Common Challenges Faced by Business Students in Research and Assignments

Business studies is a wide field with many subfields and requires so much effort from students. If you are studying business studies, then you must have great research skills and critical thinking and good communication and decision-making abilities, and so much more. Business students often get assignments and dissertations to write, which require all these skills. A few common challenges come along with writing assignments that students struggle with.

These challenges are related to their research and writing process and are kind of hard to deal with. But knowing these challenges and with the right approach, you can easily address and overcome them. In this blog, we will discuss some of the common challenges that students face during their research process and when writing the assignment. We are also offering students some workable solutions to overcome these challenges.

1. Time management issue

The very common challenge that business students face during their degree programme is managing their time. Time management is a skill, and it requires learning. Additionally, business studies require you to conduct extensive research, data collection, and analysis, which takes hours of dedication,c and it can be very time-consuming. When students already have a lot on their plates and have to deal with multiple tasks at once, they feel overwhelmed and struggle with time management.

Solution
To handle this time management issue, students must work with a plan. Schedule a timetable and develop a routine to get organised. If they have large assignments to write, then they can break them into smaller, manageable tasks and work on them based on their priorities to meet the deadlines. There are many tools available that can help students with their time management, like Trello, Notion, and digital calendars. Try to avoid distractions and keep some time aside for the research and writing part. It will help you increase your productivity.

2. Lack of research skills

Students who conduct research for their business studies with a lack of research skills can find it challenging. Business studies require students to review pieces of literature and identify and analyse data sources to write business assignments. Collecting reliable data from articles, journals, marketing reports, and government reports and publications and finding the difference between credible and unreliable sources can be very challenging if you lack the required skills.

Solution
The only solution that students can apply in such cases is to learn those research skills. By learning skills, we mean students can attend workshops and learn how to use academic databases like Google Scholar or JSTOR. They can also seek support from their professors, who can recommend reliable sources and provide certain journals or publications that can help students in their research. Getting professional advice for academics is always a smart move. Learning and practising critical reading can also help students assess the quality of their resources.

3. Analysing complex data

Business studies is a wide field and comes with complex data. To write assignments, sometimes students are required to analyse complex data sets such as marketing reports, financial reports, customer behaviour statistics, and so much more. If a student is from a poor background of statistics and has no knowledge of data analysis, then it can be a real challenge for business students.

Solution
Again, to overcome this challenge, students can make use of some online tools and software like Excel, R, SPSS, etc. There are many online tutorials available on YouTube and other websites that can be beneficial for students to learn data analysis. The most reliable solution is for the student to seek help from their mentors. A professor can teach students the correct data interpretation and clarify their doubts. Students can also take advantage of real-world case studies and enhance their confidence in this domain.

4. Uncertainty about citation style and formatting

Every business assignment requires you to add a reference list and cite all the sources that you used for your research. Students need to follow certain formatting and citation guidelines. Many citation styles are available, like APA, Harvard, and Chicago, but which one should be used becomes a challenge for students. Sometimes, they don’t know how to use citations and end up making mistakes in citation and formatting, affecting their grades.

Solution
First of all, students should check and understand all the citation and formatting requirements that their institution provides them. Additionally, if students are unfamiliar with the citation style, then they should familiarise themselves with the required citation style before starting the assignment. Students can make use of tools like Zotero, EndNote, and other online citation tools to manage their citations. There are a few websites available that provide a complete guide on citations that can help business students understand various citation styles. If you pay attention to requirements and guidelines early in the assignment, it will save you time and avoid mistakes later.

5. Writer’s block and lack of clarity

Everyone has heard about writer’s block; it happens when you are not able to continue your writing. It can happen because of multiple reasons, like anxiety, stress, and lack of clarity and inspiration. Feeling stuck in the process. While writing a business report and assignments, many students can feel writer’s block, which can hinder their writing process. When students lack clarity about the assignment requirements or prompt, or feel overwhelmed with the data and unable to organise their ideas. It becomes too challenging to get over this writer’s block.

Solution
You feel writer’s block when you think you have a lot of work to do and feel anxious about it. To overcome this feeling, you can break down the assignment into small tasks and try to complete them one by one with a structured outline. Start by composing an ideal introduction that includes the research problem and the objective of your research, and then body paragraphs that show your argument and the data analysis. And write a satisfactory conclusion. This will structure your writing process. Students can also seek support and discuss their ideas with peers and professors to understand concepts and gain more clarity with their method.

6. Unable to synthesise information effectively.

One of the most challenging tasks is to synthesise the data while writing the business assignment. Business reports and assignments require students to analyse a large amount of data to conclude the research. Like case studies, financial data or reports, marketing trends or any scholarly articles, all need to be synthesised. This becomes more challenging when students need to connect all the dots to form a strong argument and find the solution to their research problem.

Solution
To solve this problem and overcome the challenge, students must practise. As we heard this term, Practice makes a man perfect, so practice reading widely and connecting information to improve the ability to synthesise the information. Finding information from different sources and summarising key findings can help. Students can also discuss complex concepts and ideas with professors and peers, which can help them understand and enhance their ability to connect information.

7. Pressure to meet expectations

A business assignment involves many components, like research, writing reports, analysis, making presentations, etc. This makes students more anxious, and they feel pressure to meet certain expectations. They feel that they have to meet the expectations of everyone, from their professors to peers and future employers, and then writing a business assignment becomes a real challenge. The passion to compose an excellent assignment becomes paralysing for students.

Solution
Students must understand that writing an assignment is an opportunity to develop their research skills and enhance their knowledge. It’s not about being perfect and submitting a perfect assignment on time; it’s about setting high academic standards and improving the quality of their knowledge and work. Understanding the real goal of writing the business assignment can help release the stress. Students can also seek guidance from their professors and any business professional; their suggestions and feedback can help them ensure that they are on the right track.

8. Language and communication barriers

Language is always a barrier for students who are non-native English speakers. Writing academic research papers and business reports is a challenging task, and it requires you to write complex ideas precisely. Students struggling with language find it difficult to put their ideas effectively.

Solution
Universities have a campus writing centre that provides support to students who struggle with language problems. Students also make use of online tools like Grammarly and Hemingway to write more clearly and coherently. Additionally, regular reading can help students understand different writing styles and improve their language.

Conclusion

Completing a business assignment while fighting these common challenges can be very frightening. However, with the right approach and solution, the task can be very easy. With all the solutions we have mentioned above, from time management to enhancing research skills and understanding the whole writing process, students overcome every obstacle they face throughout the entire writing process. Students can also get business assignment help from professionals and develop strong research skills and writing habits under expert supervision. Seeking help can only enhance your knowledge and improve your skills. With expert support, you can excel not only in your academics but also in serving well in the business world.