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Location: Nexus Tower – Room 10.23, 10 Pulteney Street

Telephone: 8313 4513 (office)

01)  March 04
A General Introduction to the Course  &  to RM (Research Methods)
Material From Chapters 1,3,4
Read S.Campbell’s book
 
02)  March 11
Data, Information, Knowledge
Chapter 2
Study Chris Medlin Slides
 
03)  March 18
Theory & Measurement/Scales
Chapters 3 and 13; Material by Dr. C.Medlin

04)  March 25
How to Write a Literature Review, and Ethics in Research
Materials Provided, plus Chapters 19, 25, 5
SPSS / Hande Akman (1hr)
STATA / Sujin Kim (1.5 hrs)
(SPSS & STATA assignments given)
 
 
05) April 01
Academic Writing Style (see 4.4; PLC Workshop), and tips for Research Proposal and Thesis
Materials Provided, plus Chapters 19 & 25
SPSS / H. Akman (1hr)
STATA / S. Kim (1.5 hrs)
 

06) April 08
Attitude Measurement, Questionnaires, and Qualitative Research Tools
Chapters 14, 15, 7
H. Akman: Factor Analysis example with SPSS (1 hr)

 
07)  April 29
Secondary Data and Primary Data (from Surveys)
Chapters 8, 9, 10
 
 
08) May 06
Primary Data (Observation methods, & Experimentation)
Chapters 11, 12
3 assigned papers for (ethical) comparison
 

09)  May 13
Sampling
Chapters 16
 
 
10) May 20 
Review of Common Statistical Methods in Business
Research (ANOVA, Regression, and more...)
Materials Provided & Chapter 23
Read Conjoint Analysis handout
 

11)  May 27
Continue with material from sessions 08, 09, and 10 & Proposal Checklist
Chapters 12, 16, 23
 
 
12)  June 03
Proposal Presentations (all, tentatively, during the week of Monday, June 02, 2014)
 
 
June 11:  Final Research Proposals (due by 2:00 PM)

1) To develop a sound understanding of the nature and dimensions of academic research and its role in business and society

2) To develop proper academic writing skills and professional presentation skills

3) To develop a basic understanding of various methods/analyses/techniques employed in typical business-oriented academic research projects

4) To develop a sound understanding of the component parts of the research thesis (in order to undertake the required research task with success), and produce and present the research proposal

5) To be able to defend the research proposal, its orientation and objectives

William G. ZIKMUND, B.J. Babin, J.C. Carr, and M. Griffin (9th edition / 2013). Business Research Methods, South- Western/Cengage Learning, (ISBN: 978-1-111-82692-5).

➣ William E. MARTIN, and K.D. Bridgmon (2012). Quantitative and Statistical Research Methods: From Hypothesis to Results, Jossey-Bass/Wiley, (ISBN: 978-0-470-63182-9).

➣ Frank ANDREWS et al. (2nd edition / 1981). A Guide for Selecting Statistical Techniques for Analyzing Social Science Data, University of Michigan Press (more recent editions exist).

➣ D. Lynn Kelley (1999). Measurement Made Accessible: A Research Approach Using Qualitative, Quantitative, & Quality Improvement Methods, Sage Publications.

➣ Joseph A. MAXWELL (2012). A Realist Approach for Qualitative Research, Sage Publications, Inc.

➣ William L. NEUMAN (2010). Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches, Pearson.

➣ Colin ROBSON (3rd edition / 2011). Real World Research, Wiley.

➣ Harper W. BOYD, Jr., R. Westfall, and S.F. Stasch (6th edition / 1985). Marketing Research: Text and Cases, Irwin.

➣ Seymour SUDMAN, and N.M. Broadway (1986). Asking Questions, Jossey-Bass.

Additional course-related material is available viaMyUni. Students are also expected to read all course-related announcements posted on the course website.

In order to perform well in this course, students must have a strong command of the relevant research theories and concepts covered in class and successfully apply them in their assessment and project. Therefore, students are expected to have reviewed the topic to be discussed every week and be fully prepared. In addition, there is a strong assumption that students will engage in seminar discussions in an informed way. The communication skills developed in seminars by regularly and actively participating in discussions are considered to be most important by the School and are highly regarded by employers and professional bodies.

The University expects full-time students (i.e. those taking 12 units per semester) to devote a total of 48 hours per week to their studies. This means that, for this course, you are expected to commit approximately 9 hours for private study (i.e., the study time outside of your regular classes). Students are required to attend all class sessions.

As per Course Timetable

• Document preparation guidelines should be observed in order for work submitted in this course to receive consideration.
• Proper class attendance must be observed (this includes, for instance, proper attendance, returning from a break in a timely way, and the like).
• Academic writing PLC Workshop sessions are available. Students must attend at least one session.

Assessment                                         Due Date                                Weight
 
1000 to 1500 word essay                  April 08, 2014                               10%
 
SPSS or STATA assignment               May 13, 2014                                10%
 
Participation/"presence"                      All sessions                                 10%
  
Research Proposal Presentation        Week of June 02, 2014                    25%

Final Research Proposal                        June 11                                     45%

In order to pass this course, students must achieve at least 50% overall, and achieve a passing mark of, at least, 50% for their final research proposal.

The assessment components are as follows:


1000 to 1500 (max.) word essay     (10%):
An essay on your research… You all have decided on a broad area of interest to pursue with your research, defend your topic (doesn’t have to be specific to propositions etc.) in terms of its value to business practitioners and to the academic community.

Essay assessed on points 1-5 below:

1. The level of understanding and critique

2. Depth of research evident in discussion

3. Quality and relevance of support material (up to 10 references ONLY)

4. Strength of argument (evidence of critical thinking)

5. Grammar, structure and presentation

Due: April 08, 2014 pm. Please submit a hardcopy of it to me in class by 2:15 pm, OR put a hardcopy in my pigeonhole (on Level 9) by 1:30 pm (either way, please email me an electronic copy by 2:00 pm). Submission is to be final and fully in final form (printed, assembled/stapled, etc.) in advance of class or submission time. 

 

SPSS or STATA Assignment   (10%):
Hand in a printout of the output file from SPSS or STATA exercise/assignment (to be provided later). The exercise will be used to give you some important practice in how to develop a quantitative survey instrument and/or analyse data or results, and interpret them (to include a discussion of your findings). More information will be provided in class and on the MyUni website.
Due: May 13, 2014 in class.


Research Proposal Presentation   (25%):
All research students are required to present their research proposal to the school at the end of 1st semester.
This is scheduled to take place during the week of June 02, 2014 (part-time students; at the end of the year).
The main purpose is to get valuable feedback and suggestions for improvements to your proposal and study from staff.

Assessment will be based on:

1. Quality of brief literature review

2. Development and justification of the research question

3. Identification and justification for the research propositions/hypotheses

4. Explanation and appropriateness of the data collection/ analysis methods

5. Quality of discussion/questions generated

6. Quality of presentation/communication skills

 

Research Proposal   (45%):
The written proposal is the culmination of your work in this course and provides the basis for your study and the resulting thesis. This document will be assessed on:

1. Adequate assessment of the literature

2. Clear identification and justification of research problem

3. Clear identification of underpinning theoretical or conceptual framework

4. Testability and clarity of hypotheses

5. Justification of research design and proposed methodology

6. Proposed analytical methods

7. Research budget and justification

8. Quality of written presentation (referencing, grammar, punctuation and clarity)

For the purposes of this course, this document is expected to be no more than 25 pages (not including references), and follow the “Document Guidelines.”
Due: June 11, 2013 by 5:00 pm.