RBUS2900 Business Research Methods

Reflection about topic identification, problem definition and research questions 

The research project started with different initial but vital processes. During the process of topic identification, I have followed the guidelines provided by the university and conducted research in different areas to frame an appropriate topic for our research. During problem definition, I have collected effective evidence about the problem area and communicated with the team members to design an effective problem definition, which has helped us to conduct the research project further. I have also consulted with my team members and re-checked the topic before submitting it for approval. Kougiourouki (2019) said that effective communication among team members of a research team is necessary to maintain good collaboration. I have participated effectively in the discussion sessions, which has helped to frame the research questions. I have discussed the issue of research through the help of collected evidence, which has helped me to frame the questions. I have also actively participated in the preparation of the team charter and discussed the roles of every team member. This has helped in workload distribution and helped our team to achieve project goals.

I have experienced this research project initially as a tough job but after collecting evidence about the research issue and setting goals I got confidence. Conducting the research is a great experience for me because I have been able to use my own research skills effectively to frame this project. I faced a challenge while defining the problem by finding strong evidence. A problem can be defined properly by presenting different evidence and information (Snyder, 2019). I have learnt that it is essential to conduct these initial procedures of research properly to achieve proper guidance for the further research process. I learnt that setting proper goals and questions helps researchers to find a proper way and helps them to remain engaged.

I first gained knowledge about literature review in week 1 which has helped me to understand the importance of selecting and reviewing the most appropriate literature in business research projects. According to Marttunen et al. (2017), a literature review helps to understand associated theories and concepts with the research topic. I have also gained knowledge about diverse perspectives related to the research topic of my project during the literature review section. It was challenging for me to search and select the best pieces of literature. I was confused about the best methods of selecting the most relevant ones among all of the retrieved pieces of literature. This course has helped me to mitigate this challenge by informing me about the best way of sorting literature.

Summarizing literature was also hard as one of my team members was confused about the findings. Then, I have asked all to conduct a mutual discussion about the findings of relevant literature which has helped me to make it easier for all to summarize the articles. After that, our team started moving towards developing the structure and the basic arguments of the literature. According to ŽemgulienÄ— and Valukonis (2018), it is important to identify different perspectives of different authors about a specific topic while creating arguments. I have reviewed all the papers and made a summary table consisting of key findings of each selected article. This is my contribution which has helped the entire project team to structure the literature and create arguments based on diverse perspectives of authors about the topic in an organized manner. Lastly, our task was to write up the literature review part. It was challenging to select the most appropriate words to explain our findings. My team members have helped me to learn different synonyms of words that can be used in the literature review to make it sound perfect.     

Reflection about methodology 

My learning of Week 9 of this unit has helped me with the methodology part of this research project. I have gained in-depth knowledge about the primary research methodology. According to Gaus (2017), researchers face difficulties to select the best methods for their projects. It is important to review different methodologies and match their features with the research requirements to select the most appropriate one for the research. I have tried my best to communicate with my team members while reviewing different methodologies and we have selected the best one based on our mutual discussion. I have learned that sampling is challenging if the researcher is making biases unintentionally. My learning from the course has helped me to select samples free from all kinds of biases. I have positively contributed in selecting the best sampling technique which has helped the team to gather reliable data and generate authentic outcome from it.

On the other hand, I have faced challenges regarding the selection of the data collection tool and collecting data. My communication skills have helped me in this regard. I have learned about the process of identifying biased data. It has helped me to include the most authentic data into the consideration of analysis. Moreover, I have gained another unique experience while interpreting the data. I have noticed that all of my team members are thinking from different perspectives about the findings. Then we shared each other's thoughts and used the combined perspectives in interpreting the result. This approach has helped us to mitigate the challenge of interpretation of results and drawing a trustworthy conclusion from that. I have learned about the importance of teamwork, respecting and trusting team members from this learning. I think this experience is going to help me in future research projects as well.  

Reflection about research experience  

During the total research process, unit learning every week has guided me to conduct this research. I came to know that conducting research in a systematic way is essential for achieving new findings. I have also come to know that professionalism, communication and problem-solving skills are necessary for conducting the research successfully. I have faced issues during the process of data collection due to my inexperience in using the tools before. Time management is also necessary to conduct the research successfully collaboratively with team members. I have struggled in this area but later collaborated effectively with others.  

Overall, conducting this research was a great experience for me that has helped me to improve different skills like problem-solving, communication and time management. I have also understood the necessity of cohesion between team members to achieve success in a research project. I faced different challenges like a lack of team cohesion. It is an essential factor that helps to improve the interpersonal connection between team members and goals can be achieved effectively (Salas et al. 2015). However, later I communicated with my team members and conducted meetings to solve this issue. I have also faced the challenge of lack of motivation during conducting this research. This has occurred due to inexperience, which was later mitigated by the guidance of the supervisor. I have learnt that a group research project can be successfully completed through the help of effective communication skills, good collaboration and the ability to conduct effective research. I have also learnt setting an effective method and using the proper tool of data collection helps to gain the necessary information, which can be used to answer the research question successfully.

Reference list

Gaus, N., 2017. Selecting research approaches and research designs: A reflective essay. Qualitative Research Journal.

Kougiourouki, M., 2019. Factors that Hamper Communication among Student-Teachers Working as a Team in the Framework of the Application of the Project Method-Research. Journal of Education and Human Development, 8(4), pp.184-188.

Marttunen, M., Lienert, J. and Belton, V., 2017. Structuring problems for Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis in practice: A literature review of method combinations. European Journal of Operational Research, 263(1), pp.1-17.

Salas, E., Grossman, R., Hughes, A.M. and Coultas, C.W., 2015. Measuring team cohesion: Observations from the science. Human factors, 57(3), pp.365-374.

Snyder, H., 2019. Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research, 104, pp.333-339.

Žemgulienė, J. and Valukonis, M., 2018. Structured literature review on business process performance analysis and evaluation. Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues, 6(1), pp.226-252.

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