I'll attach the master's thesis proposal guidelines and my approved concept note and please align with it. My topic is the Comparative analysis of the weak form efficiency on the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) Stock markets.
MBA Proposal Guidelines Page 1 MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (MBA) PROPOSED RESEARCH PROPOSAL WRITING GUIDELINES (AT THE MINIMUM, WHAT SHOULD BE INCLUDED) Preamble The MBA student is required to develop and submit a COMPREHENSIVE draft research proposal of about 10-15 pages. The proposal should provide an outline of the intended study and minimally include a short critical review of literature motivating the need for the study, statement of the problem, preliminary research questions and objectives, and planned research methodology. The proposal should be supported with sufficient recent journal articles, conference publications etc. it is in the best interest of the student to ensure a good quality proposal as this will be scrutinized by readers and assessors, who then determine whether the student may proceed with the intended research agenda. Below is the detailed guide of the minimum requirement of the proposal contents. The student, working with their supervisor can further strengthen the proposal document. 1.1 Introduction In this section just focus on exactly what is going to be covered by the chapter. Introduction is short and precise mentioning all what the chapter concerns in brief. Focus on the main issues that are going to be delivered in the chapter. Therefore, the introduction can just be done in one or two paragraphs. 1.2 Background to the study The section is the bedrock of the study. In short, in the section you give a general overview of the research issue that you want to investigate. It gives a clear picture of the problem under investigation. The section depends on what others have said about a similar problem. You are therefore guided by the other researchers’ findings. Thus you have to refer to literature in order to convince us that the problem under study is practical and others have said something about it. Start this section looking at the global view of the topic i.e. what other researchers say globally, narrowing down to regionally and then focus on the area of study. In the section you should vent out the research gaps and these will assist you in come up with a clear statement of the problem in the next section of the proposal. The research gaps are those that the current research intends to close. Magnify the problem as much as possible in this section so that the readers of the thesis become convinced that there was need for effort and expenses carrying out the study. Link the background to the statement of the problem. MBA Proposal Guidelines Page 2 1.3 Statement of the problem This is a section which is very important in research and it should be very clear to the reader of the thesis. Thus the statement of the problem is usually guided by the background to the study for it to point to the research topic. When stating the problem for research you should focus on the problem that you want to investigate. It should be clearly stated. Statement of the problem should provide some kind of evidence or proof (for example, what was the problem and who are affected due to the problem) 1.4 Research objectives or research questions Ideally, the student can choose either objectives or research questions. However, your supervisor will provide guidance on what approach to use. 1.4.1 Research objectives It is advisable to have at most four objectives for easy of management of the thesis. Objectives are what you intend to achieve in the research. These should be crafted from the research topic and set the tone for the research questions. This implies that when stating research objectives you are subdividing the whole research topic into researchable units. Based on the statement of the problem which is informed by the background to the study (Problem and its setting) and stated research topic, students are expected to state objectives in an unambiguous manner. Objectives should be very clear. 1.4.2 Research questions Have only the four research questions and these must be derived from the research objectives. Which means each research question should be related to a stated objective. The research questions and objectives are central in the research as the subsequent chapters of the thesis are basing on these. Therefore make sure you craft the research questions in such a manner that the questions are seeking answers for the research topic. In other words when stating research questions you are subdividing the topic into researchable sub units with the intention of getting answers to the whole research question. 1.6 Assumptions of the study Under this section you should have, ideally, not more than four assumptions stated. Assumptions are statements of what you believe to be obtaining on the ground about your research topic. That is what you think is the status quo about your study. MBA Proposal Guidelines Page 3 1.7 Significance of the study The section justifies the importance for carrying out the study. In this section you should identify the beneficiaries of the study, i.e. who is going to benefit from the study when it has been completed. Examples of beneficiaries according to your topic may be the Ministry, the government, the community, NGOs, etc. After identifying the beneficiary then explain how the beneficiaries are going to benefit from the study. This should be done in clear paragraphs where each paragraph is devoted to a particular beneficiary of the study. 1.8 Delimitation of the study On the delimitation of the study we expect the researcher to define the boundary of the study, which is you should give a clear boundary of what your investigation concerns. This means that in this section of the study both the physical and theoretical boundary of the study have to be articulated clearly. 1.9 Limitations of the study The limitations are those things that you anticipate may disturb you in carrying out your study. These must be related to the investigation that you are undertaking. Tell the reader the limitations that you experienced during the study. These should be methodological limitations for example. Then you should explain to the reader how you tried to address these limitations. Therefore, you should have a well-constructed paragraph or two on this. 1.10 Definition of terms Here define terms that you obtain from your research topic. About six or more terms can be defined telling the reader how these words have been used to mean in the study. 1.11 Literature review This section is central to the research topic. You have to indicate and say out what literature say about your study. In reviewing literature you have to have thorough reading of many sources with information relating to your topic. Go through this section by finding much on the research questions that you set in 1.4 above. 1.12 Theoretical/ conceptual framework Your study should be anchored in a certain theory. Identify the theory and give out its basic tenets. Align the theory to your study to see how the two can link. What lessons can you draw from the theory that assists you in developing your area of research? Read around several sources that are using the theory that you will have identified. Thus if you have the conceptual framework you are focusing on the concepts, the main concept underpinning your study. MBA Proposal Guidelines Page 4 1.13 Research Methodology Issues of importance under this section are as follows: Research design: Students should provide clear statements of either qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods designs that they intend to use. Students should explain and specify how they intend to use particular research designs in their studies. They should not merely provide the distinction between the three generic designs. Population of study: Students should where applicable, specify the population to which they would like to confine their research studies. Sample and sampling techniques: Students should clearly explain how they intend to draw samples from the target populations. They should specify how they intend to appropriately use either quantitative or qualitative sampling techniques to draw research samples. Merely describing what these sampling techniques are is not adequate. Research instruments for data collection: Research instruments and measures that would be used to collect data should be clearly provided and justified under this section. Data collection procedure: The manner in which data would be collected should be explained here. Precisely explain the steps you would follow to collect data from the sources using the above mentioned data collection instruments. Data presentation and analysis procedure: In this section, students should provide specific descriptive and/ or statistical tests that they would employ to analyse their data, and rationale. Mere reference to particular quantitative data analysis statistical packages and electronic qualitative data analysis procedures would not be sufficient. 1.14 Research ethics Students should provide detailed information about ethical issues and how they will address potential ethical dilemmas when conducting research. The section considers the ethical considerations that must be observed in research such as safeguarding the research participants, keeping privacy, anonymity and confidentiality of research participants, etc. Merely highlighting these ethical issues is not enough. You need to explain how you are going to address the ethical issues in your study e.g. how you are going to guarantee anonymity, etc. MBA Proposal Guidelines Page 5 1.15 Organisation of the thesis Tells what is covered in each of the chapters of your study. NB –Based on the IPGS Guidelines, you eventual report will have only five chapters, namely chapter 1,2,3,4 and 5. 1.16 Summary Summarize the main points that were raised in the entire chapter. The summary should be short and precise reflecting what have been covered in the chapter. Remember that the last sentence in your summary should lead the reader to what is going to be covered in the next chapter. 1.18 References Students should use the referencing format approved by IPGS [See IPGS Guidelines]. There must be consistency between sources cited in the text of the proposal and sources of information indicated in reference lists. Unless critical in the area of research, primary and secondary sources of information cited shall not be more than 10 years old. In the proposal, it is better to have not less than 20 references (i.e. what other scholars have written about the area of your studies0. RESEARCH CONCEPT NOTE PRESENTATION RESEARCH CONCEPT NOTE PRESENTATION NEL’SIWE PEARL NYONI 1st JULY, 2024 Proposed Research Title: COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE WEAK FORM EFFICIENCY OF SACU STOCK MARKETS Background: The weak form market efficiency is from the assumption that the prices of traded securities reflect all public available market information but may not reflect new information that is not yet publicly available. The Efficient Markets Hypothesis (EMH) is an investment theory which states that security prices at any time fully reflect all available information to the level in which the profits made based on the information do not exceed the cost of acting on such information. Problem Statement: Most of the researches on the weak form efficiency to date were based on the developed countries. The present study will seek to provide a comprehensive understanding of the weak form efficiency in the SACU market. Research Objectives: The study’s main objective is to evaluate and compare the market efficiency in each of the selected markets in the SACU region Sub-Objectives To evaluate the market efficiency in Eswatini To evaluate the market efficiency in Botswana To evaluate the market efficiency in Lesotho To evaluate the market efficiency in Namibia To evaluate the market efficiency in South Africa Compare the market efficiency in each of the above markets Research Methodology: This study examines the price of shares traded on the floor of the various stock exchanges in the SACU market for a period of time and observes changes in the share prices with a view of determining the efficiency of the market. Consequently, it is a longitudinal survey which is a type of correlational research in which the researcher observe and collect data on a number of variables without trying to influence those variables. Random Walk Theory will also be utilized in which future steps or directions cannot be predicted on the basis of past history. Research Design: This is a secondary research study, which means that it involves using already existing data. Existing data is summarized and collated to increase the overall effectiveness of research. This research includes research material published in credible and accessible financial websites and databases. Sampling Strategy: The population of this study is the 9 stock markets in the SACU market. A sample of 5 stock markets will be drawn for analysis. A convenient sampling technique will be employed based on data availability. Monthly data for the sampled 5 stock spanning the period of January 2014 to December 2023 will be used. Data