Overview
The Applied Doctoral Research Project (ADRP) is the capstone project for the Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) program. As a capstone project, it is intended for educational purposes to allow the doctoral candidate to demonstrate the ability to conduct and present meaningful doctorallevel research. The ADRP is limited to a Single Case Study design focusing on a single organization, it is not intended for publication, and the results are not intended to be relatable or generalizable to the larger population. Because of these limitations, the ADRP is excluded from the review and approval of the Liberty University Institutional Review Board (IRB).
The ADRP will take one of two possible paths:
? Consulting Project – Single Case Study with Lean Six Sigma (DMAIC) Framework ? Case Study Project – Single Case Study
Consulting Project – The doctoral candidate progresses though the ADRP by first locating an organization with an applied business problem related to their cognate, and then conducting a review of the literature to gain insight and understanding of the problem. The problem is known in the literature and generally understood, but perhaps not well understood in a specific context such as a particular industry or a region of the country. Next, the doctoral candidate develops a research proposal and once approved, begins the study using the qualitative and quantitative tools found in the Lean Six Sigma Framework (DMAIC). Once the study is complete, the doctoral candidate documents the results, develops a plan to address the problem, and presents the research and plan to their Research Chair and the organization. The goal of the research is to gain a better understanding of the problem and its solution and thereby extend the current body of knowledge to a specific context. Students wishing to conduct the consulting project should be sure to include BUSI 830, Case Study Research Methods and Consulting Techniques, in their degree plan to gain a better understanding of the Lean Six Sigma tools that must be used in the research project.
Case Study Project – The doctoral candidate progresses though the ADRP by first conducting a review of the literature to find an applied business problem related to their cognate. The problem is known in the literature and generally understood, but perhaps not well understood in a specific context such as a particular industry or a region of the country. Next, the doctoral candidate develops a research proposal and once approved, locates an organization where the problem can be studied. Finally, the doctoral candidate conducts the study, documents the results, and presents the research to their Research Chair. While not a Mixed Methods design, quantitative tools will be used for triangulation and descriptive statistics. The goal of the research is to gain a better understanding of the problem and thereby extend the current body of knowledge to a specific context.
The ADRP is made up of three sections: The Foundation of the Study, The Project, and the Application to Professional Practice. These three sections are developed in BUSI 887, 888, and 889 respectively. The first two sections together make up the research proposal and are approved by the Research Chair and DBA Administration prior to beginning the field study. Once the study is completed, all three sections are combined to form the Applied Doctoral Research Project. The research is presented, and the final document is reviewed and approved in BUSI 890. The research is intended to be original and replication studies will not be allowed. While secondary data can be used for triangulation, the data acquisition plan for the study will focus on primary data.
Key Research Characteristics of the ADRP:
- Focus – Cognate related business problem supported by current literature (within 5 years)
- Scope – Single Organization
- Research Design – Single Case Study
- Study Participants – Between 15 and 30 participants
- No IRB, publication, or defense
- Research Chair – Primary point of contact and mentor
- No Committee
The Research Chair
As you begin BUSI 887, you will be paired with a Research Chair. This is an expert educator with a terminal degree that will be your primary point of contact and mentor during your entire research project. You will contact your chair via email whenever you submit a task for review to include tasks you submit for administrative review. Your chair will be your first stop for any questions you have regarding your Applied Doctoral Research Project and will be responsible for approving the content of all your submissions. Your chair will notify the DBA Administration when you have a task ready for review.
Concept Alignment in the ADRP
The reader must be able to visualize a straight line connecting the general problem, the specific problem, the purpose statement, the research questions, and the nature of the study:
General Problem – Overarching business problem related to the candidate’s cognate with the existence of the problem supported by current literature (less than five years).
Specific Problem – Narrowly focused market(s) / industry (s) / region(s) / organization(s) being studied to provide insight into the general problem.
Purpose Statement – To study the specific problem, thereby giving insight into the general problem. In a flexible design, the goal is generally to explore or to understand. In a fixed design, the goal is generally to measure, compare, or relate.
Research Questions – The broad questions that need to be answered to provide meaningful insight into the specific problem. These are not interview questions, they are questions that guide the overall study. In a flexible design, these questions will seek to explain or understand and will typically include words such as how, why, and what. In a fixed design, these questions will generally seek to describe, measure, compare or relate variables. In both cases, the questions should be open ended and not solicit a yes / no response.
Nature of the Study – The nature of the study describes the researcher’s paradigm, the research design, and the research method. The researcher will need to be able to describe why the chosen design and method are the best choice for the research being conducted.
Alignment exists when:
- The specific problem is a subset of the general problem
- The purpose statement describes a research goal that addresses the specific problem
- The research questions address the specific problem and its consequences
- The nature of the study identifies a design and method that is consistent with the action word choices in the purpose statement and the word choices in the research questions
References
- Provide multiple primary sources to substantiate each section of the ADRP. Limit the use of secondary sources.
- Provide a citation for each factual assertion in the ADRP.
- Use the most current references outside of seminal works.
- Every citation must be linked to a reference; every reference must be used as a citation.
- Remove the permalinks in the reference section for ease of reading.
- 75% of the references used for the literature review must be within the last 5 years.
Future vs. Past Tense
When writing Section 1 and Section 2 prior to the Field Study (BUSI 887 & 888), all writing will be in the future tense. You will use phrases like “the researcher will”, “I will”, and “the study will include”. You will not use past tense prior to the Field Study because action has not been taken yet and therefore might change. Sections 1 & 2 up to that point are your Research Proposal.
Once you have completed your Field Study in BUSI 889, you will change the document to the past tense.
Submissions and Revisions
Each submission made will be reviewed by your Research Chair or DBA Administration. Once you have submitted the document and emailed your chair that the document is ready for review, the chair will respond with feedback within six days. For administrative reviews, your chair will notify DBA Administration that your document is ready for review. You will receive feedback on your submission within six days of the receipt of the email from the chair.
If you are asked to make changes, you will prepare a Change Matrix to document the comment made by the reviewer, a description of the changes you have made to address the comment, and the location of the changes within the document. Revisions submitted without a Change Matrix will not be reviewed.
Suggested Research Resources
Creswell, J. & Poth, C. (2018). Qualitative Inquiry & Research Design (4th). Thousand Oaks, CA. Sage Publications Inc.
George, M., Rowlands, D., Price, M., & Maxey, J. (2005). The Lean Six Sigma Pocket Toolbook.
New York, NY. McGraw Hill.
Hall, J. & Scott, T. (2016) Lean Six Sigma. Columbia, SC. Hall & Scott
Morgan, G., Leech, N., Gloeckner, G., & Barrett, K. (2013) IBM SPSS for Introductory Statistics
(6th). New York, NY. Routledge.
Robson, C. & McCartan, K. (2016). Real World Research (4th). West Sussex, UK. John Wiley & Sons.
Yin, R. (2018). Case Study Research and Applications (6th). Thousand Oaks, CA. Sage
Publications Inc.