21648 Management Research Skills
Warning: The information on this page is indicative. The subject outline for a
particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source
of all information about the subject for that offering. Required texts, recommended texts and references in particular are likely to change. Students will be provided with a subject outline once they enrol in the subject.
Subject handbook information prior to 2021 is available in the Archives.
Credit points: 6 cp
Subject level:
Undergraduate
Result type: Grade and marksThere are course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.
Anti-requisite(s): 27344 Research Foundations for Leisure Sport and Tourism
Description
This subject introduces students to the research process and each of its elements. It aims to develop understanding of the approaches to the collection, interpretation and analysis of data within management. Students develop skills in a range of quantitative and qualitative research methods used in the area. The emphasis of this subject is on developing an understanding of how research is conceptualised, actioned and reported.
Subject learning objectives (SLOs)
| 1. | demonstrate the fundamentals of research design for effective management |
|---|---|
| 2. | appraise the strengths, weaknesses and applications of a range of data gathering and analysis techniques employed in management |
| 3. | explain the ethical considerations associated with conducting research |
| 4. | design an appropriate research strategy to investigate a management problem |
Contribution to the development of graduate attributes
In this third year core subject in the Bachelor of Management students will: apply knowledge and concepts and critical, creative and analytical skills to innovate and solve problems in a professional context; and employ written communication skills to prepare a research report suitable for a professional audience. These learning experiences will contribute to the development of the following graduate attributes: business knowledge and concepts; creativity and analytical skills; and communication and interpersonal skills.
Teaching and learning strategies
Strategy 1 (Preparation for seminar activity): Your learning will be most effective when you are actively engaged in the learning process. Therefore all students undertaking this subject are strongly encouraged to prepare before class and actively participate in classes. The value of interactive learning and teaching lies in its encouragement of higher order thinking skills such as analytical skills. These are part of the subject objectives identified above. Each week there are materials such as readings, lectures and workbook questions that students need to study and reflect upon before each class. The readings are all available in the required text book and the lectures and workbook questions are available on the UTS Learning Management System. Each week students should read the assigned text book chapter, listen to the lecture and prepare their responses to the workbook questions prior to participating in the tutorials. NOTE: Classes including the Week 1 class, will be conducted on the assumption that students have studied and reflected upon the materials and completed all preparation tasks.
Strategy 2 (Interactive seminars): Interactive seminars in this subject aim to enhance the ability of students to develop high order skills such as analysis, evaluation, and the application of research methods to their individual research design project. Students will practise these skills through class discussion and collaborative activities which enable students to identify and explain the key principles of research methodology, and apply the principles in practice-oriented applications. A weekly quiz will allow students to test their knowledge, ask questions and receive immediate feedback. Class activities are scaffolded throughout the semester to build up the research skills needed for professional practice. Students will participate in a number of collaborative exercises in the seminars including: clearness committees to receive peer feedback on project ideas; concept map brainstorming triads; in-depth interview demonstrations; writing workshops with peer review; and statistical analysis trivia teams. Students will receive feedback from the teacher during the seminars on their knowledge, analytical and communication skills. This will include immediate formative feedback on weekly quiz answers, weekly formative feedback on preparation work and informal feedback on student contributions to discussion where appropriate throughout the semester. In-class feedback on seminar activities will be provided from week 2 onwards, allowing students the opportunity to gain formative feedback prior to the Census date.
Strategy 3 (Engaging in Mini Lectures): Interactive mini-lectures will be used in this subject to explain points or topics that students have had difficulty with in the past, to assist students with accessing literature and secondary data, methodological issues, ethics in research, statistical analysis, research report preparation.
Strategy 4: Optional Online Discussion: On the learning management system students can engage in further discussion of key topics. Students can share their questions, ideas and material they have researched on the open discussion forums on the learning management system with guidance and feedback from the teacher and peers.
Content (topics)
- Introductory concepts - the nature of research, methods of problem solving, types of research, ethical considerations.
- Sources of information including literature and secondary data - purpose, searching, critical review, writing the review, reporting research.
- Research design - quantitative and qualitative methods of inquiry.
- Qualitative research - introduction to in-depth interviews, focus groups and management information, data preparation and thematic analysis
- Quantitative research – introduction to questionnaire design and data analysis - samples and populations, validity and reliability, confidence intervals, statistical analysis.
- Research report - structure, content, technical aspects, graphs and tables.
Assessment
Assessment task 1: Quiz (Individual)
| Objective(s): | This addresses subject learning objective(s): 1, 2 and 4 |
|---|---|
| Weight: | 30% |
Assessment task 2: Research Topic Analysis (Group)
| Objective(s): | This addresses subject learning objective(s): 1 and 2 |
|---|---|
| Weight: | 30% |
Assessment task 3: Research Design Report (Individual)
| Objective(s): | This addresses subject learning objective(s): 2, 3 and 4 |
|---|---|
| Weight: | 40% |
Minimum requirements
Students must achieve at least 50% of the subject’s total marks in order to pass the subject.
Required texts
Gray, D.E. (2018). Doing Research in the Real World (4th edition), Sage, London.
(3rd edition from 2014 also acceptable)
New text books are available for purchase in the co-op bookshop. They may also be purchased through online booksellers. There may also be second hand copies available. A number of copies are available on Closed Reserve in the UTS library.
The text will be used in conjunction with the lectures and the tutorial. The material in the text is examinable.
Recommended texts
UTS:Business Guide to Writing Assignments, available to download for free from the UTS:Business website: http://www.business.uts.edu.au/teaching/guide/guide.pdf
References
Argyrous, G. (2005), Statistics for Research: with a Guide to SPSS, Sage, London.
Babbie, E. R. (2013). The practice of social research. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co.
Berg, B. L. (2012). Qualitative research methods for the social sciences (3rd ed.). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn &
Bacon.
Black, K. (2009), Australasian Business Statistics (2nd Ed.), John Wiley & Sons, USA
Bryman, A. (2008), Social Research Methods, Oxford University Press, Oxford
Denzin, N.K. and Lincoln, Y.S. (eds.) (2011). Handbook of Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Gray, D.E. (2014). Doing Research in the Real World (3rd edition), Sage, London.
Other resources
Computer Software:
The subject uses UTSOnline to supplement lectures, tutorials and the assessments. The major assignment will also be submitted to Turnitin - an anti-plagiarism software package. Details of the submission of the assignment will be provided closer to the submission date.
Students will be required to use Microsoft Word and Excel programs as well as the internet for online literature searches.
UTSOnline Virtual Classroom Environment
The subject will use UTSOnline, which can be found at https://online.uts.edu.au/webapps/login/
Students will be able to access the ‘virtual classroom’ from either the computer labs at UTS or from off-campus sites. Where indicated, tutorial exercises, weekly notices, discussion questions and quizzes, and supplementary resources will be placed on this site. It is your responsibility as active learners to make sure that you are familiar with the site and check the subject listings regularly. All subject related questions must be posted to the assigned discussion list on UTSOnline. In most cases questions will be answered within a 48-hour period and you are encouraged as peers to answer any questions posted that you feel confident in answering. Lecturers will clarify any answers provided by a student if required. Remember, if in doubt read your subject guide thoroughly before posting a question. Lecturers will not accept e-mail directly from students unless it is in relation to a confidential matter.