12 May WHAT PERSONAL ABILITIES HAVE YOU DEVELOPED OR DISCOVERED TO HAVE WITHIN YOU THAT BENEFIT THE PROJECT?
Nevertheless, during the course of the research project you may experience moments, where you feel “lost” and/or are uncertain as to whether you are “on the right track”. Don’t worry! This is completely normal. Every manager and researcher goes through such an experience from time to time, when they have to cope with uncertainty and to make sense of a new situation/development they are just confronted with. It’s a natural part of your learning curve.
Thus, if you “get stuck” or “feel lost”, don’t hesitate to contact Dr. Markus Wohlfeil, if you just need some advice or feedback on the state of your research project. He will be happy to talk with you about your project. But please note that he won’t do the project for you… ????
Guideline for Report Structure/Format
Your research project report counts for 80% of the project (= 40% of overall marks for the module) and should contain the following sections:
1. Title Page: This you should state the name of your course(s) and module, each student’s full name and student numbers, and the title of your research project. Feel free to give your report a creative title that reflects the subject of your research.
2. Abstract (max. 150 words): This should briefly summarise and highlight the nature and key findings of your research and what we can learn from it. It should encourage the reader to read the full report! As an orientation, have a look at the abstracts of some academic papers. (Font: Times New Roman, Size 12; Double Spaced)
3. The Main Body of Text (max. 4500 words incl. cited qualitative data): This is the actual report, which should be written as a double-spaced essay (Times New Roman Size 12 Font) and not exceed 4500 words in total; including the “consumer voices” (aka qualitative data) you may cite in support of your interpretations. As an orientation, have a look at how other academic papers have been written .
a. Introduction: This section should briefly introduce the reader to your project and highlight why it is important/relevant/interesting to know more about the aspect of a consumer behaviour phenomenon that you have researched. Thus, you need to state the purpose of your research and provide the reader with a quick guide how you will address the researched topic in your report.
b. Literature Review: In this section, you should provide a critical overview of what is already known about your research topic in the literature (i.e. academic journal publications, books, conference proceedings or textbooks ). What are the consumer behaviour theories that are currently used to explain this specific phenomenon? The literature review serves hereby also as an orientation to position your own research project in relation to previous studies. As it has become increasingly practice in consumer research to merge introduction and literature review into one large section, have a look again at some academic papers for inspiration.
c. Methodology: You should very briefly state how you collected and analysed/ interpreted your qualitative data in your research project. For instance: How have you selected your interviewees? Why them and not somebody else? How did you interview them? Where, how and for how long have you observed the consumers, participated in a consumption subculture and engaged with them?
d. Interpretation & Discussion of the Research Findings: Here, you should present your findings in form of a comprehensive analysis of consumption patterns that have emerged from your qualitative data (participant observation, phenomenological interviews & self-observation). You should thereby discuss your identified themes critically as to how they describe and explain what meanings the consumption of the selected brand, product or product category and any associated consumption practices/rituals may have for the individual consumers. In doing so, you should also explore and interpret the identified themes for their deeper, underlying meanings. You should thereby “give the consumers a voice” by supporting your identified themes & interpretations with relevant quotations or extracts from your qualitative data (or even add digital photos) . Furthermore, by linking your own interpretations to the relevant literature and theories that you have reviewed earlier, you should discuss critically how your findings support, contradict or add to the current consumer behaviour theories & literature. How do you explain the identified differences or similarities between your findings and the existing literature? If you have found an interesting theme that has emerged from your data interpretation and may add new insights to the current literature, you may need to review the literature again for additional theoretical explanation. Please note that this is the most important section of your report!
e. Conclusion: Finally, you should briefly summarise the fey findings and how they may improve our understanding of consumer behaviour. In recent years, conclusion has often merged with Discussion into one chapter by providing the last, summarising paragraph stating the key lessons. So, you are free to merge or keep them separated…
4. References: You must only list all those literature sources (books, journal articles, conference proceedings, newspaper articles, government reports, trade journals, magazines and websites) in accordance with the Harvard Referencing System that you have actually read and cited in the report. You must have read and cited at least 10 literature sources, of which 70% (= 7 out of 10) have to be academic literature! As a general rule, Wikipedia, blogs, newspaper articles with unknown authors, Internet news reports or gossip are not accepted as credible or trustworthy literature/ information sources.
Important: Make sure that the sources for EVERY SINGLE information that you cite in the text either directly or indirectly are referenced appropriately!!!
5. Appendices: Here, you can list any material that you feel could illustrate, support or substantiate your analysis and interpretations, such as full interview transcripts, field notes, digital photos or video files.
For practical guidance and inspiration, we recommend that you look up 1-2 academic papers listed on Blackboard (recommended readings). As this is a group project, both students have to write and submit only one research report together. Thus, all requirements with regard to word count and the minimum number of reviewed/cited literature sources refer to the overall project and not to the individual student. The word count of 4500 words applies to the main body of text and excludes title page, abstract, footnotes, references and appendices as well as your individual reflective diaries (which is the only thing you need to prepare separately).
Individual Reflective Research Diary
Due to the NBS requirement for assessing individual contribution, each student is required to keep a reflective research diary throughout the project, which is worth 20% of the project (= 10% of overall marks for the module). The purpose of the research diary is to fulfil two aims:
a. For you to record and reflect on your knowledge and understanding of consumer behaviour theories that you gain in relation to the consumption phenomenon you are investigating.
b. For you to record and reflect on your experiences and the soft skills that you develop and build throughout the research process, such as teamwork, critical thinking, creative problem-solving, empathising with and understanding the perspectives of other consumers, information sourcing, qualitative data collection, analysis & interpretation, etc.
As this is a reflective research diary and not a formal essay, there is no prescribed format, style or word count. You are therefore free to keep and submit a handwritten diary that incorporates drawings, poetry, etc. But you should make sure that we can actually read it! However, your reflective research diary should address the following issues:
1. Your personal background as starting point: What are your previous experiences in researching consumers? Why did you choose this particular brand, product or product category for your research project? What are your own personal experiences with the consumption phenomenon you are about to investigate? Would you consider yourself in the broadest sense as a member of a brand community, consumer tribe or subculture associated with your chosen brand, product or product category? Why or why not? What is it about this particular consumer behaviour phenomenon that you would like to explore in your research project – and why is it of interest to you? What do you hope to learn from this project in terms of a) consumer behaviour, and b) “soft skills” that may be useful for your future career?
2. During the course of your project: In relation to your research, record your personal experiences, thoughts and feelings as they occur during the course of your project. What new knowledge or perspectives do you gain from observing and interacting with consumers? How do they relate to the abstract theories you’ve learned in class or read in textbooks? Are your previous personal views of those consumers changing because of your research project? What kind of problems or difficulties are you confronted with during your project and how have you overcome them? In particular, if you feel “lost” during your research, in what way(s) are you coping and dealing with the situation? What personal abilities have you developed or discovered to have within you that benefit the project? Would they be beneficial to your future as well?
3. Do NOT just list every single task you do! The reflective diary is not a minutiae record of all the things you have done and all the literature you read, etc. It is a means to record your inner thoughts and feelings with regard to a project and, then, to review and reflect on them at a later time to become consciously aware and understand your thoughts and learning processes over the course of time.
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