Write the title of the project with font size 12, bold and centred

A Proposal submitted

By

Full name (ID)

To

Department of Business Administration

In partial fulfilment of
The requirement for the
Degree of
MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
In
[Area of Specialization]

This Project has been

Accepted by the faculty

FACULTY OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Mr. [Name of Supervisor]

Advisor

Research Facilitation Centre – RFU,

Iqra University
 Executive Summary

The executive summary is written after the first draft of the project is complete. The executive

summary is usually about 200 words in length and should cover the following:

 A short theme sentence to orient the reader

 What was the purpose of the Project?

 Why did you do it, why is it important?

 What did you do and what happened? (research methodology, data collection and data

analysis)

 What were the results or findings (patterns or correlations in the data)?

 What are the implications and what is your work good for (for example, how does it

confirm or disconfirm the literature, and what are the recommendations for

management practice or for government policy)? The implications in the executive

summary can often be summarised in one short sentence; for example, that managers

in your local country or region can use the findings from your Project Report to improve

their practices.

Note that the executive summary should not contain any citations or references.

Citations appear only in the body of the report.

ii
 Contents

Executive Summary ...................................................................................................................ii

List of Tables ............................................................................................................................. v
List of Figures ........................................................................................................................... vi
Chapter 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Background of the Study ............................................................................................. 2
1.2 Problem Statement ...................................................................................................... 2
1.3 Research Questions ..................................................................................................... 4
1.4 Purpose of the Study ................................................................................................... 4
1.5 Significance of Study .................................................................................................. 4
1.6 Outline of Study .......................................................................................................... 5
1.7 Definition of Terms (If required) ................................................................................ 5
Chapter 2 Literature Review ....................................................................................................... 7
2.1 Underpinning and Supporting Theories/Models ....................................................... 11
2.2 Empirical Reviews .................................................................................................... 11
2.3 Research Framework ................................................................................................. 11
2.4 Hypotheses ................................................................................................................ 11
Chapter 3 Research Method ...................................................................................................... 12
3.1 Research Approach ................................................................................................... 12
3.2 Research Design ........................................................................................................ 13
3.3 Sampling Design ....................................................................................................... 13
3.4 Instrument of Data Collection ................................................................................... 14
3.5 Procedure of Data Collection .................................................................................... 14
3.6 Statistical Technique ................................................................................................. 14
Chapter 4 Results and Findings .............................................................................................. 15
4.1 Analyzing the data ..................................................................................................... 19
4.2 Answering the research questions ............................................................................. 19
4.3 Hypotheses Assessment Summary ............................................................................ 19
Chapter 5 Conclusion, Discussion, Implications, Limitations and Recommendations .......... 21
5.1 Conclusion................................................................................................................. 22
5.2 Discussion ................................................................................................................. 22
5.3 Implications ............................................................................................................... 23
5.4 Limitations ................................................................................................................ 24
5.5 Recommendations ..................................................................................................... 24
References ................................................................................................................................ 25
Appendix .................................................................................................................................. 27

iii
iv
 List of Tables

S.No. TABLE Page

Number
1. Table 4.1: Title of the Tables 4

v
 List of Figures

S.No. Figure Page

Number
1. Figure 4.1: Title of the Figure 5

vi
 Short title of your Project 1

Chapter 1

Introduction

Project submitted by the graduate students must conform to established format and style.

Though RFU follows most of these guidelines, some exceptions are noted in this document.

Pointers stated below frequently pose difficulties for final acceptance of project. This chapter

should comprise on at least 4 pages (i.e., 1000 ±10% words).

The Introduction should cover five main items:

1. Establish the background field (the aspect of your degree studies that this Project will

focus on), and assert its significant position in theory or practice.

2. Summarise previous research (only one or two brief paragraphs at the most).

3. Indicate gaps, inconsistencies or controversies, and why they are important.

4. State the purpose of the present research (to address bullet-point 3), state briefly the main

aspects of how data was collected and analysed, and conclusions of the research (and

advanced students may add a sentence about their contributions (relating to bullet-point

3).

5. Outline of the Project Report.

This chapter, in particular, contains following sub headings:

1.1 Background of the Study

1.2 Problem Statement
1.3 Research Question(s)
1.4 Purpose of the Study
1.5 Significance of Study
1.6 Outline of Study
1.7 Definition of Terms
 Short title of your Project 2

1.1 Background of the Study

Firstly, state what the background field is; this is usually one of the topics in one of your degree

subjects such as ecotourism, entrepreneurial characteristics or financial reports.

1.2 Problem Statement

In problem statement, researches very briefly summarise previous research about that

established topic (as has been noted in the textbook and in some recent journal articles). Then,

point out that there is a gap, inconsistency or controversy about an issue within that established

field. For your project, the gap usually appears where there has been little research about how

managers in your country or region actually apply the concepts. For example, the gap could

be how ecotourism is done in Singapore or South Australia, the characteristics of entrepreneurs

in a manufacturing industry in Ghana, or how financial statements are used in Vietnam. If you

can, you might mention that this gap is an important one because the area is significant, with

supporting statements such as: ecotourism is growing in Singapore; entrepreneurship is critical

for the development of Ghana; free enterprise is growing fast in Vietnam.

Example of a well written problem statement:

Much of the endorsement research focuses on what characteristics constitute an effective

celebrity endorser, namely in terms of their personal attractiveness (McGuire, 1985),

familiarity (Kamins, 1990; Misra and Beatty, 1990), likeability (Erdogen, 1999), credibility,

believability and expertise (Ohanian, 1990). Other research examines whether the celebrity

endorser’s image is consistent with the image of the product, brand or organisation (Kamins,

1990; Kamins and Gupta, 1994; Lynch and Schuler, 1994; Till and Busler, 1998). Another

stream of research assesses the impact of celebrity endorsements for marketing purposes,

including consumer attitude towards the brand and/or the advertisement and purchase
 Short title of your Project 3

intention (Misra and Beatty, 1990; Lynch and Schuler, 1994; Tripp et al., 1994; Till and

Shimp, 1998). Recent research explores the deeper connections between consumers and

celebrities. Escalas and Bettman (2009) use McCracken’s (1989) meaning transfer model,

whereby the symbolic meanings associated with a celebrity are transferred onto the brands

the celebrity endorses, and in turn, these meanings are then transferred from the celebrity to

consumers through selecting brands that communicate their self-concept, ultimately forming

a self-brand connection. Thomson (2006) investigates consumer–celebrity (or human brand)

connections through the varying levels of attachment consumers feel for celebrities.

Although, Thomson’s (2006) study identifies the existence of consumer–celebrity

connections, research is yet to investigate whether these celebrity connections influence

consumer attitude and purchase intention in an endorsement context.

Although the business case for celebrity endorsement may explain why multiple

endorsements by a celebrity are common features in today’s marketing world, too little

research is devoted to examining the effectiveness of multiple brand endorsements (Mowen

and Brown, 1981; Tripp et al., 1994). In addition, the impact of consumer attachment to

celebrities on consumer brand evaluations is not known. As research only identifies the

existence of consumer– celebrity attachment (Thomson, 2006), it is not known whether

consumer attachment to a celebrity affects their attitude towards brands endorsed by that

celebrity. While the implicit suggestion of the meaning transfer process (McCracken, 1989)

is that a positive relationship exists between consumer attachment to a celebrity and

consumer attitude towards brands endorsed by that celebrity, these relationships have not

been empirically tested. The influence of attachment within the brand endorsement context

is still unknown.
 Short title of your Project 4

1.3 Research Questions

Research concerns are operationalized through research questions to which valid answers are

sought for during and are expected by the end of the study. Research questions should be clear,

concise, and as simple as possible, focused and empirically answerable. They should not be

questions that require a yes or no answer (Selamat 2008). They should be framed to provide

the guide for the conduct of the study. For descriptive empirical studies they are answerable

through descriptive analysis of data, for inferential study, they are answerable through testing

hypotheses that emanate from them. A study can have some research questions that are not

convertible into hypotheses, and then both research questions and hypotheses are

accommodated in such cases. This might call for a mix-method approach involving both

quantitative and qualitative methods. The research question should be framed in such a way

that it will not provoke “yes” or “no” answer. For example, based on the sample topic selected

earlier, the research question “to what extent does teachers’ satisfaction influence students’

performance in mathematics?” is more appropriate than “does teachers’ satisfaction influence

students’ performance in mathematics”

1.4 Purpose of the Study

Briefly describe some key aspects of your research, and in one sentence, describe what your

main findings were (to entice the reader to keep reading on). For example, ‘The purpose of

this research is to explore how one ecotourism operator in Pakistan actually manages a small

entrepreneurial business’, or ‘The purpose of this research is to identify the four main

characteristics of entrepreneurs in Pakistan’.

1.5 Significance of Study

This section highlights the current study’s main contribution. Often start with a clear, but

concise statement of the core research problem to be investigated and of the study’s specific

research objectives specific research objectives Then explain the academic (theoretical) and/or
 Short title of your Project 5

practical importance of the possible research findings…relate to the issues/problems discussed

earlier.

Example

This study seeks to extend ............by addressing the gaps in........ The study will investigate the

impact of four........... (1) ........., (2).........., (3) ............., and (4).......... In addition,

interrelationships among ............is examined based on what underpinning theory…... Findings

from this study are hoped….. (Theoretical)….. (Practical)….. From this study are hoped…..

(Theoretical)….. (Practical)

1.6 Outline of Study

The final paragraph of the introduction outlines the project report, starting with the sentence,

‘This report has … (four, five or six) sections after this Introduction’. In this final paragraph

you should then give a brief summary of the sections – no more than one sentence per section.

1.7 Definition of Terms (If required)

General Style Guidelines

RFU prefers capitalized chapter headings at the beginning of chapters. New chapters should start

on new pages with the first line of the paragraph indented. After the sub-headings, the first line

of the paragraph is also indented.

Margins

Set margins to 1½ inches at the left side and 1 inch at the top, bottom, and right side. Do not

justify the right margins.

Spacing

Double-space everything including subsections. Tables, figures, and appendixes may be the

exceptions when necessary for clarity or visual effectiveness.

 Short title of your Project 6

Acceptable Fonts for Printing Project

The only font recommended when printing a project is Times New Roman. The font size must

be 12-point all along the document. Typefaces that are either compressed or sans serif are highly

discouraged and should not be used.

Headings

Headings within a manuscript identify different sections and subsections. In an APA-style

manuscript, you can have anywhere from one to five levels of headings. When setting up your

paper, if there is no room at the end of a page to include text under a heading, put the new heading

on the next page. The structure for these five levels is as follows (APA, 2010, p. 62):

Heading (Level 1) Centered, boldface, upper and lowercase

Heading (Level 2) Flush left, boldface, upper and lowercase
Heading (Level 3) Indented, boldface lowercase paragraph heading ending with a
period.
Heading (Level 4) Indented, boldface italicized, lowercase ending with a period.
Heading (Level 5) Indented, italicized, lowercase ending with a period.
 Short title of your Project 7

Chapter 2

Literature Review

This chapter entails essence of research studies confined from various research

resources. It is compulsory to state the in-text citations here and its complete reference (in

the chapter of references) of the extracted research studies here to avoid plagiarism.

Objectives of the Literature Review

Because of the timeframe for BBA/MBA Projects and because of the nature of the degree

(which is coursework), the research is relatively basic. Therefore, a literature review will

suffice instead of a comprehensive examination of the literature. The least that IU expects is

that you have made some sense of the literature, and that you know the role of the literature

and its place in your project.

You have three objectives to fulfil when writing the literature review. Firstly, you need to

introduce and review items of previous research in the area of study. Introducing and reviewing

items of previous research takes up the greatest part of the literature review. Secondly, you

need to indicate a gap in the previous research by raising a question about it, or extending

previous knowledge in some way. Finally, you must outline the purpose or state the nature of

the present research. Statements that achieve our second and third objectives typically occur in

the first and last paragraphs and sections of the literature review.

Students often write and re-write the literature review a few times. Since each version will

serve a different purpose, you should not think you are writing the same thing over and over

and getting nowhere. Where you may have trouble is if you just try to take whole sections out

of an earlier version and paste them into the final version which, by now, has to be differently

conceived. The understanding of our Project changes day by day, therefore, what we have

written earlier might not reflect our current understanding of our Project.
 Short title of your Project 8

In practical terms, it is necessary to have an overall picture of how the thread runs through your

analysis of the literature before you can get down to actually writing a particular section. The

strategy which writers use as a way to begin the literature review is to proceed from the general,

wider view of the research you are reviewing to the specific problem. This is not a formula but

is a common pattern and may be worth trying. So if for example, you are interested in reviewing

the role of employee safety in the construction industry, the best place to start is to look at what

employee safety is and what it means to different organisations and industries before you

finally focus on the construction industry. This shows us the progression from general to

specific and the beginning of that thread which then continues through the text leading to the

aims of the Project.

Effective paragraphs in a literature review

The secret to good academic writing is how you construct your paragraphs. Let's understand

this further by learning how to structure paragraphs in our literature review. A good way of

understanding a paragraph is to think of it as a mini essay. The topic sentence tells the reader

the point the writer wants to make. The supporting sentences expand on the point, points to, or

discusses evidence, and the concluding sentence tells the reader what the significance of the

point is. In this way, the reader knows not only what the point is, but also what evidence there

is to make it, and importantly, why that point is being made–it connects the paragraph to the

overall argument. If you analyse the example below you will see that the paragraph in it is

written using this model. In academic writing, in-text referencing must be included. Here is an

academic paragraph that would be typical for the body of a literature review:

Self-awareness is a critical skill/ability for leaders. Self-awareness is the capacity to be aware

of emotions and feelings, moment to moment (Smith, 2013). If one is not aware of one’s

own emotions in an interaction, it would be impossible to regulate one’s emotions, which is

the second component in Goleman’s model (Goleman 1995; Jackson, 2011). For example,
 Short title of your Project 9

if one is not aware of rising anger in oneself in an interaction, the effectiveness of

communication may be impeded by an inappropriate outburst of anger. Thus, self-awareness

is not only imperative for communication but is also considered the foundation of emotional

intelligence (Goleman, 1995; Mayer, Salovey & Caruso, 2008).

Organising the literature review

It is through paragraphs that we will build the arguments in our literature review. Let us review

the example below which introduces a topic using the literature.

In the literature it is recognised that a dichotomy exists between agricultural and business

marketing because the marketing management approach is not prominent in agricultural

marketing theory. Johnson (2013) suggests that agricultural marketing has traditionally

incorporated everything that happens between the farm gate and the consumer, therefore

encompassing areas which ‘the purist’ may not consider marketing. While analysis of

government intervention and policy form the focus of agricultural marketing theory, studies

of the objectives and decisions confronting individual businesses are central to business

marketing theory.

The text moves on to specify issues at various levels. Although the focus is sharper, the

coverage at the same time opens out. Whatever the pattern which fits your work best, you need

to keep in mind that what you are doing is writing about what was done before. But, you are

not simply reporting on previous research. You have to write about it in terms of how well it

was done and what it achieved. This has to be organised and presented in such a way that it

inevitably leads to what you want to do and shows it is worth doing. You are setting up the

stage for your work.

 Short title of your Project 10

McDonald (2009) was the first to identify an agricultural marketing school of thought

focusing on business marketing theory, and this school of thought seems to be growing more

prominent. For example, Harris (2012) acknowledges that during the 1970s a minor paradigm

shift occurred in agricultural marketing with a move towards business marketing. He notes

how successive editions of Kohl’s agricultural marketing textbook (1972 and 1980) have

changed to describe the marketing concept. Jones (2010) points out a number of agricultural

marketers who have partially incorporated the marketing management approach, but mainly

focus on the behaviour of agribusiness companies (e.g. McGee, 2009; Harrison, 2011), rather

than individual farm firms.

By the time you conclude your literature review, you should have clearly signalled the

discipline and fields to which the literature relates, concisely represented previous work on the

topic area, and explained how your research will contribute to literature in your field.

The apparent differences between agricultural marketing and business marketing theories

may not present a problem because both disciplines examine issues which are likely to require

different theories and techniques for analysis. However, concern must be expressed at the

failure of researchers to comprehensively examine the marketing strategies undertaken by

individual farm businesses. Businesses in the agricultural sector include farmers and other

often larger and more sophisticated agribusinesses, such as input suppliers and merchants.

Business literature contains published articles examining the marketing strategies of large

agribusiness companies; however, little research appears to reach down to the farm business

level.
 Short title of your Project 11

Notice also how the research begins by focusing on the main topic area and then narrowing

down to the gap in the research. This is the point when you should formally state your research

questions and outline what you plan to find out from the project.

Hopefully, you have understood the importance of a literature review and what its essential

components are.

Following points will be covered (as headings) in this chapter:

2.1 Underpinning and Supporting Theories/Models

2.2 Empirical Reviews

2.3 Research Framework

2.4 Hypotheses
 Short title of your Project 12

Chapter 3

Research Method

Type “Research Method” (note, here and below, do NOT enclose headings in the

quotation marks) as a level 1 heading immediately after the literature review chapter on a new

page. This chapter is called “Research Method” and NOT “Research Methods.” This chapter

should be 3-4 pages. This chapter include the following components:

3.1 Research Approach

3.2 Research Design
3.3 Sampling Design
3.4 Instrument of Data Collection
3.5 Procedure of Data Collection
3.6 Statistical Technique

3.1 Research Approach

There are two main research pathways that guide data collection and analysis. Your research

is either exploratory (or theory building) or explanatory (or theory testing).

Exploratory research typically asks ‘what’, ‘who’ and ‘how’ questions which are answered

through description or discussion. Exploratory research is appropriate when not much is known

about an issue and when relationships between different components of an issue are not clear.

Exploratory research is appropriate when you are, literally, ‘exploring’ an issue.

Explanatory research typically asks questions about ‘how many’ and ‘what proportion’ which

can be answered with a number (or percentage) or with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Explanatory

research is most effective when a lot of detail is already known and when relationships between

parts of the issue can be clearly articulated. It is appropriate when you are testing something
 Short title of your Project 13

that is already known or when you are trying to find an additional explanation for something

known.

It is likely that you will be using exploratory research for your Project as you will be exploring

an issue in your organisation.

3.2 Research Design

The research design refers to the overall strategy that you choose to integrate the different
components of the study in a coherent and logical way, thereby, ensuring you will effectively
address the research problem; it constitutes the blueprint for the collection, measurement, and
analysis of data. Note that your research problem determines the type of design you should use,
not the other way around!

Types of Quantitative Research Design

i) Correlational Design/Research
ii) Causal Research
iii) Experimental Study
iv) Descriptive Study
3.3 Sampling Design

Sampling is a means of selecting a subset of units from a target population for the purpose of
collecting information. In the description of sampling design, define population, sample size
and sampling technique. In particular, pronounce all relevant characteristics of your sample
(e.g., number of participants, mean age, gender breakdown, etc.). Do NOT provide information
that might identify the participants, such as the name of their university of place of work, should
not be given. Rather, give information about the participants only in general terms, such as
"students at regional public university in Karachi."

3.3.1 Target Population

3.3.2 Sample Size

3.3.3 Sampling Technique

Probability Sampling
i) Simple Random Sampling
 Short title of your Project 14

ii) Systematic (Random) Sampling

iii) Stratified (Random) Sampling
iv) Cluster (Random) Sampling
Non-Probability Sampling
i) Purposive Sampling
ii) Snowball Sampling
iii) Quota Sampling
iv) Convenience Sampling
3.4 Instrument of Data Collection

These are the tools for data collection that includes questionnaire, interview, observation and
reading. Essentially the researcher must ensure that the instrument chosen is valid and reliable.
The validity and reliability of any research project depends to a large extent on the
appropriateness of the instruments.

3.4.1 Reliability and/or Validity of Instrument

3.5 Procedure of Data Collection

In this heading, details of data collection procedures are discuss as follows:

 Who will the data be collected about?
 Who will the group of interest be compared to?
 What locations or geographical areas will the data be gathered from?
 What categories will be used to identify the group of interest and comparator group?
 What sources of data should be used to collect information?
o Pre-existing or official data
o Survey data

3.6 Statistical Technique

This heading comprise the proposed research technique to test the hypothesis.

(e.g. Regression, Correlation, Factor Analysis, t-test, ANOVA etc.)

 Short title of your Project 15

Chapter 4

Results and Findings

Start your Results chapter immediately after the end of your Method chapter on a new

page. Type the heading “Results” as a level 1 heading. In your results section provide a

verbal description of what you found supported by reports of all relevant descriptive statistics

(e.g., Means and standard deviations and correlations) and inferential statistics (e.g., t-test,

Analyses of variance).

The results are identified in this chapter along with its interpretations and findings in

relevance to the hypotheses tested. This chapter should also include the Hypotheses

Assessment Summary (Table form). This chapter should be at least 4 pages. This chapter

includes the following components:

How to Collect Data:

Data collection is a critical part of any research process. Without data, there is no

research. Data can be either secondary or primary, as you will see discussed below, and there

are various techniques of data collection you can potentially use. First, determine what you

want to do in your Project, and then focus on the techniques that you will be using. The

following flowchart should provide guidance. It shows you the two general types of data that

you could use in your Project, as well as what activities and techniques you would need to do

to obtain them. Primary and secondary data are the two general types, and they will be

explained in greater detail in the following sections. This flowchart has been provided to give

you a snapshot of data and data collection in the course of your research Project.
Short title of your Project 16
 Short title of your Project 17

Secondary and primary data

When doing research in or about organizations the researcher needs to collect data

about the research problem.

A Project can use secondary and/or primary data – depending on the topic/specialization.

Projects in some specializations (e.g. Finance and Economics) tend to use secondary data

more, while projects in others (e.g. Marketing, HRM and Supply Chain) usually use primary

data.

Iqra University encourages students to use an appropriate data collection method. An

important indicator of what is an ‘appropriate’ data collection method is the method generally

used in practice when organizations are collecting information about issues similar to the one

investigated by the Project.

Secondary data includes all data that has already been collected by others – usually in the

form of documents or statistical information. Examples of secondary data that you might use

are journal articles, annual reports, industry reports, government reports, and statistics in

government databases.

Primary data includes all data that you collect yourself for your research project. You can

collect primary data through surveys, interviews, focus groups, observation, and

participation.

How many people should you interview or survey?

Based on experience it is usually Projects in the Finance specialization that use a

primarily quantitative approach. However, choosing a primarily qualitative or quantitative

approach will not only depend on your specialization, but also on what you would like to

study, which would determine the kind of data you will need from your respondents (i.e. the

people you will be interviewing or surveying) and your other sources. Iqra University
 Short title of your Project 18

recommends the following guidelines for determining the number of respondents based on

the research methodology you will use:

 In-depth individual interviews (used mostly for qualitative research): 5 to 10 respondents.

(You can, for example, interview between 5 to 10 employees or coworkers.)

 Focus groups (used mostly for qualitative research): 2 focus groups composed of 6 to 8

respondents.

 Questionnaire surveys (used mostly for quantitative research):

- If you are doing your survey in one organization (e.g. Employee survey) – 20 to 25

survey respondents.

- For a mass consumer survey such as you might employ in a Project on Marketing –

100 survey respondents.

 Combined interview/survey (used for either or both methods): Aim for around 5

interviews plus 15 to 20 survey respondents.

Collecting data through interviews

A common method for collecting primary data when doing research in organizations is by

conducting interviews. It is highly likely that you will be involved in interviewing people in

the organization to obtain their description and understanding of a situation and/or their views

and perceptions about an issue.

Whenever you involve people in your research, you need to obtain signed consent from each

of the participants. Hence, when interviewing or using focus groups, you should obtain

people’s consent by using the Individual Consent Form.

 Short title of your Project 19

Presentation of findings

In this section, look at the data, analyze it and describe the findings. It is often useful to

separate analysis from findings.

4.1 Analyzing the data

Describe the outcome of your data analysis. What does the data suggest that is going on?

What are the activities, processes and events that are happening? Describe your findings based

on the data analysis. When reporting what the data showed, start with the overall picture first

and then go into the details; that is, give the forest before describing the trees in the forest.

When describing information from interviews first give the main finding in your own words

and then occasionally use a quotation from an interviewee to prove to the reader that your

interpretation is correct.

4.2 Answering the research questions

Answer your research questions one after the other. Based on the data collected, present

the answer to each research question one at a time in separate paragraphs. For example, the

first paragraph will cover the answer to the first research question; the second paragraph will

provide the answer to the second research question; the third paragraph will include the

conclusion about your third research question.

4.3 Hypotheses Assessment Summary

When reporting inferential statistics report the following information: The observed

value of the statistic, the degrees of freedom, p-value and any effect size statistics. The general

format to follow is: F(2, 39) = 9.67, p = .014, l)2 = .06. When reporting descriptive statistics,

report group means, standard deviations, and confidence intervals. You should report 95% or

99% confidence intervals. For example: (M = 5.31, SD = 1.18, 95% CI [5.08, 5.54]). For more

complex analyses, you may report the results in tables.

 Short title of your Project 20

Important Note: Do not refer to the literature or compare your findings with what is in the

literature while you are analyzing data and presenting findings in this section. The linkages

back to literature are identified in the recommendations section, not in this section.
 Short title of your Project 21

Chapter 5

Conclusion, Discussion, Implications, Limitations and Recommendations

Start the Conclusion chapter immediately after the end of the results section on a new

page. Type the heading “Conclusion” as a level 1 heading. Start off this chapter by reminding

the reader of the purpose of the study, methods & procedures, major findings, summary of

results.

What are the three or four main learning points or principles that you and the reader can take

away and apply in other situations in the future?

In this section, look at the implications of your findings and make recommendations for three

different targets:

 the literature, that is, ideas described in your articles

 managers in the case organization

 other managers or other organizations

First, take a step back and explain how your findings relate back to the literature, that is, to

your textbook or to the articles that you have cited earlier. Do your findings confirm existing

ideas already written about? Did you find something new that could now be explored further

by other researchers?

Secondly, what do you recommend that managers in your case(s) do in the future? What advice

do you have based on the findings of your research?

Finally, what are the implications of all that you have done, for other managers and for policy

makers in your country or region? What can other managers, other organizations and other

industries learn from your findings? These implications for other managers may often be the

same as for the managers in the case(s) you investigated, but if the case is in an unusual industry

or has an unusual structure or strategy, you may be able to develop some additional

recommendations.
 Short title of your Project 22

Remember that the assessor will look at the recommendations and their justification in your

Project Report. Hence, identify clearly in this section what are the future actions you

recommend should be done by managers and policy makers in your country or region.

Provide links between your results and previous research and theory (with citations) that you

reviewed in your introduction. End your conclusion chapter with an assessment of limitations

in your research. Draw overall conclusions about the current state of knowledge given your

findings and previous findings. State why it is important to continue to pursue this line of

research and include ideas for future research. This chapter should be at least 3 pages and

includes following components:

5.1 Conclusion
5.2 Discussion
5.3 Implications
5.4 Limitations
5.5 Recommendations

5.1 Conclusion

The conclusions relate directly to the research questions or objectives. They represent

the contribution to the knowledge. They also relate directly to the significance of the study,

which is always, in some way, to improve the human condition. These are the major

generalizations, the answer to the problem(s) revealed in Chapters 1 and 2.

5.2 Discussion

This heading refer to the hypotheses, objectives, or questions. Assess the meaning of the results

by evaluating and interpreting. Speculation should be reasonable, firmly justified, and subject

to test. List the primary research questions from Chapter 1 and answer them with the results.

Cite several studies from Chapter 2 for comparison and contrast with the results.
 Short title of your Project 23

Example of Discussion Section

Our findings show that PRA is not related to ECD. Such may be due to respondents’ ECD

being less likely to be stimulated by their physical needs for protection and functionality,

emotional needs of expressing their personality, and psychological needs of identity

building. The insignificant relationship between PRA and ECD may also be explained by

the respondents perceiving less importance of PRA than SRA when making purchase

decision on ECD. As shown in the results, SRA positively influences ECD. In line with our

theorization, this suggests that SRA plays an important role in respondents’ eco‐fashion

purchase decision making although it only has some positive effect on ECD.

On the other hand, our findings are in line with prior studies (e.g. Lloyd et al., 1993; Roberts,

1996) that PP is associated with ECD. Prior studies reported that high PP discourages ECD

as fashion consumers have a tight budget (Dodds et al., 1991; Bratt, 1999) or do not want

eco‐fashion consumption to cause any sacrifice (Bratt, 1999) or inconvenience (Carrigan and

Attalla, 2001; Joergens, 2006). Our findings suggest that respondents are open to

environmental protection, and thus more willing to pay a premium for eco‐fashion to protect

the environment (Yeung, 2005; Harris, 2006; Lee, 2009).

5.3 Implications

It is important to remember that the study set out or was designed to contribute a solution to a

given specific problem, or to satisfy a specific interest or curiosity, so, to complete the logical

loop of the research process, such problem should be restated here, and the implications of the

findings of the study to the solution of this problem highlighted. What is the implication of the

findings of the study to the various stakeholders? What do the findings of the study suggest or

what do evidences from the study suggest to each stakeholder? What are theoretical, practical

and policy implications of the findings of your study?

 Short title of your Project 24

5.4 Limitations

What are the unavoidable limitations conditions (not within your control) surrounding your

study and within which conclusions to the study must be confined? What limitations exist in

your method, design or approach, sampling restrictions, uncontrollable variables, faulty

measurements, and other compromises to internal validity? For example constraining

characteristics of methodology/ design that tend to limit the interpretation and application of

the research findings. For example the constraint in, or lack of simple random sampling places

limitation on generalizability of the findings.

5.5 Recommendations

Recommendations must be such that would facilitate the solution to the problem for which the

study was out to contribute a solution. Present appropriate recommendations that follow

directly from the findings of the study. How can the results of your study be used? Having

found a contribution to the solution of the problem at hand what role can each stakeholder play

in implementing this solution? Be very clear, specific and practical in your recommendations.

Specifically, to whom are you directing each recommendation? Here again the

recommendation should target each of the stakeholders of the study. These can take two forms:

recommendations for further study, or recommendations for change, or both. This section

answers the question, “what other related studies should be carried out in order to add to the

contribution to the solution to this problem?”

Note: Do NOT give personal reactions such as, “I was shocked/surprised/disappointed to

find...”
 Short title of your Project 25

References

List the references here in context to the in-text citations used in the chapter of literature

review. Bullets and any form of numbering should not be used. The references should be in

alphabetical order as per the APA format with hanging indent.

Book

Example: Newell, A. (1972). Human problem solving. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

(for one author)

Example: Newell, A., & Simon, H. A. (1972). Human problem solving. Englewood Cliffs,

NJ: Prentice-Hall. (for two authors)

Journal article

Example: Carlson, J. G. (1985). Recent assessments of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.

Journal of Personality Assessment, 49(2), 356-365.

Magazine article

Example: Adams, M. T. (1998, January 17). Seeing the elderly mind deteriorate. Omni, 68,

62-74.

Newspaper article

Example: Cancer therapy brings new hope. (1996, August 17). The Salt Lake Tribune, p. A6.

Article or chapter in an edited book

Example: Mendelowitz, E., & Schneider, K. (1989). Existential psychotherapy. In R. J.

Corsini & D. Wedding (Eds.), Current psychotherapies (8th ed., pp. 295-927).

Belmont, CA: Brooks Cole.

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Web Site/Page - Informally Published or Self-archived Work

When discussing an entire web site (as opposed to a specific page on the web site), an entry

does not appear in the reference list, but is cited within text as shown in the following sample

sentence:

The International Council of Museums web site provides many links to museums, codes of

ethics, and the museum profession (http://www.icom.org/).

Landis, B. (1996). Carlisle Indian Industrial School history. Retrieved September 10, 2009,

from http://home.epix.net/~landis/histry.html
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Appendix

This chapter should include the supplementary material for the research carried out, as

follows:

- Cover Letter

- Questionnaire (one unfilled)

- Gantt Chart

- Outputs