Module ECON51215: RESEARCH METHODS

Department: Business School (Economics and Finance)

ECON51215: RESEARCH METHODS

Tied To

• L1K109: Economics and Finance
• L1K209: Accounting and Finance (see Postgraduate Handbook 2011-2012 for details)
• L1K309: Corporate and International Finance
• L1K509: International Banking and Finance
• L1K609: International Money, Finance and Investment (see Postgraduate Handbook 2011-2012 for details)
• L1K709: Finance (see Postgraduate Handbook 2011-2012 for details)
• L1K809: Finance and Investment (see Postgraduate Handbook 2011-2012 for details)

Pre-requisites

Corequisites

Excluded Combinations

Aims

• To provide students with the necessary training to undertake advanced level research in Finance/ Economics and Finance/ Accounting and Finance;
• To provide students with an advanced understanding of the relevance and importance of alternative epistemological positions in the social sciences and the nature of both qualitative and quantitative approaches to research;
• To develop students’ understanding at an advanced level of the nature of research in the social sciences, by examining the study skills necessary to manage and undertake a research project;
• To provide students with opportunities to be familiar with the frontier empirical and theoretical research;
• To provide students with a good foundation for undertaking a dissertation at an advanced level.

Content

• Undertaking research: an overview of the nature of research in the social sciences; epistemological issues; the relationships between interests, topics, questions, problems and hypotheses; sources of information; claims and evidence; reviewing the field; qualitative and quantitative research;
• Making use of and managing library facilities, databases and other learning resources;
• Planning a research project;
• Methodological issues in research: issues in designing and undertaking quantitative and qualitative research and experimental research and the relationships between these methods;
• Ethical issues in research;
• Reviewing the literature and finding the research questions;
• The dissertation and the research process;
• Applications of advanced principles, concepts and methods to select a topic in finance/economics/accounting. This part will involve presentations of empirical and theoretical research at the ‘frontiers’ of the subject as well as reviews of selected seminal papers. Topics will reflect the research interests of the School.

Learning Outcomes

• To have gained an understanding and be aware of the nature and scope of advanced research in the social sciences.
• To be aware of the significance of alternative epistemological positions when designing and undertaking research.
• To be aware of, and familiar with, the facilities available for conducting literature searches and obtaining relevant data to facilitate empirical investigation.

• To be able to effectively organise, structure and manage a research project at an advanced level, including undertaking critical appraisal of relevant literature, and apply critical judgement and discrimination.
• To have developed the ability to operate independently on a research topic and exercise appropriate judgement in the selection of material.
• To have further developed the skills of inquiry, quantitative and qualitative research design, experimental research, data collection and information retrieval, bibliographic search, measurement and analysis, interpretation and presentation of results.

• Written Communication;
• Planning and Organising;
• Problem Solving and Analysis;
• Using Initiative;
• Numeracy;
• Computer Literacy;
• Self-discipline, time management and the ability to work autonomously.

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

• Lectures and seminars/workshops together with guided reading will be used to convey the subject-specific knowledge and skills. Summative assessment is by a research project to test directly the achievement of the learning outcomes.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment

Group project and presentation. Additional formative assessment, and feedback, may take a number of forms such as oral feedback on work prepared by students for seminars; answers to questions either discussed during a seminar, or posted on DUO; discussions with teaching staff during consultation hours, or via e-mail.