Stage 1 Research Ethics Application Form

Stage 1 Research Ethics Application Form
Section 1: Details of the Researcher and their Research
N.B. If you are conducting research that involves ‘animals and significant
habitats’, please use the Stage 1 Research Ethics Application Form involving
Animals and Habitats (www.anglia.ac.uk/researchethics).
Applicants carrying out research with children or vulnerable adults may also
need to carry out an online Safeguarding course and submit the pass
certificate with their ethics application. Please refer to the Question
Specific Advice for the Stage 1 Research Ethics Application Form at the
above weblink.
Researcher details
First name
Family name
Department/Faculty
Email address
Name of Institution where you study or
work (if not Anglia Ruskin)
Are you:
Please tick
 Undergraduate (UG) Student
 Postgraduate Taught (PGT) Student
 Postgraduate Research (PGR) Student
 Member of ARU Staff
 Member of ARU staff carrying out Masters/Doctorate research
Students (including staff proposing research on a course/programme)
Your SID
Your course/programme title
Name of your First Supervisor (for PGR) or
Supervisor (for UG and PGT)
Research details
1

Title of your research project
N.B. For UG/PGT students, this is not the
title of your research module
Name and institutional affiliation of any
research collaborators
Date of application
Brief Project Summary (up to 700
words) Please summarise your research
in non-specialist language.
1. Brief Project Summary
1.1 Introduction
The ‘Z Generation’ or more popularly known as ‘Generation Z’, refers to the
newest generation born between the years 1995 to 2015. According to
Seemiller and Grace (2017), Generation Z is the generation after Millennial
with people aged from 2 to 24 years. The generation Z is typically the newest
entrance to the modern workforce. On the other hand, EO or Entrepreneurial
Orientation, initially defined by Miller, captures the managerial philosophies,
strategy making practices, professional business behaviors, and product
market innovation as well as showcases the capability to become innovative
and proactive (Papulová and Papula, 2015). According to multiple researches
conducted in the recent years, the Gen Z is more inclined towards pursuing
entrepreneurship.
1. 2 Background of the Study
The newest group of workforce filled with Gen Z entering the organizations are
more likely to steer the business ventures by manifesting entrepreneurial
behavior. In addition to that, these people are starting new business ventures
focusing a great deal on pursuing entrepreneurship. In fact, Ensari (2017) has
suggested that the Z generation is poised to be the most entrepreneurial
generation in the history. There are a number of factors that are significantly
contributing towards developing and empowering an entrepreneurial mindset
amongst the Gen Z teens. The present study aims to investigate the various
factors and aspects that are potentially contributing towards the
entrepreneurial Gen Z teens. In addition to that, the study will also reflect on
the level of entrepreneurial mindset that this Gen Z has in terms of executing
new or existing business ventures.
1.3 Rationale of the Study
The primary purpose of the study is to understand the relation of Gen Z with
entrepreneurship. According to several studies conducted in the recent past,
Gen Z teens tend to become more focused on money saving, being pragmatic,
are mobile natives and avid users of social media. Unfortunately, these Gen Z
teens are growing up at the time of recession, which potentially leads to adopt
an entrepreneurial mindset (Zhang and Acs, 2019). Typically, this generation
of youth suffers from recession and student loan crisis, which makes them
choose unorthodox career paths. The study aims to unveil the major factors
that acts as the driving forces for Gen Z teens to become entrepreneurs. On
other words, the research is conducted in order to study the entrepreneurial
orientation (EO) of this newest group of workforce in new business ventures
(Williams, 2015).
1.4 Research Objectives
The research objectives for the study are formulated below:
 To understand the relationship between Gen Z and entrepreneurship
 To identify the major factors that drive Gen Z to adopt entrepreneurial
mindsets
 To measure the EO (Entrepreneurial Orientation) of the Gen Z teens
in business ventures
1.5 Research Questions
Based on the research objectives, the research questions are formulated as
follows:
 What is the relationship between Gen Z and entrepreneurship?
2

 What are the major factors that drive Gen Z to adopt entrepreneurial
mindsets?
 What is the EO (Entrepreneurial Orientation) of the Gen Z teens in
business ventures?
1.6 Methodology
In order to conduct the research, a mixture of both the qualitative and
quantitative research methods will be applied. In the quantitative method, a
survey will be carried out by forming a questionnaire, which will be distributed
amongst a selected group of participants.
1.7 Details of Participant Population
The sample size or population will be 50 Gen Z teens from different
professional backgrounds pursuing different career paths. On the other hand,
5 Gen Z teen will be interviewed with open ended questions for the qualitative
analysis part.
1.8 Theoretical Approaches
In order to gain deep insight into the details of the selected topic, adequate
amount of secondary sources will be selected and critically reviewed. The
literature review section of the research paper will involve critical analysis of
these selected articles, journal papers, research papers, websites, e-books,
PDFs etc. that hold relevant information of the research topic (Desai and Lele,
2017). The main aim will be to understand the related theory, concepts, ideas
and opinions in a thorough manner along with collecting the useful data and
information already existing from previous researches in this topic.
Please explain the potential value of your
research to society and/or the economy
and its potential to improve knowledge and
understanding.
The potential value of studying the entrepreneurial orientation of Gen Z in the
workplace and in new business ventures is highly beneficial for the companies
who works with the Gen Z. in addition to that, the present business market is
focused on a consumer base where the majority of the population belongs to Gen
Z (Singh and Dangmei, 2016). Therefore, it is significantly crucial to understand
the entrepreneurial behavior of the Gen Z teens in the workplace, as it highly
drives a countries economic and socio-economic positions. Moreover, this study
will also help in gaining useful knowledge to help the business firms in building
strategies to utilize the huge Gen Z talents.
References Desai, S.P. and Lele, V., 2017. Correlating internet, social networks and
workplace-a case of generation Z students. Journal of Commerce and
Management Thought, 8(4), p.802.
Ensari, M.S., 2017. A study on the differences of entrepreneurship potential
among generations. Research Journal of Business and Management, 4(1),
pp.52-62.
Papulová, Z. and Papula, J., 2015. Entrepreneurship in the Eyes of the Young
Generation. Procedia Economics and Finance, 34, pp.514-520.
Seemiller, C. and Grace, M., 2017. Generation Z: Educating and engaging the
next generation of students. About Campus, 22(3), pp.21-26.
Singh, A.P. and Dangmei, J., 2016. Understanding the Generation Z, the future
workforce. South-Asian Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, 3(3), pp.1-5.
Williams, A., 2015. Move over, millennials, here comes Generation Z. The New
York Times, 18.
Zhang, T. and Acs, Z., 2019. Does Generation Matter to Entrepreneurship? Four
Generations of Entrepreneurs. Southern Economic Journal.
Section 2: Research Ethics Checklist (Refer to Section 3
for an explanation of the colour coding.)
N.B. If you are conducting research that involves ‘animals and
significant habitats’, please use the Stage 1 Research Ethics
Application Form involving Animals and Habitats
(www.anglia.ac.uk/researchethics).
3