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DBA Structure

We offer two routes to the Doctor of Business Administration:

• DBA by traditional thesis - Research Methodology Course and Thesis
• DBA by publication - Produce peer-reviewed articles to produce your wrap thesis

The Research Methodology Course and Thesis

The online Research Methodology course is an assessed course to develop the research skills necessary for this level of study

The course requires completion of 8 modules. The timing of the modules is flexible. You can work to your own timetable, in keeping with your other commitments. However, in our experience, candidates tend to spend the following times on each module.

You are required to defend your research proposal before you commence your work towards the writing and submission of your thesis.

Successful defence of your thesis before our internal and external examiners will result in the award of the DBA.

Module No	Module Name	Duration
Module 1	Critical Analysis 1	One to two months
Module 2	Critical Analysis 2	Two to four weeks
Module 3	Preliminary Literature Review	Two to three months
Module 4	Publication of the Literature Review as a Primer	Two to four weeks
Module 5	Methodology	Two to three months
Module 6	Survey design and analysis	Two to four weeks
Module 7	Reflection	Two to four weeks
Module 8	Research Proposal	Two to three months

 

Your Research Topic

When you apply for the DBA, you should have an idea of the kind of research project you intend to pursue. Research is typically undertaken in your own organisation or sector, giving you the opportunity to make a difference in your own field. As part of your application, you will submit a research proposal (guidelines provided) to demonstrate how you plan to take your topic further.

Here is a sample of very varied DBA thesis titles from our DBA candidates:

• The Impact of Digital Transformation by Adopting Strategic Planning and Innovation: A Case Study on United Arab Emirates Government Sector
• Investigating Factors Impeding Online Grocery Shopping Intention among Urban Gen-Y Females
• A cross-sectional study on job satisfaction mediated factors and employee performance in the palm oil industry
• The relationship between marketing strategies and content marketing in e-commerce industry
• Impact of Political Ties on the Corporate Governance, Performance and Risk-taking: An issue of corporate governance.
• The impact of corporate social responsibility on customer loyalty in the banking industry.
• Development and Evaluation of an Effective Incident Reporting System to Enhance Patient Safety Culture and Awareness in Long Term Care Sector in Singapore

Your research can be qualitative (e.g., case study, action research, policy study, historical enquiry, ethnography, grounded theory), quantitative (e.g., experimental, quasi-experimental, cross sectional, correlational), or mixed methods (a mixture of both).

Learning Support

Our academics pride themselves on the strength of their relationship with their doctoral candidates. You will have a dedicated Director of Studies (DoS, Professor Dr. Coral Milburn- Curtis, who is committed to oversee your study throughout your doctoral journey, from induction through to graduation. All assessed modules are overseen by the DoS.

Vital to your doctoral research is the commitment that you make to producing a strong thesis with the minimum of delay. Your local university supervisor and the DoS will support that commitment. You will be allocated 20 - 30 hours per year of your supervisor’s time.

Supervision meetings normally take place face to face, on Skype, or similar video link, or via email. Your supervisor will have the ability, perseverance, respect and vision to assist you through the DBA process.

You will be set specific task deadlines (outlined in the course handbook). It is important to meet these deadlines, in order to progress to satisfactory completion of your DBA, on time and on schedule.

Your learning is thus supported by:

• Your Supervisor
• Your Director of Studies
• Research methods materials, guiding you through the course textbook
• A virtual learning environment
• Peer-to-peer interaction
• Course handbook