Slide 2.

FORMULATING AND
CLARIFYING THE
RESEARCH TOPIC

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.2

Guiding Questions
• How should I find a viable research topic?

• What are the strategies of finding viable

ideas and turning them into researchbale
topics?

• What precaution must be taken?

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.3

Introduction
• Most difficult, and most important, part of
your research thesis

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.4

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Alice is lost and confronted with many paths

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.5

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Alice asks a Cheshire (wise) Cat:

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.6

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Alice: ‘Would you tell me, please, which way I
ought to walk from here?’
Cat: ‘That depends a good deal on where you
want to get to’.
Alice: ‘I don’t much care where’,
Cat: ‘Then it doesn’t matter which way you
walk’, said the Cat.

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.7

Formulating and clarifying your research

topic
• Time
consuming and
will probably
take you up
blind alleys.

• Without
spending time at
this stage
successful is
uncertain
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.8

Steps Towards a Research Topic

• Identify attributes of a good research topic

• Generate ideas helping in a suitable topic

• Turn ideas into clear research questions and

objectives

• Write a research proposal

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.9

So what makes a
good research
topic?

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.10

A Good Topic!:
Meeting Academic Requirements

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.11

A Good Topic!:
Meeting Academic Requirements
• Collect own data for thesis

• Use secondary data (already collected data)

• Undertake research to address an organisation-based

problem (applied research)

• Must be related to your degree (not specialization!)

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.12

A Good Topic!:
Capability

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.13

A Good Topic!:
Capable of Undertaking
• Personal level: You have (can develop), the skills
required to research the topic

• Some skills may be impossible to acquire in the time!

• Access to data

• Dedication of time

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.14

A Good Topic!:
Capable of Undertaking
• Previous knowledge of:

– Literature

– Lived experience

– Observation

– Reflection

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.15

A Good Topic!:
Engaging and Excites your Imagination

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.16

A Good Topic!:
Excites your imagination
• Genuine interest in the topic; career
consideration

• Immediate Four to six month boredom

(1-3 yrs for Mphil, PhD)

• Life long boredom (interview questions

about research etc)
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.17

Summary: Attributes of a Good

Research Topic
• Academic standards

• Fascination with topic

• Necessary research skills

• Time bound completion and access to data

• Clear research questions and objectives

• Provision of fresh insights

• Matching with career goals

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.18

“How to generate
and refine a
research idea”
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.19

Generating and Refining

Research ideas

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.20

Generating and Refining

Research ideas
Rational Thinking Creative thinking

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.21

Rational thinking

• Examining your own

strengths & interests
• Looking at past
project titles
• Discussion
• Searching the
literature
• Scanning the media

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.22

Rational thinking and creative

thinking
• You can end up:

– One or more possible project ideas

– Absolute panic because nothing seems

interesting or suitable.

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.23

Examining own strengths and

interests
• Academic knowledge area

• Past assignments

• Favorite subject

• Think about your future

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.24

Looking at past project title

• Dissertations;

• Theses

• Search variety of media for past titles

(libraries, media)

• Beware of the quality!

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.25

Discussion
• Colleagues, friends, university tutors,
practitioner and professionals

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.26

Searching the literature

Journals Articles ; Reports; Books

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.27

Creative thinking
• Keeping a notebook
of ideas
• Exploring personal
preferences using past
projects
• Relevance trees
• Brainstorming

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.28

Keeping a notebook of ideas

• Simply noting down any interesting
research ideas as you think of them and

• What sparked it off.

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.29

Relevance Tree/Mind Map

• Start with a broad concept and generate further,
more specific topics.

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.30

Brainstorming

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.31

Generating and Refining

Research ideas

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.32

Generating and Refining Research ideas:

Engage your whole brain!

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.33

Generating and Refining

Research ideas
Rational Thinking Creative thinking
Examining your own strengths Keeping a notebook of ideas
and interests
Looking at past project titles Exploring personal preferences

Discussion Relevance trees/Mind Maps

Searching the literature Brainstorming

Scanning the media
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.34

How can Ideas be changed

into Researchable
Questions?

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.35

Turning ideas into research projects

Useful techniques

• Start with a general focus question

• Discuss areas of interest with your tutor

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.36

Turning ideas into research projects

Examples of research ideas

and their derived focus questions

Table 2.2 Examples of research ideas and their derived focus research
questions
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.37

How can I put together a

research Proposal

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.38

Writing your research proposal

Purposes of the research proposal

• To organise your ideas

• To convince your audience

• To contract with your client (your tutor)

• To meet ethical requirements

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.39

Content of your research proposal (1)

• Title - likely to change during the process

• Background - context within the literature

• Research questions and objectives - what you seek

to achieve

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.40

Content of your research proposal (2)

• Method - can be in two parts: research design and

data collection

• Timescale and Resources - (finance, data access,

equipment)

• References - include some key literature sources

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.41

Evaluating research proposals

• How the components of the proposal fit together

• Viability of the proposal

• Absence of preconceived ideas

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009