OPEN UNIVERSITY of MAURITIUSINSTRUCTIONS TO STUDENTS for assignments:Read properly the mode of submissionPlease note that any assignment submitted after the deadline, marks will be deducted as per assignmentsubmission procedure document.Format: Please follow the guidelines in the document “Guide to writing assignments” available onMoodle.You are required to conform to Harvard referencing style.Please include a bibliography at the end of your document.Plagiarism/collusion will be heavily penalised and may result in non-award of marks.POINTS TO REMEMBER WHEN SUBMITTING YOUR ASSIGNMENT:MODE OF SUBMISSION:1. Turn in/ Hand in on Google Classroom – The link will be on Moodle (by or before due date)2. Email Soft copy to [email protected] (by or before due date)The current penalty is 2% per day (weekends and public holidays included) for any assignmentreceived after the due date which the tutor will deduct from the final mark.The Open University of Mauritius will not hold itself responsible or liable for the non-award of marksif you fail to submit the assignment as per the required mode of submission.Module Name: Business Research MethodsLecturer’s Name: Mr S. JhareeDate of Submission: 13 Nov 2021Total Marks: 35 marksWord limit: 1500-2000Assignment question-Answer all questionsThe purpose of this assignment is to provide you experience with designing a research study, andwriting a research proposal. The aim of the research proposal is to organise and convey yourideas and thoughts.The content of the research proposal should be organised as follows:(a) “Identifying the research problem is the first major step when conducting research.”(i) There are some factors a researcher needs to consider when selecting a research area ( referto insert no.1). Taking into consideration the factors described in the insert select a researchproblem that you intend to investigate(ii) Carry out a literature survey. (You can use the resources from open university Emerald elibrary available on the Elearn platform, google scholar or any other search engine)Select three journals in your chosen field. Examine the three journals for the past five years forresearch articles relevant to your selected area.Search and Shortlist around ten research papers or articles most relevant to your topic(iii) Read the articles selected and propose a possible title of the research you would carry out foryour final year dissertation. [1](iv) Formulate a Problem Statement for your chosen topic. Ensure that the key characteristics ofa statement of problem are included in your statement. [5](v) Develop and articulate 3 research questions that are related to the purpose of the study i.ethat will guide you to provide a possible solution to the problem statement you have formulated.[3](b) Select one research paper which is most relevant to your chosen topic and write a summaryusing your own words (be guided by insert 4) based on a critical analysis. Your report must includethe following; snPartsTotalmarksRemarks1Topic of research1Just state2Problem statement2Write in your own words(paraphrase)3Research questions1Write in your own words4Methods used to answer research questions1Identify and Enlist all the methods5Critical analysis of methods10Compare the different researchmethods in your course with the onethe researcher has used anddescribe the advantages anddisadvantages of the methodsreferring to the context of theproblem statement. Identify anygaps and suggest what would havebeen better.6Results achieved2Comment on the results presentedby the researcher and justifywhether they are reliable.7Ethics3Describe how ethical issues havebeen considered and respected.Total20 (c) Based on the critical analysis of methods select the methods you will employ to answer yourresearch questions. Justify your choice of methods. [4](d) Write down all your references using Harvard style of referencing. [2]Note:1.You are strongly advised to make reference to all relevant resources available on the E-learnPlatform as well as the Open University’s website.2. Submit a Turnitin report (Acceptance level is a similarity of less than 20 %)Inserts1.https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329179630_Identifying_and_Formulating_the_Research_Problem2.https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Parlindungan_Pardede/publication/330127215_ELT_Research_Proposal_Writing_Guidelines/links/5c40c4ee92851c22a37c4abb/ELT-ResearchProposal-Writing-Guidelines.pdf3.https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1742-6596/1235/1/012115/pdf4.https://www.monash.edu/rlo/research-writing-assignments/referencing-and-academicintegrity/academic-integrity/putting-academic-integrity-into-practice5. https://www.yorksj.ac.uk/study/research/apply/examples-of-research-proposals
