7co04 Business Research in People Practice

Students enrolled in Level 7 of the Advanced Diploma in Strategic Learning and Development must conduct business research in people practice. Students in this unit identify and define a research issue and conduct research in people practice. Students use evidence to build a research report, draw conclusions, and formulate recommendations to manage issues encountered in the business. During the research process, students develop a critical reflection.

Learning objectives

To complete the unit assessment, you need to know the following learning outcomes:

1. Researchers aim to make their organisation
2. s more valuable by conducting research.
3. Research methods in people practice are learned to collect data and justify its appropriateness for specific research.
4. To support people
5. and businesses, learners analyse data from research.
6. Students conclude and make recommendations for managing the future of the business and people.

The first learning outcome

• The business research project

Throughout the unit, learners will select a research topic related to any people practice area within the business. A topic should aim to create change within the organisation and add value to the general business environment and the people within. In choosing research topics, learners should focus on promoting employee engagement, retaining staff, promoting employee well-being, improving communication at work, and improving employee performance.

After identifying the research topic, learners need to develop research questions and then use evidence from journals, books, organisational reports, and government report to support their questions. Analysing the research literature is crucial to restructuring the review, as learners need to evaluate the different sources of evidence needed to understand the subject matter.

• Developing questions to address the research issue

Learners must develop questions that focus on the research topic to understand the research agendas and engage in developing research questions. Learning outcomes can be identified using these questions. First, they focus on developing concise research questions that are transparent and clear to the research audience. Students will develop analytical skills as they answer these questions.

The second learning outcome

• Research methodology

To conduct the research, researchers must collect the data they need. In developing their research project, learners should differentiate among the different types of data they might need. Research methods should be understood, and they should justify the best research method to be used to complete the research they intend to conduct. Knowing primary, secondary and qualitative research methods and the risks and benefits associated with each are crucial for learners. When conducting case study research, for example, they should have the ability to distinguish between survey research, focus group discussions, and observations.

Learners must understand the ethical issues associated with collecting data from respondents and how to relate to the research environment. For example, confidentiality is a critical issue to consider if the interviewees or respondents provide data that the researchers analyse to develop the research findings. Therefore, the learners should be taught how to store and use the data confidentially collected from respondents. In this way, the research is credible and ethical.

The third learning outcome

• Data analysis and decision-making

During the data analysis phase in the research process, researchers need to decide on the research method based on the costs and the chances it offers to complete the research successfully. Therefore, students should learn about the methods of data collection and analysis. A researcher’s interrogative in analysing evidence is also necessary to identify matters that enhance practical evaluation of the research topic. Therefore, learners should learn the statistical approaches to analysing data, analysing content, and learning to code to analyse data. However, these will depend on the research method selected by the researcher for the intended study. Following completion of research, the findings are presented in ways that provide evidence relevant to the research. While analysing and presenting the research findings, learners must act ethically. This is crucial because it inhibits bias on the part of the researcher.

4th Learning Outcome

• Conclusions and recommendations

Researchers effectively analyse data collected from respondents before conclusions are drawn. Research findings are integrated to present concepts, themes, and patterns relevant to the investigated topic. At this level, learners should condense and explain their conclusions concisely and transparently while still developing their research report appropriately. Researchers develop recommendations, which are supposed to be people and business-focused, based on the research topic once they have concluded and identified issues that may have triggered the research topic. Recommendations should be persuasive enough to influence the audiences to implement them.

Consequently, learners should clearly understand how they should communicate research conclusions to research audiences. Another vital issue learners need to consider when developing recommendations is implementation costs. The potential barriers to their implementation may prevent them from occurring, and you must be knowledgeable about identifying the mechanisms that can overcome the barriers.

• Critical reflection

After completing the research project, learners should reflect on their lessons during the research process. Their strengths and weaknesses become apparent through the development process, and they become aware of areas for improvement. This way, students will gain insight and confidence in implementing future research to create and support organisational change.

Conclusion

This unit introduces learners to researching different practices that need to be changed within an organisation and how they should conduct their research. Students learn how to select a research topic, develop research questions, conduct research using appropriate methods, analyse the research data, and develop conclusions and recommendations that are appropriate for the research issue.