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21908 Advanced Research Methods in Management (Honours)

UTS: Business: Management
Credit points: 6 cp

Subject level: Undergraduate

Result Type: Grade and marks

Handbook description

This subject provides research students with the knowledge and skills to make critical methods and design choices in business research. It reviews the common problems in making choices and reviews the costs and benefits of various options available to business researchers.

Subject objectives/outcomes

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

  1. understand the basic concepts and terminology related to the so-called 'scientific method', such as theories, models, frameworks, constructs, propositions and hypotheses, the hypothetico-deductive method, and to be able to use the appropriate terminology in the correct manner to describe their own research
  2. understand the ethical considerations relevant to the carrying out of organisational research, and to know how to design studies that take into account such considerations
  3. understand the common statistical procedures used to analyse data from survey and experimental studies, and to use the statistical computer program, SPSS, to carry out these procedures
  4. report the results of such statistical analyses in a manner appropriate for academic journals or theses.

Contribution to graduate profile

This subject is aimed at giving research students the knowledge and research methods skills to design, execute and report the results of empirical studies that form the basis 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

  • Concepts and terminology related to the scientific method, and the correct use of these for the description of the design of research studies.
  • Writing research proposals, journal papers and research theses.
  • Research ethics and the design of studies to avoid ethical problems.
  • Statistical concepts and procedures for the analysis of data, including hypothesis testing, analysis of variance, regression analysis, factor analysis, cluster analysis, and causal modelling.
  • The use of the statistical package SPSS to perform some of these statistical analyses.

Assessment

Assessment item 1: Weekly Assignments (Individual)

Objective(s): 1, 3, 4
Weighting: 50%
Task: These are a series of short regular homework exercises aimed at reinforcing concepts presented in class and giving students practice in the carrying out of statistical analyses of data using the SPSS computer program. This assessment addresses objectives 1, 3 and 4.

Assessment item 2: Research Proposal Development Activities (Individual)

Objective(s): 1-3
Weighting: 30%
Task: This assessment involves students' writing of draft research proposals based on their own research thesis topic, giving oral presentations on these to the class, and writing critical evaluations on the proposals of other students. This assessment addresses objectives 1, 2 and 3.

Assessment item 3: Methodological Essay (Individual)

Objective(s): 1-3
Weighting: 20%
Task: This will be an essay based on a methodological issue related to topics covered by this subject, and of relevance to students' own thesis research project. This assessment addresses objectives 1, 2 and 3.

Required text(s)

Guide to Writing Assignments (2006) Faculty of Business, University of Technology, Sydney. Available at www.business.uts.edu.au/resources/guide.html

Recommended text(s)

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

Indicative references

Australian Government Information Office (2003) Style Manual for Authors, Editors and Printers (6th edn) Fortitude Valley, Queensland: John Wiley and Sons, Australia.

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

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

Bouma, G.D and Ling, R. (2004) The research process. South Melbourne : Oxford University Press, 2004.

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

Campbell, D.T. and Stanley, J.T. (1966) Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for Research. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Cassell, C., & Symon, G. (Eds.) (1994) Qualitative methods in organizational research: A practical guide. London: Sage.

Cooper, D. R., & Emory, C. W. (1995) Business research methods (5th edn) Chicago, IL: Irwin.

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

Denzin, N.K. and Lincoln, Y.S. (eds.) (1994) Handbook of Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

Dixon, B. R., Bouma, G. D., & Atkinson, G. B. J. (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.

Gummerson, E. (1991) Qualitative Methods in Management Research. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Gay, L. R., & Diehl, P. L. (1992) Research methods for business and management. New York: Macmillan.

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

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

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

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Lee, T.W. (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, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (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., & Nachmias, D. (1996) Research methods in the social sciences (5th edn) New York: St. Martin's Press.

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

Oliver, P. (2004) Writing Your Thesis. London: Sage.

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

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

Seidman, I. E. (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, B. B., & Sommer, R. (1997) A practical guide to behavioral research: tools and techniques (4th edn) New York: Oxford University Press.

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Templeton, J. F. (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.

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

Zickmund, W. (1997) Business Research Methods. (5th edn) Orlando, Florida: The Dryden Press.