Module Directory

This module builds further on the knowledge and understanding of research philosophy, design and data analysis students gained in the Business Research Methods and provides an opportunity to final year students to carry out an independent research project to focus on a topic of their choice in relation to the degree course.

The aim of this module is:

• To give students an opportunity to manage a research project from beginning to the end, under the guidance of an individual supervisor.

By the end of this module, students will be expected to be able to:

1. Demonstrate evidence of a thorough and comprehensive understanding of relevant literature in the field of international business and entrepreneurship.


2. Locate and read relevant literature and produce summaries and critical analysis of the relevant literature.


3. Demonstrate critical thinking involving the consideration of alternative approaches and research methods.


4. Apply an appropriate design methodology to achieve aims and objectives of research project.


5. Use Gantt charts and time management techniques to plan and manage a research project.


6. Record plans, ideas, results, and reflections in a written journal.


7. Work as an individual to specify and design research project under the guidance of a supervisor.


8. Demonstrate written communication and analytical skills through the writing of the interim report and reflective journal, and final project report.


9. Discuss ideas informally with academic supervisors.

This module is part of the Q-Step pathway. Q-Step is an award which you can gain simply by enrolling on specific modules and will signal to employers your capability in quantitative research. Learn more about the Q-Step pathway and enhance your degree now.

Undergraduate students at Essex Business School (Southend Campus) are expected to complete a research project in the final year of their degree. The project can take a variety of forms but unlike other assignments it involves you conducting and writing-up a piece of original research. This final research project will be supported by the knowledge and understanding of research methods gained in the Business Research Methods module.

The undergraduate Research Project is the equivalent of one term module in your degree course and is expected to be about 6000 to 7000 words in length. The project runs in parallel with your other third year modules. You will need to apply and be granted ethical approval by the University in order to undertake primary data collection (details and information on Ethical Approval process are available on Moodle).

The supervisor will be assigned by the School. Once the project has been accepted, the student is advised to meet with their supervisor on a regular basis. The student must undertake a considerable part of the basic research for the project during the Spring Term. In the Autumn Term (week 7), students must decide their research project topic.

The project can take a variety of forms, ranging from empirical research using methods such as surveys, questionnaires, interviews and content analysis to library based theoretical work. The students will find that this can be a most worthwhile learning experience, and a good project is a useful reference for a postgraduate study as well as outside employment.

In developing the research project students will be using the framework for research skills and the boundaries of their research identified in the Business Research Methods module.

Students will be expected to draw on appropriate literature to construct a research framework and theoretical context, explain the logic of research methodology, data collection and draw relevant empirical findings.

This module will be delivered via:

• 1-2 hours lectures in weeks 2-6 in the Autumn Term and in weeks 16-22 in the Spring Term. The delivery mode will be twice weekly given embedded lectures on skills.
• Individual project work; supervisory meetings; voluntary support classes for quantitative research (AQM path).

The supervisor will:

• Provide guidance on the scope, nature and focus of the research topic.
• Help to provide opportunities for critical discussion of the student’s work.
• Monitor progress through meetings and encourage ownership by the student of the project (including form, style and content).
• Provide formative assessment of the research project.
• Assist the student in identifying appropriate literature and sources of information.
• Make constructive criticisms as appropriate and suggest appropriate alternatives.