Term paper: DRE 60051 The Theory and Practice of Conducting Process Research in Organisational Settings Examination start date: 23 Sep, 2014 09:00 Examination end date: 12 Dec, 2014 12:00 Part of process evaluation: Counts 70 % of DRE 6005 Total no. of pages: 2 Responsible department: Leadership and Organizational Behaviour FORMAL REQUIREMENTS – READ THIS CAREFULLY The paper must be answered individually. Collaboration is not permitted for the preparation of the paper. Doing so is regarded as cheating or attempting to cheat and is covered under the Regulations relating to Admissions, Studies and Examination for BI Norwegian Business School. Students are responsible to familiarise themselves with these rules and regulations. The paper’s front page must contain the following information: • ID number (7 digits – to be placed in the heading with right alignment. The student’s names must not be written on the front page.) • Examination code, course name and subject title • Date of submission and deadline • Marked “Confidential”, if applicable Recommended guidelines for layout are: • Type-written on A4 size paper • Font Times New Roman in size 12, and line spacing of 1½ • 5 cm. left margin, 2 cm right margin, 2 cm. at the top and bottom of the page (approx. 350 words per page) • All pages must be numbered The paper must contain maximum 20 pages, excluding any possible attachments. The paper must also include a table of contents, a summary at the beginning and a bibliography/reference list at the conclusion of the paper. These pages are counted separately from the main paper. You will find a thorough explanation of how to use quotes and references on the BI library webpage: http://www.bi.no/en/Resources/Library/Training-and-support/Citations-and-references. Please also refer to the Student Handbook on the Internet http://www.bi.no/studenthandbook (Information about examinations > Home examinations). The paper must be submitted within the deadline, completing these three steps: • Fill in and scan the PhD candidate declaration • Send the paper and candidate declaration as attachments by email to [email protected] • If you are required to submit the paper through itslearning as well, you will be notified by your course leader NB! The deadline is absolute. Late papers will not be graded. Good luck! 1 The purpose of the paper is to develop a research idea based on the literature in the course (and related literatures) and to turn this idea into a researchable project. The statement of the researchable project should contain the following: 1. The theoretical and empirical context for the project and a clear statement of the positioning of the project in that context. 2. What gap is the project seeking to fill? What are the main objectives and researchable questions for the project arising from that gap? 3. In the light of the above research objectives and questions, what research strategy and design is to be used, and why? What practical problems are you likely to face in getting access for your research project and how do you plan to deal with those access challenges? 4. What a priori constructs are to be used in the project, and why? 5. What is the data collection strategy to be? If cases are to be used, what will be the theoretical rationale for the choice of cases? 6. How will data be collected, stored and analysed? 7. How will data be tabulated and displayed to aid analysis and transparency? 8. What kind of support will you need from your supervisor, and why? 9. What kinds of theoretical, empirical and methodological outputs do you envisage arising from your project? 10. Where will you publish your work, and why? The paper will be graded on: 1. The originality and contribution of your research idea. Can you convince the reader that the idea is novel and interesting for both scholars and practitioners? 2. How will you translate your research idea into a researchable project? How well is your idea positioned in relation to current theoretical ideas and current empirical findings? What is known and not known in your research area? 3. The depth of your ideas and discussion and the clarity of your argumentation and your writing. Professor Andrew M. Pettigrew [email protected] 2