Conducting research
Once you are fully enrolled, you are ready to begin conducting your research by developing your formal research proposal and then collecting the data on which your report will be based.
The Formal Research Proposal
When the Initial Application Proposal is completed and accepted, projects are usually loosely defined in an overview context. The next step is to develop the formal research proposal, which should include a brief description of the background to the project, the objectives to be achieved, and the proposed method of research and analysis. A tentative timetable of work should be included and details of any significant costs. The proposal usually forms the basis for the first Chapter of the final investigation report. Normal length is up to 1,000 words.
Your formal research proposal should be submitted online via your assignments on your MyWeb 499/599 Paper page and you also need to take a hard copy of your proposal to your meeting with your supervisor.
ETHICS
It is at this stage that ethical approval should be sought if required. See the Research Ethics section for more information. Your supervisor will work with you to complete the Ethics Formal Proposal Cover Sheet, which will:
1) Confirm the research is exempt from needing a full Ethics application
or
2) Confirm you should obtain approval from the Department Coordinator
or
3) Confirm you should submit a full ethics application to the Waikato Management School Ethics Committee. The application includes a cover sheet, an outline of the research, the appropriate information sheets and consent forms, and a copy of the survey instrument.
Confidentiality
During the INVESTIGATION, students will gain access to sponsor's information and it is extremely important that students respect this confidentiality. This applies to all information to which the student has access regardless of whether it appears to be sensitive or not. Unless the sponsor specifically indicates otherwise, only the supervisor and assessor should have access to sponsor's information obtained during the study.
Waikato Management School has an unblemished record in the matter of respecting sponsors' confidentiality, and it would be extremely damaging to the programme if this record were jeopardised. All students are urged to take the utmost care in respecting the confidentiality of the information to which they have access.
A Statement of Restriction should appear at the front of the INVESTIGATION. Access to INVESTIGATIONS should not be made unnecessarily restrictive because one of the objectives of research is to disseminate the findings to the community at large; this is how we expand knowledge and pass it on from one generation to the next. Where an INVESTIGATION deals with matters that are not sensitive, the sponsor may be willing to allow the findings to be made available to a wider audience. Towards the end of the project, students should discuss with the supervisor the most suitable kind of restriction to be placed on the final INVESTIGATION, and agree on this with the sponsor. Access should not be restricted at all in the case of investigations that deal solely with public information, such as stock market statistics, company annual reports, legal statutes etc.
If the INVESTIGATION is confidential or has restrictions, it is essential that permission is sought from the sponsor, before the INVESTIGATION, in whole, or in part, is used in any way. For example, students should be sure they have the sponsor's permission, before the INVESTIGATION is used as a part of job applications or interviews.
Sponsors will be asked to complete a Student/Sponsor Web Consent Form to allow the title only of the INVESTIGATION to appear on the 499 web page as a resource for students.If a sponsor gives permission for the title to appear on the 499 web page, the contents of the report still abide by the Statement of Restriction in the report.
Research Ethics
Research at the Waikato Management School must be conducted to the highest ethical standards.
As a 499 student you should be aware of the University’s Policy on Research Ethics, and you must confirm to abide by it when you submit your Formal Research Proposal.
The areas of research which are most likely to impact upon 499/599 students, are those that involve human subjects and include the collection of data from and about them.
The Department 499/599 Coordinator can approve collection of information from people about products; services and organisations that do not focus directly on the thoughts and feelings of the human subject themselves. An example of such research would be collecting information that is publicly available i.e. such as information in public annual reports.
Research which is potentially contentious or sensitive, or where human subjects are the focus of the enquiry requires approval by the Waikato Management School Ethics Committee. Applicants should identify the reason why the research and results might be contentious, and the methods used to ensure that the research is carried out in a professional manner.
All research which involves talking to individuals requires that these individuals receive information sheets and complete consent forms. Samples of these documents are available from the Waikato Management School's Research site.
Collecting Data
Many investigations involve the collection of evidence about some operation or activity within the organisation. A range of methods may be used to collect this evidence; sometimes one data source is sufficient and at other times several data sources are used. Often multi-data sources are a good idea because the evidence from one source helps to support the evidence gained from another.
The fundamental purpose at this stage is to collect evidence that is reliable and valid, and closely as possible reflects the actual situation or circumstances being investigated. There are many different possible methods for collecting data, and you should discuss with your supervisor what will be most appropriate for your project. Whatever methods you choose, two important cautions should be noted.
- First, students MUST always discuss with the supervisor, and agree on the data collection method(s) to be used.
- Second, the data collection device (questionnaire, interview structure, experiment, etc.) MUST always be reviewed by the supervisor before being used. Failure to observe both of these cautions could have serious repercussions for the success of the investigation.
All data collected must be securely stored in accordance with the Privacy Act and the University's Ethical Conduct in Human Research and Related Activities Regulations. Once research is complete, raw data which is not required to be archived should be securely destroyed. Information from sponsors should always be treated as confidential.