The role of research proposals in business and management education

• Explores the role of research proposals in business and management education.
• Outlines the implicit learning objectives embodied in writing a research proposal.
• Evaluates the potential of research proposals as a stand-alone learning exercise.
• Concludes that the demands of writing a proposal can foster relevant research skills.

This paper explores the use of research proposals within business and management education. The implicit learning objectives contained in producing research proposals are described and evaluated in terms of learning about research and research methodology. Particular consideration is given to the potential of research proposals to work in an educative sense as stand-alone entities quite separate from their role as a prelude to engaging in research activity. The benefits and limitations of using research proposals in separation from the actual experience of conducting empirical research are discussed. It is concluded that research proposals, used as stand-alone learning exercises, can prove particularly valuable where there might be concerns about gaining access to appropriate settings or getting ethical approval for practical research activity. They can also be of particular value in the context of courses where students' primary concern is with commissioning or evaluating research rather acquiring the skills to undertake research projects for themselves (e.g. MBA students).