7CO04: The terms of reference should state the prime purpose and aim of the project, outlining which specific business problem is being addressed: Business Research in People Practice Assignment, CIPD, UK

Learning Outcomes

• Be able to plan a people practice business research project aimed at adding organizational value.
• Be able to justify the most appropriate research methods to collect data for the chosen project
• Be able to analyze data to make decisions and provide business and people management insights.
• Be able to propose recommendations based on conclusions derived from the research and analysis.

Task

• The terms of reference should state the prime purpose and aim of the project, outlining which specific business problem is being addressed. This section should also explore the resources required for its completion in terms of broad costs and support, and the deadline date for submission. These must be precise, manageable, and achievable in the time allowed. It is a good idea to use a GANTT chart which shows a clear timeline for each stage of the project.
• This requires an analysis of published material and reputable online sources relating to the learner’s terms of reference and provides the underpinning support for the research questions. Sources may include:
  1) textbooks on HR/L&D and relevant papers in peer-reviewed academic journals.
  2) practitioner-oriented publications and reputable online websites, which offer a more practical treatment of the topics addressed in the project. These include CIPD Reports and Surveys, government publications, material from employer organizations/trade unions, and independent think tanks in the country where the research is undertaken.
  3) any other source which provides data on specialist areas of people’s practice. Since relatively few words are allowed for this task, it is advised that no more than 10-12 sources are actually used directly in the report; however, given that most learners will read more than that, the full list of publications should be cited in the bibliography.
• To complete this task, learners need to draw on the terms of reference and the literature review to identify one or more research questions to guide the remainder of their project. These can be in the form of hypotheses if they are using quantitative data or research questions for qualitative data.
  All the tasks for LO1 need to be integrated. As noted earlier in this brief, the final submission should be in the form of a business report.  Therefore, the tasks listed above may form part of an introduction and/or literature review chapter.
  Research questions are very helpful in organizing the literature review as they serve to focus the learners on how their research can be structured.