Reflective Journal: Business Research on GDP and Birth Rates

This reflective journal details a student's exploration of business research, focusing on the relationship between GDP and birth rates. The journal chronicles the research process week by week, beginning with topic selection and progressing through literature reviews, data gathering, and the identification of research gaps. The student discusses various methodologies, including quantitative and qualitative approaches, and reflects on the significance of empirical evidence and the formation of a research proposal. The journal covers the challenges of conflicting information, the evolution of scholarly viewpoints, and the importance of data sources and ethical considerations. The student emphasizes the development of critical thinking and analytical skills, highlighting the long-term benefits of the research experience for future academic and professional endeavors. The journal concludes with a reflection on unanswered questions and the identification of gaps in existing research, showcasing the student's comprehensive understanding of the research process.

Running head: REFLECTIVE JOURNAL
Reflective Journal
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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REFLECTIVE JOURNAL
WEEK/DATE- Week 1
TOPIC- Choosing a topic for business research
For the purpose of an effective an elaborate research schedule, which can help in giving
insights about the procedures of research as well as about the problems to be explored in real
case scenarios, it is of crucial importance to choose a relevant topic. The topic should be such
that there remains considerable scope of exploration and filling the gaps present in the existing
works which have been done in that arena. Keeping this in mind the topic I chose for further
research was the topic of “Relation between the GDP and the Birth rates” of the nations across
the world (Bryman and Bell 2015).
WEEK/DATE- Week 2
TOPIC- Searching for information regarding my chosen area of exploration
The topic I chose for research purpose proved to be a widely studied and explored topic.
To conduct my research successfully it was important to observe the assertions and arguments
already prevailing in this aspect. To study the same I conducted some initial investigations of the
materials available online. There were different conflicting information regarding the
relationship between the economic growth of a country and its fertility rate (Trochim, Donnelly
and Arora 2015). While some asserted the presence of such relation, others negated it. There
were also confusions regarding the direction of relationship.

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WEEK/DATE- Week 3
TOPIC- Conducting a literature review (Searching for literatures)
With too much of conflicting information pouring in, it was necessary to sort the
information according to time and relevance. For this, an extensive review of existing literatures
was required. For this purpose, I started searching for relevant, authentic and elaborate literary
works, which have been done in this domain already (Babin et al. 2012). This activity of
searching for literatures benefited me by improving my skills for gathering relevant information
and my ability to study, understand and sort them according to timeline and relevance.
WEEK/DATE- Week 4
TOPIC- Gathering insights from the literatures
While conducting the literature review I found that the conflict in the information was
mainly attributed to the changes in the thought process of the scholars over time. The initial
Malthusian views regarding the linkage between the concerned variable were that there exists a
positive relation between the two concerned variables (Hair 2015). However, as I got to study
from the present literatures, the succeeding literatures of those of the post-Malthus era scholars
argued in favor of the presence of a negative relation between the economic dynamics and the
fertility rates of the countries. Many of these works tried to strengthen their views by
incorporating empirical evidences also.

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WEEK/DATE- Week 5
TOPIC- Studying linkages between empirical evidences and theoretical assertions
During reviewing of the existing literatures, I came to learn the importance of the
empirical evidences in making the research more robust (Anderson 2013). Empirical evidences
being real life trends existing in the actual scenario, it is of utmost importance for the scholars to
take into account these trends and bring parity between the observed trends and the hypothesis,
which they suggest. In the concerned case, I found this parity to be brought forward with the help
of the hypothesis of the Fertility J Curve.
WEEK/DATE- Week 6
TOPIC- Writing the literature review
The entire process of searching for the literatures and reviewing them helped me
immensely in understanding not only the topic on which I have emphasized but also helped me
in a broader sense to get an idea about how to conduct the search for relevant and authentic
information and how to sort them according to their relevance. Conducting the literature review
also helped me to understand how to identify the cause and effect relationships between the
different variables. I understood the significance of empirical evidences in any research activities
and also understood the need to be liberal such that new ideas and thoughts are easily
incorporated while conducting research in any domain. These attributes may prove to be
beneficial for my long term career prospects.

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WEEK/DATE- Week 7
TOPIC- Questions remaining unanswered
The elaborate reviewing of the literature helped me in gaining insights regarding the
importance of the topic chosen by me as well as the dynamics that have occurred over the years
in the domain of research and literatures in this aspect. The studying of the literatures helped to
me understand that there has been evidences on both the positive as well as the negative
relationship between the income of the country and the fertility rates of the same country.
However, there remain several questions, which were not answered by the existing literatures.
WEEK/DATE- Week 8
TOPIC- Identification of gaps to be explored
In the process of conducting the elaborate literature review for the research purpose, I
indentified the gaps that are present in the existing scholarly works, regarding the relationship
between the income levels and the birth rates in a country. The primary gap, which I noticed
regarding my concerned topic, is the absence of one robust and unanimously agreed pattern
regarding the changes in the dynamics of the variables in relation to one another and the exact
direction of cause and effect among the variables in consideration. There also exists another gap
regarding unanimous acceptance of the presence of any relation between the two variables in
consideration (Yin 2013).

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WEEK/DATE- Week 9
TOPIC- Formation of the Research Proposal
With the gaps becoming apparent from the literature review, the purpose of the research
around the concerned area of interest became even more prominent to me. I learnt the importance
of designing a research proposal mentioning the points which I want to explore in my research.
In constructing the research proposal I also mentioned the exact gaps which my future research
will target to address.
Designing of the research proposal has helped me to learn to focus on the issues
according to the priorities, with the aim of making the business research more comprehensive.
This is expected to develop my analyzing skills, which may benefit me in the long run.
WEEK/DATE- Week 10
TOPIC- Learning about different types of data
While forming the research proposal I learnt about the different sources of data and their
relative importance. The main sources of data being primary and secondary, their significances
and limitations are also varied. While the primary data poses to be a more unbiased one,
collection of primary data is a costly as well as time taking process. On the other hand, the
secondary data collection seemed to be more cost effective and reliable if collected properly. I
also learnt about the norms and ethical considerations, which have to be taken into account while
collecting the data for the purpose of research (Jackson 2015).

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WEEK/DATE- Week 11
TOPIC- Research Methodology
For analyzing any data there are several methods to choose from, which are broadly
divided into quantitative and qualitative methods. While the former method is useful is analyzing
the cardinal aspects of any domain of interest, the latter helps to take into account the in depth
and non-cardinal aspects of the same and is definitely the broader and more inclusive method
(Liamputtong 2013).
WEEK/DATE- Week 12
TOPIC- Learning experience for future projects
The overall process of research, including both the assessments of conducting a literature
review and constructing a research proposal on the issue of concern has helped me considerably
in gaining knowledge regarding the entire procedure of conducting a robust research about any
topic or issue of concern (Sekaran and Bougie 2016). While in the short term, my experiences
are expected to help me in completion of my course successfully, they also have implications in
the long run on my career prospects. In the domain of business research, these experiences are
expected to open my vision and mind and help me to be more liberated and accepting towards
new ideas and insights. The extensive studies I have undertaken for this purpose have also helped
me to be more exploring and thinking out of the box, which can be overall beneficial in the long
run (Fowler Jr 2013).

7REFLECTIVE JOURNAL
References
Anderson, V., 2013. Research methods in human resource management: investigating a business
issue. Kogan Page Publishers.
Babin, B.J., Carr, J.C., Griffin, M. and Zikmund, W.G., 2012. Business research methods.
Australia.
Bryman, A. and Bell, E., 2015. Business research methods. Oxford University Press, USA.
Fowler Jr, F.J., 2013. Survey research methods. Sage publications.
Hair, J.F., 2015. Essentials of business research methods. ME Sharpe.
Jackson, S.L., 2015. Research methods and statistics: A critical thinking approach. Cengage
Learning.
Liamputtong, P., 2013. Qualitative research methods.
Sekaran, U. and Bougie, R., 2016. Research methods for business: A skill building approach.
John Wiley & Sons.
Trochim, W., Donnelly, J.P. and Arora, K., 2015. Research methods: The essential knowledge
base. Nelson Education.
Yin, R.K., 2013. Case study research: Design and methods. Sage publications.