Kathmandu University School of Management

Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA)/

Bachelor of Business Information Systems (BBIS)

Under Graduate Applied Business Research Project

Guidelines

April 2016

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Overview

BBA/BBIS students are required to undertake a Business Research Project in the second semester of 4th year for
the completion of their study program. The project offers participants an opportunity to use scientific research
as a tool for analyzing and solving business problems, thereby enriching their management knowledge and
competence developed during the earlier semesters in the study program. As a part of the project, they practice
and expand upon their business research knowledge and skills learned in the classroom by conducting research
for finding solution to a problem in a specific organizational setting.

The project is an individual assignment equivalent to three credits. Each participant has to select a research
topic which has to be a real organizational problem in his/her area of specialization within the scope of the
study program having business relevance. The objective of the project work is to equip participants with the
skills of conducting applied research using the scientific inquiry process in order to solve the organizational
problem. More specifically, the project will help participants in:

Identifying problem(s)/issues(s) in different areas in businesses;

Understanding and articulating the identified problem(s)/issue(s);
Tracing and soliciting empirical evidence pertinent to the problem(s)/issue(s);
Expressing the problem(s)/issue(s) in terms of conceptual framework developed on the basis of acquired
(academic) knowledge;
Finding and using appropriate tool/s to inquire into the problem(s) using the relevant conceptual
framework;
Analyzing the framework on the basis of the selected tool/s and gathered empirical evidence; and
Presenting the findings of the enquiry.

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Responsibility of the Student

1. Obtain approval for the proposed project from the assigned supervisor.

Register properly
Identify relevant research topic/title.
Submit proposal to supervisor.
Get approval for the project from the supervisor.

2. Report progress toward achieving learning objectives.

Submit status report as scheduled to the supervisor.

Submit final project report as scheduled for evaluation.
Present to the panel of evaluators.

3. Maintain contact with the Supervisor as appropriate throughout the project.

The participant must work on the project with maturity and a commitment to excellence, knowing his/ her
ethical responsibilities.

Responsibilities of School/College

The School/ Colleges responsibility is to assist the student in the process of finding suitable research project
and completing it. It will:

Ensure that the research project satisfies Kathmandu Universitys academic expectations.
Ensure each student is assigned suitable faculty for supervision on project undertaken.
Coordinate with other faculty members to determine students work progress on the project and submit
the progress report.

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Proposal for the Research Project

General Criteria for an Acceptable Research Project Work

1. The research project must be related to any area of business. It is advisable that the research project
should be a real business problem faced by the practicing managers.

2. The project must be original and the students own work. The report must be the work of the student
him/herself. If sources are used, they must be appropriately acknowledged and cited.

3. Contents of the Proposal

The proposal for the research project should include the following:

1. The title and background of the area of project

2. Problem statement
3. Rationale of the project indicating a need of this enquiry to address pertinent problems of the organization.
4. Research question(s)
5. Research objectives
6. Review of literature
7. Conceptual or theoretical framework as far as possible.
8. Planned methodology with possible inquiry tool/s to be used and probable source of empirical data
9. Expected findings and their potential contribution to practice in the organization.
10. References
11. Work plan of the project

Students are required to submit two hard copies of the proposal, one to the assigned Supervisor and another to
the Program Coordinator. A poorly written proposal will not be accepted under ANY circumstances (and will
be returned for revisions and re-writing).

The proposal once submitted will be evaluated and necessary feedback will be provided by the Supervisor for
further improvement.

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Final Report

A poorly written paper will not be accepted under ANY circumstances (and will be returned to you for revisions
and re-writing). The content and depth of the report will have an impact on you passing the project.

Cover Page (as illustrated in Annex I)

Title of the project (with name of the organization)

Participant name, KU Registration Number
Project Supervisors name and title
Submission date

Executive Summary

The summary is one of the most important elements of the report and can be the most difficult aspect to write. It
is best written after the body of the report is completed, as that provides an overview on which summary is to be
based. The purpose of the summary is to give the first-time reader an idea of what the report is about. It also can
serve as a reminder of others not able to read the entire report in detail, but who might have a general interest in
such a report.

The summary must be both descriptive and action-centered and not more than two full page in length. The
material in the summary need not necessarily follow the order of the report itself. The emphasis is on facts and
results. A helpful way to look at the decision about what is important to include in the summary is to think
about being forced to reduce the report to a page or two. You should consider including the following without
mentioning the subtitles:

Brief problem identification in the organization and need for the enquiry.
Problem statement or research questions
Outline of conceptual or theoretical framework if used
Research methodology used
Main findings
Conclusions and recommendations.

Other Preliminary Matters

The report should be organized in the chapters as per the format presented in Annex II.
All the tables and figures should be properly labeled. Placing and numbering should be as per APA
format and their lists should be provided after the table of contents separately.
All the acronyms used in the report should be listed and presented after the list of tables and figures.

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Main Body of Report

The main body of the final report should be presented in A4 book size with Times New Roman (12
point) font within the paper margin of 1.5 at left and 1.0 at the other three sides. The lines should be
double-spaced.
Main body of the report should be divided into five chapters.
No header and footer are allowed to be placed in the report to make the report fancy. Only insert the
page numbers at the bottom of the page as footers.
Work citation and referencing in the report should be in APA (American Psychological Association)
Format (website: www.apa.org). Please refer publication manual of American Psychological
Association, 6th edition.
All the supporting facts, figures, and related documents which do not fit within the report, but support
the report should be included in the list of annexes.

Two copies of Final Report along with a CD must be submitted to the Supervisor and the Program
Coordinator on the day of project report submission.

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Evaluation and Grading of Business Research Project

The Project Supervisor will evaluate the Proposal and Project Report on the basis of the following relevant
criteria:

1. Articulation of the project theme, issue, or area. Selection of significant topic with rationale indicating
the need of the study to solve the noticeable as well as obscure organizational problems that managers or
other staffs in the organization are facing, articulation of corresponding research problems and objectives,
and their clear understanding and presentation with accurate statements.
2. Review of literature. Presentation of adequate review of literature in the identified problem area.
3. Conceptual frame work. Articulation of project theme and issues using relevant theoretical / conceptual
frame work generated from the review of literature.
4. Methodological design and process adopted. Selection of appropriate and adequate methodological
process to address the research objectives, and proper and competent use of research design, data collection
methods, instruments and corresponding data analysis to answer the research questions or objectives.
5. Collection, compilation, and analysis of date. Adequacy and relevance of data, use of proper data
collection method, and format for data compilation and presentation consistent with methodological design
and process, and theoretical /conceptual framework.
6. Interpretation of the findings. Adequacy, accuracy and depth of interpretation the findings of data
analysis, and discussion on findings.
7. Summary of findings, suggestions/recommendations and the implementation plan: Summary of
findings, suggestions, and implementation plan in the form of a Gantt chart.
8. Presentation and organization of the report. Adoption of professional project report format, logical
sequence, user-friendly organization, and use of simple, accurate and professional style.
9. Use of professional writing styles and norms. Use of professional writing styles and norms in
management disciplines, including grammatical accuracy and smooth flow of writing.
10. Demonstration of creativity and professional approach. Use of creative and innovative approaches in
handling the project, use of professional approaches in handling the project.

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Final Evaluation

Evaluators as nominated by the University will carry out the final evaluation of the project report. Students may
be asked to make a presentation of their project at a date and time specified by Kathmandu University in the
presence of panel of faculties, including project supervisor.

Important

The time schedule and deadlines must be strictly followed.

Delayed submission of report will lead to loss of grades or complete refusal of the same.
Delayed submission of progress reports might lead to refusal of the final project report.
If any part of the report is found copied, it will lead to complete refusal of the same.
Failure to complete the project within specified time irrespective of the reason will result in F grade.
No acceptance or refusal of the report or receiving of F grade will require the participant to re-register
for the project.

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 Annex I: Format of Cover Page

TITLE OF THE REPORT

Sub Title (if any)
(with name of the organization)

Under Graduate Applied Business Research Project Report

submitted to
Kathmandu University School of Management

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the

Bachelor of Business Administration/ Bachelor of Business Information System

Submitted By

Name of the Candidate

KU Registration Number

Under the supervision of

Name and Title of the Supervisor

Date of submission

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 Annex II: Format of Table of Contents

Page

Declaration
Acknowledgement
Executive Summary
Table of Contents
List of Tables
List of Figures
List of Acronyms

Chapter I: Introduction
1.1 Background of the project
1.2 Problem statement
1.3 Objectives of the project
1.3 Organization of the project report
Chapter II: Literature Review
Sub-sections as required
Chapter III: Method
Sub-sections as required
Chapter IV: Analysis and Findings
Sub-sections as required
Chapter V: Summary, Suggestions and Implementation Plan
Sub-sections as required

References

Annexes

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