Business Research Methods Syllabus - BBA (TU)

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Course Description

Course Objectives

This course is an introduction on how to do business research with an emphasis on applied problem solving and report writing. The objective of this course is therefore to provide knowledge and understanding of basic principles of business research methods.

Course Description

The course has a preliminary focus on problem identification, theoretical framework development and hypothesis formulation. The course will then deal with research design issues, measurement, sampling, data collection and analysis. This encompasses the overall understanding and application of appropriate research techniques and research statistics, and report writing and presentation skills.

Unit Contents

Course Details

Unit 1: Introduction                                                                                                                                             LH 8

Meaning of research; Scientific research-features,; Types of research; The scientific research process; Approaches to research; Paradigm shifts-positivist vs. Interpretive philosophies; Management research-concept, nature, and value in business decision making; applying scientific thinking to management problems; Ethical concerns in research.

Unit 2: Literature searching and Theoretical Framework                                                                                                                               LH 6

Concept, purposes and steps in literature survey; Literature search through the Internet; Theoretical framework ; Theory and research; Approaches-deduction and induction; Research problem; Research questions and hypothesis formulation.

Unit 3: Research Design                                                                                                                                             LH 5

Concept; Types-descriptive, developmental, case studies, causal-comparative, and experimental; Qualitative research-concept, assumptions and features.

Unit 4: Measurement, Scaling and Sampling                                                                                                                                    LH 7

Variables and their measurement; Nature of measurement; Scale construction for attitude measurement; Scales commonly used in business research; Validity and reliability of measurement; Sources of measurement problems; The sampling process; Types of samples -probability and non-probability sampling; Sampling and non- sampling errors.

 

Unit 5: Data Collection and Analysis                                                                                                                                             LH 12

Types of data and their sources-secondary data, advantages and disadvantages of using secondary data; Primary data-sources and methods; Questionnaires-design, components and principles of questionnaire writing; The research interviews-face-to-face and telephone interviews, computer assisted interviewing; Observation-concept and methods;

Data analysis – organizing and preparing data; Presenting data in tables, graphs and charts; Statistical techniques – descriptive and inferential statistics; Statistical testing of hypothesis; Methods of collecting and analyzing qualitative data.

Unit 6: Research Proposal and Report Writing                                                                                                                                  LH 10

Topic selection; Research proposal – purpose, types and structure; Writing research reports -the reporting process, procedure for writing, and style of writing; Typing and layout of the research report; Citations and references by using APA format; Essentials of a good research report.

Text and Reference Books

Basic Books

William G. Zikmund. Business Research Methods. Thomson India. New Delhi.

Prem R. Pant. Fundamentals of Business Research Methods. Buddha Academic Enterprises. Kathmandu.

Reference Books

Alan Bryman and Emma Bell. Business Research Methods. Oxford University Press. New Delhi.

Donald R.  Cooper,  Pamela S.  Schindler, and J. K.  Sharma. Business  Research Methods.

McGraw Hill Education (India). New Delhi.

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  • Short Name N/A
  • Course code RCH 201
  • Semester Sixth Semester
  • Full Marks 100
  • Pass Marks 45
  • Credit 3 hrs
  • Elective/Compulsary Compulsary