In terms of research my viewpoint is that they are asking for real world information in relevance to your said business. For example, facts of a certain industry, sales statistics, economic figures
(i.e. unemployment) for influences, competitors, industry growth and the cost of certain advertising methods and strategies. In addition to any other useful information you can locate within the correct means. As long as you back up your statements with solid fact
(i.e. you can say that economic growth is an influence on your business, but that will only get you so far. going the extra step and saying "as shown through the Australian Bureau Of Statistics in the following image" is what i personally class as research) you should be fine
An example from my preliminary business planning task
Shoot me a PM if you need something to go off assuming that you are doing a preliminary task. I still have my 20/20 one lying around somewhere
TL;DR It's asking you to know your stuff. Show an extensive understanding of the business environment, backed up by evidence and you should tick all the boxes in the research section