Designing & Running Research Project
Assignment brief:
You are required to identify an example of a business that has made use of, or conducted, a research study (not necessarily ‘academic research’ but that features aims, methods, analysis and conclusions in a similar way to an academic project). The study must not be one of those introduced in the Topics in Business Research lectures or seminars. You do not need to get approval for your choice of study or organisation.
You should describe the project and outline how the results of the research have impacted the practice of the organisation. The presentation must be styled as a short podcast (audio recording). Think about your audience and focus on making sure that the presentation is clear and interesting. Your language and style will need to be professional – imagine that you are talking to an educated, professional audience. You might want to listen to some examples of podcasts that introduce research, for example:
- Do Better Research (https://tinyurl.com/DoBetterResearch)
- BBC Inside Science (https://goo.gl/ni6ewr)
- Freakonomics Radio (https://goo.gl/4W7HnV)
- Pod Academy (http://podacademy.org/)
You will need to:
Describe the research project that has been undertaken
- What were the aims, methods, and findings of the research? Tip – try to use terminology that we have used in class: you must not define terms, but should focus on using them correctly.
AND
Show how conclusions from the research were implemented into the organisation
- If your research has not yet been implemented, then you should instead offer concrete (real, precise) examples of how it might be used by a specific. For example – what specific changes to its advertising does the research suggest Tesco should try?
- Discuss changes to behaviour, policies, practice or design that have resulted from the research
- If possible, what has been the impact of any changes made?
This should be presented as a short audio presentation (a podcast) lasting no more than 5 minutes. We will stop listening to your recording after 5 minutes and 30 seconds. It should be uploaded in .mp3 or .mp4 format.
Audio recordings can be made on a computer, laptop, or mobile device. There are a number of free audio recording ‘apps’ that can be used to edit your recording, if you feel it is necessary:
Audacity – http://www.audacityteam.org/ – is a particularly good free, open-source piece of software that allows you to edit your audio recording and is available on University computers.
Please ensure that you listen to the recording before uploading it, to ensure that the sound quality is appropriate and consistent. You may edit your recording if you wish.
This assignment is worth 25% of the overall grade for the module. You will be assessed on your choice of topic, the identification of the different aspects of the research project and its impact, and your ability to communicate in a clear and concise manner (see the assessment criteria below).