• Identify and delimit a researchable problem in a digital management context and formulate an empirically answerable research question.
• Apply key concepts and positions from the philosophy of science appropriate for social science research.
• Select, justify, and apply qualitative and quantitative methods for data collection and analysis in relation to a specific research question.
• Design a coherent and feasible empirical research project, including research question, scientific position, data, sampling, methods, analysis strategy, and quality criteria.
• Compare and critically evaluate qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods designs with regard to their strengths, limitations, and assumptions.
• Assess and discuss ethical dilemmas in empirical research and propose appropriate ways of addressing them.
• Communicate methodological decisions and reflections in a clear, structured, and academically grounded written form.

This course introduces students to how social science research is designed, conducted, evaluated, and communicated in digital management contexts. The course focuses on how researchers identify researchable problems, formulate clear research questions, choose appropriate methods, collect and analyse empirical data, and assess the quality and ethical implications of their research.

The course is organised into four overlapping phases.

First, students are introduced to central concepts and positions in the philosophy of science. Concepts include induction, deduction, verification, falsification, ontology, and epistemology and positions include positivism, critical rationalism, social constructivism, and critical theory. Students learn to distinguish between different assumptions about knowledge and reality and to apply these assumptions when formulating research questions and choosing research designs.

Second, students work with qualitative research methods. They learn how qualitative methods can be used to investigate meanings, experiences, practices, and social processes within the context of (digital) management and organisation studies. The course introduces methods such as interviews, participant observation, document analysis, case studies, and digital ethnography. In the exercise classes, students will practise selecting and justifying qualitative methods in relation to specific research problems.

Third, students are introduced to mixed-methods research. They learn how qualitative and quantitative methods can be combined in a coherent research design and how different types of data can complement, challenge, or qualify each other.

Fourth, students work with quantitative and computational research methods. They learn how to prepare, analyse, model, and interpret empirical data using approaches relevant to social science and business research. The course covers themes including large-scale data, tidy data principles, basic analysis in R, statistical reasoning, machine learning, computational simulations, and network analysis. As with the qualitative methods section of the course, in the exercise classes students will practise using these methods to examine empirical patterns and relationships, while also assessing their assumptions, strengths, limitations, and relevance for specific research problems.

Throughout the course, students develop the ability to design a feasible empirical research project of a size and scope comparable to a Bachelor thesis. This includes identifying and delimiting a research problem, formulating an empirically answerable research question, selecting and justifying methods, considering data collection and analysis strategies, and evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the chosen design. The course also addresses ethical dilemmas in social science research, including informed consent, privacy, data protection, anonymity, power relations, and the responsible use of empirical data. Students learn to identify ethical challenges and propose ways of addressing them in concrete research designs. By the end of the course, students will be able to communicate methodological choices clearly and systematically in writing and orally. The course prepares students both for further academic work at CBS and for professional contexts where they are also required to be methodical and transparent in their approaches to problem-solving. 

• Classic and basic theory
• Methodology

• Development of research questions
• Data collection
• Analysis
• Discussion, critical reflection, modelling
• Students conduct independent research-like activities under supervision

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