WELCOME TO

APPLIED RESEARCH METHODS

LSP 701 Fall, 2016

DEEPAK BAJAJ

Agenda for Today

Finalize Groups
Research Topics
Schedule for Topic Finalization Meetings
Research Proposal Framework
Developing a Research Proposal
The Problem Statement
Literature Review
Next Week.

Textbook

Research Methods For Business: A Skill

Building Approach, 6th Edition by Wiley
Publications

Final Research Topic Important Considerations

Logic of the study Research Topic should be CLEAR and
researchable.
Problem and research questions should be clearly and
specific.
Data collection should be viable.
Why is this study important? Significance? Relevance?
Impact
How will the organisation benefit from the findings?
Linkage to the theory: Summary of a minimum three
scholarly articles/member relevant to the study
Grading Rubrics Available on Blackboard

Final Topic Assignment (10%)

Due September 23rd
Criterion

Marks

Research Topic/Title
5

Cover Page and Table of

Contents

Problem identification and

significance of the project

Literature Review
Defining the research
question(s)

15

15

Excellent work

The title is succinct while

conveying the problem and
focus of the project.
Hypothesis /Proposition
has been clearly spelt out.
Complete information on
cover page (group
members, course details,
date etc.) & table of
contents (sections, page
numbers, tables, figures).
The problem that the project
will address and its
significance has been
thoroughly researched and
have been well articulated.

Not well done

The title does not convey

the problem or focus of the
project.
Missing or inappropriate
proposition/ hypothesis.
Lists and contents are
incomplete or missing.

Topic is too broad to merit

research.
Significance is not clearly
identified.

Summary of at least 1
scholarly article per member,
is included that is relevant to
the topic. Each summary is at
least half a page long.

No summary of articles are

attached or irrelevant articles
are summarized

The proposed research is

explained in the form of
specific research questions

No research questions
have been formulated

LSP 701 NWW: Groups for the Term

Group I - Mallory Yhap, Peter Ling Wang, Conson Chan, Mena
Mastracci
Group II - Patrick Nailor, Faryal Ashraf, SriVishnu Sridhar, Saad Ather
Group III - Stephen Owens, Korry Downey, Natalya Veter, Haramrit
Aulakh
Group IV - Naweed Qadirian, Raman Sadruddin, Mohammed Alsaad,
Ahmad Alsayednaser, Meshary Alsuwalem
Group V James Larsh, Maria Tirado De Faria, Diana Gaynetdinova,
Bradley Lyn
Group VI Chantel Persaud, Bronya Eldarov, Cindy Lee, Almog Naim
Group VII - ??????

Meeting Schedule

Date: September
Group 1 :
Group 2 :
Group 3 :
Group 4 :
Group 5 :
Group 6 :
Group 7 :

Framework for Research Proposal

I. Cover Page
II. Table of Contents includes List of Tables, List of Figures
III.Research Topic/Title: Maximum 1-2 sentences (The title should convey the problem
and focus of the project)
IV.Introduction: Introduce the group members with a brief background of each of them
including their research interests, introduce the topic, why did the group choose this
topic (from amongst zillions of them), how did you proceed with the development of
this proposal (what all was involved), and finally briefly describe how you have
structured the proposal, what can the reader expect in the document.
V. Project Description: WHAT you are going to do - The aim of your project - What
specific problem is it addressing or what specific opportunity will it be addressing?
What do you want to know, prove, demonstrate, analyze, test, investigate or
examine? What are the expected outcomes or innovative application of knowledge?
List your project aims in a logical sequence.
VI.Significance: WHY are you doing it? WHY is this project important and specifically
who would/could benefit from its outcome/findings? (Provide evidence that this
problem/opportunity actually exists and is important to someone other than your
selves cite stats. and sources). If you have a letter from a company that validates
why this is important to them, speak to that in this section.

Framework for Research Proposal

VII. Literature Review: What is known about the problem/opportunity so
far? Here you will provide a sharp, crisp summary of your Lit. Review citing
scholarly sources and no-scholarly sources and providing a theoretical basis for
your project.
VIII. Methodology: After stating the WHAT and the WHY above, now describe
your methodology or HOW you plan to do it. How do you anticipate you will
achieve your project aims stated above? What research methods would you
use and list steps you will take. What will you need? Does the project involve
human subjects? If so, a research ethics approval application will need to be
completed. Is travel or fieldwork required? If so, where to, how long and at
what frequency? Identify any anticipated barriers, obstacles or limitations.
IX. Project Plan: Chart out a proposed project plan to describe WHEN you will
undertake each broad stage of the project such as literature surveys, data
collection, production, modeling, review, analysis, testing, report writing, and
final report submission date.

Steps to Research Proposal development

Identify the broad problem area
Literature Review including Interviews, if required.
Define the problem statement
Identify the Variables.
Develop theoretical framework network of associations
between variables.
Develop hypothesis
Develop specific Research Questions.
Develop the Research Design
Choose Data collection methods
Measurement Scales and Sampling decisions
Research Ethics approval application
Write and present the Research Proposal

Literature Review for Final Research

Proposal
Brief Description: Each group of students (group size can be 3-4) is required to perform a
comprehensive Literature Review related to the research topic finalized by them for their research
proposal. It requires review of scholarly literature (at least 60% of total articles reviewed) related to
the research topic and summarization of each article.
Gaps in approach and methodology adopted in each research study are to be considered when
reviewing and summarizing the article.
Objectives/Goals /Requirement/Expectation of the Assessment:
Minimum of 3 articles per student from Scholarly Journals (12 for a group of 4 students)
Minimum of 2 articles per student from other sources such as Newspapers, Magazines, etc. (8 for a
group of 4 students)
Total Articles required per student 5 articles (20 for a group of 4 or 15 for a group of 3).
Articles from Wikipedia will not qualify towards the number of articles required by each student.
Deadlines and Submission Guidelines:
Assigned in week 2, due in week 7 (before start of class in week 7). Time to Complete the
Assessment: 5 weeks.
To be submitted as a hard copy as well as to be digitally forwarded before class in week 8.
Academic Honesty: Cheating and Plagiarism: Each student should be aware of the College's policy
regarding Cheating and Plagiarism. Seneca's Academic Policy will be strictly enforced.

Critical Literature Review

Literature Review
Research Question Formulation
and
Sources of Secondary data

2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

www.wiley.com/college/sekaran

Critical Literature Review

A literature review is the selection of

available documents (both published and
unpublished) on the topic, which contain
information, ideas, data and evidence written
from a particular standpoint to fulfill certain
aims or express certain views on the nature of
the topic and how it is to be investigated, and
the effective evaluation of these documents
in relation to the research being proposed
(Hart, 1998, p. 13).

2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

www.wiley.com/college/sekaran

Functions of Literature Review

Research builds on existing knowledge

One does not reinvent the wheel
Look at a problem from a specific angle
Find out what variables are important to consider
Introduce relevant terminology/provide definitions
Provide arguments for the relationships variables
Testability and replicability are enhanced.
Research findings are related to findings of others.
2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
www.wiley.com/college/sekaran

RESEARCH FOR DIFFERENT STAGES OF BUSINESS

Market
Opportunities

Competitive
Environment

Consumer
Preferences

Market Size &

Demand for New

Product

Trends Consumer
Expansio
Feedback
n

Seed

Start
Up

Growt
h

Decline

Establish
ed
Distribution
Channels Alliances
& Partners Branding
& Positioning

Exit

New Opportunities
Business Ventures
Business Transition
Plan

Secondary vs. Primary Research

Secondary
Research

Research Reports
Newspapers, Magazines
Government Statistics
Industry Reports
On-Line Databases
Association Publications
Conference Papers

Primary Research

Telephone Surveys
In-Depth Interviews
Face-to-Face Surveys
Focus Groups
On-Line Surveys
Speeches
Observations

Secondary Research
Problem Statement
Formulate Research
Question

Planning
(Plan)

Data
(Collect)

Information
(Compile)

Decision
(Apply)

Results
(Act)

Insight
(Analyze)

Intelligence
(Communicate)

Data sources

Textbooks
Academic and professional journals
Theses
Conference proceedings
Unpublished manuscripts
Reports of government departments and corporations
Newspapers
The Internet
2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
www.wiley.com/college/sekaran

List of Journals

Journal of International Business

Journal of Finance
Journal of Marketing
Management Review
Academy of Management Review
Financial Management
Harvard Business Review
Training and Development Journal
SENECA LIBRARY

Searching for literature

Most libraries have the following electronic

resources at their disposal:

Electronic journals
Full-text databases
Bibliographic databases
Abstract databases

2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

www.wiley.com/college/sekaran

Evaluating the literature

Titles
Abstract
Table of contents/first chapter book
Number of citations

2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

www.wiley.com/college/sekaran

Documenting the Literature Review

Literature review introduces

Subject study
Highlights the problem
Summarizes work done so far

2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

www.wiley.com/college/sekaran

SOURCES OF INFORMATION
http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/
ProFile Canada is a trusted source for comprehensive business
information http://www.profilecanada.com/index.cfm
Canadian Trade Index - The Industrial Purchasing Directory
http://www.ctidirectory.com/
Search from more than 6,000,000 companies in the US!
http://www.nexport.com/
US Industrial Directory - http://www.macraesbluebook.com/
FRASERS Canada's online industrial directory and search engine

http://www.frasers.com/

SOURCES OF INFORMATION (cont.)

Industrial Supplies Directory Free directory search includes North
American Industrial Directory, US Industrial Directory, Canada
Industrial Directory, and Mexico Industrial Directory.
http://www.thomasnet.com/browsecategories
Canada One - Canadian Business Directory
http://www.canadaone.com/business/
RFPSource - https://vvww.rfpsource.ca/E/index.cfm?

SOURCES OF INFORMATION (cont)

In-house: Beyond Google
Check your competitors' website, publications, reports, press releases,
products, marketing activities etc.
Strategic http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/ SEDAR http://www.sedar.com/
Competitors
Compass http://www.kompass.com/
Hoovers http://www.hoovers.com/free/ SuperPages
http://www.superpages.ca /
Industry
Yahoo http://biz.yahoo.com/industry/
Industry Canada http://www.ic.gc.ca/
The Financial Times http://news.ft.com/ftreports

SOURCES OF INFORMATION (cont)

In-house: Beyond Google
Find Article http://www.findarticles.com/
Magportal http://www.magportal.com
News
Forbes http://www.forbes.com/
CNN Money http://money.cnn.com/
Public Opinion Compass http://www.compas.ca/
StatisticsStatcan http://www.statcan.ca/
Annual Reports Sedar http://www.sedar.com/

LSP 701 Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this subject, students will
be able to:
Apply research techniques to locate current information on business
issues from secondary sources.
Synthesize researched information to guide proposed problem based
research.
Apply techniques for identifying and citing intellectual property to
comply with relevant policies.
Develop a testable research hypothesis based on a theoretical
framework.
Analyze data collection methods to select an appropriate
methodology for research design.
Identify ethical issues in the collection of research data.
Apply the structure of a formal report to develop a research proposal.

Modes of Evaluation
Choosing a Research Topic 10%
Literature Review Assignment 20%
(Includes Citation section weighted at 5%)
Term Tests (2x 5% each) 10%
Research Design 10%
Research Questions, Observations, Questionnaire &
Seneca REB application 20% (4 x 5% each)
Final Research Proposal 20% + Presentation of
Proposal 5%
Participation in In-Class Exercises 5%

Due Next Week

Group information due next week along with

signed GROUP CONTRACT and Role Analysis

Sheet with task distribution.
Final Topic Assignment including Final Research

topic, Problem area & Significance,, Objectives and

prospective research questions due end of next week
(Sept. 23rd) - 10%

Thank You

QUESTIONS?