Course description
The ability to formulate the right questions and choose the most efficient tools for seeking answers, as well as to intelligently interpret the information gathered and presented by others, is indispensable for those who want to succeed in today’s highly complex business environment. This course will equip students with both the understanding of principles that guide quality research and the tools needed to implement those principles in formulating a research project, selecting appropriate methods, collecting and analyzing data, and presenting their findings. We will focus on the practical application of the concepts and methods discussed in the course by conducting students’ own research projects and critically analyzing the research of others.
Course goals
The main goal of this course is to impart knowledge and skills necessary for conducting and evaluating business research. The course will begin with the introduction to the fundamental principles that underlie approaches to research and the practical implications of these principles, including formulation of research questions, concepts of validity and reliability, and issues of research ethics. We will then proceed to unpack the main qualitative and quantitative methods used in business research. Conducting their own research projects will help develop students’ practical research skills, and analysis of published research and other students’ research projects will sharpen their ability to critically evaluate the information coming from research conducted by others. Presentation of their own research findings and discussion of others’ research will also serve to refine the students’ presentation and communication skills. Students who have successfully completed the course and all its assignments will be able to define the research question, formulate the research design, choose the appropriate methods for data collection and analysis, present and apply their findings, and critically evaluate other researchers’ output. Finally, the skills and knowledge gained in this course will also be employable during the preparation of BA theses.
Course results
- To understand the purpose of research.
- To identify and understand potential ethical, empirical and analytical problems plaguing the research process and ways to overcome them.
- To identify a business problem/ need, translate it into a research question, and design an appropriate way to answer it.
- To formulate testable hypotheses and choose the most appropriate tools for testing them.
- To identify and understand the main qualitative and quantitative methods of business research, their advantages and disadvantages and appropriate application areas.
- To understand and be able to design an experiment as a research method.
- To develop skills in choosing suitable case studies, sampling, measurement, questionnaire design, conducting interviews and surveys, leading focus groups.
- To develop skills of quantitative data analysis and interpretation of its results.
- To communicate research findings and their implications in a clear and well organized way, both orally and in writing.
- To critically evaluate the quality of other people’s research findings and the process used to obtain them.
