Assignment 2 Developing a Short Research Plan

Assignment 2

Developing a Short Research Plan

At this stage of the program, it is not expected that you have a research plan set in stone. With that being said, many students attempt to begin to develop a general idea early. These ideas are generally focused on their specialization, experiences, and domain expertise. This can save you a lot of time further into the program. This week, you will move your previous ideas forward.

The goal for Week 8 is to take one of the research topics you identified in Week 7, and then develop it into a basic research plan. You will explore your topic with a short literature review that explains why the topic is relevant for study along with other plans for the study. While these plans may evolve as you proceed in your program, this plan will serve as a strong foundation for your research project.

A valuable piece of advice for the research topic is to avoid changing topics or methodology frequently. The sooner you develop and set a topic in stone, the more efficient the process will be. You will become passionate about any topic that is tied to your degree. Choose one that fits the criteria and, unless there is a strong reason, stick with the topic and methodology. Your future chair will help you fine tune any issues with your topic and methodology.

Many students find that assignments throughout the required DBA content courses can be tailored for their DBA topic. You can use this work directly in your dissertation. For example, your scholarly writing course will allow you to develop a partial literature review that if focused on your research topic can save a lot of time.

Be sure to review this week's resources carefully.  You are expected to apply the information from these resources when you prepare your assignments.

Introduction

Provide a short introduction to your research. Often this is a sentence or two that says why there is a problem, what the problem is generally, and what you plan to do. Essentially, this section gives the reader an idea of what they will see in the rest of the document.

Problem Statement

Identify the research topic. Justify that this topic is both a business topic and an applied topic. (Length: about one-half page)

Theoretical/Conceptual Framework

Identify a theory or conceptual framework that could be used for your study. Justify how it relates to your topic. (Length: one half to one page)

Literature Review

Provide a three-page literature review that covers the following:

• • History of your topic. Justify it as a worthwhile topic. What is its impact on business?
  • Evolution of your theory. Who came up with it, and how has it evolved?

Methods

Discuss your planned methodology. In future courses, you will explore methodologies in greater detail. At this stage, you are simply exploring options as to how you could study this research topic. It is recommended that you avoid mixed methods research as the time involved is significantly greater than a single method. (Length: one half to one page)

Population/Data Collection

Planned population/data collection. If you plan to do interviews, who will you interview? If you plan to collect data from a source, what will that source be? (Length: one half to one page)

Bridging the Gap

Discuss areas you feel you need additional knowledge to complete your research (e.g., statistics if you plan a quantitative study, how to perform interviews if you plan to do a case study).

Conclusion

Bring the entire study goal to a summation. This should be a short paragraph of what you would like to do, why you would like to do it, and what you will need to learn to do it effectively.

Length:  7-10 pages

References:  Include a minimum of 10 peer-reviewed journals using your citation manager of choice.