Business Research Methods Syllabus - BBA (PU)

Course Objectives

The objective of this course is to provide students with the opportunity to learn the process of collecting, analyzing, and interpreting quantitative and qualitative data to aid managerial decision making. Students develop and practice the knowledge and skills necessary to review, apply and conduct organizational research.

Course Description

This course introduces students to a number of research methods useful for academic and professional investigations of information practices, texts and technologies. By examining the applications, strengths and major criticisms of methodologies drawn from both the qualitative and quantitative traditions, this course permits an understanding of the various decisions and steps involved in conducting research, as well as a critically informed assessment of published research. The emphasis of the course is therefore on problem definition, hypothesis formulation, research design, measurement, sampling, secondary data gathering, observation and interviews, and data analysis. Emphasis will also be placed on conducting and using research in an ethical manner.

Course Outcomes

At the conclusion of the course, students should be able to:

• describe the concept, process, significance, and value of scientific research;

• explain the nature of different types/methods used in management research;
• explain the research process in terms of problem statement, theoretical framework, research questions and hypothesis formulation;
• demonstrate understanding of research design: how research methodology is selected given a problem, how the data are analyzed and interpreted; how research

is reported; and the implications of the findings to theory, research and practice;

• compare and contrast quantitative and qualitative research methods;
• demonstrate skill in using the library and internet resources to identify and  synthesize research literature by writing a review of literature;
• demonstrate skill in describing and interpreting  various statistical techniques using descriptive and inferential statistics;
• describe data collection and analysis techniques in qualitative research;
• prepare research proposals and communicate research results through writing acceptable reports which follow formatting requirements.

Course Contents

Unit I: Introduction to Research                                                                              8 hours

The meaning of research; the nature and types of research; application of scientific thinking in research, scientific research - scientific research process, characteristics of scientific research; Emerging paradigms in research; quantitative and qualitative approaches to research; Business research – role, types and value for decision making; Ethical considerations in business research.

Unit II: Literature Review and Theoretical Framework                                        5 hours

Literature review - purpose and steps; searching, obtaining, and evaluating the literature, literature search through the Internet, format and guidelines for presenting the literature review; Theoretical framework – concept and format; Research and theory – deduction and induction.

Unit III: Problem Definition and Hypothesis Formulation                          3 hours

Problem definition – concept and steps in problem formulation; Research questions; Hypothesis - functions and types; criteria of good hypothesis statement.

Unit IV: Research Design                                                                                         10 hours

Definition; elements of a research design; Types of research design – exploratory; descriptive (developmental and case study); correlational; causal-comparative and experimental research designs; Qualitative research – concept, basic assumptions, features and design.

Unit V: Measurement, Scaling and Sampling                                                          5 hours

Variables – concept and types; Measurement and scales, scale construction and attitude measurement; Scales and techniques commonly used in business research; Validity and reliability of measurement; Sampling – concept, probability and non-probability sampling; sampling and non-sampling errors.

Unit VI: Data Collection and Analysis                                                                     12 hours

Data and its types; sources of primary and secondary data; Questionnaire – principles, components and types – format and types; Research interviews – principles and types;  Sources of qualitative data – observation, participant observation, focus groups; E-research using Internet and websites to collect data from individuals; web surveys, e-mail surveys; Getting data ready for analysis; Data processing; Presenting data in graphs and tables; Statistical analysis of data – descriptive and inferential statistics; Hypothesis testing; Methods of analyzing qualitative data.

Unit VII: Writing Proposals and Project Reports                                                   5 hours

Project work – concept, purpose and methods; Research proposals – functions, types and components; features of research proposal; Research report – concept, process, types and procedure for writing research reports; conventions of academic writing; components of the project report; body of the project report; Documenting sources - APA style of citation and referencing; Essentials of good research report.

Basic Texts

1. Bryman, A and Bell, E. Business Research Methods. Oxford University Press, New Delhi.
2. Zikmund, W. G. Business Research Methods. Thompson, New Delhi.

 References

1. Cooper, D. R. and Schindler, P. S. Business Research Methods. Tata McGraw Hill, New Delhi.
2. Pant, Prem R. Business Research Methods. Buddha Academic Enterprises, Kathmandu.
3. Flick, U. An Introduction to Qualitative Research. Sage South Asia Edition, New Delhi.
4. Sekaran, U. Research Methods for Business: A Skill Building Approach. Wiley, New Delhi.