COMSATS Institute of Information Technology

COURSE HANDBOOK
Research Tool and Techniques

1 Course Title Research Tool and Techniques

2 Course Code MGT 301
3 Credit Hours 3(3,0)
4 Semester Spring 2019
5 Resource Person Dr. Hafiz Muhammad Usman
6 Supporting Team Members Not applicable
7 Contact Hours (Theory) 3 hours per week
8 Contact Hours (Lab) Not Applicable
9 Office Hours 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm (meeting by
appointment)
Course Introduction
The purpose of this course is to introduce the students to the application of basic qualitative and
quantitative techniques in management research. It aims to provide basic training in both qualitative and
quantitative research methods with topics designed for students in gaining a deeper understanding in the
concepts and principles of quantitative methodologies, as well as to acquire advanced skills in
management research. Students will develop competence in quantitative techniques through hands-on
practices in study design, data collection, and management, as well as the analysis and interpretation of
data.

11 Learning Objectives
This course aims to provide students with a background in research methods, issues related to
management and data analysis, both qualitative and quantitative. Knowledge of these topics will
enable students to both implement and evaluate management research during their professional
careers.
12 Learning Outcomes

Those who successfully complete the module will be able to:

 LO1: Develop analytical thinking ability to translate management problems into tangible
research questions
 LO2: Familiarize with different research philosophies and frequently used qualitative
and quantitative research approaches and designs and use the most appropriate methods
in various conditions
 LO3: Understand and analysis the use of quantitative and qualitative research designs in
management research to support decision making
 LO4: Create a research project plan that include (i) problem identification (ii) research
design (iii) data collection design (iv) sampling design (v) data analysis and solution
generation.
 LO5: Demonstrate competency with SPSS and AMOS statistical software package and
the ability to use SPSS to enter data, conduct various types of statistical analyses and
interpret their outputs.
 LO6: Demonstrate ability to apply management theory to actual situations by learning
about the kinds of problems and decisions faced by practitioners.

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Main Text books

Bryman, A., & Bell, E., (2007). Business Research Methods. Oxford: Oxford University Press

Easterby-Smith, M., Thrope, R., & Jackson, P.R. (2010). Management Research, London: Sage

Field, A. P. (2009). Discovering statistics using SPSS. Los Angeles [i.e. Thousand Oaks, Calif.:
SAGE Publications.
Hair, Jr., J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., Anderson, R. E., & Tatham, R. L. (2009). Multivariate
Data Analysis (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice

Other reference Books:

Creswell, J., W., ( 2003), Research Design; Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods
Approaches, London: Sage
Strauss, A., and Corbin, J. (1990) Basics of Qualitative Research. Newbury Park: Sage

Research Papers

Dubois, A., and Gadde. L.E. (2002) ‘Systematic combining: an abductive approach to case
research’, Journal of Business Research 55 (7): 553-560.

Dyer, W.G., Wilkins, A.L., (1991) ‘Better stories, not better constructs, to generate better
theory: a rejoinder to Eisenhardt’, Academy of Management Review 16 (3): 613-619.

Eisenhardt, K.M. (1989) ‘Building theories from case study research’, Academy of Management
Review 14 (4): 532–550

13 Lecture
Weeks Topic of Lecture Reading/
Activities/Discussion
Week 1 Research Philosophies Easterby-Smith et al (2010)
 Positivism
 Interpretivism
 Realism
 Pragmatism

Week 2 Qualitative and Quantitative research Easterby-Smith et al (2010)

 Understand the importance of quantitative
and qualitative approaches as a blue print for
marketing research projects
 Decide which approach should be used for
the research questions in hand
Week 3 Research approaches
 Deductive Dubois and Gadde (2002)
 Inductive Quiz 1
 Abductive (Systematic combining)

Week 4 Research strategies Bryman and Bell (2007)

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  Surveys Eisenhardt (1989)
 Case study
 Experiments

Week 5 Research strategies

 Ethnography Bryman and Bell (2007)
 Archival research
 Action Research
Week 6 Research Choices Bryman and Bell (2007)
 Mono
 Mutli Quiz 2
 Mixed

Week 7 Qualitative data collection and Research Ethics

Semi-structured interviews Bryman and Bell (2007)

Assignment 1
Week 8 Qualitative data analysis
Bryman and Bell (2007)

Assignment 2
Week 9 Data Collection Quiz 3
 Designing a questionnaire

Week 10 Quantitative Data Analysis 1.Chapter 1& 3 of Field

 Measurement and Quantitative Data
 Testing assumptions 2. Chapter 1 & 2 of Hair et
al.
1.Chapters 3, 4 & 5 of
Field

Week 11 Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) 1.Chapter 17 of Field

2.Chapter 3 of Hair et al.

Week 12  Introduction to Structural Equation Modeling Chapter 12 & 13 of Hair et al.

(SEM):
 Confirmatory Factor Analysis
Week 13  Validity and Reliability Analysis Chapter 13 of Hair et al.
 Correlation Chapter 6 & 7 of Field
 Testing hypotheses
Week 14 Project presentations
Week 15 Project presentations
13 Course Assessment

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 The assessment of this module shall have following breakdown structure

Mid-term Exam 25%

Terminal Examination 50%
Assignments & quizzes 25%
The minimum pass marks for each course shall be 50%. Students obtaining less than 50% marks
in any course shall be deemed to have failed in that course. The correspondence between letter
grades, credit points, and percentage marks at CIIT shall be as follows:
Grades Letter Grade Credit Points Percentage Marks
A ( Excellent) 4.0 90 and above
A- 3.7 85-89
B+ 3.3 80-84
B (Good) 3.0 75-79
B- 2.7 70-74
2.3 65-69
C (Average) 2.0 60-64
C- 1.7 55-59
D (Minimum passing) 1.3 50-54
F (Failing) 0.0 Less than 50
15. Plagiarism
Plagiarism involves the unacknowledged use of someone else’s work, usually in coursework,
and passing it off as if it were one’s own. Many students who submit apparently plagiarised work
probably do so inadvertently without realising it because of poorly developed study skills,
including note taking, referencing and citations; this is poor academic practice rather than
malpractice.

However, some students plagiarise deliberately, with the intent to deceive. This intentional
malpractice is a conscious, pre-mediated form of cheating and is regarded as a particularly
serious breach of the core values of academic integrity.

Plagiarism can include the following:

1. collusion, where a piece of work prepared by a group is represented as if it were the
student’s own;
2. commission or use of work by the student which is not his/her own and representing it as
if it were, e.g.:
a. purchase of a paper from a commercial service, including internet sites, whether
pre-written or specially prepared for the student concerned
b. submission of a paper written by another person, either by a fellow student or a
person who is not a member of the university;
3. duplication (of one’s own work) of the same or almost identical work for more than one
module;
4. the act of copying or paraphrasing a paper from a source text, whether in manuscript,
printed or electronic form, without appropriate acknowledgement (this includes quoting
directly from another source with a reference but without quotation marks);
5. submission of another student’s work, whether with or without that student’s knowledge
or consent;
6. Directly quoting from model solutions/answers made available in previous years;
7. cheating in class tests, e.g.
a. when a candidate communicates, or attempts to communicate, with a fellow candidate

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 or individual who is neither an invigilator or member of staff
b. copies, or attempts to copy from a fellow candidate
c. attempts to introduce or consult during the examination any unauthorised printed or
written material, or electronic calculating, information storage device, mobile phones
or other communication device
d. personates or allows himself or herself to be impersonated.
8. Fabrication of results occurs when a student claims to have carried out tests, experiments
or observations that have not taken place or presents results not supported by the evidence
with the object of obtaining an unfair advantage.
These definitions apply to work in whatever format it is presented, including written work,
online submissions, group work and oral presentations.
16. Attendance Policy
Every student must attend 80% of the lectures/seminars delivered in this course and 80% of the
practical/laboratory work prescribed for the respective courses. The students falling short of
required percentage of attendance of lectures/seminars/practical/laboratory work, etc., shall not
be allowed to appear in the terminal examination of this course and shall be treated as having
failed this course.