Research papers are the most challenging part of all business classes. Your professors will require you to conduct an academic research and present the results accompanied with your own findings on the matter. If you have no experience in writing research papers from the area of business, this will be a tremendously tough challenge.
First of all, you'll have to follow the academic writing standards. That means your project should be organized in a clear manner that conveys coherent logical flow. However, there is no consensus regarding the standards of business writing, so you can never know what your professor expects to see. That's why your first business research paper is the most difficult one.
Look on the bright side: we are here to help! Since there is more than enough information out there, you can always collect enough resources and follow our guidelines towards the completion of an exceptional business research project.
1. Identifying the right sources
You'll come across a serious challenge during the research process: most of the information you find will be blurred. Sure, there are several case studies that may prove your point, but you'll notice that you can't discover the exact type of information you need. There is a reason behind that fact: companies don't publish clear reports about their achievements online. They don't want their competitors to have access to the strategies they implemented in order to achieve better results.
Another reason behind the blurred information is marketing. A company doesn't want to reveal its approach because the customers would be disappointed if they realized how they had been lured into purchasing a particular product or service. For example, a company may have hired writers to publish good reviews for its products and bad reviews for the competition. That's a strategy no business owner would reveal.
The big question is: how can you find resources that will help you develop a compelling and debatable discussion? The trick is to discover library sources. Yes; real books! Some business authors have revealed inside information on how big companies work. When you discover relevant findings made by business researchers, you'll only need to discover the underlying connections between them and draw your own opinions.
2. Choosing a topic
When you're writing a business research paper, it's important to conduct a research before you determine the topic. That's important because if you go the other way around, you might not find enough materials to support your claims. After you've collected a nice base of resources, think of few options through a brainstorming process. Write down your ideas and settle for the option that inspires you to come down to your own conclusions.
3. Forming a thesis statement
Once you have a topic, it will be easier for you to make the main claim, which will be exposed in the final part of your introduction. This statement will present your main opinion. It should be very precise and convincing. For example, you can go for something like ‘Despite the financial crisis, Greece is currently a good place for investments because [insert your reasons here]'.
A well-organized thesis statement encompasses the logic of the entire paper. It tells the reader what the rest of the research paper is all about. Once he forms his expectations, you'll need to meet and exceed them with the rest of your content. The thesis statement, as well as the entire research paper, should be based upon the main principles of business: clarity, objectiveness, and perfect organization.
4. Development of ideas
Once you write the perfect introduction that makes the reader enthusiastic about spending time with your paper, you should develop your ideas through several paragraphs related to the main thesis statement. If you're writing a relatively long research paper, you can separate the main arguments in their own sections with subtitles. That will make the project more organized, and you'll hold the reader's attention much more easily.
Each section of your business research paper should have a topic sentence – a claim that supports your thesis. Then, you'll need to support your claim with information extracted from the resources you gathered. Let's continue with the thesis statement about Greece mentioned above: you can name people's need for better, more cost-effective services as a reason for the business appeal of this country. You'll support that claim with information from surveys and statistical data that proves the point. Then, you'll identify the general optimism in the country as another argument in a separate section of your paper.
Don't forget to make logical transitions in between the paragraphs. The paper should be coherent and you should not leave the reader with gaps in knowledge. The main goal of writing arguments is to support your idea by analyzing, evaluating, and synthesizing information. You are taking facts that are already available, and you evaluate them to find the link of connection.
5. Wrapping up with an authoritative conclusion
A good business research paper ends with a conclusion that leaves no space for arguments. In this section, you should summarize the main points of your discussion and show how they prove the thesis statement. You should also include your recommendations for further research, as well as predictions on how the situation might evolve in near future. Do not present new information in this section; keep it brief, accurate and clear.
Extra Tip: Stick to the Principles of Business Writing
If you want to leave a good impression with your first business research paper, you must show you have good control of language. Choose effective, short words that prove your point without much fuss. Don't use jargon and big words, and make sure to adhere to the principles of standard academic English. Reference all sources you used and do not submit the paper without editing it!