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Chapter2Formulating and clarifying the research topic2.5 Let us go back to the example used in the chapter of the supermarket marketing managerwho theorises that the introduction of a loyalty card will mean that regular customers areless likely to shop at competitor supermarkets. This could be the research proposal’sstarting point, i.e. a hypothesis that the introduction of a loyalty card will mean that regularcustomers are less likely to shop at competitor supermarkets. This prompts thoughts aboutthe possible use of literature in the proposal and the research project itself. This literaturecould have at least two strands. First, a practical strand which looks at the research evidencewhich lends credence to the hypothesis. Second, a more abstract strand that studieshuman consumer behaviour and looks at the cognitive processes which affect consumerpurchasing decisions.This ensures that the proposal and resultant research project are both theory drivenand also ensures that relevant theory is covered in the literature.2.6 Try including a subsection in the background section that is headed ‘How the previouspublished research has informed my research questions and objectives’. Then show how,say, a gap in the previous research that is there because nobody has pursued a particularapproach before has led to you filling that gap.Get ahead using resources on the Companion Website at:www.pearsoned.co.uk/saunders• Improve your SPSS and NVivo research analysis with practice tutorials.• Save time researching on the Internet with the Smarter Online Searching Guide.• Test your progress using self-assessment questions.• Follow live links to useful websites.WEB56