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2013/2014  BA-BLC_1QBR  Quantitative business research

English Title
Quantitative business research

Course information
Language English
Exam ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Mandatory
Level Bachelor
Duration One Semester
Course period Spring
Time Table Please see course schedule at e-Campus
Study board
Study Board for BSc og MSc in Business, Language and Culture, BSc
Course coordinator
  • Christian Erik Kampmann - Department of Innovation and Organizational Economics (INO)
Main academic disciplines
  • Statistics and mathematics
Last updated on 13-05-2014
Learning objectives
At the end of the course you should be able to:
  • Identify different types of quantitative data and explain basic methods of data collection and experimental design
  • Use and critically evaluate the use of graphics, tables, and summary measures to illustrate relationships in data, appropriate for the purpose at hand,
  • Use elementary theory of probability and distributions to calculate sample distributions and the probabilities of alternative outcomes and make basic statistical inferences (tests) about population characteristics from samples,
  • Use and interpret the output of methods to statistically analyze associations, such as contingency tables and single and multiple regression and recognize common problems and limitations in such methods,
  • When faced with a specific research question and available data, select one or more appropriate statistical methods to address the question, develop a structured and disciplined approach to statistical analysis critically evaluate the results.
Examination
Quantitative business research:
Examination form Written sit-in exam
Individual or group exam Individual
Assignment type Written assignment
Duration 4 hours
Grading scale 7-step scale
Examiner(s) Internal examiner and second internal examiner
Exam period May/June
Aids allowed to bring to the exam Limited aids, see the list below and the exam plan/guidelines for further information:
  • Books and compendia brought by the examinee
  • Notes brought by the examinee
  • Allowed calculators
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
If the number of registered candidates for the make-up examination/re-take examination warrants that it may most appropriately be held as an oral examination, the programme office will inform the students that the make-up examination/re-take examination will be held as an oral examination instead.
All aids are permitted except internet access.
Course content and structure

This course introduces you to basic quantitative skills in business analysis, including methods for presenting and characterizing quantitative data, making inferences from data based on the theory of probability and statistics, using data to assess relationships and effects, recognizing potential weaknesses or pitfalls in quantitative analysis, and using data for business decision making. The purpose of the course is to make you an educated user of quantitative methods by introducing you to the main theoretical concepts and issues, rather than giving you an extensive training in the underlying statistical theory. Topics include: data representation and summary measures; exploratory data analysis, data collection and basic experimental design; probability theory and distributions, sampling distributions, confidence intervals, significance tests, contingency tables and Bayesian inference, analysis of proportions, and single and multivariate regression analysis.

Integration: The course provides the essential skills required for quantitative business analysis, with an emphasis on conceptual understanding and critical skills rather than on the practicalities of data collection. The latter will be introduced immediately after the course ends, in the context of the first-year project, where students will get a first opportunity to use the techniques in realistic settings. The emphasis in the course on the tools of quantitative analysis is complemented by the course in Interdisciplinary Research Methods, which focuses on the philosophical underpinnings underlying statistical approaches, notions of construct validity, questionnaire design, and other broader methodological issues.
Teaching methods
In the course, we will combine a number of different learning formats. We will make extensive use of video recordings of short lectures on particular theoretical subjects that you can view at home in conjunction with your reading and problem solving. Plenary lectures will be highly interactive; theory lectures will focus on interactions to help you understand the theoretical concepts and principles; application lectures will focus on how to apply the theories and methods to concrete problems. There will be a weekly problem set which you are strongly encouraged to complete, preferably in study groups. If turned in on time, your problem sets will be graded, giving you valuable feedback on how well you master the material. Weekly tutorial sessions give you an opportunity to work on the problem sets with teacher assistance. Teaching will emphasize real-world data examples and conceptual understanding rather than detailed knowledge of procedures and theories.

The course is taught jointly to students from BLC and HA-psyk (B.Sc. in business administration and psychology).
Student workload
Attending lectures 40 hours
Attenting tutorials 60 hours
Exam and feedback 6 hours
Home preparation 159 hours
Total 225 hours
Expected literature

Agresti, A.; Franklin, C. (2013) Statistics: The Art and Science of Learning from Data (3rd international ed.), Pearson, ISBN 978-0-321-80754-4. 
Last updated on 13-05-2014