Unit Outline

Sydney Graduate School of Management

School of Business

Unit Name Unit Number Unit Coordinator Session Year

Business Research Skills Seminar 200299 Dr Greg Teal Quarter 2 2013 This unit aims to introduce students to core concepts of business research, including critical thinking and writing, identification of a research problem and question, selection of appropriate paradigm; and choices around research design. The unit aims to enable students to justify their choice of methodology and methods in their Higher Degree by Research Thesis, enabling them to work towards the methodology chapter of their thesis. 10 Not applicable Not applicable

Handbook Summary

Credit Points Pre-requisites Co-requisites Incompatible/ not to be counted for credit with Unit Level Assumed Knowledge Attendance Requirements

Not applicable

5 Not applicable It is recommended that students attend a minimum of 80% of all classes in order to pass the unit. Please note that this means 80% of class time, and not simply signing for 80% of the classes. It is very important to note that at their discretion, your instructor may deem you have not attended a session if you just sign the class roll and then leave the class. Please let your lecturer know if you are unable to attend any session. Not applicable At the end of this unit you will: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. have broad knowledge of research methodologies used to thoroughly investigate business phenomena be able to give descriptions about how literary sources are useful for constructing arguments be able to identify three main research processes: exploratory, constructive and empirical research Have some understanding of specific research methodologies currently used by active researchers in the faculty such as complexity theory, feminist studies Be able to describe several research methods, including action research, case study research, experiments, statistical survey, participant observation, content and textual analysis, interview, map making etc. choose a suitable form of analysis tool for individual purpose, eg EXCEL, SPSS, NVIVO be able to defend your choice of research paradigm and research tools as the best way to conduct your research

Enrolment Restrictions Learning Outcomes

Unit Name: Business Research Skills Seminar

Unit Number:

200299

Teaching Session: Quarter 2, 2013

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Unit Content

Annotative bibliography Introduction to research language, Scientific approach and method Validity and reliability (incl information reliability) Quantitative and qualitative research process Reasoning with statistics Survey questionnaire analysis Experimental design Analysis of Questionnaire data Populations Missing values Distributions and Assumptions Sampling procedures Multiple comparisons Grounded theory and Social Science fieldwork Phenomenology Post modernism Ethnography Content and textual analysis Triangulation Multi method data collection Multi method analysis

Mode of Delivery

Quarter 2 commences Monday 8 April 2013. Please refer to Platform Web or Your Business Connection PG vUWS site for timetable details. Classes will be held over 10 weeks. The unit consists of a 4 hour seminar. The general approach will be to cover one topic per session over that period. Students are expected to prepare for each session by reading ahead and undertaking any necessary preparation for group work. For further details refer to the learning guide.

Assessment Items and Weighting

Assessment for this unit will be based on the following components: Component Critique of research methods reported in journal articles related to own field of study 2000 - 3000 words online and oral presentation Individual critical review essay - 2500 3500 words TOTAL Weighting (%) 40% 10% 50% 100%

Final marks and grades are subject to confirmation by the School and College Assessment Committee which may scale, modify or otherwise amend the marks and grades for the unit, as may be required by University policies. Essential Resources Textbook: Quinlan, C 2011, Business research methods, Cengage Learning, Andover, Hampshire, UK. Recommended Additional Reading: David, M & Sutton, CD 2011, Social Research: An Introduction, 2nd edn, Sage Publications, London, New Delhi, Los Angeles. Neuman, WL 2011, Social research methods: qualitative and quantitative approaches, 7th edn, Allyn & Bacon, Sydney, Australia. E-Resources: Students are required to access the UWS Library E-resources for access to electronic journals relevant to their research. Some databases that may be of use to business research students might include (but are not limited to): Proquest, CINAHL, ScienceDirect, Emerald, Sage, and Psychlit. However, there are hundreds of electronic database search engines and students are required to familiarise themselves with, and make careful and regular use of, those of most relevance to their area of research. Additional Readings: See vUWS site and Learning Guide. As required.

Unit Name: Business Research Skills Seminar

Unit Number:

200299

Teaching Session: Quarter 2, 2013

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On-line Learning Requirements

Seminar powerpoint presentations and notes will be made available on the E-Learning (vUWS) link on the UWS home page www.uws.edu.au . It will be assumed by the lecturer that all information posted on vUWS will have been seen by students enrolled in the unit. Students should access vUWS at least twice per week during the quarter to ensure they are received access to relevant materials required in class, as well as having seen additional. The Unit Outline, Learning Guide and copies of powerpoint presentations will be posted on the site for downloading by students. Additional notifications regarding assignments, course changes, reminders of work due etc may be posted regularly to the vUWS unit web page. It is the students responsibility to access information from vUWS, as required, and not rely on the lecturer to make announcements during class time. The lecturer will not accept the excuse I didnt know if there is an announcement or teaching aid made available via vUWS and students have not taken the time to check for this.

Special Requirements

Dictionaries and translators are permitted for all lectures and tutorials.

Unit Name: Business Research Skills Seminar

Unit Number:

200299

Teaching Session: Quarter 2, 2013

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