1 - Research Methods - Intro[1]

8/9/2019 1 - Research Methods - Intro[1]

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Research Methods for BusinessStudents

Instructor: Mark Henderson

Email: [email protected]

ICB - Bedfordshire

Autumn 2008


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How the Classes Will be Structured

My preferred method is to set pre-work and

reading prior to each session, and to,

run the interactive, taught part of the researchmethods course alongside an assignment in

which the students,

plan their own piece of primary research.


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Course Aims


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Learning Outcomes


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Learning Outcomes


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Using this book in the

second year of study


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The Nature of Business and Management Research

Three things combine to make business andmanagement a distinctive focus for research:

1. The way in which managers draw on knowledge

developed by other disciplines;

2. The fact that managers tend to be powerful and busy

people: they are unlikely to allow research access

unless they can see personal or commercial

advantages;

3. The research must have some practical consequence.


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Business and managementresearc involves

undertaking systematic

researc to findout t ings.

It is transdisciplinary, and

engages wit bot t eory

andpractice.

T e NatureofBusiness & Management Researc


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Theory and Practice

It is generally held that business research should

complete a virtuous circle of theory and practice.

Business and management research needs toengage with both the world of theory and the

world of practice.

So, the problems addressed should grow out ofinteraction between these two worlds rather

than either on their own.


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The BasicApplied Continuum

All usi ess nd n e entrese r h proje ts n e placed on

a asicapplied continuu

accordin to their purpose andcontext.


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Figure 1.1 Basicand applied researchSource: Authors experience, Easter

y-S

ith et al., 2002, Hedricket al., 1993

The BasicApplied Continuu


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The Importance of Rigour


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An Example Where Rigour was Lacking

May 12, 2006Disgraced Korean Cloning Scientist Indicted

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SEOUL, South Korea,Friday, May 12 (AP) Prosecutors on

Friday indicted a disgraced cloning scientist on violations linked

to faked stem cell research, officials said.

The scientist, Dr. H ang Woo Suk,and five e ers of his

research team ere indicted,a prosecution official, Lee In Kyu,

said at a nationally televised ne s conference.

Dr. H ang as hailed as aglo al stemcell pioneerand treatedas a national hero untilinvestigations late last year sho ed that

he had fabricated key data in t o papers pu lished in the

journal Science.

He as later fired from his post as a professorat Seoul National

University, here he did his research.


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The Stages of Research are Flexible

In this course, research is represented as

a multi-stage process;

however, this process is rarelystraightforward and will involve both

reflecting on and revising stages already

undertaken and forward planning.


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Figure 1.2

The research processSource: Mark Saunders, Philip Le is and Adrian Thornhill 2006


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Theory and Practice

1. Business and management research need toprovide findings that advance knowledge and

understanding.

2. It needs to address business issues and

provide a process for solving managerial

problems.

3. You may satisfy your intellectual curiosity but

you must also consider the practical

implications of your findings.


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IN CLASS ACTIVITY

READ CHAPTER 1 AND MAKE

NOTES WHEN ANSWERING THETHREE SELF-CHECK QUESTIONS

AT THE END.


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In-Class Assignment

Brainstorm two interlinked questions in

groups of four to six.

T

hese are the following:1. What do you understand by the term

research?

2. What distinguishes business andmanagement research from research more

generally?


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Potential Purposes and Context of your Research Project

Policies,

Similarities,

Differences,

Context,

Behavior,

Underlying

Processes


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Figure 1.2 The research process (Continued)Source: Mark Saunders, Philip Le

is and Adrian Thornhill 2006


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http:// ps.pearsoned.co.uk/ema_uk_he_saunders_resmeth us_4/

Student Resources

Be sure to follow this link and explore the

different student resources available to you

there

Chapter-by-chapter resources;

Extra case studies;

Tutorials and datasets; Test questions;

An in-depth glossary;

An on-line search facility;


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For Next Class

Read Chapter 2.

As you read think about the following:

1. What is your proposed research topic?

2. Which of the attributes in Box 2.2 on p. 22 does your topic

possess?

3. What research questions are suggested by your researchtopic?

4. What research objectives are suggested by your research

topic?

5. To what literature does your research topic relate?6. What are the key dependent and independent variables in

your proposed study?

7. What relationship between the dependent and independent

variables do you think you will find?

Documents

1 - Research Methods - Intro[1]