Module BUSI4ZQ15: METHODS OF INQUIRY IN BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT

Department: Economics, Finance and Business (Business)

BUSI4ZQ15: METHODS OF INQUIRY IN BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT

Prerequisites

• None.

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• To give students an advanced understanding of key principles of research design and strategy in business and management, including the process of formulating researchable problems;
• To enable students to understand the significance of alternative epistemological positions that provide the context for theory construction, research design, and the selection of appropriate analytical techniques in business and management research;
• To develop students’ competency in understanding and applying, at an advanced level, a range of research methods and tools, and transferable skills and capabilities for managing research, handling data, conducting and disseminating research through professional and ethical practice;
• To allow students to critically evaluate theoretical perspectives of business and management within the context of their own and other organisations.

Content

• Undertaking research in business and management in a business context;
• Making use of library facilities, databases and other learning resources;.
• Planning a research project;
• The dissertation and the research process;
• Application of advanced principles, concepts and methods and to select a topic;
• An awareness of alternative research approaches: inductive or deductive; qualitative or quantitative; using tools for quantitative analysis; case studies and text analysis;
• Selection of the appropriate research approach to match the chosen dissertation topic;
• Managing and researching knowledge inside organisations;
• Personal development inside executive education;
• The contextual application of research in large and/or complex organisations;
• Ethical issues in business management.

Learning Outcomes

• Have an advanced understanding and awareness of the nature and scope of research in business and management including the relationship between, and effective use of, quantitative and qualitative research;
• Be aware of, and familiar with, the specialist facilities available for conducting literature searches and obtaining relevant data to facilitate empirical investigation;
• Have a critical appreciation of ethical issues in business and management research.

• Be able to formulate research questions, identify limitations, correct for bias and error and interpret and evaluate research results;
• Be able to critically review research in the area of business and management appropriate to a Masters level programme;
• Be able to effectively organise, structure and manage the research process;
• Have further developed advanced skills of inquiry, research design, data collection and information retrieval, bibliographic search, measurement and analysis, interpretation and presentation, self-discipline and time management.

Written communication; planning and organising; problem solving and analysis; using initiative; computer literacy.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• The learning outcomes will be met through a combination of lectures, seminars, individual supervisions and guided reading.
• Assessment of this module is by summative assignment, designed to: test the acquisition and articulation of knowledge relating to research; test conceptual understanding and skills of application and interpretation within the business context; test the capacity to examine a range of literature on a specialised area and be able to communicate the results of this work to peers in a manner appropriate to the subject area.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Feedback will be given on the results of their literature search.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University