HL Research Project
The research project enables HL students to demonstrate the application of their skills and knowledge to real organizational issues or decision-making. Students must select a real organization and the issue or decision under investigation must also be real. The expectation is that a student should gather primary research from the organization. The style and format of the report should be in the form of a useful working document for management.
Requirements
• Design and undertake research that either addresses an issue facing an organization or range of organizations or analyse a decision to be made by an organization or range of organizations.
• Produce a research proposal that should be used as the primary planning document and be presented in terms of an action plan.
• Provide a title for the research project that, to give focus and direction, must be framed as a question.
• Produce a written report that does not exceed 2,000 words.
Choice of topics
• Students should choose their own topic and organization.
• The teacher should approve the topic before work is started.
• Before starting their investigations, students must make sure they will be able to obtain the necessary data from the chosen organization. (For a variety of reasons, for example confidentiality, some organizations may fail to provide data which will undermine the quality of the final report.)
• Students must be aware of ethical considerations when undertaking any research. There is a need for tact, sensitivity to other people and respect for confidentiality.
Research Question
What questions can you ask of your chosen organization to help you develop a good research question?
Which decisions are you currently making that I could investigate?
What data could you provide me with?
Which personnel do I need to talk to?
When would be a convenient time to visit the company?
Can I undertake