Reference no: EM132251304

Learning outcomes

• Critically examine scholarly literature in order to be able to select, focus and reflect on chosen literature that motivates your (business and management) research to write up a critical review of your chosen literature;
• Understand research design issues, and conceive, frame, and articulate one or more personal research questions that motivate(s) your research;
• Critically evaluate, draw on, and present, orally and in writing, appropriate research methods to collect empirical data for your research project;
• Critically evaluate, select, and draw on quantitative and/or qualitative data analysis methods for your research project.

Brief Introduction to Module

This module develops a deep understanding of the epistemological and ontological bases for research. The module starts by asking what research is. This concentrates on the importance of problematizing: what is the problem that the research focuses on. Research problems, thus, are expressions of different research paradigms, so the module overviews research paradigms including positivism, interpretivist, critical theory, and post-modernism/post-structuralism.

To know what you are researching and the nature of your research, it is necessary to know what research you are not doing. Thus, the focus then moves to theoretical frameworks and research methodology. This understanding allows an analysis of quantitative and qualitative research methods and analysis. It is crucial that there is a clear epistemological and ontological link between how research is done (the collection of empirical information) and the analysis of that data. Ethical issues, in relation to the role of the researcher, the research subject and research generally, are embedded throughout the module, so that students can understand, identify, and evaluate fundamental principles of ethics.

The module provides you with essential research skills that you will require to succeed in a final-year program in international business. In order to facilitate student learning and development, there are both theoretical and practical elements to this module. As students complete an individual research project as part of the module, core topics such as how to develop a literature review, how to frame research questions, how to prepare for research methods such as surveys or interviews, how to carry out research methods, and how to analyze empirical material using NVivo, SPSS/Excel, or other appropriate analytical methods, are also central to the module.Presentation of the module and introduction to business researchObjectives:
To understand what business research is, who needs it and why.
To appreciate the utility of academic research.
Briefing on the formative and summative assessment.

Deductive versus inductive research

Objective:
To distinguish between inductive and deductive research, and to understand their nature and characteristics
Discussion on papers in further reading section.

Step 2 of your assignment: practice in finding useful articles and information that supports your research.

What is a literature review?

Objectives:
To understand what theory is and what scholarly literature is.

To understand the utility of literature and how to review it.

To understand the process of selecting and critically reviewing suitable literature for your project.
Step 3 of your assignment:
Practice using visual presentations such as mind maps, Venn diagrams, and grandfather, father, son literature maps to show reviews of literature. Preparation of formative work.

Introducing qualitative methods

Objectives:
To understand how to collect and use data from case studies, action research, and ethnographic studies.

To consider the philosophies, benefits, and issues associated with qualitative methods.
Discussion of examples of journal articles using qualitative method.
In-class activity on a selected set of journal articles.

Qualitative data collection

Objectives:
To understand principles of qualitative data collection.

To understand sampling in qualitative research.
Discussion of examples and in-class exercise focusing on interviews and interview skills development.
Formative work evaluation and hard copy hand-in (no more than 3 sides of A4 with introduction to topic, literature map and bibliography): peer assessment using form collected by tutor.
Please note that the formative assessment will be used to assign you a dissertation supervisor.

Qualitative data analysis

Objectives:
To understand the basics of qualitative data analysis.

To familiarise with NVivo and practice interview transcripts and documentary analysis. NVivo demonstration and in-class exercise.
Please install the software prior to this session and bring your computers with you!

Introducing quantitative data collection and methods

Objectives:
To understand the principles of quantitative data collection and methods.

To familiarise with SPSS and practice descriptive statistics analysis.

Quantitative data analysis

Objective:
To further familiarise with SPSS and practice bivariate and multivariate data analysis.

Research ethics

Objective:
To appreciate ethical code of practice for researchers, participant consent, and other ethical issues.

Dissertation preparation
Objectives:
• To support your transition from MRM assessment to dissertation.

Attachment:- Module Outline.rar