately connected to yield a seamless product that is functional for finishing the final document.Appropriate writing standard: Correct use of grammar, spelling, and syntaxBibliography and Referencing: Correct use of Harvard referencing requirements.

Project

This 10,000-word project should have an International Business focus and have the following sections

Header Sheet

Title page

Acknowledgements (optional)

Abstract

Table of contents

List of tables (where relevant)

List of figures (where relevant)

INDIVIDUAL CHAPTERS:

Chapter 1 Introduction, research questions and hypotheses

Chapter 2 - Literature review

Chapter 3 - Methodology

Chapter 4 - Data presentation, evidence, analysis and discussion

Chapter 5 - Summary and conclusions

This chapter structure is only indicative and may be modified according to the specific needs of the research; in other words, some consultancy reports may be constructed differently according to specific needs. If this is the case, the student must discuss their proposed changes with the Supervisor as soon as possible.)

Bibliography and reference list

Appendices (Ethics requirements: the participant information sheet and ALL collected consent forms; questionnaire or interview guide)

Title page

The title page should contain

Your first and last names, with your student ID;The programme in which you are enrolled, and your starting date (MA International Business, University of Greenwich, Business School, September 2016 starter);The module title and code (Project MA/MBA IB, BUSI1359);The title of your project;The name of your supervisor.

Abstract

It should not exceed 250 words. It serves to highlight the main ideas, findings and implications of the research. It may be organised according to the following template:

Purpose

Research design/methodology

Findings

Limitations

Recommendations

Value

Keywords.

See the following example:

Purpose This study aims to examine the impact of selected corporate governance indicators on social and financial performance of Indian MFIs. Research design/methodology The study uses quantitative research approach based on only secondary data from 15 Indian MFIs sampled using purposive sampling technique where multiple regression analysis is adopted as basic analytical framework.

Findings The study finds that board independence (in terms of proportion of non-executive board members on board) is positively correlated with both the performance measures; board size is negatively correlated with the same; board diversity (in terms of proportion of women on board) is found to be positively correlated with financial performance but negatively with social performance. Lastly, the study also evaluates the impact of MFI size (measured in terms of total assets) on performance and finds a strong positive correlation.

Limitations It would definitely have been advantageous to include more MFIs and more governance indicators in the study, to get a clearer picture of link between corporate governance and performance of MFIs. The limitations however do not compromise on the accuracy and validity of the findings.

Recommendations In order to fully achieve the multi-perspective and sometimes conflicting objectives of reaching the poor and being financial self-sustainable, good practice of corporate governance principles is recommended.

Value Considering the scarcity of studies on link between governance and performance of microfinance sector, especially in India, this study has a value in figuring out the application of corporate governance in microfinance.

Keywords: Microfinance, corporate governance, social performance, financial performance, India.

This example is only indicative and you may choose a different format according to the specific needs of your research.

Individual chapters

In general, it is advisable to ensure that each chapter has a short and concise introduction and conclusion. The introduction sets the scene, and the conclusion sums up and announces what comes next.

Make sure your structure and presentation are up to standards. Divide each chapter into shorter, numbered subsections. Remember to also number and label any tables, equations, and figures. Cite the sources of your work (both literature and data) as appropriate.

To improve your written expression, you may find it useful to consult this website, which aims to help especially non-native speakers of English to improve their writing in academic contexts: http://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk/

Chapter 1 Introduction, research questions and hypotheses

It should be general in nature and present the background to the Project, the questions you aim to answer, and the plan.

It serves two main purposes:

Contextualises the research within a larger disciplinary framework and signals how you intend your work to be considered.

Identifies the main focus or research problem with which you are concerned about.

Defines your research questions. Remember that research questions should be structured and framed in a way that allows a definite, clear and unambiguous answer. They should be sufficiently narrow and precise to be testable. Please note that the research should have a clear International Business focus.

Identifying the explanatory variables and dependent variables of your research.

Chapter 2 - Literature review

As discussed above, the literature review is a description of what is already known on your topic, what policy or business implications have been derived out of this, what gaps in knowledge remain to be addressed, and what suggestions for future work emerge.

Make sure you give adequate consideration to the classics in your topic area, the landmarks, and the most recent developments.

Present the literature in critical perspective, either chronologically (tracing the development of the field over time) or comparing similarities and differences between authors and schools of thought.

Chapter 3 - Methodology

Be careful: this is not a broad overview of research methods in business and/or the social sciences. You need to describe and explain your own choice of research methods: tell the reader exactly what you did, and why; whether you were successful or not; what difficulties you encountered.

You should think of the methodology section as a set of instructions you are giving to readers so that they can replicate your work exactly as you did it. Think of it as a sort of recipe which needs to be very precise on the ingredients, the combination of them and the timing so that someone else can reproduce the result.

You can have a look at the methodology sections of scientific articles available from the Library portal Electronic Journals, to see how they have presented their methods and draw inspiration from them (without plagiarising, of module!).

Be as precise as you can, and rely on your records for any details.

If you did a primary data collection, your methodology section must tell the reader must explain:

How you defined and selected your sample.

How you identified and recruited relevant subjects.

How you approached them.

How many you approached, and how many actually responded.

What are the sample characteristics (in terms of gender, age, geographic location etc.).Whether you used questionnaires or in-depth interviews or focus groups etc., and why.

Whether you surveyed/interviewed your participants face-to-face, or by phone, mail, email etcWhen and where you distributed the survey (or did the interviews, focus groups etc.).

Whether you obtained participants consent.

Whether you experienced any difficulties (e.g. due to non-response) and what you did as a correction

If you used secondary data, you must tell your reader:

What database(s) you selected (for example which one(s) of the above).

How you accessed them (for example, if freely online or through ESDS registration, or through the University portal).

What are the main characteristics of the database (you can refer here to the metadata provided by the authors of the study, as indicated above).Whether you extracted parts of the database, and which ones (for example, financial information on just one particular company instead of a whole group; or just one particular year instead of a time trend);Which variables you used, what they mean, and how they are measured.

Whether you modified any of the variables and/or added new variables built from existing ones (for example, if you built indices or rates of growth based on a succession of quarterly GDP figures).

Remember to cite the data and the metadata, as indicated above.

Chapter 4 - Data presentation, evidence , analysis and discussion

While the form in which you present your findings will depend on your methodological choices, a generally accepted good practice for quantitative data is to present them in tables and figures. Comment them in an effort to guide the reader through the significant and important points you may wish to point out trends in the table, for example. As you move across categories of the independent variable, what happens to the dependent variables? You may wish to highlight the more theoretically or empirically interesting findings in the table. You must make sure that the table, as a whole, warrants inclusion in your paper and that you make reference to it in your text.

Remember to appropriately number and label tables and figures. If you re-use tables and figures from external sources, remember to cite them.

Chapter 5 - Summary and conclusions

Give a brief explanation of why things appear as they are, state whether or not your initial hypotheses are confirmed or rejected, and provide possible reasons for that. Consider how aspects of the research process, the design of your investigation, the sample you constructed and the interview schedule you used, could be modified in order to generalize results to a broader variety of settings. Outline the implications of your research for public policy or company strategy, if any. Think about limitations of your work and directions for future improvements.

Bibliography

Your bibliography (list of references) should be:

1.according to author(s) surname

2.books, journal articles and web pages should be integrated in the same list

According to the Harvard referencing system, you should list items as follows:

Davidsson, P. , Demar, F. & Wiklund, J. (2002), Entrepreneurship as Growth: Growth of Entrepreneurship, in Hitt, M. Ireland, D., Camp, M. & Sexton, D. (eds) (2002), Strategic Entrepreneurship Creating a New Mindset, Oxford: Blackwell pp 328 338.

Barney, J. (1991), Firm Resources and Sustained Competitive Advantage, Journal of Management, (volume/number) 27(1): (pages) 99 120.

Snow, C.C. & Hrebiniak, L.G. (1980), Strategy, Distinctive Competence, and Organisational Performance, (volume) 25: (pages) 527-538.

Consultancy Report

The consultancy report should be 10,000 words and international in its scope (each section could be ideally be 2,000 words).

Although consultancy projects aim to develop satisfactory business solutions, rather than academic evidence, this does not mean that a consultancy project is detached from academic methods. A consultancy project also requires a literature review combing academic literature and industry reports, a description of the empirical methods used, a data analysis, and a conclusion summarizing the findings and providing recommendations for the business. Therefore, it is shares similarities with an academic dissertation. For in further information, please have a look at the assessment criteria and the chapter descriptions of above.

As an example of report structure for a strategic review, the final project report would include:

I.Executive Summary / Project Overview (a 2,000-word, summary that can be sent to the client)

II.Literature Review / Intelligence Gathered (combination of academic studies and industry reports)

III.Methodology

IV.Data presentation, evidence , analysis and discussion (identify and discuss possible solutions

and their trade-offs)

V.Conclusions and Recommendations (in depth discussion of the preferred solution)

Bibliography and Reference List

Appendices (Ethics requirements: the participant information sheet and ALL collected consent

forms; questionnaire or interview guide)

Please note that your consultancy report should have a clear International Business focus!

Assessment will take into account your use of appropriate methodologies including relevant tools, techniques, frameworks and concepts. Your written analysis and recommendation must be based on the data. It must flow logically from the information gathered and analysed.

In preparing your report, you should take a very practical approach. This means it should be carefully structured, easy to read with clear recommendations in the style that you might expect from a top consulting firm.

Assessment criteria for the final project

Marking Criteria Marks allocated to criteria:

Aims and objectives/Introduction

Proper identification of aims and objectives; Creativity, relevance, and originality in the topic choice and appropriateness of research; direction of research; concept clearly defined; is the topic choice international in scope? 15

Literature awareness

Presentationof the current debate in the literature on the topic under investigation; depth, breadth andcriticality arethe key factors; ability to synthesize arguments and create a narrative that helps to answer the research question from classics, landmarks, and most recent developments in the literature 20

Methodology

Meaningful discussion of relevant methodsofdata collection used in the study withan evaluation oftheir benefitsanddrawbacks.

Evaluate on sampling techniques, data collection, wording of questionnaire, and selection and justification of data sources. Critical self-reflection of overall study and methods. Have ethical considerations been taken? 15

Data Analysis

Capacity to use literature, theory and/or evidence to support argument.

Demonstrated the ability to use higher levels of analytical tools and, if applicable, software such as SPSS, Stata, and nVivo (and/or SNA software). Please note that simply copying/producing a graph without a proper interpretation and analysis is not enough. Cross tabulations are a minimum. 25

Conclusions and Findings

What is achieved, learnt, and internalized; ability to tell the story based on the analysis conducted? Is there a clear link from the literature review to the methodology and the analysis? (Here we are looking for overall consistency.) Does the student draw recommendations for policy makers or business (if applicable). Does it make a contribution to the knowledge and/or practice of International Business? 15

Academic standards

Qualityof academicwriting; Harvard referencing and bibliography; overall presentation; structure and logical flow of thoughts. 10

Ethics

Ethical Compliance

(See the section of Ethics in page 33 of the module guide). Failing to comply with the conditions of this policy is an academic offence and will be persecuted. Yes/No

Assessment criteria for the consultancy report

Marking Criteria Marks allocated to criteria:

Executive Summary / Aim and objective

Laying out the appropriate context for the study. Identifying and justification of the business problem and the aim of the study. Justification of study and profile of the company and industry (if appropriate). Is the topic choice international in scope? 15

Literature Awareness Intelligence Gathered

Has the report generated sufficiently converted knowledge about the problem into useable infrastructure to solving the client organizations problems? The intelligence should include benchmarking, review of key stakeholders (if appropriate), industry reports, annual reports as well as academic literature. 20

Data Analysis

Demonstrated the ability to use tools and, if applicable, software such as SPSS, Stata, and nVivo (and/or SNA software) to analyze and visualize the data. Discuss the relevance of your results, how it fits with other research in the area. Explain how the research findings are consistent or inconsistent with previous applied or theoretical research. Also discuss the implications of your finding for practising managers within the industry in which your project is based. 20

Methodology

Discussion of the suitability of the method used for the task at hand; awareness of methodological issues and of limitations of study; awareness of research integrity, honesty and ethics issues. Evaluate on sampling techniques, data collection, wording of questionnaire, and selection and justification of data sources. 15

Conclusions and Recommendations

Ability to draw recommendations for the client organization. Evidence that study has added value to the organizations operations. What is achieved/learnt and internalized; ability to tell the story based on the analysis conducted. 20

Appropriate writing standard and Bibliography and Referencing

Correct use of grammar, spelling, and syntax; writing appropriate for a professional consultancy standard. Correct use of Harvard referencing requirements 10

Ethics

Ethical Compliance

(See the section of Ethics in page 33 of the module guide). Failing to comply with the conditions of this policy is an academic offence and will be persecuted. Yes/No

Re-Sit AssessmentsThe Progression and Award Board (PAB) will determine whether students who have failed items of coursework or exams will be permitted to complete re-sits. These normally take place in July/August. If your results letter advises you that you have been given a re-sit opportunity you will need to check the portal for details of the assessment element(s) that you will need to complete and for the timings of re-sit examinations.

For non-exam re-sits (e.g. coursework, essay, presentation, group work assessments), please consult the relevant Modules moodle page for instructions on what is required of your re-sit assessment. The due date will be Wednesday 10th July 2020.

You should be aware that there is no automatic right to take re-sits; this is at the discretion of the PAB and dependent on the scale of failure and your overall profile. If you are offered a re-sit opportunity which you do not take up, you will be recorded as having a non-submission; you will not keep the original grade for that item if you are told by a PAB that they want you to re-sit.

This module is not subject to compensation thus you will have to pass it to complete your studies.

10. Reading Lists

Author Title Publisher ISBN

Bryman, A., Cramer, D Constructing Variables Sage 978-1848601161

Lee, N. and Lings, I. Doing business research: a guide to theory and practice Sage 978-1412928793

Ellet, W., The Case Study Handbook: How to Read, Discuss, and Write Persuasively About Cases. Harvard Business School 978-1422101582

Ghauri, P. Designing and conducting case studies in international business research

Handbook of Qualitative Research Methods for International Business Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd 978-1845424343

Maylor, D.H., Blackmon, D.K., Researching Business and Management: A Roadmap For Success Palgrave Macmillan 978-0333964071

Quinton, S., Smallbone, T., Postgraduate Research in Business: A Critical Guide SAGE Publications Ltd 978-1446234433

Yin, R.K., Case Study Research: Design and Methods SAGE 978-8573078527

Saunders, M., Thornhill, A., Lewis, P., Research Methods for Business Students Financial Times/ Prentice Hall. 978-0273716938

Wickham, J. Management Consulting: Delivering an Effective Project: Delivering an Effective Project Pearson 978-1292127606

Additional Module Specific Information and CostsThe teaching in this module will mainly be based on the following book: Saunders M., Thornhill, A. and Lewis P. (2019) Methods for Business Students (8th edition). Person Education: London.

The university library has several e-book licenses that you can access for free.

Glossary of TermsPre-requisites/Co-requisites This describes the learning you are expected to have completed before starting the module or the learning (or other modules) that you should be undertaking alongside it.

AImsThese define the overall educational purpose of the module

Learning Outcomes These are subject specific statements that define the learning that will be assessed during this module

Assessment Weight This refers to the proportion of the overall result for the module that is based on your performance in each of the assessment tasks

Other DetailsThe majority of information relevant to you while you study at the University has been brought together into your programme handbook. Please refer to your programme handbook for any further information you might require including:

Deadlines and extenuating circumstances,

Plagiarism and referencing,

Who to go to for advice or if you are concerned,

How to provide us with feedback,

Key administrative procedures.

Regular meetings with your supervisor

Once you have obtained feedback on your Project Proposal and Plan, try to meet your supervisor as soon as possible to discuss how to proceed. Your supervisor will help you to understand which parts require substantial re-working, which parts need minor improvements only, and what further developments are necessary to transform your Proposal into a final Project. You will discuss further steps with your supervisor: a key result of the meeting must be a TO-DO list of things you will do by the next meeting, each with its own deadline. Make sure you understand exactly what each item in the to-do list requires you to do: if anything is unclear, do not hesitate to ask your supervisor.

You will agree with your supervisor when the next meeting will take place (at least provisionally), what modes of contact you will use (see below), and what are the deadlines for each of the planned actions. You can use the list of deadlines provided below as a guide.

Take written notes of what your supervisor says and keep them in a safe place so that you can make the necessary corrections to your research and forward the research in an appropriate manner.

After the formal teaching is finished, you are expected to regularly meet your supervisor to ensure regular contact and to monitor progress. Compliance with this requirement is an integral part of submitting a superior product. In principle, these meetings can be face-to-face or at a distance (phone, Skype, conference call, etc.); however, it is strongly recommended to have at least two (out of three) face-to-face meetings, if possible. Past experience indicates that face-to-face meetings tend to be more productive and to allow more progress on the part of the student.

Any additional meetings will be agreed mutually between you and your supervisor. In all cases, keep records of meetings: date, time, duration, main issues discussed, to-do list, expected date of next meeting.

You are also strongly encouraged to keep regular email contact with your supervisor, ideally on a weekly basis

Literature review

You know already, from the modules you have already attended, that a literature review is expected to provide an overview of what is already known on your topic, what policy or business implications have been derived out of this, what gaps in knowledge remain to be addressed, and what suggestions for future work emerge.

Make sure you give adequate consideration to:

1.the classics in your topic area: those who founded the field and first contributed key questions, approaches, and results (e.g. Ricardo on comparative advantage, in the theory of international trade).

2.the landmarks: very important authors that have made substantial contributions to the field and constitute a reference for all others (e.g. Michael Porter on the competitive advantage of nations).

3.the most recent developments: work done in the last few years, ongoing research, current tendencies. You need to look at the latest issues of scientific journals that are important in your field, and possibly look at working paper series or papers presented at conferences (which are available more quickly than journal articles).

You should read the different contributions in critical perspective: trace the evolution of your field of research over time, or compare the similarities and differences you observe among different writers, works, and schools of thought. Consider debates (e.g. Keynesians vs. neoclassicals on state intervention, in debates on economic policy), and their impact both on subsequent scholarship, and on policy and/or business decision-making.

Draw on resources made available by the University Library. Be aware that you not only have access to the books located in the Library, and the journals and e-books in the portal, but also (to some extent) to resources that are outside Greenwich and that the Library can obtain for you. See the information below for more details.

Library resources

Visit Greenwich Campus Library to join the SCONUL Access Scheme http://www.access.sconul.ac.uk/Search the M25 Consortium of Academic Libraries http://www.m25lib.ac.uk/ you can find libraries within the scheme and search their library catalogues from one search. Use in conjunction with the SCONUL Access Scheme.

Y

ou can request books and articles not held in the University of Greenwich libraries through the interlibrary loans scheme. More information is available at http://www.gre.ac.uk/offices/ils/ls/guides/otherlibs/illFind out more about our e-books http://www.gre.ac.uk/offices/ils/ls/guides/e-booksOther sources of research information

Greenwich Academic Literature Archive http://gala.gre.ac.uk/ a source of research outputs by academic staff in the university. Full text is available where copyright permissions allow. A Twitter page for the latest added items can be viewed at http://twitter.com/GALAeprintsFind other researchers through Academia.edu http://academia.edu/

Researcher ID http://www.researcherid.com and Mendeley http://www.mendeley.com/

COPAC http://www.copac.ac.uk/ includes the British Library catalogue and major research libraries in the UK. British Library http://www.bl.uk/

Suncat http://www.suncat.ac.uk/ a free tool to help researchers locate journals in the UK

Directory of Open Access Journals http://www.doaj.org/

Keep in touch via social media

Our libraries are on Twitter: http://twitter.com/UoGlibraries and http://twitter.com/drillhalllib

Sign up to rss feeds or emails from the Research Support blog post http://uogresearchsupport.blogspot.com

We are also on Facebook http://bit.ly/dBIGla and http://bit.ly/aFVM6d

All links including the presentation can be found at

http://www.delicious.com/elibrarianstuff/researchertools

Important Notes on Supervision

The supervisors role to offer support in refining, focusing and ensuring the feasibility of the project. They will also provide advice on relevant literature, data collection, analysis and structuring the project. They will help students develop and stick to a timetable.

Supervisors should respond to a request for a meeting within 5 working days during term time.

Unless otherwise arranged in advance, project supervision will normally end three weeks before final submission

Supervisors are not expected to read full draft of the project (this is to ensure equity between students). The supervisors role to offer support in refining, focusing and ensuring the feasibility of the project. They will also provide advice on relevant literature, data collection, analysis and structuring the project. They will help students develop and stick to a timetable.

Data sources

Remember, you do not necessarily have to collect the data that you will use for your project. Primary data collection can be difficult and time-consuming, and the response rate may be very low. Instead, a number of very high-quality

easy-to-use secondary data are available, which you can access easily either because they are distributed freely on the web, or because the University makes them available to you through its portal. These databases may provide you with good-quality information and save you time for analysis. You can use one or more of these databases as the sole source of information for your Project, or in combination with a primary data collection that you will perform yourself.

Do NOT confuse secondary data and literature: the former consist of raw information, not polished results. Data can take the form of statistical tables (for example, socio-demographic data), time series (for example, GDP or prices over several years), financial information on companies (from their financial statements or credit rating reports for instance), etc.

Below is a list of good-quality data sources, which you are invited to explore to assess their suitability for your work.

UK Data Archive: http://www.data-archive.ac.uk/

The UK Data Archive is curator of the largest collection of digital data in the socio-economic sciences and humanities in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1967 to ensure that data that have been collected for one study can be analysed again for different pieces of research.

Guidance for first-time users is available at http://www.data-archive.ac.uk/help/first-time-user

The data catalogue can be searched at http://www.esds.ac.uk/Lucene/Search.aspx

Many of their datasets can be explored online at http://nesstar.esds.ac.uk/webview/

You can see descriptions of the studies in general and detailed descriptions of individual variables. You can also obtain basic descriptive analyses (averages, frequencies etc.) online. If you register with ESDS (a simple procedure, free of charge for UK-based students), you can do even more advanced analyses online, including correlations, regressions etc.

UK Data Archive materials are mostly useful if you are looking for socio-economic information on the UK. Among the so-called teaching datasets accessible to students are extracts from the British Household Panel Survey, Labour Force Survey, Expenditure and Food Survey, General Household Survey (and others).

The Poverty Site: http://www.poverty.org.uk/index.htm

Also UK-centred, this site provides statistical indicators on poverty and social exclusion in the UK. It covers many aspects of the subject, from income and work to health and education. It is based on indicators from official statistical sources, and the original data it relies upon are at the UK Data Archive; the advantage of using this website for those who want to work on poverty, is that it keeps a summary of the most relevant indicators, which is regularly updated.

Beware: the website is optimised for Internet Explorer, not other browsers (especially Mozilla Firefox).

World Bank: http://data.worldbank.org/

The World Bank provides free and open online access to a wide range of macro-level economic, social, health and environment indicators for almost all countries in the world. You can obtain the latest figures as well as time trends for GDP, growth rate, poverty and income distribution, literacy rate, life expectancy, spread of epidemics, for one or more countries at a time. You can visualise your data online (through charts of different types, or maps) and/or export them to your own computer in Excel format.

These data are ideal if you need to provide framework information on one or more countries: for example, if your Project is on the case of a multinational company that has set up a subsidiary in India, you may want to introduce your topic with some broader information on FDI in India, how it changes across states and/or sectors of the economy, from which countries it comes from, how it has varied over time etc. The World Bank provides you with this information.

Some enterprise data are available at https://www.enterprisesurveys.org/

(Beware: only aggregate indicators are available to students and can be freely downloadable from the web).

Other business data (with special emphasis on governance and regulation issues) are at: http://www.doingbusiness.org/data

These are data from the World Banks annual report on the extent to which regulations facilitate business in different countries. They may be very useful if you are studying issues such as corporate social responsibility, business ethics, corruption, public policy issues etc.

Principal Global Indicators: http://www.principalglobalindicators.org/default.aspx

A website jointly provided by the IMF, OECD, Eurostat, and other international institutions. It provides macro-level economic and financial indicators country by country: GDP, consumer prices, exchange rates, external debt, business confidence, oil prices etc. You can obtain tables, charts, and maps online (and you can export them to your computer).

These data are ideal if you need to provide framework information on one or more countries, especially regarding the state of the economy (growth, inflation etc.).

ORBIS Company database

This service is not freely available on the web, but can be accessed from the Universitys portal (Library & IT tab, then Databases, Journals and e-books, then ORBIS).

This is a high-quality service providing very detailed and accurate company accounting data, with international coverage. Multiple search criteria are available: industry; financials; ratios; employee numbers; etc. It enables the comparative, sectorial analysis of company performance as well as the study of business networks (for example parents and subsidiaries, shareholding relationships, or board directors and companies). You can customize your query and then export the data (in Excel format) to your computer.

VERY IMPORTANT

If you use data from a secondary source (such as the databases mentioned above), first look carefully at what data professionals call the metadata, i.e. information about the data themselves.

This information is available in all the above websites: it accompanies individual datasets and is usually also offered for each individual variable. In particular, look at:

Presentation or abstract of the study: how, where and when it was done; what issues, countries (or companies, or regions) it covers; which periods of time it refers to (years, quarters, months; whether it contains latest figures or time trends, or both).

Definitions and measures of the variable(s) you are interested in. For example, is it total amount or percentage change? Is it measured in, say, USD or GBP? This information is usually provided in variable descriptions that accompany the data.

If you are using survey data, remember to have a look at the questionnaire to know exactly what participants have responded to. This information is usually provided in variable descriptions that accompany the data.

Always have a preliminary look at the characteristics of the sample, even though they may not be directly central to your study: for instance, if the data are from a survey of the population, note how many respondents, how many women/men, where they were located geographically, what were their levels of education and their occupations etc.

You will need to report this information (though briefly) in the Methodology section of your Project.

You also need to CITE the data that you are using (and any accompanying metadata and description) and you have to explicitly acknowledge the authors of the study and the provider. You need to do so for the same reasons why you need to avoid using text written by others as if it were your own: it would be a form of plagiarism.

The websites mentioned above offer practical indications of how to cite their data. In addition, you can rely on the following template:

[Author(s)], [Title], [Type e.g. Computer file], [Date created], [Date retrieved], [Distributor e.g. UKDA-store, UK Data Archive], Part of [e.g. oai:store.ac.uk:archive:n] Other guidelines on how to cite data can be found at:

http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/support/faqs/8707350211996719508Primary data collection

Primary data collection can be exciting; as it exposes you directly to the very field you are developing an interest in, whether it is a company, a profession, a sector of the economy, or a group of consumers. But data collection can be quite difficult and time-consuming, and the quality of the results is often very low. It is very difficult to obtain any responses from company managers, for example, because they are very busy and have little time for questionnaires or surveys. Sometimes, it may even be hard to reach lower-level employees as contact information is not always freely available outside the company. Consumers (e.g. clients of a Tesco supermarket) may seem easier to reach, but studies are likely to be heavily biased: you wont have the time and resources needed to distribute your questionnaire to a sufficiently large, and statistically representative, sample of consumers. Finally,

there is a trade-off between length of questionnaire and response rate: people are less likely to answer longer questionnaires that take a long time, while on the other hand shorter questionnaires may not be enough to provide you with the information you need.

Given these difficulties, a primary data collection is more likely to succeed if you do a study (participant observation or some variant of it) of the company where you are doing your internship or a work experience, as you can have direct access to employees and managers, and you will have first-hand experience of this companys culture, practices and daily routines. Another case in which a primary data collection is likely to be more successful is when you have some forms of personal contacts with managers or employees (for example in a company in your home town or country) who can help introduce you to the company and invite the others to answer your questions and/or provide you with relevant documentation.

In all cases, you must be very careful about sampling and data collection methods. Discuss these issues thoroughly with your supervisor well in advance of data collection, and start with a sampling plan, a full draft questionnaire (or guide if you are doing qualitative interviews) that you will discuss in depth with your supervisor. Make sure your questionnaire is as short and clear as possible. Have someone check the English if you are not a native speaker, to make sure respondents will understand what you ask. Once this is done, it is advisable to test your questionnaire with a couple of friends before actually going to the field, and revising it in light of their feedback (was it unclear? was it too long?). In short, you need to make choices on:

How to define and select your sample (for example, employees of a particular company).

How to identify and recruit relevant subjects (how would you find the names of these employees).

How to approach them (for example, by email; by phone; by postal service; after introduction by an intermediary, e.g. someone in the company who knows you and may introduce his/her colleagues to the study on your behalf).

How many you intend to approach, and what to do if they do not respond as expected.

What sample characteristics you expect (in terms of gender, age, geographic location etc.).

Whether you will use questionnaires or in-depth interviews or focus groups etc., and why.

How each of your questions helps you to test your hypotheses / answer your research questions.

How each of your questions relates to the theories you have examined in your literature review.

Whether each of your questions is clear enough for participants to understand.

Whether the English is correct; whether you need to translate your questions in another language (e.g. if you distribute the survey to respondents in a non-English-speaking country).

Whether the questionnaire is short enough.

Whether you intend to survey/interview your participants face-to-face, or by phone, mail, email etc.

When and where to distribute the survey (or do the interviews, focus groups etc.).

Keep written notes on all those aspects (you will have to report on them in the Methodology section of your project).

Also, think in advance about every possible risk and try to anticipate what can go wrong: prepare solutions to avoid potential risks and/or to limit damage in case of problems. In particular, plan ahead what you can do if the number of responses is lower than you expect.

If you are studying a particular company (whether its employees or customers or other stakeholders) remember to first seek permission from it (you should address a person in a managing position). You should do so even in cases in which you are studying the company in which you are working or doing your internship. If you are using any internal documents, make sure they are public and if not, seek permission to use them in your Project.

Remember to add a short description (abstract) of your study to your questionnaire (or introductory letter) and to provide your contact information, in case respondents want to know more about your work. Say explicitly that this is a students work done at the University of Greenwich.

Keep track of responses received and store all completed questionnaires safely (e.g. in a locked drawer) and orderly (e.g. by numbering them). Make sure no others will have access to them (except your supervisor). Keep them until graduation and destroy them afterwards.

Research integrity, honesty, and ethics

The University is committed to supporting the principles of research integrity, honesty, ethical conduct and good practice. All students preparing their Project are expected to meet the highest standards. Please take the time to consider carefully the issues detailed below.

Honesty

You should do your utmost to ensure the accuracy of data and results. In particular, be aware that fabrication (the actual making up of data, and recording them as if they were real), falsification (manipulation of data in order, that is, changing them to reflect or prevent a certain result), and obfuscation (omission of critical data, for example only reporting positive outcomes and not adverse outcomes) are forms of very serious scientific malpractice.

Fabrication could be a temptation especially if you are performing a primary data collection: as indicated above, you may find it difficult to identify the right population, recruit respondents, and obtain a sufficiently high response rate. But it is always better to honestly report difficulties in obtaining critical data or information, than to pretend you did a primary data collection that never actually took place. Report of difficulties still helps progress of knowledge: you can and try to explain the sources of the difficulties (for example, because company managers are not easy to access or do not have time to answer a questionnaire) and figure out potential strategies that might help others in future to be better prepared to face problems. Instead, false data and results are simply a lie and do not allow any advance in knowledge, let alone a practical application to the real world.

Falsification and obfuscation can occur with all types of data, both primary and secondary. They lead to unreliable results with no potential use or application.

Ethics

University policy requires ANY research which might involve human participants to use set procedures for informing participants, obtaining their informed consent to provide data, collecting and storing data.

Normally this requirement will impact upon approval of topics for undergraduate and postgraduate dissertations BUT may also impact upon individual assignments where a student or group of students will undertake primary research.

Where a module includes an assessment item involving student collection of data, whether from human participants or not, before any data is collected each student on such a module must:

Undertake and pass the Epigium Research Ethics online module, if they have not already done so; Please note that this is required also for collection of SECONDARY DATA.

Register the details of the project on the online Ethics Approval Form on the FBUS Research Ethics Moodle site;All data collected in the module of the project must be:

stored only on the students University Home (G:) or OneDrive only;

destroyed following the confirmation of results at the PAB or resit PAB.

In addition, any student collecting data from human participants must:

Not collect data that is sensitive in nature or is collected from University of Greenwich staff, nor from vulnerable populations such as children;Provide all participants with an offline or online participant information sheet and consent form, utilising the authorised templates for these;

Include the participant information sheet and any collected consent forms as appendices to the submitted assignment;Include any questionnaire or interview guide as appendices to the submitted assignment;If collecting data online, utilise the Universitys subscriptions to Office 365 Forms, SNAP, Qualtrics, Skype for Business or AdobeConnect;

Not collect data using public domain tools such as SurveyMonkey, GoogleDocs, Google Hangouts (which are outside EU regulation).

If any variation from the set procedures is sought:

an individual application must be made to the Business Faculty Research Ethics Committee using a University Research Ethics Application Form available from: http://www2.gre.ac.uk/research/rec/urec-application-form2.

The response of the committee will be emailed to the students University email address. The email confirming ethics approval has been granted must be kept and included as an appendix to the assignment submission it has been granted for.

Where an application is not approved, the Committee will provide contact details for the person the student should approach to negotiate the next steps.

Failing to comply with the conditions of this policy is an academic offence.

For more details: http://www.gre.ac.uk/research/rec/repAvoiding plagiarism

Plagiarism, or the act of taking credit (or attempting to take credit) for the work of another, is another serious form of misconduct. You are already aware that the University is very tough on plagiarism and that the consequences if you are caught, can be very heavy. To avoid plagiarism:

Learn how to use the Harvard referencing system appropriately. Failure to cite published work (books, journals), websites or other sources of information appropriately may result in plagiarism allegations, even when you did not really have the intention to cheat. Below are some reminders on how to use the Harvard system.

If you are using any secondary data, remember to cite them appropriately. See above for guidance.

If you use any figures, tables or other materials for an external source (e.g. website, journal, newspaper etc.), remember to number and label them, and add captions in which you cite the source.

You can also make use of 'Document it', a free Microsoft Word plug-in that allows you to record and manage citations, in accordance with the rules of correct referencing, available from http://www.documentit.co.uk/download.php.

You are already familiar with the Turnitin system and the fact that all coursework submissions are automatically checked for plagiarism. This systematically compares the text you submit against text available on the internet and other students submissions at this and other Universities. Any matching passages between the submission on the left and text already in existence are highlighted.

Beware: Turnitin may also automatically highlight similarities between your final Project and your previous Proposal and Plan. However, we will not regard any such similarities as plagiarism because it is normal that your Project builds on your Proposal and Plan. Likewise, Turnitin may flag as similar your first submission of the Project and any subsequent resit, but we will not consider it plagiarism: a resit is supposed to improve on a previous submission, so some similarity is acceptable.

(There may still be some problem, though, if the two submissions are too similar: it may be that you have made too little progress between your Proposal and your Project, or between a failed project and a resit).

Resources

Below are some resources on research integrity, which you may wish to consult for further guidance:

University of Greenwich Research Ethics Policy: http://www.gre.ac.uk/research/rec/repUniversity of Greenwich regulations on Academic Conduct, Cheating & Plagiarism: available in the My Learning tab on the student portal.

Online Study Skills Module: Progression in Information Skills: includes guidance on plagiarism issues ans is available at the bottom of your my modules list on the student portal.

Code of practice for research of the UK Research Integrity Office: http://www.ukrio.org/what-we-do/code-of-practice-for-research/

European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity (by the European Science Foundation): http://www.esf.org/index.php?eID=tx_ccdamdl_file&p[file]=33299&p[dl]=1&p[pid]=3728&p[site]=European%20Science%20Foundation&p[t]=1311587122&hash=e6f25d77628b78bd3c95c13a94e9059f&l=en

Other Details

What are supervisors looking for in a project?

Clear definition and statement of the problem

Evidence of knowledge and use of relevant literature

Informed treatment of methodological issues

Development and use of original data (where appropriate)

Critical evaluation of sources and data

Analytical rigour

Clear argumentation, backed by evidence

Well-structured presentation

A relevant conclusion, with an indication of the implications for theory and/or practice.

The majority of information relevant to you while you study at the University has been brought together into your programme handbook. Please refer to your programme handbook for any further information you might require including:

How to submit assignments,

Deadlines and extenuating circumstances,

Plagiarism and referencing,

Who to go to for advice or if you are concerned,

How to provide us with feedback,

Key administrative procedures