21907 Research Methods in Management

Subject level: Undergraduate

Handbook description

This subject provides some of the analytical and practical research skills required for successful completion of the major research component of the honours program, the thesis in Management. Topics include surveys; experiments and quasi-experiments; content analysis; and qualitative techniques such as case studies, interviewing and action research.

Subject objectives/outcomes

On successful completion of this subject students should be able to:

1. understand the main research methodologies, both qualitative and quantitative, used in organisational and management research
2. understand the ethical issues relevant to the carrying out of organisational and management research
3. design and write a proposal for a research project in the management or organisational areas
4. design and carry out research projects in the management area, and report the results of the studies, both orally and in writing.

Contribution to graduate profile

This subject will provide some of the analytical and practical research skills required for the successful completion of research students' projects and the writing of their theses.

Teaching and learning strategies

The subject is delivered through a series of workshops in which the various research methods and skills and taught and their application demonstrated and practiced through experiential class activities and set assignments.

Content

• Overview of the different types of management research, both qualitative and quantitative, and the circumstances in which these might be used.
• Ethical issues for research, such as privacy, conflict of interest and the use of deception.
• Survey methodology, including questionnaire construction, sampling, and the analysis and presentation of survey data.
• Experiments and quasi experiments, evaluation research.
• Qualitative methods, including case studies, participant observation, interviews, and action research.
• Designing a research project and writing a research proposal.
• Report writing and reporting of research by oral presentation.

Assessment

Assessment item 1: Research Proposal (Individual)

Assessment item 2: First Research Project (Individual)

Assessment item 3: Second Research Project (Individual)

Required text(s)

Veal, AJ, 2005, Business Research Methods: A Managerial Approach, 2nd edn, Sydney, Addison Wesley Longman

Faculty of Business (1999) Guide to writing Assignments, Faculty of Business, University of Technology, Sydney.

Indicative references

Babbie, ER, 1995, The practice of social research (7th edn) Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co.

Berg, BL, 1998, Qualitative research methods for the social sciences (3rd edn), Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon

Bouma, GD, 1993, The Research Process. Melbourne: Oxford University Press Australia

Burns, RB (1994) Introduction to Research Methods (2nd edn) Melbourne: Longman Cheshire

Campbell, DT and Stanley, JT (1966) Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for Research, Boston: Houghton Mifflin

Cassell, C and Symon, G (eds) (1994) Qualitative methods in organizational research: A practical guide, London: Sage

Cavana, RY, Delahaye, BL and Sekaran, U (2001) Applied Business Research: Qualitative and Quantitative Methods, New York: Wiley

Cooper, DR and Emory, CW (1995) Business research methods (5th edn), Chicago, IL: Irwin

Cornford, T and Smithson, S (1996) Project research in information systems, Basingstoke: Macmillan

Denzin, NK and Lincoln, YS (eds) (1994) Handbook of Qualitative Research, Thousand Oaks: Sage

Dixon, BR, Bouma, GD and Atkinson, GBJ (1987), A handbook of social science research – A comprehensive and practical guide for students, Oxford [Oxfordshire]: Clarendon Press; New York: Oxford University Press

Easterby-Smith, M, Thorpe, R and Lowe, A (1993) Management Research: An Introduction, London: Sage Publications

Francis, G (1996) Introduction to SPSS for Windows, Sydney: Prentice Hall

Gay, LR and Diehl, PL (1992) Research methods for business and management, New York: Macmillan

Ghauri, P and Gronhaug, K (2002) Research Methods in Business Studies: A Practical Guide, Essex: Pearson Education Limited

Gummesson, E (1991), Qualitative methods in management research, Newbury Park, CA: Sage

Hair, JF, Tatham, RL, Anderson, RE and William Black, W, (1998), Multivariate Data Analysis (5th edn), Essex, England: Pearson Education

Hammersly, M (1989), The dilemma of qualitative method: Herbert Blumer and the Chicago tradition, New York, London: Routledge

Hussey, J and Hussey, R (1997), Business Research: A Practical Guide for Undergraduate and Postgraduate Students, London: MacMillan

Jorgenson, Danny L (1989), Participant Observation. Applied Social Research Methods Series, 15, Newbury Park: Sage

Jorgensen, D (1990) Participant Observation, Beverly Hills: Sage

Judd, CM, Smith, ER and Kidder, LH (1991) Research methods in social relations (6th edn), Fort Worth, Tex: Holt, Rinehart and Winston

Kellehear, A (1993), The unobtrusive researcher: a guide to methods, St Leonards, NSW, Allen & Unwin

Kerlinger, FN (1986) Foundations of behavioral research (3rd edn), New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston

Kirk, J and Miller, ML, (1986), Reliability and validity in qualitative research, Beverly Hills: Sage

Krueger, R (1988) Focus groups: A practical guide to applied research, Newbury Park: Sage.

Kvale, S (1996) InterViews: An introduction to qualitative research interviewing, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Lee, TW (1999) Using qualitative methods in organisational research, Thousand Oaks: Sage

Lofland, J (1995) Analyzing social settings: a guide to qualitative observation and analysis (3rd edn), Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth

Mason, J (1997) Qualitative researching (5th edn), London: Sage

McNiff, J (1992) Action Research: Principles and Practice, London: Routledge.

Miles, MB and Huberman, AM (1994) Qualitative data analysis: an expanded sourcebook (2nd edn), Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage

Morgan, D (1988) Focus groups as qualitative research, Newbury Park: Sage

Nachmias, C and Nachmias, D (1996) Research methods in the social sciences (5th edn), New York: St. Martin's Press

Neuman, WL (1997) Social research methods: Qualitative and quantitative approaches (3rd edn), Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon

Remenyi, D, Williams, B, Money, A and Swartz, E (1998) Doing research in business and management: An introduction to process and method, London: Sage

Sapsford, R and Jupp, V (1996) Data collection and analysis, London: Sage, in association with the Open University

Schuman, H and Presser, S (1996) Questions and answers in attitude surveys: experiments on question form, wording, and context, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications

Seidman, IE (1991) Interviewing as qualitative research, New York: Teacher's College Press

Sekaran, U (1992) Research methods for business: A skill-building approach (2nd edn), New York: Wiley.

Silverman, D (1985) Qualitative Methodology and Sociology, Aldershot, UK: Gower

Sommer, BB and Sommer, R (1997) A practical guide to behavioral research: tools and techniques (4th edn), New York: Oxford University Press

Strauss, A and Corbin, J (1990) Basics of Qualitative Research: Grounded Theory Procedures and Techniques, Newbury Park: Sage

Templeton, JF (1987) Focus groups. Chicago, IL: Probus

Van Maanen, John (1988) Tales from the Field: On Writing Ethnography, Chicago: University of Chicago Press

Wadsworth, Y (1997) Do it Yourself Social Research Victorian Council of Social Service

Weber, RP (1985) Basic content analysis, Newbury Park, CA: Sage

Weitzman, EA and Miles, MB (1995) Computer programs for qualitative data analysis: A software sourcebook, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage

Whyte, WF (1991) Participatory action research. Newbury Park, Calif: Sage

Wolcott, HF (1990) Writing up Qualitative Research, Qualitative Research Methods Series, 20. Newbury Park: Sage.

Yin, RK (1994) Case Study Research: Design and Methods (2nd edn), Newbury Park: Sage

Zickmund, W (2003) Business Research Methods (7th edn), Mason, Ohio: Thomson, South Western.