MBA Hospitality Management

BIR :Choosing a Topic and Focussing your Research

Choosing your topic

• Try to choose a topic which interests you but about which you do not have any pre-conceived ideas of the likely outcome. Do some initial research to see how much information is available – eg on a specific company.

• Is there any research that your current workplace is interested in..can you approach a work supervisor/colleague?

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Choosing your topic:

• Jot down possible areas of interest• Draw up a shortlist of topics• Check in the library how much has been written

about the topic• Ask about dissertations/articles written on similar

topics• Read papers and articles to raise issues• Compare/contrast a couple of articles on the

topic

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Key point

• Topic must have a literature base• Must be small enough and focussed enough

for in-depth study. • Not too broad as research becomes too

detailed and • Not too narrow, as enough material may not

be available for a literature review or to collect primary data.

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Maintaining Motivation

• It must be of interest to you• Motivation rises and falls• Little or no interest at the start then difficult

to lift interest when problems encountered

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Consider feasibility of your chosen topic:

• Access to resources- collection of primary data

• “Life” of topic• Likely result/usefulness• Timescales• Literature available• Ethical/moral considerations• Anticipated problems

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Seek your supervisor’s guidance:

• Put down three possible dissertation titles.• Eliminate two after thinking of pros and cons

of each• Think about factors such as feasibility of

primary research , time duration available, willingness of staff to contribute.

704/03/2011

Narrowing down the topic

The process of refining and clarifying your topic is as follows:

• Identify broad area of study

• Refine your area of study to an aspect of particular interest

• Decide purpose (to develop theory, monitor practice, evaluate, increase understanding, practical outcomes?)

• Ask basic initial questions to narrow down to specific area (who, what, where, when, why, how?)

• Refine questions to define precise focus. • Draft title - use positive terms in title to reflect purpose (e.g. evaluate, examine,

measure, survey, assess)

VIEW GROUP ACTIVITY for clarity on this area

804/03/2011

Put proposal into words

There are various ways of articulating the focus of your research(include these in your research proposal and then in your main report)

• Title• Aims and objectives• Research question

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Example of AIM

• An examination of the performance management practices of housekeeping contract companies in Hammersmith hotels to recommend key strategies for performance improvement of housekeeping contract companies.

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Examples of objectives(should be SMART)

• To investigate theories relating to management performance and appraisals and the relationship between these two concepts

• To establish the types of appraisal systems used in the management of housekeeping contract companies

• To examine how these are designed to improve performance

• To critically analyse the efficacy of such appraisal systems in terms of design and implementation

• To evaluate as to whether housekeeping contract company appraisal systems in Hammersmith hotels are in line with good practice and performance improvement

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Example of Research Question

• To establish if ‘System 1’ and ‘System 2’ could be alternative strategies employed by Hammersmith hotels to manage performance of housekeeping contract companies.

(Write this after you complete the literature review –identify the gaps in research and practice- your RQ should attempt to answer this gap )

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Where should all this be synthesised in your BIR

The Introduction• Introduce the reader to the background of the

study and nature of the problem• Explain why this study is important to

yourself, to the organisation being considered and to the industry.

• The aim and objectives should be stated clearly at the end of this section.

1304/03/2011

Action to be taken now

• Select a provisional title for your dissertation and discuss this with your supervisor

• Once the title has been selected , include the title , aim and objectives as discussed today.

• Contact your supervisor to gain approval of these elements of your research proposal.

1404/03/2011