Business Research Methods (research)

Course goals

Learning objectives
At the end of this course, the student will be able to:

• Understand the merits of quantitative and qualitative research to investigate business phenomena;
• Write and present quantitative and qualitative research in the style of an academic journal submission;
• Compile qualitative data by means of interview and observation techniques;
• Compile quantitative data by means of survey or by using archival data;
• Critically interpret and analyse data using fundamental techniques;
• Evaluate and identify the quality of business research.

Content

As economists we are curious about the real world around us. In this course, students will cover fundamental concepts in business research design: for example, sampling strategies, data generation, data analysis, and research evaluation. They will have the freedom to design their own research projects, in line with the course themes. Course content includes quantitative and qualitative research methods used in business research. This course is a rigorous foundation for students looking to prepare for bachelor thesis projects, or other independent qualitative research endeavours.

In the first part of the course the different research design and different research methods will be introduced and discussed. The problem definition and design of the study will be made in consultation with your group. In the second part of the course, students will choose a methodological ‘track’ (quantitative or qualitative) to gain hands-on experience during the group project. The qualitative or quantitative data will be analysed to give you experience with the respective methods of data-analysis and build up your writing skills experience. The research project not only allows for hands-on business research experience, but also helps distinguish the merits and limitations of quantitative or qualitative research and what method of analysis is fit for what kind of research question.

For this course a student needs to enroll in a specific track (quantitative or qualitative). The choice for the track is made before the start of the course (during enrollment) and can NOT be changed later in the course. 

• In the qualitative track, students will participate in a series of field-based experiencesto further their understanding and familiarity with qualitative data gathering. such as in-depth interviews and thematic coding. This will also be the primary data colletion method for the final assignment.
• In the quantitative track, students will collect own primary data through survey research. They obtain practical knowledge regarding statistical methods, models, metrics commonly used in quantitative business research.

 
Academic skills
This course focuses on developing the following academic skills, and by the end of the period students should be able to:
 
Communication skills

• Present the content of an article and highlight the most important points.
• Write a research paper on a specific subject in small groups. 
• Provide critical and insightful feedback on a presentation or research paper.
• Accept and process feedback from others on a presentation or class assignment.

Information processing

• Identify potential sources for literature and data, and interpret them independently to extract relevant information
• Detect and avoid any kind of plagiarism.
• Provide correct references, both in text and list format for a research project in the correct style (i.e. APA style)
• Present data in a correct and useful manner for a research project.

Academic research

• Design a problem definition within the scope and design of the course.
• Execute the instructed research design through the form of a group research project.
• Search and select sources for the relevant research question.
• Apply theoretical concepts to an empirical research project
• Draw clear and correct conclusions, and present results effectively.

Social responsibility

• Work effectively in teams for a specific project with limited intervention or instruction. 

Effort requirements

• 80% attendance of all the tutorials;
• Active participation in project group;
• Preparation for tutorials and project group sessions;
• Timely submission of research project assignments.

Courses that build on Business Research Methods
The course is a good preparation for writing a BSc thesis and the masters programmes at U.S.E. 

In case online access is required for this course and you are not in the position to buy the access code, you are advised to contact the course coordinator for an alternative solution. Please note that access codes are not re-usable meaning that codes from second hand books do not work, as well as access codes from books with a different ISBN number. Separate or spare codes are usually not available.