ISEM 3120 Seminar ISEM

1
ISEM 3120Seminar ISEM

• Objective(s)
• This year, the focus of this subject is to
  firstly teach you how to conduct a research
  project, and secondly pick up some up-to-date MIS
  practices or issues later!
• Why (reason, justification!)?

(p2)
2

• They are directly related to your BBA project so
  that this subject will strengthen your ability in
  conducting your BBA project later!
• Outline of this subject

(p3)
3
Outlines of this subject

• See handout
• Separate into three main sections
• the first 6 weeks will follow the assigned text
• the last 5-6 weeks will teach statistical methods
  and
• selected IT related topics
• All these materials are related to your BBA
  projects. (How?)

(p4)
4

• Answer
• We can see the relationship of this subject by
  comparing the way in which the mark distribution
  of your BBA project is being outlined
• BBA mark distribution

(p5)
5
The evaluation of your BBA project is based on
the following criteria Research proposal
15 Title Background Research questions and
objectives Methodology Timescale Resources, if
applicable References Research report
65 Problem development Research
methodology Analytical skills Findings/in
terpretation Presentation Recommendation/
Conclusion Progress report
5 Presentation 15
(p6)
6

• Here, this subject covers all of the above
  materials except the presentation, which is not
  the scope of this subject.
• Back to our basic question here!
• We consider BBA project is a research work, why?
• Is it difficult to understand this question?

(p7)
7

• Let rephrase it and ask ourselves, what factors
  make a work/output be considered as a research?
• Better yet, ask ourselves What is a research?

(p8)
8

• In todays lecture, we answer this question by
  examining the following points
• what makes a research be a research work
• what is the focus point(s) of a research
• types of research works
• research framework
• how to select a research topic
• how to initiate a research idea
• how to design a refined the result of point 6
• how to present a research proposal

(p9)
(p10)
(p11)
(p13)
(p15)
(p16)
(p18)
(p19)
(p21)
9

• 1. What kind of product/output is considered as
  research works (p5 of text)?
• data are collected systematically
• data are interpreted systematically
• there is a clear purpose (objective) to reveal
  the true facts of an event (based on a model)!
• (Question what are the most problematic concepts
  of research findings from those we learnt from
  the newspapers, magazines or news on TV?)

(p8)
10

• 2. The focus points of a research work (p5 of
  text)
• the way in which managers draw on knowledge
  developed by other disciplines (why?)
• the fact of findings draw personal or commercial
  advantages (must be a purpose, such as
  eBusiness!)
• the fact of findings allows one to draw some form
  of action or account of the practical
  consequences (why?)

(p8)
11

• 3. Two basic types of research work (p9, Figure
  1.1)
• Basic research (expand of knowledge , that is
  universal principle/standard relating to the
  process, such as the societal behavior)
• Applied research (improve understanding of
  particular business domain, that is
  timescales/setting is in a small scale)

(p12)
(p8)
12
(eg. Solving a group technology problem For
factoring automation) http//www.hkbu.edu.hk/vws
chow/KC-117.pdf
(eg. To study how social capital affect To people
sharing information in co.) http//www.hkbu.edu.hk
/vwschow/IM2008.pdf
(p11)
12
13

• 4. A research works should carry out in a
  systematic fashion, such as the process show in
  Figure 1.2 of p11)
• ideas of a research work (see Knowledge
  management paper for example!)
• formulate the research topic
• review of what have taken done in literature
  (that is past works done by others)
• select a research strategy or approach
• feasibility of the research and review its
  ethical issues
• plan for its data collection
• analysis of its data (that is using an readily
  available research methods)
• present the result findings and its
  interpretation
• submit a report and make a presentation

(p14)
(p8)
14
(p13)
14
15
How to select a good research topic(Box 2.2,
p24) ?

• find an research area that interests you the most
• check if there is any past works support to your
  ideas
• check if your research works is a feasible one,
  such as can those data which you wanted be easily
  collected, and that your project can be completed
  on schedule
• check if the nature of your research work matches
  of it needs (that is considering the matching of
  nature of your job/position)
• refine your research topics into a question
  format so that your objective is clearly stated

(p8)
16
6. How to start/generate/select a research idea?

• search/read past reports/projects/journal papers
  and keep notes of ideas that interest to you
• the ideas generated can be integrated by using
  method such as working up and narrowing down
  (see Figure 2.1, see next slide) so that you
  could first identifying a board view of a
  topic/real world problems and then focus on a
  particular application (why?)
• refine these research ideas by using varies
  methods, such as consultation, Delphi study ,
  rational thinking etc.
• refine your ideas down to one that you can
  clarify of its feasibility together with which
  you write down from a research idea to a)
  research question(s) and b) objective
• (refer to Table 2.2 to see difference between
  research ideas and focus research questions
• (refer to Table 2.3, p35 to see the difference
  between research questions Vs objectives) (eg.
  Is gender played an important role in learning
  the user of computers? Vs To identify the
  relationship between gender and the computer
  usage)

(p17)
(p8)
17
(p16)
17
18
7. Approach to design your research works

• identifying a theoretic work (or a theory) from
  literature a formulation regarding the cause
  and effect relationship between two or more
  variables so that variables can be tested.
• (Typically, a model can be developed and that
  variables can be classified as dependent and
  independent variables)
• developing intelligence gathering
  establishing the why questions for your
  research instead of what of relationships
  established in point 1

(p8)
19
8. Writing a proposal

• its intention is to a) organize your ideas, b)
  convince your supervisor (see Box 2.13, p 44 for
  example of A written research proposal)
• contents included the followings
• Title
• Background
• Research questions and objectives
• Methodology
• Timescale
• Resources, if applicable
• References

(p20)
(p8)
20
(p19)
20
21

• End of todays lecture
• Next week, we will examine how to judge if our
  research is a good product!