2. Research Questions:
Research is about questions – you need to present 2 closely related questions that help you investigate an academic problem worthy of research.
*Example sub-questions[1]:
1. To what extent do ICT organisations within an alliance set out to learn from each other?
2. How do ICT organisations share and learn from their collective experiences and the topics of that learning?
3. Literature Review (approx. 1000 words)
Good research questions evolve as you read.
Many scholars will have published studies in areas related to your chosen topic area. As you read and review the literature on your topic, think about where your proposed research study will fit into the research literature.
• Can you add something new to what has been done already?
o E.g. you may have critically reviewed a particular area of literature relating to your chosen topic and discovered that something (e.g. a relationship, effect or cause) is unclear or not very well understood.
o You may find contradictory results in different studies.
o There may be a lot of research in one industry or country – but not in others.
o Maybe you want to test a theory which you argue could help explain something better than what has already been done?
• What will your proposed research study do to help us understand more about your topic?
• Ensure you make it as clear as possible to the reader how your reading helped you design your research questions – explain how your research idea is original.
The literature review should help you decide what you want to research, and why.
Conclude your literature review by summarising the links between your literature review and your research questions.
Ensure you:
1. Provide a literature review that is relevant to your research idea
2. Identify the main theoretical concepts (in your chosen topic area)
3. Cover a range of academic sources (including recently published studies)
4. Use the review to present an argument for your own research
Your literature review is not looking to answer your research questions.
Please note: Citing just 3 sources from the Internet is not a literature review – you need to read and reference academic texts and journals. As a guide, aim for a minimum of 12 different academic sources.
