Faculty of Business 1 Undergraduate Dissertation Module - Workshop 1 - Dr. Nicoletta Occhiocupo Dissertation Module Leader for Marketing LITERATURE REVIEW & RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

UG Diss. Workshop 2 Faculty of Business Learning outcomes  Discuss structure of the dissert. & deadlines  Understand the importance, the content and the purpose of the critical literature review to YOUR research project  Be aware of a range of literature sources  Understand the relevance of referencing  Identify key issues in research methodology  Be able to apply knowledge, skills and understanding gained to your own dissertation AND future career

UG Diss. Workshop 3 Business School UG Dissertation timeline WHATDEADLINE LITERATURE REVIEW CHAPTER in TURNITIN TBA in SEM. 2 (plan for end of Jan – early Feb.) DISSERTATION DRAFT TO SUPERVISOR WEEK 4, SEM. 2 FRIDAY 21 st FEBRUARY 2014 (the very latest! – TBC with your supervisor) DISSERTATION SUBMISSION WEEK 8, SEM. 2 FRIDAY 21 st MARCH 2014 (4pm the very latest!) – UG Office Refer to Module Guide in Moodle for all details

UG Diss. Workshop Dissertation Structure 1.Introduction 2.Literature Review 3.Overview of the context (e.g. sector, country, company) 4.Methodology 5.Findings and discussion 6.Conclusions and managerial implications Examples in the library (check dissertations) By the way… did you complete your M199T and submit it to the module leader? 4 Faculty of Business

UG Diss. Workshop 5 Business School What is Literature?  ‘Literature’ refers to the (primarily academic) theoretical and empirical writings in your research area  The ‘gold standard’ is the peer-reviewed academic journal  The further from peer review, the more you have to make your own judgement as to the quality of information sources Peer- reviewed journals Working/ conference papers from reputable institutions Books by leading academics Non-peer reviewed academic journals Commissioned research reports (e.g. for government) Practitioner/ consultancy literature Everything else News- papers Web Sites

UG Diss. Workshop 6 Faculty of Business Literature Review: Reasons for reviewing the literature  To conduct a search of existing material (mainly journal articles, not text books)  To organise valuable ideas and findings  To identify other research that may be in progress  To generate research ideas  To develop a critical perspective

UG Diss. Workshop 7 Faculty of Business The Critical Review Key purposes  To further refine research questions and objectives  To avoid repeating work already undertaken  To provide insights into strategies and techniques appropriate to your research objectives  To discover recommendations for further research

UG Diss. Workshop 8 Faculty of Business Adopting a critical perspective Questions to ask yourself Why am I reading this? What is the author trying to do in writing this? How convincing is this? What use can I make of this reading? Adapted from Wallace and Wray (2011)

UG Diss. Workshop 9 Faculty of Business Content of a literature review You will need to  Include key academic theories  Demonstrate current knowledge of the area  Use clear referencing for the reader to find the original cited publications  Acknowledge the research of others

UG Diss. Workshop 10 Faculty of Business The key to a critical literature review  Demonstrate that you have read, understood and evaluated your material  Link the different ideas to form a cohesive and coherent argument  Make clear connections to your research objectives and the subsequent empirical material Saunders et al. (2007)

UG Diss. Workshop 11 Faculty of Business Evaluating the literature  Define the scope of your review  Assess relevance and value  Assess sufficiency

UG Diss. Workshop 12 Faculty of Business Recording the literature Make notes for each item you read Record:  Bibliographic details  Brief summary of content  Supplementary information

UG Diss. Workshop 13 Faculty of Business Plagiarism Four common forms  Stealing material from another source  Submitting material written by another  Copying material without quotation marks  Paraphrasing material without documentation

UG Diss. Workshop 14 Faculty of Business Plagiarism at Oxford Brookes University ‘T aking or using another person's thoughts, writings or inventions as your own. To avoid plagiarism you must make sure that quotations from whatever source are clearly identified and attributed at the point where they occur in the text of your work by using one of the standard conventions for referencing. The Library has a leaflet about how to reference your work correctly and your tutor can also help you. It is not enough just to list sources in a bibliography at the end of your essay or dissertation if you do not acknowledge the actual quotations in the text. Neither is it acceptable to change some of the words or the order of sentences if, by failing to acknowledge the source properly, you give the impression that it is your own work.’ see Module guide

UG Diss. Workshop 15 Faculty of Business A few more tips… Use of tables, figures and appendices  They must be relevant  They need to be linked to your discussion, so you must refer to them in the text  They must be numbered, have a title and include source/s  For figures and tables: if inserted within the text, they should not interrupt the discussion

UG Diss. Workshop 16 Faculty of Business Literature review: key points The critical literature review  Sets the research in context  Leads the reader into later sections of the work  Begins at a general level and narrows to specific topics A literature search requires  Clearly defined research questions and objectives  A good ‘recording’ system in place  Defined parameters

UG Diss. Workshop 17 Faculty of Business WHY a CHAPTER on that?  To demonstrate knowledge and understanding of how rigorous research is conducted  To identify available research approaches  To discuss the most appropriate methodology/ies to your research  To justify the appropriateness of the chosen research approach  To acknowledge limitations of your research Research Methodology

UG Diss. Workshop 18 Faculty of Business Research Methodology KEY CHOICES  QUALITATIVE?  QUANTITATIVE?  PRIMARY data collection?  SECONDARY sources? DEPENDING on:  Your research topic/question  Access  Resources (time, money, databases, etc.)  Your expertise/willingness to learn SAMPLING??

UG Diss. Workshop 19 Faculty of Business Knowledge & skills  Completing a literature review and research methodology will help you:  Develop knowledge and understanding of a specific topic (or two related topics)  Contextualise theoretical aspects (applying/testing theory)  Identify the most appropriate way/s to conduct a research  Synthesise key aspects from a variety of sources with reference to a research objective  Develop research skills  Work independently, with minimal supervision

UG Diss. Workshop 20 Faculty of Business References and related reading Bryman, A. and Bell, E. (2011) Business Research Methods, 3 rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press Collis, J. and Hussey, R. (2009) Business Research (3 rd ed.), Basingstoke: Palagrave Macmillan Saunders, M.N.K., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A. (2003 or 2007) Research Methods for Business Students, Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall – also available as an E-BOOK via Oxford Brookes University Library Sekaran, U. and Bougie, R. (2010) Research Methods for Business: A Skill Building Approach (5 th ed.), London: Wiley Wallace, M. and Wray, A. (2011) Critical Reading and Writing for Postgraduates, 2 nd ed., London: SAGE Publications Harvard College Library: ( contains a lot of useful info for research)

UG Diss. Workshop 21 Faculty of Business COMING LATER IN SEMESTER 1… … NEXT UG DISSERTATION WORKSHOP ON ‘Writing up your dissertation - drawing it all together’ WILL BE ANNOUNCED VIA … DON’T MISS IT! GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR DISSERTATION!!!

UG Diss. Workshop 22 Faculty of Business ‘Live’ Example… from a PhD researcher Arnold’s PhD research focuses on ‘brand attachment’ Quantitative data collection: his questionnaire is a good example… (but don’t forget that it is at PhD level, you are at UG level) Have a look at it … … and in case you feel you’d like to help & participate in his primary data collection data, fill it in & return it to him Arnold, THANKS for COMING & SHARING this with us!!