What is the management/leadership dilemma or opportunity that could be investigated? What is the purpose of my project? What assumptions would underline such a problem? Are there any existing data directly relevant to the research problem?

• Sets out problem and purpose of the research
• Includes Introduction, Problem Statement, Purpose of the Study, Research Questions, Scope/Limitations/Delimitations.
• Begins with a problem (an unanswered question) related to a topic of interest.

As you think about your topic of interest, answer these questions:

• What is the management/leadership dilemma or opportunity that could be investigated?
• What is the purpose of my project? What assumptions would underline such a problem?
• Are there any existing data directly relevant to the research problem?
• If so, can you access the data necessary to address the research problem? If not, how can you collect the necessary data?
• How will you interpret the meaning of the data as they relate to the problem statement?