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2018/2019  BA-BASPO1008U  Business Research Methods

English Title
Business Research Methods

Course information
Language English
Course ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Mandatory
Level Bachelor
Duration One Semester
Start time of the course Autumn
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Study board
Study Board for BSc in Business, Asian Language and Culture
Course coordinator
  • Björn Jindra - Department of International Economics, Governance and Business (EGB)
The course will be taught by Björn Jindra and Renan de Oliviera.
Main academic disciplines
  • Methodology and philosophy of science
  • Statistics and quantitative methods
Teaching methods
  • Face-to-face teaching
Last updated on 28-06-2018

Relevant links
Learning objectives
At the end of the course the students should be able to:
  • identify a research topic, critically review the appropriate existing literature and develop hypotheses that reflect the theoretical setting;
  • apply selected appropriate qualitative tools such as interviews or qualitative and quantitative surveys;
  • distinguish between different types of data and present them in a graphical and summary form;
  • estimate and make basic statistical inferences (tests) about population characteristics from samples as well as interpret the results;
  • calculate and interpret measures of correlation, partial correlation, and regression coefficients from different regression models.
Examination
Business Research Methods:
Exam ECTS 7,5
Examination form Home assignment - written product
Individual or group exam Individual exam
Size of written product Max. 5 pages
Assignment type Written assignment
Duration 72 hours to prepare
Grading scale 7-step scale
Examiner(s) Internal examiner and second internal examiner
Exam period Autumn
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
Description of the exam procedure

The exam must be handed in through Digital Exam.
Course content and structure

The purpose of this course is to provide students with the required research skills that will make them educated users of basic qualitative and quantitative techniques needed in addressing a variety of problems in economic and business research. The study of the material will allow the students to understand how methodological tools blend together in order to result in competent design and analysis of research projects. The two parts:

 

  • In the first part, the course introduces students to two main theoretical approaches in modern interdisciplinary business research, namely interpretivism and positivism, which will help them in building their methodological and reflexive skills. These skills include formulating a research question, making a research design, collecting and analyzing relevant data, and analyzing and writing up the research material. The first part provides also an overview of different qualitative tools such as narrative methods, discourse analysis, interviews, qualitative and quantitative surveys.

 

  • In the second part, the course introduces students to basic statistical skills in business analysis. These skills include presentation and description of data, distributions and statistical inference from samples, one and two sample tests of hypotheses, analysis of variance, correlation, as well as an introduction to simple and multiple regression.
Description of the teaching methods
Teaching consists of lecturing and weekly tutorial sessions. Lectures focus on presenting theory, concepts and insights, while tutorials focus on applying these to concrete exercises. During tutorials students will be asked to either work individually or in small groups to facilitate learning. Students are required to be prepared for each class by reading the recommended material. One of the major components in this course is class participation and that cannot be achieved if students do not come prepared on the recommended reading list. This will enhance interaction in class and lead to creative discussions.
Feedback during the teaching period
In this course the students will receive feedback in a continuous basis through exercise classes, office hours, and in-class discussion. We encourage our students to make use of all these opportunities in order to enhance their learning and understanding of the notions and concepts discussed in the class. Also, feedback will be offered through regular participation in discussions and two-way communications in lectures as well as during lecture breaks.
Student workload
Lectures 30 hours
Tutorials 20 hours
Preparation (i.e. hours spent for reading, group work, etc.) 76 hours
Exam activities including preparation 80 hours
Further Information

Please note that this course will be discontinued and will be offered for the last time in autumn 2018. The last exam in the course will be offered in winter 2019/20.
Expected literature
  1. Saunders, Mark, Lewis, Philip & Thornhill, Adrian. (2007). Fourth Edition. Research Methods for Business students. (selected chapters)
  2. Lind, Douglas, Marchal, William and Wathen, Samuel Adam. Latest Edition. Statistical Techniques in Business and Economics. (selected chapters)

 

Please note: these reading materials are only tentative and changes may occur. Final literature lists will be uploaded on LEARN before the course begins. 

Last updated on 28-06-2018