PORTSMOUTH BUSINESS SCHOOL
RESEARCH METHODS AND DISSERTATION (U20597)
Academic Year 2012-13
Unit presenters:
Alessio Ishizaka ()
Michele Lundy ()
Colston Sanger ()
Michael Wood (unit coordinator) ()
20 November 2012
Introduction
This unit is intended to familiarize you with various concepts and techniques for doing research in management. These include statistical methods, which are also important across the whole range of management decision making tasks. The unit has two coursework assignments: the first is a proposal or plan for your project, and the second is the project (sometimes called a dissertation) itself. The research project normally builds on the work done in some of the other units, and is an opportunity to develop a state of the art expertise in a particular area, and to investigate in depth a topic of interest and concern to you.
Syllabus Outline
The topics covered in the unit will include:
1 / Research planning, management and writing.2 / Literature search and review.
3 / Research designs; issues relevant to evaluating research - eg sampling, validity, reliability.
4 / Qualitative research techniques.
5 / Use of statistical methods in research: software (Excel, SPPSS), presentation and analysis of data, basic statistical concepts.
6 / More advanced statistical concepts: regression modelling and statistical inference.
Like any other course, we will have to be selective and only look at a few of the many concepts and techniques relevant to each of the course aims. It is particularly important to remember this in relation to the research methods part of the course. It is clearly impossible to cover all methods and philosophies of research in detail in the short time we have available, so it is very important that you consult the literature on research methods (see below) for detailed guidance on your particular research area. For example, if you decide to do a questionnaire survey, you must consult (and reference) books and / or articles giving advice on the design and analysis of questionnaires.
The project proposal workshops are a very important part of the course. The idea is to give you the opportunity to present or discuss your ideas for your project (i.e. your assignment) to a group of your fellow students and your seminar tutor. This should help you to clarify your proposal, and get feedback. You will also learn a lot from listening to your colleagues’ ideas, and the feedback they receive.
Schedule (2012-13)
Week / Date / Lead tutor1 / 25 /09 / Introduction, reading, assignment.
Introduction to research
Introduction to the Dissertation (or Project)
What must be in your research proposal (plan)?
The Group research project
Seminar: Group research project (1) / Michael
2 / 02/10 / The learning journal
Seminar: Group research project (2) / Colston
3 / 09/10 / How to make sure your research is useful and trustworthy Seminar: Group research project presentations / Colston / Michael
4 / 16/10 / Statistics 1 / Michael
5 / 23/10 / Statistics 2 / Michael
6 / 30/10 / Statistics 3 / Michael
7 / 06/11 / Statistics 4 / Michael
8 / 13/11 / Research aims, design and methods
The ethics form
Seminar: Choosing a topic (one page summary) / Colston
9 / 20/11 / Literature searches and the literature review.
Seminar: Literature reviews / Sue Stevenson
10 / 27/11 / Research aims, design and methods (continued)
Seminar: Article review / Colston
11 / 04/12 / Things to watch for when assessing research (yours or other people’s)
Article review
Seminar: Project proposal workshop / Alessio
12 / 11/12 / Published research by past students
Seminar: Project proposal workshop / Alessio
13 / 08/01 / TBA
Seminar: Project proposal workshop
20 / 26/02 / Project induction and supervisor allocation
Planning your research as a project
Seminar: TBA / Alessio
21 / 05/03 / Data collection methods: e.g. questionnaires, interviews, etc
Seminar: Data collection methods / Alessio
22 / 12/03 / Use of statistics in research
Seminar: Statistical data analysis / Michele
23 / 19/03 / Other (qualitative) data analysis methods
Seminar: Other data analysis methods / Colston
24 / 26/03 / The ethics form and research values
Unit review, goodbyes
Seminar: creating a group unit review poster / Colston
As you will see teaching is scheduled in the first 13 weeks, then there is a six week break, and then another five weeks teaching. On each of the teaching weeks there will be a one hour lecture followed by a one hour seminar – this will be in a computer room for weeks 4-7, and an ordinary classroom for the remaining weeks.
The first series of three one hour lectures and one hour seminars is designed to introduce the unit and important ideas relating to research. The best way to learn about research is to do some, so the seminars will be devoted to designing and piloting a simple research project working in small groups.
The next sequence of four lectures and seminars will introduce the core ideas of statistics – this is an essential tool for much research, and also for running a business.
After this, Weeks 8-13 will be devoted to a more detailed look at research methods, and to formulating your plans for your own research project. These plans, in the form of a research proposal, are due to be submitted by February 1.
Then there is a six week gap in the scheduled teaching sessions, and then a further five sessions to cover material relevant to the detailed research you will do in your project.
Assessment
There are two components to the assessment:
1. A research plan (http://woodm.myweb.port.ac.uk/rm/ResPlanAss.doc). This has a 25% weighting and the maximum length is 2000 words. It is not practical for the assignment to be anonymous, so please put your name and student number on it. Please also put your Group Number on the front of the assignment. Submission deadline: February 1, 2013.
2. The project (dissertation) itself. The guidelines for this are linked to the web page at http://woodm.myweb.port.ac.uk/bamprojects.htm. This has a 75% weighting and the maximum length is 10 000 words. Submission deadline: September 27, 2013.
Reading
Statistics
The material we will cover is at http://woodm.myweb.port.ac.uk/stats/ . This follows the approach in
Wood, M. (2003). Making sense of statistics: a non-mathematical approach. Basingstoke: Palgrave (especially chapters 3, 8 and 9).
There are many other books which provide a useful coverage of statistics (including Robson, 2002 listed below), and also many helpful resources on the web. An interesting popular book on what statistics can do is
Ayres, Ian. (2007). Super crunchers: how anything can be predicted. London: John Murray.
Research methods
There are summary notes at http://woodm.myweb.port.ac.uk/rm/RmNotes.pdf .
You will also need a book on business research methods. There are many available – for example:
Bryman, A. & Bell, E. (2007). Business Research Methods. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
EasterbySmith, M., Thorpe, R., & Lowe, A. (2008). Management Research: an introduction. London: Sage.
Gill, J., & Johnson, P. (1997). Research methods for managers 2nd edition. London: Paul Chapman.
Jankowicz, A. D. (2005). Business Research Projects. London: Thomson Learning.
Riley, M., Wood, R.C., Clark, M A., Wilkie, E., & Szivas, E. (2000). Researching and writing dissertations in business and management. London: Thomson Learning.
Robson, C. (1993 and 2002). Real World Research. Oxford: Blackwell.
Saunders, M., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2007). Research methods for business students. Harlow: Pearson Education Ltd.
There are also books on specific areas:
Anderson, Valerie (2004). Research methods in human resource management. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
Ayres, Ian. (2007). Super crunchers: how anything can be predicted. London: John Murray. (Lots of examples of experiments and regression in research.)
Coghlan, D. & Brannick, T. (2001). Doing research in your own organization. Sage. (or later edition)
Cottrell, Stella. Critical Thinking Skills. Basingstoke: Palgrave; 2005.
Gabriel, Yiannis. Storytelling in organizations: facts, fictions and fantasies. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2000.
Foster, J., Barkus, E., & Yavorski, C. (2006). Understanding and using advanced statistics. London: Sage
Hart, C. (1998). Doing a literature review : releasing the social science research imagination. London: Sage.
Hewson, C., Yule, P., Laurent, D., Vogel, C (2002).. Internet research methods. London: Sage.
Malhotra, N. K. (1999), Marketing research: and applied orientation (3rd edition). New Jersey: Prentice Hall International.
Mann, Chris; Stewart, Fiona. Internet communication and qualitative research: a handbook for researching online. London: Sage; 2000.
Pawson, Ray. Evidence-based policy: a realist perspective. London: Sage, 2006
Pidd, M. (2003). Tools for thinking: modelling in management science (2nd ed). Chichester: Wiley.
Rivett, P. (1994). The craft of decision modelling. Chichester: Wiley.
Ryan, B., Scapens, R. W., & Theobald, M. (1992). Research method and methodology in finance and accounting. London: Academic Press.
Stein, S. D. (1999). Learning, teaching and researching on the internet: a practical guide for social scientists. Harlow: Addison Wesley Longman.
Taleb, N. N. (2008). The black swan: the impact of the highly improbable. London: Penguin. (Not on research methods as such, but makes some relevant points. You may find it offensive if you are French or an economist.)
Thorpe, R. & Holt, R. (2008). The Sage dictionary of qualitative management research. London: Sage.
Wallace, M. & Wray, A. (2006). Critical reading and writing for postgraduates. London: Sage.
Wood, M. (2003). Making sense of statistics: a non-mathematical approach. Basingstoke: Palgrave.
In addition to works on research methods, you will also, of course, need to consult books and articles on your research area.
Documents and other facilities on the web
This document and some other documents on the research methods part of the course are in Moodle.
Portsmouth University Library has a site linked to the University home page (http://www.port.ac.uk then search for library). This has links to many other sites, and to search engines for trawling through the internet. There is advice on referencing at http://referencing.port.ac.uk. I have also put a few links which may be useful for research methods and statistics on http://userweb.port.ac.uk/~woodm/links.htm .
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Research Methods and Dissertation