21912 Thesis Proposal in Management (Honours)

Subject level: Undergraduate

Handbook description

This subject requires the student to produce a written thesis research proposal of about 6,000 words that forms the basis of the research to be carried out in 21913 Thesis in Management (Honours). Students are allocated an academic supervisor from within the School of Management, with whom they meet regularly throughout their enrolment in the subject. The subject develops the student's competency in carrying out a critical review of the literature, choosing appropriate research methodologies, and the writing of research proposal.

Subject objectives/outcomes

On successful completion of this subject students should be able to:

1. research the academic and practitioner literature in areas relevant to their honours thesis topic
2. write a literature review based on the above research of the literature
3. conceptualise and develop a research proposal on an original problem of a theoretical or applied nature in the area of management
4. write a research proposal that incorporates a review of the relevant literature and a description of the proposed methodology.

Contribution to graduate profile

This subject is a preparation for the honours thesis, which is the culmination of the honours degree. It enables students to decide on an appropriate topic for their honours thesis, to obtain the required knowledge and understanding of the literature relevant to their thesis topic, and to decide on the appropriate methodology for carrying out the research.

Teaching and learning strategies

This is an individually supervised subject with no formally scheduled class. An academic supervisor will be allocated to each student at the commencement of enrolment in the subject, and regular meetings will occur at times to be arranged. Students will also be required to give an oral presentation to staff and other research students at a seminar arranged by the School of Management.

Content

• Writing a literature review
• Developing a research topic
• Deciding on appropriate research methodology
• Ethical considerations in the carrying out of management research
• Writing of a research proposal

Assessment

Assessment item 1: Thesis Proposal (Individual)

Required text(s)

Guide to Writing Assignments (2006), Faculty of Business, University of Technology, Sydney (available at www.business.uts.edu.au/resources/guide.html)

Thesis Development (2004), University Graduate School, University of Technology, Sydney (available at www.gradschool.uts.edu.au/star/thesis)

Indicative references

Australian Government Information Office (2003) Style Manual for Authors, Editors and Printers (6th edn) Fortitude Valley, Queensland: John Wiley and Sons, Australia.

Babbie, ER (1995) The practice of social research (7th edn) Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co.

Berg, BL (1998) Qualitative research methods for the social sciences (3rd edn) Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Bouma, GD and Ling, R (2004) The research process. South Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 2004.

Burns, RB (1994) Introduction to Research Methods, (2nd edn) Melbourne: Longman Cheshire.

Campbell, DT and Stanley, JT (1966) Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for Research, Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Cassell, C and Symon, G (eds) (1994) Qualitative methods in organizational research: A practical guide, London: Sage.

Cooper, DR and Emory, CW (1995) Business research methods (5th edn) Chicago, IL: Irwin.

Cornford, T and Smithson, S (1996) Project research in information systems, Basingstoke: Macmillan.

Denzin, NK and Lincoln, YS (eds) (1994) Handbook of Qualitative Research, Thousand Oaks: Sage.

Dixon, BR, Bouma, GD and Atkinson, GBJ (1987) A handbook of social science research – A comprehensive and practical guide for students, Oxford [Oxfordshire]: Clarendon Press; New York: Oxford University Press.

Easterby-Smith, M, Thorpe, R and Lowe, A (1993) Management Research: An Introduction, London: Sage Publications.

Francis, G (1996) Introduction to SPSS for Windows, Sydney: Prentice Hall.

Gummerson, E (1991) Qualitative Methods in Management Research, Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Gay, LR and Diehl, PL (1992) Research methods for business and management, New York: Macmillan.

Gummesson, E (1991) Qualitative methods in management research, Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Hammersly, M (1989) The dilemma of qualitative method: Herbert Blumer and the Chicago tradition, New York, London: Routledge.

Hussey, J and Hussey, R (1997) Business Research: A Practical Guide for Undergraduate and Postgraduate Students, London: MacMillan.

Jorgenson, Danny L (1989) Participant Observation, Applied Social Research Methods Series, 15, Newbury Park: Sage.

Jorgensen, D (1990) Participant Observation, Beverly Hills: Sage.

Judd, CM, Smith, ER and Kidder, LH (1991) Research methods in social relations (6th edn) Fort Worth, Tex.: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

Kellehear, A (1993) The unobtrusive researcher: a guide to methods, St Leonards, NSW, Allen & Unwin.

Kerlinger, FN (1986) Foundations of behavioral research (3rd edn) New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston..

Kirk, J and Miller, ML (1986) Reliability and validity in qualitative research, Beverly Hills: Sage

Krueger, R (1988) Focus groups: A practical guide to applied research, Newbury Park: Sage.

Kvale, S (1996) InterViews: An introduction to qualitative research interviewing, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Lee, TW (1999) Using qualitative methods in organisational research, Thousand Oaks: Sage.

Lofland, J (1995) Analyzing social settings: a guide to qualitative observation and analysis (3rd edn) Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth

Mason, J (1997) Qualitative researching (5th edn) London: Sage.

McNiff, J (1992) Action Research: Principles and Practice, London: Routledge.

Miles, MB and Huberman, AM (1994) Qualitative data analysis: an expanded sourcebook (2nd edn) Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage.

Morgan, D (1988) Focus groups as qualitative research, Newbury Park: Sage.

Nachmias, C and Nachmias, D (1996) Research methods in the social sciences (5th edn) New York: St. Martin's Press.

Neuman, WL (1997) Social research methods: Qualitative and quantitative approaches (3rd edn) Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Oliver, P (2004) Writing Your Thesis, London: Sage.

Remenyi, D, Williams, B, Money, A and Swartz, E (1998) Doing research in business and management: An introduction to process and method, London: Sage.

Sapsford, R and Jupp, V (1996) Data collection and analysis, London: Sage, in association with the Open University

Schuman, H and Presser, S (1996) Questions and answers in attitude surveys: experiments on question form, wording, and context, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Seidman, IE (1991) Interviewing as qualitative research, New York: Teacher's College Press.

Sekaran, U (1992) Research methods for business: A skill-building approach (2nd edn) New York: Wiley.

Silverman, D (1985) Qualitative Methodology and Sociology, Aldershot, UK: Gower.

Sommer, BB and Sommer, R (1997) A practical guide to behavioral research: tools and techniques (4th edn) New York: Oxford University Press.

Strauss, A and Corbin, J (1990) Basics of Qualitative Research: Grounded Theory Procedures and Techniques. Newbury Park: Sage.

Templeton, JF (1987) Focus groups. Chicago, IL: Probus. Van Maanen, John (1988) Tales from the Field: On Writing Ethnography. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Wadsworth, Y (1997) Do it Yourself Social Research, Victorian Council of Social Service.

Weber, RP (1985) Basic content analysis, Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Weitzman, EA and Miles, MB (1995) Computer programs for qualitative data analysis: A software sourcebook. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage

Whyte, WF (1991) Participatory action research, Newbury Park, Calif.: Sage.

Wollcott, HF (2001) Writing up qualitative research, Thousand Oaks, Calif. : Sage.

Yin, RK (1994) Case Study Research: Design and Methods (2nd edn) Newbury Park: Sage.

Zickmund, W (1997) Business Research Methods (5th edn) Orlando, Florida: The Dryden Press.