Business Research Methods Course Description This course will provide in-depth knowledge to prepare students for undertaking,

planning and conducting their research projects competently and effectively. This aims to provide deeper understanding of the quantitative, qualitative and mixed method research approaches which can be utilized in conducting independent research projects in the core areas of business and management. Learning Outcomes After completion of the course students should be able to: a) Develop and present the research proposal. b) Identify and describe the appropriate research approaches, methods and techniques for organizational research. c) Demonstrate the ability to define and carry out data collection. d) Analyze quantitative and qualitative data. e) Carry out an independent research project. Course Contents (weekly basis) Week No. 1 Contents Introduction. Research and its types, theory and business research, knowledge production, research and practice, scientific method, stages in business research, related key concepts, working with Edmodo (online discussion portal) Planning research project. Thinking about research area, selecting research topic, problem statement, research questions, writing research proposal, Quantitative project initiation: Assignment No. 1 Reviewing the literature. Steps in literature review, searching the existing literature, add reasoning to literature, referencing your work, referencing styles, working with APA 6th referencing style, working with EndNote referencing software, Assignment No. 2 Quantitative research. Reasons to conduct quantitative research, Steps in quantitative research, concepts and their measurements, Assignment No. 3 Sampling. Introduction, probability sampling, non-probability sampling, sample size, limits to generalization, sampling bias, sampling errors, Assignment No. 4 Collecting data. Data collections methods, measurement scales, limitations & applications of data collection methods, working with Qualtrics data collection software. Assignment No. 5 Quantitative data analysis. Variables, types of variables, Univariate, bivariate and multivariate analyses, cause and effect analysis, correlations, regressions equations and related analyses. Working with SPSS. Data entry, working with missing data, frequency and cross tabulation, factor analysis, conducting different analyses with SPSS, Assignment No. 6

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Course Instructor: Rana Rashid Rehman

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Structure equation modelling. Concepts and applications, confirmatory factor analysis, working with AMOS Software Issues with quantitative analysis. Issues with SPSS and AMOS working (project related queries and discussion). Finalizing the quantitative project. How to write results, discussion, findings & recommendations. Assignment No. 7 (quantitative project due) Quantitative project presentations Qualitative research. Introduction, overview to key concepts, Qualitative project initiation: Assignment No. 8 Approaches to qualitative research. Ethnography and participant observation, interviewing and focus groups, document analysis, Assignment No. 9 Analyzing Qualitative Data. Coding, pattern analysis, working with NVIVO qualitative software. Assignment No. 10 Mixed Method Approach. Overview of mixed method approach + qualitative project due

Recommended Books 1. Business Research Methods by Alan Bryman & Emma Bell (second edition), Oxford University Press 2. Business Research Methods by William G. Zikmund (available edition) 3. Research Methods for Business: A Skill Building Approach by Uma Sekaran (available edition)

Course Instructor: Rana Rashid Rehman