This module (BRPlan) is, directly, linked to the Business Research Project (BRProject) module
that students undertake during the last term. BRProject is designed in such way that students
conduct a research project in topics of their personal and professional interests. The task of
the assignment for the BRPlan is to provide a comprehensive and coherent plan of the
research project in the BRProject module.
In particular, students are required to do the following:
 Choose a research topic in the context of their programme/degree
 Write a 4,000-word summative assignment comprising of a 3,500-word individual
research plan and a 500-word evaluation of the choices made in the individual
research plan.
2.1. The Research Topic
Students can choose research topics in the context of their programme/stream that reflect
their professional and personal interests and represent contemporary challenges in their field
of studies. The topics should be expressed in such way that they are researchable in scientific
terms (focused and answerable questions/issues) and realistic (amount of time available,
access to required information and data and a reasonable level of implementation
requirements).
2.2. The Research Proposal
The research proposal is the plan that students recommend in order to investigate the chosen
research topic. It should demonstrate a critical approach to the literature using a good number
of reviewed sources (academic articles, books, etc.) with the majority of them being academic
and professional work and properly referenced based on the Harvard System. References
should be used where appropriate throughout the whole report.
The report should also inform decisions about the general research approach
(deductive/inductive view), a good understanding of the variety, the advantages and the
challenges of different research methods and techniques (e.g. questionnaires, interviews), a
plan of gathering data, any time frame considerations, possible and alternative ways to
analyse the data, any relevant ethical and access issues. The reasons for the choices selected
must be clearly outlined in the research plan and in the evaluation.

The main part of the individual plan should discuss the following:
 Introduction
 Literature Review (Background of the research)
 Research Aims/Objectives
 Research Methodology (Philosophy, approach etc.)
 Sampling (Population profile, sampling theories and sampling size)
 Accessibility
 Ethical Issues
 Significance
 Deliverables
 Required Resources
 Implementation Time Table (Gantt-like chart)
2.3. The Structure of the Assignment
The summative assignment is, essentially, a professional report. The proposed structure
includes the following sections:
 Assignment Cover Page/Statement Page (Available on the VLE)
 Title page
 Table of contents (Headings and Sub-Headings, List of Appendices, List of Numbered
Tables, Graphs and Figures, Summary of Abbreviations)
 Main Parts (see “The Research Proposal” part above): Headings/Sub-headings should
guide the readers thought the text
 A 500-word evaluation of the individual research plan
 References (All work that has been cited in the text)
 Appendices (if relevant and appropriate): They should present extra information not
information which is crucial for the research proposal. The main text, without the
appendices, should be complete and solid without the need of appendices. In
addition, if appendices are used, they should be numbered and referenced in the
main text (e.g. Appendix A)
The report should use a font size of 12 points, Arial or Times New Roman, “normal” page
margins (default A4 margins) and a minimum of 1.5-line spacing. For headers and titles,
please use font size 14. Your submission must have standard margins and page numbers.

In addition, page numbers should be included (both in the main part and the appendices).
For reference, there is a report template on the VLE (Home>Business Research Plan (MSc
Mgt)>Documents, Forms and Templates>Report Template path on the VLE)
2.4. Assessment Marking Scheme
The assignment is composed of 2 sections, a 3,500-word individual business research plan in
report format [80% of Module Grade] and a 500-word evaluation of the individual research
plan [20% of Module Grade].
Portfolio Area Mark
Individual Business Research Plan 80%
Business Research plan evaluation 20%
Total Marks 100%
The evaluation must justify the choices made for the methodology selected and identify why
the methodology is the most appropriate for addressing the overall research question.