2025/2026 BA-BDMAO1026U Qualitative and Quantitative Methods
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Qualitative and Quantitative Methods |
Course information |
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Language | English |
Course ECTS | 15 ECTS |
Type | Mandatory (also offered as elective) |
Level | Bachelor |
Duration | One Semester |
Start time of the course | Spring |
Timetable | Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk |
Study board |
Study Board for Service and Markets
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Course coordinator | |
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Main academic disciplines | |
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Teaching methods | |
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Last updated on 27-06-2025 |
Relevant links |
Learning objectives | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
On completion of the course, students should be
able to:
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Examination | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Course content, structure and pedagogical approach | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
This course teaches students to (1) understand and critically evaluate dominant philosophies of science and methodologies that undergird scientific knowledge creation in the social sciences and (2) competently use a broad selection of qualitative and quantitative social science research methods.
The course is divided into three overlapping phases: First, students are introduced to central concepts (induction, deduction, verification, falsification, ontology, epistemology, etc.) and positions (positivism, social constructivism, critical theory, etc.) in the philosophy of science. In addition to learning about theories of what constitutes science, students will get practical training in identifying researchable problems and formulating concise research questions. Second, students will learn about and be taught to use a range of qualitative methods. In the final stretch of the course, students will be introduced and trained to use a wide variety of quantitative methods foundational to social science research.
Through active participation in the course, students will learn to competently perform social science research. This entails designing a research project of the size and scope required for a Bachelor thesis at CBS. It moreover entails gaining an in-depth understanding of and developing the ability to critically reflect on the conventions of the methodological decisions taken in and possible ethical dilemmas associated with said research project. Finally, students will learn to communicate their research practice and process orally and in writing. The knowledge gained and competencies developed in the course will not only help students in their studies at the university but prepare them for a labour market where they must account for their approach (method) to problem-solving.
The course will conclude with a 10 page individual home assignment. Exam guidelines and an exam paper template will be available on Canvas from the start of the course. |
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Research-based teaching | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
CBS’ programmes and teaching are research-based. The following
types of research-based knowledge and research-like activities are
included in this course:
Research-based knowledge
Research-like activities
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Description of the teaching methods | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The course combines lectures, exercises, and workshops. Lectures will provide foundational knowledge about the philosophies of science and social science research methods on offer in the course. In the exercise classes and workshops, students will work with the application of methodological tools introduced in the lectures. Exercises and workshops will involve group work, peer- and teacher-student-feedback, and dialogue-driven teaching. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Feedback during the teaching period | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Students will have the opportunity to get continuous feedback in lectures, exercise classes, and in workshops throughout the duration of the course. Also, peer-feedback is integrated in exercises and case work. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Student workload | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Expected literature | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pfeffer, Jeffrey and Robert I. Sutton. 2006. ‘Evidence-Based Management’. Harvard Business Review, January, pp. 1-13.
Godfrey-Smith, Peter. 2021. Theory and Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science. Chicago, Il: The University of Chicago Press.
Shareff, Reginald. 2007. ‘Want Better Business Theories? Maybe Karl Popper Has the Answer’, Academy of Management Learning & Education, 6(2): 272-280.
Kaufmann, Laura. 2022. ‘Feminist Epistemology and Business Ethics’, Business Ethics Quarterly, 32(4): 546-572.
Felin, Teppo and Nicolai J. Foss. 2009. ‘Social Reality, the Boundaries of Self-Fulfilling Prophecy, and Economics’, Organization Science, 20(3): 654-668.
Jeanes, Emma. 2017. ‘Are we ethical? Approaches to ethics in management and organisation research’. Organization, 24(2): 174-197.
Grønmo, Sigmund. 2024. ‘Creating research questions’ in: Social Research Methods: Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods Approaches. London: Sage. Pp. 76-95.
Bernard, H. Russell. 2011. “Sampling I: The Basics.” In: Research Methods in Anthropology, New York: Alta Mira, pp. 113-129.
Guest, Greg, Arwen Bunch, and Laura Johnson. 2006. “How Many Interviews are Enough? An Experiment with Data Saturation and Variability.” Field Methods 18: 59-82.
Spradley, James P. 1980. “Step Two: Doing Participant Observation.” Pp. 53-63. Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press.
Emerson, R.M., R.I Fretz & L.L. Shaw, 1995. “Fieldnotes in ethnographic research” & “In the field: Participating, observing and jotting notes.” In: Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes, Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, pp.1-38.
Brinkmann, Svend. 2014. ‘Unstructured and Semi-Structured Interviewing’. In: Patricia Leavy (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Qualitative Research, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Flyvbjerg, Bent. 2008. ‘Five Misunderstandings About Case-Study Research.’ Qualitative Inquiry, 12(2): 219–245.
Small, Mario Louis. 2009. ‘“How many cases do I need?”: On science and the logic of case selection in field-based research.’ Ethnography, 10(1): 5–38.
Skjott Linneberg, Mai and Steffen Korsgaard. 2019. ‘Coding qualitative data: a synthesis guiding the novice’. Qualitative Research Journal, 19(3): 259-270.
Epstein, Lee and Andrew D. Martin. 2004. ‘Coding variables’, in: Kimberly Kempf-Leonard (ed.) Encyclopedia of Social Measurement.New York: Academic Press.
Kaur-Gill, Satveer and Mohan J. Dutta. 2017. ‘Digital Ethnography’, in: Jörg Matthes (ed.) The International Encyclopedia of Communication Research Methods, Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., pp. 1-10.
Forberg, Peter and Kristen Schilt. 2023. ‘What is ethnographic about digital ethnography? A sociological perspective’. Frontiers in Sociology, 8: 1-15.
Bowen, G. A. (2009). ‘Document Analysis as a Qualitative Research Method’. Qualitative Research Journal, 9(2), 27-40.
Lock, I., & Seele, P. (2015). ‘Quantitative Content Analysis as a Method for Business Ethics Research’. Business Ethics: A European Review, 24(1), S24-S40.
Grant, A. M., & Pollock, T. G. (2011). ‘Publishing in AMJ-Part 3: Setting the Hook’. Academy of Management Journal, 54(5), 873-879.
Wickham, H. (2014). ‘Tidy Data’. Journal of Statistical Software, 59(10). https://doi.org/10.18637/jss.v059.i10
Blaschke, S. (2024). ‘Introduction to R.’
Finkelstein, S., & Hambrick, D. C. (1990). ‘Top-management-team Tenure and Organizational Outcomes: The moderating Role of Managerial Discretion’. Administrative Science Quarterly, 35(3), 484-503.
Choi, J., Menon, A., & Tabakovic, H. (2021). ‘Using Machine Learning to Revisit the Diversification-Performance Relationship’. Strategic Management Journal, 42(9), 1632-1661.
March, J. G. (1991). ‘Exploration and Exploitation in Organizational Learning’. Organization Science, 2(1), 71-87.
Blaschke, S., Schoeneborn, D., & Seidl, D. (2012). ‘Organizations as Networks of Communication Episodes: Turning the Network Perspective Inside Out’. Organization Studies, 33(7), 879-906. |