BUSI 885 Research Concept Sample Papers, Week by Week

Liberty University · DBA · Business and accounting · Updated

BUSI 885 moves DBA students from coursework to the applied doctoral research project: a three-part comprehensive exam in Module/Week 3, then a concept paper built step by step from a problem statement to a final draft. The samples follow one study, why owners of family-owned manufacturers in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley postpone succession planning, from its general and specific problem statements through research questions and a first draft to a revised final concept paper.

CourseBUSI 885 Research Concept (BUSI885)
Credit hours3
ProgramDBA
Length8 Module/Weeks, online
Weeks with written work4 of 8
Samples on this site4 week sample papers
SourcesLiberty's 2026-2027 catalog and the published BUSI 885 course guide
UpdatedOctober 2026

What BUSI 885 covers

The course has no textbook readings; students review the texts, papers and literature sources gathered across the core DBA courses, along with the assignment instructions and the dissertation manual in Module/Week 1, and submit a 10-point progress report every week.

The 600-point comprehensive exam, three 200-point questions each passed at 88 percent, is due at the end of Module/Week 3; the problem statement follows in Module/Week 4, the research questions in Module/Week 5, the first draft in Module/Week 6 and the final draft in Module/Week 8, and the course is graded pass or no pass at 880 points.

Liberty's 2026-2027 catalog describes BUSI 885 Research Concept this way:
This course will focus on students completing a research concept paper and preparing students for their applied doctoral research project.

BUSI 885 week by week, with the sample for each

WeekWritten work in the course guidePointsSample
Week 1Course Requirements Checklist and Week 1 Progress Report onlyNo written paper this week
Week 2Week 2 Progress Report onlyNo written paper this week
Week 3Comprehensive Exam (exam questions are not public)No written paper this week
Week 4Problem Statement (Week 4 Progress Report also due)25Read the Week 4 sample
Week 5Research Questions (Week 5 Progress Report also due)25Read the Week 5 sample
Week 6Concept Paper First Draft (Week 6 Progress Report also due)100Read the Week 6 sample
Week 7Week 7 Progress Report onlyNo written paper this week
Week 8Concept Paper Final Draft (Week 8 Progress Report also due)160Read the Week 8 sample

Where BUSI 885 papers lose points

BUSI 885 work slips when a problem statement names a missing solution rather than a problem, when the specific problem drifts from the general one, when research questions ask what the design cannot answer, and when the final draft polishes the first instead of answering the reviewer's feedback.

Using a BUSI 885 sample well

The samples draw on succession research by Le Breton-Miller and colleagues, De Massis and colleagues, Daspit and colleagues, Umans and colleagues, Bozer and colleagues, Gilding and colleagues and Cabrera-Suárez and colleagues, with Yin on case study design and Creswell and Poth on qualitative questions.

BUSI 885 questions, answered

How is BUSI 885 graded?

Pass or no pass: a pass needs 880 of 1,000 points, with 600 from the comprehensive exam, 310 from the concept paper parts, 80 from progress reports and 10 from the checklist.

What is on the BUSI 885 comprehensive exam?

Three questions worth 200 points each, set in a separate instructions document; each part and the whole exam must reach 88 percent, and one failed part may be retaken within a week.

What is the BUSI 885 concept paper?

A brief APA paper laying the foundation for the dissertation, submitted in four stages: problem statement, research questions, first draft and final draft.

Ask for a custom BUSI 885 sample

Send the Module/Week, the instructions and the rubric from your Canvas course, and a writer in your field drafts a sample to them in 24 to 48 hours. The first custom sample is free.

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