B413 lecture 10

1. Research Portfolio Advice

2. Aims and objectives
This lecture aims to:
• Provide an insight into the structure and content of the
research portfolio
• Provide students advice on the design and construction of
their research project portfolio
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3. Assessment
Group (max 4 per group) assessment for this unit includes:
1) Research proposal – 1800 words max.
2) Research Portfolio – digital or hard copy
No word limit to the research portfolio
Both assessments will be considered together in order to
determine your final overall unit mark
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4. Portfolio
‘A portfolio is a collection of documents and writings that
you assemble in order to demonstrate that you have the
appropriate abilities and knowledge at different stages
within the research process’
• Can consist of various different media (written, video,
audio)
• Must be clear what activities you have undertaken and
why (add commentary for each element of your portfolio)
• Show how each section has links to the next
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5. Portfolio
Portfolio must provide evidence of your group’s activities at
each stage of the research process:
1) Project Title
2) Problem/Opportunity/Issue project addresses + why
3) Literature Review (academic and
practitioner/business)
4) Research Methods: Your group must use three
different methods (e.g. interview, questionnaire,
observation)
There are no limits on words within each section*
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6. Portfolio
Portfolio must provide evidence of your group’s activities at
each stage of the research process:
5) Results: Presentation of primary data collected
6) Discussion: Interpretations of primary data collected
7) Recommendations
8) References (Harvard style not numbers)
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7. Portfolio
You must provide evidence of your activities and abilities
within each of the seven main sections.
The structure within each section is up to you
Evidence in each section can include:
• Videos (presentations, research data, reflective diaries to camera,
interviews and more – you decide)
• Audio recordings
• Photos
• Text, graphic, diagrams
• Websites / simulates
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8. Portfolio
Important things to consider:
1) Must be clear what the evidence is and why it is being provided
(what does it contribute / mean to the research stage?)
2) Must be clear which one of the 7 stages the evidence is meant for
3) Must be clear what each piece of evidence is and why it is
important
4) No limits on the amount of evidence in each of the 6 sections
yet you will be marked on how concise and clear you have
been in presenting your work and skills – major business skill!
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9. Practical Problem/Opportunity
• Describe and justify the problem / opportunity
• Justify why its so important to research
• Use more professional based references
• Provide referenced evidence to justify the importance of
your chosen topic
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10. The Literature Review Chapter
Academic research associated with topic
• Critical review of the literature associated with
outlined problem / opportunity
• Needs to mainly be journal papers / books only ok
• Question if or how the research helps understand
or solve the problem/opportunity outlined
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11. Wednesday, October 15, 2014 David Atkinson
Senior Lecturer in Strategic Marketing Management
11
The Literature Review Chapter
• Question and justify why current theory/research does
NOT help solve your problem / opportunity
• Justify where and why current theory/research DOES
help solve your problem / opportunity to some extent

12. Research Aims and Objectives
Aim:
Simple sentence which outlines direction of research
“An investigation into the way in which social media is
transforming how customers demand more from
businesses. Particular, focus will be placed upon the
changing expectations of customers and how these
may ‘push’ the business into new ways of working.”
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13. Research Aim and Objectives
Research Objectives:
• Tends to be around 4 or 5 objectives (no fixed
number)
• 1st links to a review of the literature
• Last links to discussing implications and making
recommendations to various parties
• Middle objectives link to research activities
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14. Research Methods / Data Collection
• Must have used three different research methods
• Must provide detail of how you used the methods
• Justify why the methods you have selected are the
most appropriate
• Must link research activities directly to your
objectives
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15. Wednesday, October 15, 2014 David Atkinson
Senior Lecturer in Strategic Marketing Management
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Research Methods / Data Collection
Research Design should cover:
• The 3 Research Methods: e.g. interviews, survey,
observation
• Data Collection: e.g. recording, journal entries
• Data Analysis: graphs, charts, tables=

16. Findings Chapter
• Sometimes called the ‘Results Chapter’
• Present a summary of the data you collected in an
appropriate format i.e. graphs, charts, tables etc.
• Need to be objective here / Present the facts only
• No interpretations/judgments
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17. Findings Chapter
• May contain quotes from interviews
• Narrative accounts of observations
• Don't be afraid to capture precisely what an interviewer
said in order to provide depth
• Report your results in relation to your research
objectives
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18. Discussion / Recommendations
• Discuss your interpretation of the analysis of the data
you’ve collected – what’s the intelligence generated?
• Refer back to tables/charts/data in the findings chapter
• What do the results ‘mean’ in relate to what you set out
to achieve (research objectives)?
• Structure should relate to your research aim and
objectives
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19. Discussion / Recommendations
You need to ‘reflect’ on what your results mean/suggest
(multiple possibilities) in relation to:
• The original problem/opportunity/issue
• The current literature/research/theories presented in
your literature review
• In order to further understand what your findings mean
you may need to bring in new literature to your
discussion
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20. Wednesday, October 15, 2014 David Atkinson
Senior Lecturer in Strategic Marketing Management
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Discussion – Critical Reflection
• What could you have done better?
• What are the limitations of your research?
• What did you find difficult in your research?
• What ‘contribution’ have you made to the subject area

21. Wednesday, October 15, 2014 David Atkinson
Senior Lecturer in Strategic Marketing Management
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Recommendations
• Provide clear, concise and detailed recommendations
• Justify you recommendations based on your
data/discussion
• Provide recommendations for different parties e.g.
– The industry
– Company involved
– The general profession
– Government policy
– Further academic research

22. Wednesday, October 15, 2014 David Atkinson
Senior Lecturer in Strategic Marketing Management
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Reading
Saunders, M., Lewis, P., and Thornhill, A.
(2012) Research Methods for Business Students.
6th Edition. Harlow: Pearson Education Ltd.
Chapter 14