Proposal for the Standard Dissertation This proposal should contain the following information: • • Introduction explaining what your research is about and why it is important. • Your aim, objectives and research questions/hypotheses. • The theoretical discipline/theories that will underpin and inform your work to be written in the form of a literature review. • Your method(s) of data collection plus some indication of the people who will be involved. • A time plan for your research. (GANTT CHART) • References of at least 20 relevant and up to date sources. Content of the research proposal (1800 words) The proposals for the two different types of dissertation require more or less the same information and are the same length. The content is detailed below: ➢ Your name, student number and Course ➢ The Title of your proposed Dissertation ➢ Introduction (word guide 150 words) This is an introduction to the topic and a rationale for it being of interest and worthy of study. This should set the scene. It will either focus on why the research is of interest to the wider community (Standard Dissertation) or to the company (Work Based Dissertation). At the end of this section state the word count, but it should be no more than 150 words. ➢ The aim, objectives and research questions (or hypotheses) (word guide 100 words) This section is a very important section and may be the most important in terms of judging whether your proposal will be accepted. This is where the focus of your research will be apparent and it is probably the most difficult section to write as it requires you to have thought very carefully about exactly what it is that you will be doing. You need to state the overall purpose of your particular research (the aim) and develop this idea through more detailed statements (your objectives). From these you then develop your research questions. These can then be reworded and become your main and subsidiary research questions. An alternative to having research questions is to have hypotheses. It is fairly easy to choose a topic and read around it. It is much harder to identify research questions that you are trying to answer or define specific hypotheses that you will test. It is likely these will be developed further as your research progresses, but we will still be looking for evidence that you can define the focus of your study at this early stage and will have a clear direction to follow. You may have just one research question or it may stretch to two or three. If there are any more it is likely that you are not sufficiently focused. Do not confuse the core research question(s) with the questions you may want to ask in your primary data collection – the core research question(s) will be the overall, ‘big’ question(s) you are trying to answer by doing the whole dissertation. At the end of this section state the word count, but it should be no more than 150 words. ➢ Literature Review (word guide 1400 words) This should be an integrated essay style section and will discuss the key points of relevant literature that you have found on the topic identified in your title. Your supervisor will be looking for evidence that you have found some key and relevant texts in the topic area, have read them, identified some key themes and issues and can discuss them with a level of understanding. You should include key concepts/theories/models that will underpin your research and give a brief explanation of how these are relevant and how they will be used. This will form the basis for your eventual literature review and it is important for all research that you can carry out your research within an appropriate theoretical framework. At the end of this section state the word count, but it should be no more than 1400 words. ➢ Data Collection (word guide 150 words) List and discuss the methods you will use and the people involved. You should include: • Method(s) of research to be used (e.g. questionnaires/interviews). For each method the following should be given: • The target population (e.g. front office managers in 4* London hotels, travel agents in Croydon etc). • Sampling method to be used (e.g. simple random sampling, stratified sampling etc). • Sample size (e.g. 100 questionnaires, 8 interviewees etc). • Any potential access difficulties and how these will be overcome. At the end of this section state the word count, but it should be no more than 150 words. ➢ Time Plan You should put in a time-plan for your work which should start with the handing in of the proposal and finish with the handing in of the dissertation. It should cover all the things you have to do in between. It should take account of deadlines for drafts and include meetings with your supervisor and what you will produce at each stage. It should be done on a weekly basis with dates but not on a day-to-day basis! A table or Gantt Chart ➢ Referencing It is not expected that you have done a complete literature search for the proposal but it is expected that you have made a start and read around the subject – you cannot develop your research questions (or hypotheses) and literature review unless you have done this. Hence the Reference section should be a minimum of 20 references. This must conform to the Harvard System and be in alphabetical order based on authors’ surnames and organisations names with all different sources (books/journals/internet etc) integrated into one list. Websites must be fully referenced and not just be the name of a search engines such as Google. Wikipedia is not an appropriate website and should not be used. You should refer to the booklet on the Harvard System for full details on citations, quotations and constructing a Reference. The proposal should be on as few pages as possible, so should not: • Have a title page. • Have a picture of any type in the proposal and certainly not at the start. • Have a Contents page (the proposal is not long enough). • Have each section longer than the word guide (you will be penalised if this is the case). • Have Double line spacing. • Include a questionnaire. • Include any data or results. Detailed explanation: NO Specific requirements: The topic for dissertation is: Importance of basic accounting and financial skills and knowledge in private restaurants in U.K. lead to business independence. (Topic name may slightly change as i want to ensure reader understands me. Is about private hospitality business owners must be financially educated in order to run the business without an accountant. i.e. read the financial statements - P &L acc, balance sheet, cash flow, forecast, ratios etc, to make independent decision + there is no threat that business idea may bi stolen by new accountant etc) This is my aim and objectives i have created for a proposal dissertation. The aim of this dissertation is to examine the importance of accounting skills and knowledge among owners and managers of privately operated hospitality businesses in U.K. small enterprise Objectives; To explore literature related to business skills requirements of small and medium sized enterprises To identify key aspects highlighted related to finance and accounting knowledge To establish recommendations of accounting skills and finance knowledge for SME operator/owners To evaluate the level of accounting skills an financial knowledge among a group of small hospitality business owners in ??? Now write questions which directly address the above objectives. IT HAS TO BE HARVARD REFERENCED U.K. STYLE Essential texts Veal, A.J. (2011) Research in Tourism and Leisure: A practical guide. 4th ed. London: Financial Times, Pitman. (2006) 3rd ed is also available as an electronic book). Clark, M., Riley, M., Wilkie, E. and Wood, R.C. (1998) Researching and Writing Dissertations in Hospitality and Tourism. London: Thomson Business Press. Finn, M., Elliot-White, M. and Walton, M. (2000) Tourism and Leisure Research Methods. Harlow, Essex: Pearson Education. Long, J (2007) Researching Leisure, Sport and Tourism. London, Sage Publications. Further reading Cottrell, S. (2011) Critical Thinking Skills: Developing effective Analysis and Argument. 2nd ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Moran, D. (2000). Introduction to Phenomenology, London:Routledge Gill, J. & Johnson, P. (2010) Research Methods for Managers. 4th ed. London: Paul Chapman. ((2002) 3rd ed is also available as an electronic book). Hart, C. (1998) Doing a Literature Review. London: Sage. Jankowicz, A. (1991) Business Research Projects for Students. London: Thompson Learning Jankowicz, A. (2005) Business Research projects, 4th ed. London: Thompson Learning (Available as an electronic book) Levin, P. (2005) Excellent Dissertations!. Maidenhead: Open University Press. Reilly, K. (2004) Ethnographic Methods. London: Routledge (book on order so may not be in Library yet) Sarantakos, S. (2005) Social Research. 3rd ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Silverman, D. (2010) 3rd ed. Doing Qualitative Research. London: Sage. Walliman, N.S.R. (2004) Your Undergraduate Dissertation: The Essential Guide for Success. London: Sage.