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303LON and 308LONBusiness research methods: writing professional reportsUnit: 7DO NOT ADD FURTHER SLIDES TO THIS PACKSAVE FILE USING THE FOLLOWING FORMAT: MODULE CODE UNIT NUMBER.PPT (E.G. LCM001U1.PPT)PLEASE DO NOT CHANGE TEMPLATE OR FORMATTINGOn completion of this module you will be able to:

Work independently within an organisation, demonstrating initiative and commitmentReview the literature relating to a business issueAnalyse valid and reliable evidence to draw sound business conclusionsWrite a coherent project report communicating a solution or response to the business issueReflect on your working practices in relation to your Personal Development Plan

Module Learning OutcomesIn this module, we will focus on both the theory and application of the theories and approaches to using business research skills and professional skills to investigate a live business issue. The aim here is to to prepare you for a career in the global business environment as a manager/leader . In order to achieve this goal, we need to understand the aims of business research, the context where our research will take place, and the skills required to work independently and with others to deliver a relevant insight into organisations.

Throughout this module, we need to recognise that organisations do not exist in isolation, and that there is a constant interaction and interdependency on the external environment. Most actions will be influenced by their understanding of the combination of individual, group, organisational and environmental factors.

The style of these Knowledgecasts will be to introduce and discuss a range of critical factors related to the role and skill set of leaders in the global business environment. From these Knowledgecasts, we will often explore one area in more detail in our seminar. For each Unit, you will be directed to some initial further reading however we expect you to read around the topics to build your own critical evaluation of the topic and develop you own original perspective on the role of training and development in organisations.

Module Overview: 303LON and 308LONWeek 6Unit 1An Introduction to Workplace and Workbased ProjectsUnit 2Business research methods: an introductionUnit 3Business research methods: data sourcesUnit 4Business research methods: questions and active listeningWeek 7Unit 5Business research methods: project management skillsUnit 6Business research methods: using reflection in researchUnit 7Business research methods: writing professional reportsUnit 8Making a successful impact on your Workplace and Workbased projectWeek 8Workplace or Independent ResearchWeek 9Workplace or Independent ResearchWeek 10Unit 9Project Updates Individual PresentationsUnit 10Individual Progress ReviewUnit 11Individual Progress ReviewUnit 12Module ReviewIt is likely that each class will be made up of students who will be following: 303LON Workplace Project and 308LON Work-based Project

A key point to make at this stage is that all students will be investigating a key business issue and developing: Key professional skills Key business research skills Key teamworking skills

A key differentiator is how students will be gathering data: All students will be gathering secondary data Workplace students will have the opportunity to gather primary and secondary data available from within an organisationOn completion of this unit you will be able to:

Identify the purpose of each section in a project reportAppraise the required content and style of writing to present your project clearly and concisely to your audienceAssess your own writing style and techniques in relation the expected output of your research, reflecting the needs of your audiences

Unit Learning OutcomesIn this Unit, we are going to:Identify the purpose of each section in a project reportAppraise the required content and style of writing to present your project clearly and concisely to your audienceAssess your own writing style and techniques in relation the expected output of your research, reflecting the needs of your audiences

The teaching and learning style of each unit will include:

Review and feedback of independent or group work outside the seminar Knowledgecast slides to bring to life your reading Seminar discussions and activities to apply key ideas and prepare for independent and group work

The learning styles in this module will therefore include: Active participation in group discussions and activities to develop and practice a range of professional business skills Using one-to-one and small group activities to reflect on and develop your understanding of the topics Open and honest sharing of feedback to support your ongoing development of key personal and professional skills Individual reflection on key learning and active development planning

Source:Cameron (2009: 378)

Business Skills: Project Stages

Cameron (2009) outlines a set of specific stages that are followed in the production of a research project. It is these stages that you will follow and complete in the delivery of your End of Module Assessments. (The numbers refer to Chapters within the textbook).

Key points here include: Each stage requires the use of a set of business skills This is not a linear process, with revisions and redefinitions being made across each stage through the process of learning, analysis and synthesis Requires project management skills to carefully plan, organise, implement, coordinate, control and monitor The selection of the topic will be the focus of Unit 2. Workplace students will be focusing on a business issue facing their work placement organisation. Workbased students should be focusing on an organisation or industry that will help them focus on their next career moveStages of Research Up to Unit 8In order for managers and leaders to make effective decisions, they need to rely on a broad range of information. In your studies, you will be learning and practicing the skills required to collect, interpret and present this type of critical business information. You can use these same skills in the workplace to influence and lead the decision making process.

When approaching a piece of research, there are a number of core stages that new researchers will be typically asked to complete in the design and delivery of their research findings.

In this Unit, we are going to look at how we can use the overall structure of a project report to demonstrate the logic and thought process we undertook to complete out investigation. This helps to support any claims of reliability and validity of our research findings. This will help us to consider how we can move forward from the Research Proposal stage to gathering and analysing data, and producing a clear set of findings and recommendations from our research.

In our seminars, we will work through each of the highlighted stages above to get to help you produce your research plan or research proposal. This will take us up to Unit 8, before you move on to your work placement or independent study period.Business Skills: Project Reports There are different assessment requirements for 303LON and 308LON students.

For 303LON:The assessment for this module requires that you submit a Project Report and carry out a presentation to your tutor and peers (60%); in addition you are required to submit a Reflective Diary (40%).

Project Report 60%Your Project Report will detail the organisation you worked for. Your report should be structured as a formal report and be a maximum of 4000 words (maximum +10%). It should meet the assessment rubric for this module, a copy of this can be found online in the Module Guide on Moodle. Presentation When you finish your placement and return to CULC you will be expected to give a presentation to your tutor and peers. The presentation should cover the following:Summary of your organisation Brief details of your Project Report - emphasis on your research, findings and conclusionOverall summary of your experience working with the host employerReflective Diary 40%Your Reflective Diary should cover the whole period of your placement, with the addition of pre and post placement reflection. It should identify your learning, communication and interpersonal skills, technical knowledge and expertise and your personal development. Your diary should be a maximum of 1000 (maximum +10%). It should meet the assessment rubric for this module, a copy of this can be found online in the Module Guide on Moodle.For 308LONThe assessment for this module requires that you submit a Project Report and carry out a presentation to your tutor and peers (100%).Project Report 100%Your Project Report will detail the organisation you worked for. Your report should be structured as a formal report and be a maximum of 4000 words (maximum +10%). It should meet the assessment rubric for this module, a copy of this can be found online in the Module Guide on Moodle. Presentation In Week 10, you will be expected to give a presentation to your tutor and peers. The presentation should cover the following:Summary of your organisation Brief details of your Project Report - emphasis on your research, findings and conclusionOverall summary of your experience working with the host employerFor both modules:Marking CriteriaThe assessment rubric for this module can be found online in the Module Guide on Moodle and it gives the criteria for the allocation of marks to each of the sections of the Project Report, Presentation and Reflective Diary.Submission of workAll work for this module Project Report and Reflective Diary should be submitted for assessment online via Turnitin. The deadline date for assessment and all instructions can be found on Moodle.

Business Skills: Project Reports Source:Saunders et al (2009: 531)

A project report has a specific structure that is used to demonstrate how your understanding of existing knowledge (theory and precious research) has informed your research design and how your findings enable you to address your research aims.

A helpful way of thinking about the following structure is to think of a storyline a logical flow of information that outlines a journey and clearly signposts to the reader which stage of the journey has been reached. A key success criteria is that your reader should be able to clearly identify the stages of the journey they have been on (Saunders et al 2009: 531).

We will now work through each of the components of the project report to consider how we build up our story.

Key PointWhen researching and drafting each stage of the report, it is important to fully reference your sources in your notes, using the CU Harvard Referencing Style. This will make your writing more efficient by not having to retrace your steps. This will also protect your work from any claims of plagiarism. Abstract (200 Words)

What were my research questions and why were they important?How did I go about answering the research questions?What did I find out in response to these questions?What conclusions can be drawn?

Source:Saunders et al (2009: 532-33)

Business Skills: Professional Reports AbstractOne of the most common examples of the use of abstracts can be found in journal articles.Introduction

Background to the area under investigationDescription of the context of the researchDescription of the organisation(s) Explain why this area is worth studyingClearly outline the research aims and and a clear statement of research objectives/questions

Source:Saunders et al (2009: 533-34)

Business Skills: Professional Reports AbstractIntroductionThe introduction helps the reader of your report to understand the relevance of your research to the broader business and management context. It is also here that your research aim and questions are clearly outlined.Literature review

Set your study in the broader context of our understanding of the business issue being investigatedShow how your study contributes to existing knowledge on the topic

Source:Saunders et al (2009: 534)

Business Skills: Professional Reports AbstractIntroductionLiterature reviewThe literature review is your opportunity to link your research to the original theories and research that you considered when defining and refining your research aims and questions. As we have previously discussed, this also needs to clearly illustrate how your research can contribute to our existing knowledge about the business phenomenon being investigated. Method

Areas to cover include:Research settingConsideration of ethicsParticipants involved in your researchMaterials or methods used to gather dataHow valid and reliable your procedures really were?

Source:Saunders et al (2009: 535)

Business Skills: Professional Reports AbstractIntroductionLiterature reviewMethodResearch involving human subjects must be carried out in accordance with accepted ethical standards.

These include:JustificationAccess to participantsInformed consentPotential harm to participantsParticipants rightsConflicts of interest

1. justification - that the proposed research will achieve worthwhile objectives, that these objectives could not be achieved without the informed participation of individuals and that there are adequate resources for the successful completion of the research.2. access to participant(s) - when considering potential participants it is important to recognise issues of privacy and that individuals have a right to know how their names were selected and why they are being approached.3. informed consent - this is a fundamental aspect of any research program and all those who have agreed to be part of any research must be able to do so in an informed way. In all cases, you should take care to ensure that participants are fully informed about the project and have given consent freely. Informed consent is a continuous requirement and participants have the right to ask questions about a project at any time during the duration of the project. At any time, participants have the right to withdraw from the project and to agree how the information they have provided will be used or removed from any database.4. potential harm to participants - when considering the nature of the research activity, it is important to work through the potential for psychological and physical harm. At the same time, it may be important to consider the type of support that may be necessary to have in place if participants experience harm.5. participants rights - participants have a number of rights that should berecognised. These include, for example, the right:at any time to withdraw from the project and to discuss if no prior agreement is in place the way in which their data may be usedto confidentiality and anonymity - this will require from time to time discussion and agreement as to how these rights will be maintained and if they cannot be maintained the fact that the participant(s) know this from the outset and consents to this conditionto refuse to answer any particular question - and in the case of tape recording, the right to ask that the tape be turned offto ask questions about the study at any time during participationto be given access to a summary of the findings of the project when the project is concludedto know how the data is going to be usedto discuss the question of the ownership of the dataTo reach agreement on issues of copyright6. conflicts of interest - when considering the nature of the project, it is important to consider the potential for conflicts of interest, particularly if the work is to be carried out in the same organization or if it is sponsored in some way. Not only do participants have the right to know if someone or an organization is sponsoring the project, but also the consequences of any conflicts should be made clear so that potential participants can consent to be part of the project in an informed way.

Results

What I found outReport of the findings your research discoveredSupport of the findings with illustrations from your research, such as tables, diagrams or quotes from participantsDoes not include any interpretation

Source:Saunders et al (2009: 535-36)

Business Skills: Professional Reports AbstractIntroductionLiterature reviewMethodResultsA key feature of the results section is that there is no interpretation or judgements made about the findings. Often a helpful technique in this section is the use of diagrams and quotes to illustrate the data.Discussion

What I can interpret from what I found outHow do the findings relate to the research aim and objectives/questions? What is the meaning of my findings for:MeMy OrganisationFor professional practiceWhat are the strengths and limitations of the investigation?Source:Saunders et al (2009: 536-37)

Business Skills: Professional Reports AbstractIntroductionLiterature reviewMethodResultsDiscussionThe discussion and the results section are closely linked. It is in this section that we look at the interpretation and meaning behind the data gathered and analysed. A key practice here is also to critically evaluate your approach to the research, to consider the strengths and limitations of the investigation, and any possible researcher interference with the validity of the findings. Conclusions

Did the research meet the aims of your project?Did the research answer each of your research questions?What are the key findings?What are your conclusions about the overall research process?Where should further research be focused?

Source:Saunders et al (2009: 536-37)

Business Skills: Professional Reports AbstractIntroductionLiterature reviewMethodResultsDiscussionConclusionsAs you have probably now realised, the key stages followed in a project report reflect the core sections of an assignment. A key feature, however, is the requirement to demonstrate your logic and thought process through each of the production of your findings.

A key difference in your conclusion in a project report is the discussion of further areas of research that have been suggested from the data gathered during your investigation data that was perhaps out of scope of this specific research project.Reflective Diary: Suggested StructureEvidenced by specific examples from your Learning LogLincoln and Guba (1985) discussed a reflexive diary as a way of establishing credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability, in other words trustworthiness in naturalistic inquiry. Underpinning this concept of trustworthiness is an ability to be aware of how the inquirers (researchers) biases influence the research outcome (Brannick & Coghlan (2006: 156).

For 303LON, the Reflective Diary accounts for 40% of the total mark, and is submitted as a separate report in Moodle.

For 308LON, the Reflective Diary is assessed within the Project Report, which together account for 100% of the total mark. This is submitted as one document in Moodle.

The Reflective Diary makes up Part 2 of your Project Report. It has a word count of 1000. In presenting their work, student should be encouraged to consider: The purpose of the method in relation to their programme of study The expectations of the reader using the marking criteria The suggested structure to analyse and synthesise their findings

Key PointsThe successful completion of a Reflective Diary assumes:- An existing level of self-awareness A consistent approach to recording experience An understanding of the gap between the goals to be achieved and the experience itself

For 303LON Workplace Module Students

Reflective Diary accounts for 40% of the total markSubmitted as a separate report in Moodle

For 308LON Work-Based Module Students

Reflective Diary is assessed within the Project Report, which together account for 100% of the total mark. Submitted with the Research Investigation as one document in Moodle.

Business Skills: Reflective DiaryThis feature of the Reflective Diary is important to clarify:

The assessed weighting The submission requirements in Moodle3 Key Stages to Writing Your ReportBusiness Skills: Professional Reports There are 3 key stages in writing your report:

Planning and PreparationDrafting and EditingFinal Presentation and Delivery

Cameron (2009) suggests that we should begin drafting our report even at this early stage of the investigation. For us, this means that we would be focusing on the first two stages planning our report and drafting. A key consideration, however, at this stage should also be to consider the expectations of the audience of our report. Some key questions even at this stage of your work to answer include:What are their expectations about the format and style of writing? How might an organisation want to receive your findings?What format will be required for your progress update in Week 10?Writing is a creative process and a powerful way to clarifying your thinkingA project report needs a clear structure that helps to develop the storylineAll the information should be easily understood by the reader visuals can help illustrate complex dataUse a clear writing style free and check for spelling and grammatical errorsBe prepared to rewrite the first draft several timesRemember to check the assessment criteriaSource:Saunders et al (2009: 528-31)

Business Skills: Professional WritingxxxSchedule regular time for developing your project reportWrite when your mind is freshFind a regular writing place with no distractionsSet daily goals and achieve themUse word processing and regularly back up all your workCreate a project plan for the report with regular review of progressStart and finish each writing session on a high pointGet friends to read and comment on your workSeek help and support as soon as you need itSource:Saunders et al (2009: 528-31)

Business Skills: Successful WritingOne of the goals that students might have set themselves for this module could be their communication skills:

Writing style (clarity and fluency) Working with others to gain support Seeking help and advice from others

In advance of Unit 8, encourage students to revisit their Skills Matrix Audit and consider how their communication skills will contribute or impact the success of their project.Unit 7 Priority Actions:

Review your Unit 1 Skills Assessment Matrix. Identify any areas for further development in the writing of a professional project report, and organise the support requiredRevisit and update your milestone plan for your projectPrepare any final questions about the module

Be ready to present back in Unit 8

Business Skills: Project WorkxxxIdentify the purpose of each section in a project reportAppraise the required content and style of writing to present your project clearly and concisely to your audienceAssess your own writing style and techniques in relation the expected output of your research, reflecting the needs of your audiences

Knowledgecast SummaryxxxManaging your Research ProjectWeek 1Week 2Week 3Week 4Week 5Identify research areaFormulate research questionsDesign research methodologyWrite research proposalDate?Write literature reviewCollect dataAnalyse dataFirst draft research reportSecond draft research reportDeadline Date?In Unit 5, we looked at the project management skills required to successfully deliver your research project. In Unit 6 and 7, we have now looked in detail at what you are required to deliver in your final project reports. This is a good opportunity to revisit and update your milestone plan. You may want to reflect further work on developing your writing skills, allocate more time to planning and editing your draft, or check you have considered how you will seek advice and support during the next phase of your project. One of the key stages in any research project is managing your time and resources to make sure that you effectively complete each stage.

Developing a managers mindset can be a helpful way to ensure that you: Manage your time to meet the specified milestones Identify each of the key stages and estimate how much time is required Manage the expectations of others about your progress Plan and organise activities that require forward planning and engagement of others

Use this opportunity for students to review their current scheduling and breakdown of the key stages and consider: How do you currently review your progress on this project? What are the key milestones for this project? What review points do you need to ensure success in your project? With whom and when? How have you estimated each of the key stages to follow in this project?

Unit 7 Priority Actions:

Review your Unit 1 Skills Assessment Matrix. Identify any areas for further development in the writing of a professional project report, and organise the support requiredRevisit and update your milestone plan for your projectPrepare any final questions about the module

Be ready to present back in Unit 8

Business Skills: Project WorkxxxIn our next Unit, we will:

Discuss a range of ways of successfully fitting in to an organisationIdentify the stages required to effectively review your performance in new professional settingsComplete a checklist to assess your readiness for workplace and work-based learning

What are we going to cover next?In our next Knowledgecast, we will:

Discuss a range of ways of successfully fitting in to an organisationIdentify the stages required to effectively review your performance in new professional settingsComplete a checklist to assess your readiness for workplace and work-based learning