UNIVERSITY OF GUJRAT

FACULTY OF MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATIVE SCIENCES

I. COURSE INFORMATION

Course Title: Business Research Methods

Course Code: MGT-309
Credit Hour: 03
Pre-requisite: None

II. COURSE DESCRIPTION

The course is designed to help the students understand different techniques of research and
report writing. This course is vital for business students as it will help them in their job for
conducting research. No organization can survive unless there is a continuous research going
on in its operations department. As students of business have to manage the organizations, so
they will be directly related to research. This course comprises of two comprehensive
examinations, quizzes, assignments and a term project.

III. COURSE OBJECTIVE

The intent of the course is to provide an introduction to, and a basic grounding in,
fundamental research methods as they relate to the modern practice of management and to
academic research. The topics that will be covered will assist you in being more effective
designers of applied research related.

IV. COURSE OUTCOMES

At the end of this course, you should be able to:

Recognize the importance of research as a first step in Business Studies.
To gain a better understanding of the role of applied research and research methods in
management theory and practice.
Translate basic/applied business issues into appropriate academic research questions.
Understand the links between the issues being investigated and the method of
investigation.
Understand and apply the skills required to design and conduct research studies
using quantitative techniques.
 V. ASSESMENT & EVALUATION
In Course Assessment 25%
Mid Term Examination 25%
Final Examination 50%
Total 100%

VI. REQUIRED TEXTBOOK(S)

Research Methodology: a step-by-step guide for beginners, by Ranjeet Kumar, Latest Edition
Research Methods for Business by Sekaran & Bougie, Latest Edition
VII. REFERENCE BOOKS/MATERIAL

Business Research Methods by William G. Zikmund, et al., Latest Edition

Business Research Methods by Donald R. Cooper, Latest Edition

ALD R. COOPER DONALD R. COOPER

 DETAILED COURSE OUTLINE

Week Course Detail

Introduction of Research
Definition of research and Business Research
Types of Research
1 Application Perspective (pure, applied)
Objectives Perspective (descriptive, exploratory, correlational, explanatory)
Mode of Inquiry Perspective (qualitative, quantitative)
Hallmarks of Scientific Research
Theory Building
Theory definition and its purpose
Levels of Theory:
2 Abstract Level (Concepts, Propositions)
Empirical Level (Variables, Hypotheses)
Theory Development Process
Deduction Process
Induction Process
The Research Process: a quick glance
Phase I: Deciding what to research
Step I: formulating a research problem
Phase II: Planning a research study
Step II: conceptualizing a research design
Step III: constructing an instrument for data collection
3
Step IV: selecting a sample
Step V: writing a research proposal
Phase III: Conducting a research study
Step VI: collecting data
Step VII: processing and displaying data
Step VIII: writing a research report
4 Reviewingfor
Searching thethe
Literature
existing literature
Reviewing the selected literature
Methods of writing a literature
How to write the References
Definition of referencing
Components of referencing (In text, End list)
How to do referencing in APA format
Assignment: Practice of writing a literature on a topic selected with in text and
 end list references
Formulating a Research Problem
Steps in formulating a research problem
The formulation of research objectives
Types of objectives
Characteristics of objectives
Identifying Variables
5 What is variable?
Types of variables
From the viewpoint of causal relationship
From the viewpoint of study design
From the viewpoint of the unit of measurement
Assignment: write problem statement and objectives
Theoretical Framework
Constructing Hypotheses
The definition of hypothesis
Types of hypothesis
Alternate hypothesis
6 Null hypothesis
Errors in testing a hypothesis
Type I error
Type II error
Assignment: label variables of your study and draw model and construct
hypotheses
Research Design
Definition of research design
Elements of research design
Purpose
Type of study
7
Researchers Interference
Study setting
Unit of analysis
Time horizon
Measurements; Sampling; Data Collection; Data Analysis (details in next
lectures)
8 MID TERM
9 Measurement and Scaling Concepts
 Operationalization of Concepts
Scale Measurement
Nominal Scales
Ordinal Scales
Interval Scales
Ratio Scales
Measurement and Scaling Concepts (Continued)
Evaluating Measurement scales
10
Reliability and its types
Validity and its types
Selecting a method of Data Collection
Major approaches in information gathering (primary, secondary)
Collecting data using primary sources
11 Observation
Interview
Questionnaire
Collecting data using secondary sources
Selecting a Sample
Basic Terminology: (population, population element, population frame, sample,
sample size, sampling, sample unit, sampling framework, sampling error etc.)
Types of sampling (probability, non- probability and mixed method)
12 Non probability Sampling:
Convenience sampling
Judgmental sampling
Expert sampling
Quota sampling
Snowball sampling
Selecting a Sample (Continued)
Probability Sampling:
Simple random sampling
Stratified random sampling (Proportional, disproportional)
13
Cluster sampling
Mixed method Sampling:
Systematic sampling
Assignment: Methodology Writing
14 Processing and Analyzing Data
Processing of Data
Data Analysis Methods
Qualitative Data Analysis
 Quantitative Data Analysis
Writing a Research Proposal and Research Report
Proposal Writing
Report Writing: Preliminaries pages, Main Body (introduction, Literature review,
15
methodology, analysis, conclusions and discussions.) References.
Assignment: Report writing
16 FINAL TERM