I. Basic Course Information
Credit points: 15
Pre-requisite(s): None
Co-requisite(s): None
Note(s): [Available normally to the postgraduate students; Block teaching]
II. Course Aims
[This course aims to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the qualitative and quantitative research methodologies in business and management studies, through theoretical development, group and individual exercises, practical examples, skill-building exercises and in-class group discussions]
III. Main Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, you have acquired
- an in-depth knowledge and understanding of qualitative and quantitative research methods
- the skills and knowledge to collect, and the analytical techniques to analyse both qualitative and quantitative data
- in-depth understanding of the appropriateness of different research methodologies for various research objectives
- in-depth knowledge of various research limitations and how to tackle them
- understanding of potential ethical issues involved in different research projects
- transferable skills (see below)
Transferable Skills
[In-class group discussions and skill building exercises within the lectures and tutorials as well as group and individual assignments will be relied upon to develop good understanding of research methodologies in business and management and the ability to produce research that is academically of high standard. While they prepare students for producing academic research and writing high quality MSc theses, they develop abilities to investigate various fields of research, collect secondary and primary data, critically analyse, evaluate and make sense of the data and produce written reports, as skills relevant to further study and careers in a broad range of areas in business and management. Throughout the tutorials and for their assignments, students develop oral presentation skills which require the ability to work with colleagues, to evaluate oneself and others and to present and summarise information in a way that is sensible to the audience].
IV. Course Content
- Scenarios, assumptions and challenges
- Critical literature review
- Research objectives, question and ethics
- Quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis
- Research limitations in quantitative and qualitative research
- Writing up the research
- Evaluation, reflection and review
V. Assessment and Feedback
Teaching
This course is part of the University of Aberdeen Business School’s portfolio of postgraduate management courses. These courses are taught in intensive, 3-week blocks (henceforth, Preparation Week, Delivery Week, Assessment Week), rather than across the semester. The course is delivered through a series of activities including lectures, tutorials, individual and group projects.
You will be expected to prepare for the lectures and tutorials through completing the preparatory materials. This will include reading of the journal articles and completing all preparatory exercises, as explained below. During the Delivery Week the teaching team will expect you to have completed the required preparatory work and be ready and willing to engage in the class activities and discussions.
Prior to the Preparation Week you will be allocated to one of the following groups/topics. Throughout the duration of the course you will be working in small project groups of 4 or 5 students.
The groups/project topics are as follows:
Group 1: Entrepreneurship education and career intentions
Group 2: Electronic word of mouth
Group 3: Ethical branding
Group 4: Sharing economy
Group 5: Social media screening
Please check MyAberdeen to access the course materials. There are 5 journal articles for each topic. You are required to read all five articles associated to your topic and complete the preparatory work as detailed below.
You can find your updated lecture and tutorial times using MyTimetable. Please check MyAberdeen for the information on the group that you are allocated to.
Preparatory assignments
You have been allocated to a small project group around a specific topic and provided with five journal articles related to this topic.
Every day in the Preparation Week(s) you will be required to complete an exercise related to one or two articles; and to upload your work to MyAberdeen.
Sunday 14th April: Read Article 1 and identify up to three key ideas and summarise them in three bullet points. Upload to MyAberdeen.
Monday 15th April: Read Article 2 and write a short 200 word summary of the article. Upload to MyAberdeen. Please check MyAberdeen (in Assessment) for a referencing system guideline.
Tuesday 16th April: Read Article 3 and do a mind map. A mind map is a diagram which represents information in a visual way. It has a central idea in the middle of it, and other related ideas spreading out from it. Think of a spider’s web. You can read more on mind maps here: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Mind-Map. Upload your mind map to MyAberdeen.
Wednesday 17th April: Read Article 4 and identify and describe in 200 words the methods that were used to conduct the study that the article reports on. Upload to MyAberdeen.
Thursday 18th April: Read Article 5 and identify and describe in 200 words the key concepts and theories that inform the article. Upload to MyAberdeen.
Summative Assessment
1st attempt
The assessment for this course consists of one individual and one group based assessment.
Individual Assessment
The individual assessment comprises 70% of the total marks for the course. It is a Transcript Coding Assessment and builds on the interview schedule that you started to devise in groups in the Delivery Week. It comprises four elements:
- Recruit one participant and carry out an interview using the interview guide – or a more developed version – that you devised in your group in class in the Delivery Week.
- Prepare a transcript of your interview (you can use a transcription software if you wish so).
- Develop a coding framework with themes and sub-themes.
- Illustrate your themes and sub-themes using direct quotations from the transcript.
Group Assessment
The group-work assessment comprises 30% of the total mark for the course. It is a Group Presentation Research Proposal which is a group presentation on the topic of your group and should be of maximum 10 minutes. The presentation will be based on the activities that you have conducted during the Preparation and Delivery Weeks.
You are required to record a powerpoint presentation using 9 slides as follows:
- Title and presenters
- Literature review: Overview of the five articles that you have read in Preparation Week(s). This should be based on the group work prepared in Delivery Week.
- Research aims and objectives. This should be based on the group work prepared in the Delivery Week.
- Research ethics. This should be based on the group work prepared in the Delivery Week.
- Research design, sampling and access. This should be based on the group work prepared in the Delivery Week.
- Data collection methods. This should be based on the group work prepared in the Delivery Week.
- Data analysis methods. This should be based on the group work prepared in the Delivery Week.
- Research quality and limitations. This should be based on the group work prepared in the Delivery Week.
- References
Please note that each group should upload the ‘Peer Evaluation Form for Group Work’ onto MyAberdeen together with the Group Presentation file.
Resit
Students will be required to resit any element where they have scored below CGS mark of E3.
Formative Assessment
This will take place via the tutorial discussions and through verbal feedback on your group and individual performance in class.
Feedback
Written feedback will be provided for your individual assignments and your group presentation project.
At the University of Aberdeen Business School, we care about what you think and encourage you to provide us feedback. On MyAberdeen you can read the minutes of Staff Student Liaison Committees and how the School responded to issues raised (You Said, We Did). Find out more and how to get involved at: https://www.abdn.ac.uk/infohub/study/student-feedback.php
External Examiners
The external examiner for business management postgraduate programmes is Professor David Collins from the University of Suffolk Business School.
Students must not contact the external examiner directly and external examiners receiving any direct contact from students will report this back to the School.
VI. Graduate Attributes
Graduate employability
This course provides advanced knowledge on research methodologies relevant to further study and careers in a broad range of areas in business and management, including research and development.
Academically Excellent
This course reinforces critical thinking and provides students with the knowledge to produce rigorous research.
Critical Thinkers and Effective Communicators
This course encourages the development of problem solving, communication and presentation skills as well as independent and creative thinking via group and individual assignments.
Open To Learning and Personal Development
This course will help develop students’ skills needed to complete postgraduate studies and pursue further studies. It helps all students in continued development of general skills in presentation, writing and critical thinking and analysis.
Active Citizens
In addition to broadening knowledge in different research methodologies, the module helps raise awareness about the role of research in addressing problems and challenges in a global economy.
Subject Benchmarks
The main external reference point used in the QAA subject benchmark statement for General Business and Management (2015).
VII. Administration of the Course
Administration of this course is via MyAberdeen. Announcements will be made using MyAberdeen. If we need to contact you personally, this will be via your university email address (make sure you check this regularly or set up email forwarding to an email address that you do check regularly) or to your term-time address (ensure you keep these details up to date via your student portal).
This course adheres to the common Business School policies set out below:
- Attendance Policy
- Lateness Policy
- Medical Certification Policy
- Academic Integrity Policy
- Common Assessment Scale
- Resit Policy
- Undergraduate Progression Policy
- Honours Entry Policy
- Postgraduate Progression Policy
- Undergraduate Degree Classification Policy
- Postgraduate Degree Classification Policy
- Class Representation Policy
- Co-Curriculum Policy
- Appeals Policy
- Support for Disabled Students
- Feedback Policy
These are available on the course MyAberdeen site – click on the course name, then “School Handbooks, Forms, Policies, Resources” and then “School Policies” or go directly to the taught postgraduate policies.
Students are asked to make themselves familiar with the information on key institutional policies which been made available within MyAberdeen. These policies are relevant to all students and will be useful to you throughout your studies. They contain important information and address issues such as what to do if you are absent, how to raise an appeal or a complaint and how seriously the University takes your feedback: https://abdn.blackboard.com/bbcswebdav/institution/Policies. These institutional policies should be read in conjunction with this programme and/or course handbook, in which School and College specific policies are detailed. Further information can be found on the University¹s Infohub webpage or by visiting the Infohub. The information included in the institutional area for 2018/18 includes the following:
- Absence
- Academic Appeals & Complaints
- Assessment (Common Grading Scale)
- Codes of Practice on Student Discipline (Academic and Non-Academic)
- Class Certificates
- Recording of Lectures
- Exam Results
- Transcripts
- MyAberdeen
- TurnitinUK
- Feedback
- Communication
- Aberdeen Graduate Attributes
- The Co-Curriculum
Avoiding Plagiarism:
Definition of Plagiarism: Plagiarism is the use, without adequate acknowledgment, of the intellectual work of another person in work submitted for assessment. A student cannot be found to have committed plagiarism where it can be shown that the student has taken all reasonable care to avoid representing the work of others as his or her own.
Anyone who is investigated for alleged plagiarism is done so under the following Code of Practice on Student Discipline (Academic)
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/staffnet/teaching/aqh/appendix5x15a.pdf
There are many styles of referencing and citing. The Business School recommends the use of the Harvard referencing style. The library produces useful information on Citing References.
At present the University of Aberdeen uses Turnitin to check students work and you will be asked to submit an electronic version of your report to this for analysis. Further instructions on this will be given to you via the assessment guidance on MyAberdeen.
The Centre for Learning & Teaching provides guidance on how to avoid plagiarism http://www.abdn.ac.uk/sls/online-resources/avoiding-plagiarism/ and you should refer to this prior to finalising your assignments.
You will be required to submit your assignment through the Turnitin software and you should ensure you have read and understood the Information for Students on TurnitinUK http://www.abdn.ac.uk/sls/online-resources/avoiding-plagiarism/turnitin-uk/ prior to doing so.
Failure to submit to Turnitin will result in your grade being given G3 (zero), as per the School’s policy on the Lateness Policy.
IX. Further Details
Course Texts
The course textbook is: Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill (2015) Research Methods for Business Students. New York: Pearson Education.
There are a few hard copies of this book in the University Library. However, it is also available through the University Library as an electronic resource so that all students can access it at all times.
The textbook includes discussion of many issues that relate directly to the content of this course including: critically reviewing the literature; formulating the research design; negotiating access and research ethics; selecting samples; collecting data using interviews and questionnaires; and analysing qualitative and quantitative data.
Lecture Programme
This course will be delivered as a Block Taught course commencing Sunday 7th April 2019.
Preparation Week(s) (starting from wkc 7th April 2019): During these weeks course participants are expected to complete a series of preparatory exercises and reading as detailed in section V. under ‘Prepatory assignments’. In these weeks, you are expected to attend the following two sessions:
Sunday (07.04.2019), 16:00-17:30, Room number 4: Introductory session with Dr. Robert Rogers
Monday (15.04.2019), 18:00-19:30, Villa 5 Computer Lab 1: Online survey design with Dr. John Lamb
Delivery Week (wkc 21st April 2019): During this week course participants are expected to participate in the on campus lectures and tutorials, as detailed in the timetable below. The teaching sessions will run from 4:00 pm to 8:30 pm each day. During this week you will be working in teams. The teams will be assigned randomly.
| Research Practice Delivery Week: Sunday 21.04.2019 – Thursday 25.04.2019, Villa 1 Lecture Room 1 | |||
| Sunday | 16:00-17:30 | 18:00-19:30 | 19:45-20:30 |
| Research Design | Research philosophy and Critical Literature Review
Elham Moonesirust |
Research Aims and Objectives, Research Ethics
Elham Moonesirust |
Research Design, Sampling and Access
Elham Moonesirust |
| Monday | 16:00-17:30 | 18:00-19:30 | 19:45-20:30 |
| Qualitative methods | Research Design, Sampling and Access – Interview Methods
Elham Moonesirust |
Interview Methods – Conducting interviews in pairs
Elham Moonesirust |
Conducting interviews in pairs
Elham Moonesirust |
| Tuesday | 16:00-17:30 | 18:00-19:30 | 19:45-20:30 |
| Quantitative methods | Quantitative Analysis
John Lamb |
Analysis of Statistical Surveys
John Lamb |
Word Processors for Research
John Lamb |
| Wednesday | 16:00-17:30 | 18:00-19:30 | 19:45-20:30 |
| Qualitative methods | Thematic Analysis
Elham Moonesirust |
Research quality and limitations
Elham Moonesirust |
Working with theories and concepts
Elham Moonesirust |
| Thursday | 16:00-17:30 | 18:00-18:45 | 18:45-20:30 |
| Writing Up | Working with theories and concepts – Interpreting findings and drawing conclusions
Elham Moonesirust |
Interpreting findings and drawing conclusions
Elham Moonesirust |
Working on Group Presentation |
Assessment Week(s) (starting from wkc 28th April 2019): During these weeks you will be expected to complete the individual assessment for the course. There will be one Q&A session for the students to ask their questions:
Monday (29.04.2019), 16:00-17:30, Room number 28, with Dr. Robert Rogers
Attendance Rule
All students registered for a course must attend and engage with that course by signing up for and attending compulsory teaching sessions, and submitting in-course assessments. Failure to meet these requirements will attract penalty points. If you attract one penalty point you are liable to be deemed “at risk” (denoted by C6 on your student record). If you attract two penalty points you are liable to have your class certificate removed (denoted by C7 on your student record) meaning you will not be eligible to sit the examination and are effectively removed from the course.
Attendance in all lectures and tutorials is mandatory. Please check the absence policy for Block Taught Attendance on MyAberdeen.
In course assessments – guidelines, submission procedures, deadlines
Details of these will be available under the assessment tab on MyAberdeen and released on the Monday of the teaching week.
Additional Reading and other materials
The required reading for this course is provided in the course textbook. However, as always you are encouraged to read more widely. During the teaching week we will provide additional links and references for you to consult.
Referencing and Citing guidance can be found in the following area of the Student Learning Service website www.abdn.ac.uk/sls/plagiarism/.
