Business Research Methods
CHAPTER 5
Considering Possible Topics
Lecturer’s Guide
This chapter does not introduce any new material: it is intended to help students stop
and think seriously about potential broad areas they might research. You may therefore
not wish to devote a lecture to it. But the exercise of taking stock of potential benefits
in terms of career or other goals, and identifying several possible topics in terms of
their potential benefits and feasibility, is a valuable one. It would usefully form the
basis for an assignment to check that students are starting to think seriously about
potential topics. It might also benefit from small group discussion.
Few slides are provided on the website for such a session, but some activities are
suggested here which might be useful. If you wish to devote a session to the area
covered by this chapter but a full lecture is not possible, you might consider asking
students to bring ideas for topics to class, and to ‘coach’ each other by asking questions
about learning benefits and aspects of feasibility. The questioning skills needed for this
will be useful when working with clients in a practical research situation, so you might
wish to combine this with work later on.
This would also be a good time to discuss with students your institution’s specific
requirements for a dissertation, to ensure that students understand what will be required
of them.
CHAPTER LEARNING OUTCOMES
The chapter should enable students to:.
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reconsider their personal objectives in relation to possible research
identify potential areas within which projects might be located
identify likely stakeholders in each of these areas, and consider their aims
frame possible research questions in relation to these areas
assess potential types and sources of information relevant to possible research
topics.
LECTURE/SESSION AIMS
A session on this chapter might usefully give students the opportunity to practise key
questioning and listening skills as well as to explore their own ideas about potential
research areas.
POSSIBLE LEARNING OUTCOMES
If you do decide on a workshop session based on this chapter, students could usefully
be enabled to:
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identify possible areas within which they might undertake a project
assess the potential of a project within this area for attaining personal goals
ask helpful questions to clarify potential issues within a possible research area
ask questions which help establish the resources needed and the potential risks.
Student activity 1
Working with a partner, take turns talking and listening (ie not conversing).
1
For three minutes outline your career objectives. Drawing a diagram may be
helpful, but if you do not wish to do this, list the objectives. While you do
this, your partner listens. The partner can ask ‘What else?’-type questions if
you get stuck, but nothing else.
2
Reverse roles and listen while your partner outlines his/her career objectives.
3
Spend three more minutes trying to think of at least one way in which a
research project (in any area) might help you achieve each objective.
4
Reverse roles again.
Then:
5
Discuss in plenary.
Comments
In the plenary discussion try to capture as broad a range as possible of ways in which a
research project might develop key skills or expertise or help raise visibility or help
build contacts. This will serve as preparation for the next activity.
Student activity 2
Working in small groups (ideally of four), go through the following scenario,
each group member taking it in turn to play ‘you’, a questioner or the observer:
1
You describe briefly the area in which you are considering a project, and if
you already have an idea of an issue you want to explore with the project,
describe the issue. (Maximum 5 minutes; others remain silent.)
2
Others ask questions for clarification (Maximum 3 minutes.)
3
Two others ask carefully phrased questions about:
– stakeholders and their likely position(s)
– how research in this area would further your career objectives
– the benefits to the organisation
– the risks you might encounter
– the feasibility of research in this area.
4
The group member who has been observing the questioning now gives
feedback on the effectiveness of the questioning in terms of helping ‘you’
think constructively about key issues.
5
All try to identify any new ideas/issues about either the topic choice or the
questioning.
Then:
6
Share these in plenary.
Comments
You might wish to anticipate the interviewing chapter and ‘borrow’ slides on
questioning from that to use as preparation for this exercise. It would help to stress the
importance of questioning skills in any consultancy exercise, not just when at the
formal data-collection stage of a study. Students will also need to have done some
preparatory thinking and made notes about their ideas.
The chapter’s suggestion of working on several ideas for a while is slightly threatened
by this exercise, and in your debrief you will need to emphasise the advantages of
having two or three possible topic areas ‘in development’ at this stage, and caution
against fixing on one just because it has been the focus of this exercise.
Student activity 3
Working in the same group as for Activity 2,
1
Identify the potential topic which is furthest developed.
2
Discuss possible research questions related to this topic.
3
Identify sources of information/data/evidence that could help you answer
these questions.
4
Discuss the feasibility of obtaining this information, and any risks to a
project of this nature.
Then:
5
Share any insights in plenary.
Comments
This Activity can only be done if a student in each group has fairly well-developed
ideas. If they have submitted these beforehand, it would be possible to use this factor as
the basis for group formation for Activities 1 and 2. If not, it might be possible to act as
‘you’ yourself, on the basis of a past student’s issue, in order to allow students to
practise thinking of, and asking, suitable questions. When using this modification, the
small groups could spend some time either thinking of possible questions to ask you or
trying to find answers to such questions themselves on the basis of the information
provided.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Chapter 5 PowerPoint slides (although there are only few of them)
Chapter 5 Student Handout - Activity Sheet
Students (or you) could usefully bring copies of your institution’s dissertation proposal
requirements and dissertation requirements
Students’ notes on topic ideas would also be useful