Businesses Research

BUSA 2185: BUSINESS RESEARCH

Spring 2019

Research Project (Assignment 4)

Identifying Theoretical Basis of Research

(25 points)

Submission and Formatting.

- Typed double-spaced lines, Times New Roman, size 12 font, 1-inch margins, letter-sized pages (8.5 x 11 inches)

- Save as a Microsoft Word (.doc/.docx) file and name your assignment in this format Name_Last Name_BUSA 2185_Assignment 4

Now it is time to show the theoretical basis for your research. You need to show logical reasoning of your investigation. An important step in developing your research topic is to identify the theoretical background of your study. Theories should explain why things happen, rather than just describe or predict. Note that it is possible to predict events or behaviors using a set of predictors, without necessarily explaining why such events are taking place. Prediction requires only correlations. In contrast, explanations require causations or understanding of cause-effect relationships.

Here are questions that you need to answer to build your introduction part of your research paper:

Tip: If you make any statements/presumptions that are not your own opinion, you MUST cite them.

Note: You need to provide: Provide your answers with the questions below.

1. What is the main theoretical basis of the cause-effect relationships of your study? In this question, only provide the name of the related theory to your research. (2 points).

Tip: You can benefit from your previous Assignments 2 and 3 (theory section in your chart) to find out related theory for your research. So, when you are reading the article it is critical to take notes about the theories that was used in similar studies that you are investigating.

2. Definition of this theory with its citations (0.5 page) (8 points).

In this question, you need to define the theory. While providing definition of the theory, you need to use at east three citations (references).

3. You need to show how this theory is related to your research. (0.5 page) (10 points).

Under this question, you need to provide how this theory is related to your research. How it will help to explain cause-effect relationships of your study (dependent (effect) variable(s) and independent (cause) variable(s))

4. How this study will extend the theory? (2-3 sentences) (3 points).

5. Provide the references that you used. (2 points)

This is a very important part of your paper, not just an afterthought. All articles that you read and include in your text must be cited. Furthermore, any articles included in your works cited page must be cited in the text. Place the sources in alphabetical order and format the citations using APA format.

Tip: Example in APA style:

Furst, Stacie A, & Cable, Daniel M (2008). Employee resistance to organizational change: managerial influence tactics and leader-member exchange. The Journal of Applied Psychology, 93(2), 453-62.

Tip: You can find major guideline in the Attachment 1 in the syllabus (page 17) or you can use Purdue OWL Online lab for help with formatting your reference list: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/general_format.html