Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Sofia Fernandes
LECTURE PLAN
Week 1 - Introduction to Research Methods for Business
Week 2 - Research Philosophy and Approaches
Week 3 - Research Design
Week 4 - Literature Review
Week 5 - Research Ethics
Week 6 - Selecting samples; Secondary Data
Week 7 - Collecting Primary Data through Observation
Week 8 - Collecting Primary Data using Interviews
Week 9 - Collecting Primary Data using Questionnaires
Week 10 - Analysing Quantitative Data
Week 11 - Analysing Qualitative Data
Week 12 - Writing and Presenting a Research Report
Week 13 - Overview of Course
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INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH METHODS FOR BUSINESS
Module Aims and Outcomes
Nature of Business and Management Research
Research Process
Formulating and Clarifying a Research Topic
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MODULE AIMS AND OUTCOMES
The aim of this module is to develop the knowledge of the research
process in order to enable students to understand and interpret
business related research. It also develops the practical skills and
academic confidence necessary to undertake independent research.
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MODULE AIMS AND OUTCOMES
Essential reading:
Saunders, M. Thornhill, A. and Lewis, P. (2009) Research methods for
business students. London: Prentice-Hall
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NATURE OF BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT RESEARCH
What cannot be defined as research?
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NATURE OF BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT RESEARCH
What is research?
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NATURE OF BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT RESEARCH
Research is not a linear process: each stage can be revisited more than once.
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FORMULATING AND CLARIFYING A RESEARCH TOPIC
Attributes of a good
research topic
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FORMULATING AND CLARIFYING A RESEARCH TOPIC
How do you generate research ideas?
Creative thinking
keeping a notebook of ideas
- noting down any research ideas as you think of them
- include the reasons on why you find them interesting
exploring personal preferences using past projects
- thinking of university projects that you liked
- write down what you liked about each of the projects and why it was good
- think of 3 projects you disliked
- write down your reasons for disliking the project and why it was bad
- establish the parameters that you will use for selecting a research topic,
based on what you considered good and not so good
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FORMULATING AND CLARIFYING A RESEARCH TOPIC
How do you generate research ideas?
Creative thinking
relevance tree
- think of a broad concept
- narrow it down to more specific topics which become sub-
branches
- narrow down each of the sub-branches that become sub-
branches themselves
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FORMULATING AND CLARIFYING A RESEARCH TOPIC
How do you generate research ideas?
Creative thinking
relevance tree
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As presented in: Saunders et al (2009, p. 80)
FORMULATING AND CLARIFYING A RESEARCH TOPIC
How do you generate research ideas?
Creative thinking
brainstorming
- best done in a group, but can also be done individually
- it starts by defining a potential problem of research
- gather as many suggestions as possible related to the
problem without criticising any of them
- each suggestion needs to be reviewed and explored
- decide which suggestion is more interesting for you
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FORMULATING AND CLARIFYING A RESEARCH TOPIC
Phrasing Research Questions as Research Objectives
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As presented in: Saunders et al 2009, p. 35
CONCLUSION
Business and management research involves undertaking
systematic research to create new knowledge. It is trans-
disciplinary and engages with both theory and practice.
Generating and refining research ideas makes use of a variety
of techniques.
Clear research questions will act as a focus for the research.
The content of the research proposal should show what the
author wants to do, the reasons for doing it, what is the goal
and how to achieve that goal.
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