Doctor of Business Administration

This module is designed to empower students to contribute new

knowledge to the field of business administration, with a focus on

specialized areas such as finance, marketing, human resource

management, organizational strategies, product and production

management, and business analytics. By completing this module, students

will be prepared to conduct original and publishable research in their

chosen field, a vital component of subsequent modules aimed at

advancing the state of knowledge. The aim of this module is the achievement of a well-crafted Research Plan,

which will guide students on their journey to undertake substantial and

sustained research at the MQF 8 level.

It begins with a series of short units that establish community within a

cohort of researchers and allow students time to finalise a choice of thesis

supervisor. The units would encompass a variety of topics that may range

from effective ways of literature review, understanding of research

methods, ethics in research, data analysis tools and techniques etc. The

supervisor must possess a DBA or PhD in the field and subfield of the

proposed dissertation, or, failing that, have published recent peer-

reviewed scholarship in that area. Approval of the match between a

doctoral student and supervisor will rest with the dean of the college, and

must be reported to Woolf’s QAETAC committee.

The module begins with a selection of topics suitable for students

embarking on a research thesis in business administration. These might

include:

● Doctoral Writing and Research Methods

● Quantitative Research Methods in Business

● Qualitative Research Methods in Business Innovation and

Sustainability Research Perspectives

● Applied Research in Organisational Behaviour and Leadership

● Contemporary Research in Business Analytics

● Action Research Approaches in Operational Management

● Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility

The goal is not a generalised introduction to business research, but rather

a practical preparation for students preparing to embark upon the thesis.

Although these skills are highly transferable to other research domains, it

remains the case that the purpose of the module is scoped to the specific

research interests of the cohort of students and available faculty.

The module results in a highly structured ‘Research Plan’ for embarking

upon independent research at the MQF 8 level in the subsequent modules.

In order to provide context for the submission of the ‘Research Plan,’ the

student will gain a proficient knowledge of relevant research methods and

planning. Thus, in connection with the core learning outcomes resulting

from the research plan, the student will additionally gain a proficient

understanding of the wider context of research methods and evaluate the

fittingness of the chosen method for their topic.

In this phase a student must, under the guidance of their supervisor:

1. Propose his or her thesis topic

2. Identify a provisional title

3. Evaluate research methods and select a strategy

4. Write an abstract of the proposed research project

5. Compose a provisional table of contents for the thesis

6. Compose an annotated bibliography

7. Write a literature survey covering relevant primary and secondary

sources

8. Schedule a timeline to completion, including a work agreement

between the student and supervisor

The thesis supervisor finally prepares the student for external

examination of the ‘Research Plan.’

By the end of the first year, if not earlier, the Research Plan is submitted as

a digital portfolio containing six elements:

1. Provisional thesis title

2. Abstract

3. Expanded table of contents

4. Literature survey

5. Annotated bibliography

6. Timeline to completion.

The Research Plan provides students with a clear framework to guide

their research question, a structure into which they can fit their scholarly

research, and a pathway to the completion of the thesis. The Research

Plan also formally specifies the discipline the student is studying; this

discipline must also be the supervisor’s scholarly field. During the module,

students meet with their supervisor twice per month.

The student’s attention is directed to literature on the topic of the

proposed thesis, and thus methodological research guidance, beyond the

oral instruction of the student’s supervisor, will be provided within the

domain of study specific to the student’s thesis. This will vary

considerably, depending upon the topic of the thesis, and it forms a

natural component of the literature survey. (Thus, it is neither

appropriate nor possible to list here the bibliographic references that will

be needed by the student. We have, however, provided valuable works of

general research guidance and reference, and works to aid the student in

evaluating the best research method for the thesis.) Although the nature

of the training will vary by discipline and by the amount of focus on

human subjects, the supervisor will include scholarly ethics as a topic

during this period.

The ‘Research Plan’ is submitted to be examined by an academic in the

same field, selected by the thesis supervisor with the approval of the

college dean (for the role of college deans, see Woolf’s MFHEA-approved

Policy of Quality Assurance). The examining academic must possess a

research doctorate.

This module on Research Development and Progress Review helps a student who has just completed the ‘Research Plan’ to undertake a cadence of supervised, original research leading to a substantial portion of their research thesis being completed. The focus of this module is on the actual work of research, whether that be in the library, working with datasets, developing data management plans, ethical approval, conducting interviews or surveys, or deep reading in the scholarship on a chosen topic, producing extensive notes and questions, and rough drafts of chapters or thesis sections. In addition to direct intervention on the student’s work, faculty contributions might include exploring innovative new research methods, research integrity, or, where relevant, implications for policy and other applications.

In this module, the aims of the methodology module are fulfilled and the research of the past two years is brought into one overarching argument. The thesis will constitute a substantial, original, independent piece of research, which is clearly articulated in relation to the primary evidence and secondary literature, and which is organised in relation to the plan first envisaged in the methodology module.

This module on Research Development and Progress Review helps a student who has just completed the ‘Research Plan’ to undertake a cadence of supervised, original research leading to a substantial portion of their research thesis being completed. The focus of this module is on the actual work of research, whether that be in the library, working with datasets, developing data management plans, ethical approval, conducting interviews or surveys, or deep reading in the scholarship on a chosen topic, producing extensive notes and questions, and rough drafts of chapters or thesis sections. In addition to direct intervention on the student’s work, faculty contributions might include exploring innovative new research methods, research integrity, or, where relevant, implications for policy and other applications.

This module on Research Development and Progress Review helps a student who has just completed the ‘Research Plan’ to undertake a cadence of supervised, original research leading to a substantial portion of their research thesis being completed. The focus of this module is on the actual work of research, whether that be in the library, working with datasets, developing data management plans, ethical approval, conducting interviews or surveys, or deep reading in the scholarship on a chosen topic, producing extensive notes and questions, and rough drafts of chapters or thesis sections. In addition to direct intervention on the student’s work, faculty contributions might include exploring innovative new research methods, research integrity, or, where relevant, implications for policy and other applications.

This module on Research Development and Progress Review helps a student who has just completed the ‘Research Plan’ to undertake a cadence of supervised, original research leading to a substantial portion of their research thesis being completed. The focus of this module is on the actual work of research, whether that be in the library, working with datasets, developing data management plans, ethical approval, conducting interviews or surveys, or deep reading in the scholarship on a chosen topic, producing extensive notes and questions, and rough drafts of chapters or thesis sections. In addition to direct intervention on the student’s work, faculty contributions might include exploring innovative new research methods, research integrity, or, where relevant, implications for policy and other applications.

This module on Research Development and Progress Review helps a student who has just completed the ‘Research Plan’ to undertake a cadence of supervised, original research leading to a substantial portion of their research thesis being completed. The focus of this module is on the actual work of research, whether that be in the library, working with datasets, developing data management plans, ethical approval, conducting interviews or surveys, or deep reading in the scholarship on a chosen topic, producing extensive notes and questions, and rough drafts of chapters or thesis sections. In addition to direct intervention on the student’s work, faculty contributions might include exploring innovative new research methods, research integrity, or, where relevant, implications for policy and other applications.

This module on Research Development and Progress Review helps a student who has just completed the ‘Research Plan’ to undertake a cadence of supervised, original research leading to a substantial portion of their research thesis being completed. The focus of this module is on the actual work of research, whether that be in the library, working with datasets, developing data management plans, ethical approval, conducting interviews or surveys, or deep reading in the scholarship on a chosen topic, producing extensive notes and questions, and rough drafts of chapters or thesis sections. In addition to direct intervention on the student’s work, faculty contributions might include exploring innovative new research methods, research integrity, or, where relevant, implications for policy and other applications.

This module on Research Development and Progress Review helps a student who has just completed the ‘Research Plan’ to undertake a cadence of supervised, original research leading to a substantial portion of their research thesis being completed. The focus of this module is on the actual work of research, whether that be in the library, working with datasets, developing data management plans, ethical approval, conducting interviews or surveys, or deep reading in the scholarship on a chosen topic, producing extensive notes and questions, and rough drafts of chapters or thesis sections. In addition to direct intervention on the student’s work, faculty contributions might include exploring innovative new research methods, research integrity, or, where relevant, implications for policy and other applications.

This module on Research Development and Progress Review helps a student who has just completed the ‘Research Plan’ to undertake a cadence of supervised, original research leading to a substantial portion of their research thesis being completed. The focus of this module is on the actual work of research, whether that be in the library, working with datasets, developing data management plans, ethical approval, conducting interviews or surveys, or deep reading in the scholarship on a chosen topic, producing extensive notes and questions, and rough drafts of chapters or thesis sections. In addition to direct intervention on the student’s work, faculty contributions might include exploring innovative new research methods, research integrity, or, where relevant, implications for policy and other applications.

This module on Research Development and Progress Review helps a student who has just completed the ‘Research Plan’ to undertake a cadence of supervised, original research leading to a substantial portion of their research thesis being completed. The focus of this module is on the actual work of research, whether that be in the library, working with datasets, developing data management plans, ethical approval, conducting interviews or surveys, or deep reading in the scholarship on a chosen topic, producing extensive notes and questions, and rough drafts of chapters or thesis sections. In addition to direct intervention on the student’s work, faculty contributions might include exploring innovative new research methods, research integrity, or, where relevant, implications for policy and other applications.

This module on Research Development and Progress Review helps a student who has just completed the ‘Research Plan’ to undertake a cadence of supervised, original research leading to a substantial portion of their research thesis being completed. The focus of this module is on the actual work of research, whether that be in the library, working with datasets, developing data management plans, ethical approval, conducting interviews or surveys, or deep reading in the scholarship on a chosen topic, producing extensive notes and questions, and rough drafts of chapters or thesis sections. In addition to direct intervention on the student’s work, faculty contributions might include exploring innovative new research methods, research integrity, or, where relevant, implications for policy and other applications.

This module on Research Development and Progress Review helps a student who has just completed the ‘Research Plan’ to undertake a cadence of supervised, original research leading to a substantial portion of their research thesis being completed. The focus of this module is on the actual work of research, whether that be in the library, working with datasets, developing data management plans, ethical approval, conducting interviews or surveys, or deep reading in the scholarship on a chosen topic, producing extensive notes and questions, and rough drafts of chapters or thesis sections. In addition to direct intervention on the student’s work, faculty contributions might include exploring innovative new research methods, research integrity, or, where relevant, implications for policy and other applications.

This module on Research Development and Progress Review helps a student who has just completed the ‘Research Plan’ to undertake a cadence of supervised, original research leading to a substantial portion of their research thesis being completed. The focus of this module is on the actual work of research, whether that be in the library, working with datasets, developing data management plans, ethical approval, conducting interviews or surveys, or deep reading in the scholarship on a chosen topic, producing extensive notes and questions, and rough drafts of chapters or thesis sections. In addition to direct intervention on the student’s work, faculty contributions might include exploring innovative new research methods, research integrity, or, where relevant, implications for policy and other applications.

This module on Research Development and Progress Review helps a student who has just completed the ‘Research Plan’ to undertake a cadence of supervised, original research leading to a substantial portion of their research thesis being completed. The focus of this module is on the actual work of research, whether that be in the library, working with datasets, developing data management plans, ethical approval, conducting interviews or surveys, or deep reading in the scholarship on a chosen topic, producing extensive notes and questions, and rough drafts of chapters or thesis sections. In addition to direct intervention on the student’s work, faculty contributions might include exploring innovative new research methods, research integrity, or, where relevant, implications for policy and other applications.

This module on Research Development and Progress Review helps a student who has just completed the ‘Research Plan’ to undertake a cadence of supervised, original research leading to a substantial portion of their research thesis being completed. The focus of this module is on the actual work of research, whether that be in the library, working with datasets, developing data management plans, ethical approval, conducting interviews or surveys, or deep reading in the scholarship on a chosen topic, producing extensive notes and questions, and rough drafts of chapters or thesis sections. In addition to direct intervention on the student’s work, faculty contributions might include exploring innovative new research methods, research integrity, or, where relevant, implications for policy and other applications.

This module on Research Development and Progress Review helps a student who has just completed the ‘Research Plan’ to undertake a cadence of supervised, original research leading to a substantial portion of their research thesis being completed. The focus of this module is on the actual work of research, whether that be in the library, working with datasets, developing data management plans, ethical approval, conducting interviews or surveys, or deep reading in the scholarship on a chosen topic, producing extensive notes and questions, and rough drafts of chapters or thesis sections. In addition to direct intervention on the student’s work, faculty contributions might include exploring innovative new research methods, research integrity, or, where relevant, implications for policy and other applications.