MIT WPU- MBA SYLLABUS (BATCH 2019-2021)

Syllabus

Course Code MBA519A

Course Category Professional Core Course- Full Credit
Course Title Research Methodology
Teaching Scheme and Credits Lectures Case Assessment Credits
Weekly load hrs. 3 1 1 3
Pre-requisites: - NA
Course Objectives:
1. Knowledge: To understand concepts in Business research
i. Various types of research design
ii. Scale development and data collection
iii. Data analysis using advanced statistical tools.
2. Skills: Business research skills:
i. Design and evaluate research proposal
ii. Choosing appropriate design
iii. Choosing sampling size and technique
iv. Interpreting results of multivariate analysis
v. Analytical skill
3. Attitude: To develop following:
i. Logical thinking
ii. Problem solving
iii. Critical evaluation
iv. Scientific decision-making
Course Outcomes:
1. Students will be able to demonstrate that they understand the research process and its application in
business management.
2. Students will be able to demonstrate that they can use problem-solving and analytical skills to
understand business problems and suggest suitable research designs to address the business
problems
3. Students will be able to demonstrate that they understand a range of qualitative and quantitative data
collection and analysis techniques by applying these to the interpretation of research papers and
class research assignments.
4. Students will be able to demonstrate that they can to assess the influence of cultural and
philosophical considerations when selecting and applying the various qualitative and quantitative
methods studied.
Course Contents:
1. Fundamentals of Research
2. Research Design
3. Measurement and Data
4. Sampling
5. Research Proposal, Data Analysis and Hypothesis Testing
Learning Resources:
Reference Books:
1. Research Methodology by C. R. Kothari, New Age International Publication, 2nd Edition
2. Research Methodology by Dipak Chawala, Vikas Publication.
3. Research Methods: The basics by Nicholas, S. R. Walliman.
4. Business Research Methods by Naval Bajpai
MIT WPU- MBA SYLLABUS (BATCH 2019-2021)

5. Research Methodology in Management by Dr. V. P. Michael

6. Business Research Methods by William G. Zikmund, Barry J. Babin, Jon C. Carr, Mitch Griffin.
7. Business Research Methods by Donald Cooper & Pamela Schindler, TMGH, 9th Edition.
8. The Practice of Social research by Earl R. Babbie
Web Resources: http://www.socialresearchmethods.net
MOOCS:
1. https://www.coursera.org/specializations/market-research
2. https://www.coursera.org/specializations/data-analysis
3. https://www.coursera.org/specializations/social-science
Pedagogy:
1. Interactive discussion, Case study, Research proposal designing, Questionnaire designing etc.

Syllabus:

Module Workload in Hrs

Contents
No. Theory Case Assess
Fundamentals of Research
1.1. Research-Definition, reasons for studying business research,
Characteristics of research, what is good research?
1 1.2. Introduction to decision support System, Business Intelligence 5 1 1
1.3. Research application in functional areas of business
1.4. Steps in research Process (Ref. C. R. Kothari)
1.5. Ethics in Research, Concept of Plagiarism and prevention
Research Design
2.1. Concept and Role of research design
2.2. Type of research approaches- Qualitative research and
quantitative research, Difference between Qualitative research
and quantitative research
2.3. Types of Research design- Exploratory research and
Conclusive research: descriptive and causal research.
2 6 1 1
Exploratory research techniques: Depth interview, Experience
survey, Focus group, observations.
2.4. Descriptive Research Design- concept, use. Cross sectional &
longitudinal research.
2.5. Experimental Design- concept of cause, causal relationship,
concept of dependent & independent variable, extraneous
variable, treatment & control group
Measurement and Data
3.1. What is measured? Problems in measurement in management
research.
3.2. Levels of Measurements- Nominal, Ordinal, Interval and
Ratio.
3 3.3. Concept of scale- Rating scale (Likert, semantic differential 6 1 1
scales, constant sum scales, graphic rating scales), Ranking
scales (Paired comparison & forced ranking) – concept and
application.
3.4. Types of Data-Secondary data: definition, sources,
characteristics, Primary data -advantages & disadvantages
MIT WPU- MBA SYLLABUS (BATCH 2019-2021)

Module Workload in Hrs

Contents
No. Theory Case Assess
over secondary data.
3.5. Primary Data Collection Tools, Case study on
Questionnaire/Schedule drafting
Sampling
4.1. Basic concept of Sampling: universe/population, sample,
sampling frame, sampling element & characteristics of good
sample.
4 4.2. Probability sampling: different types of sampling. 6 1 1
4.3. Non-probability sample- different types of non-probability
sampling,
4.4. Sampling Errors, non-sampling errors, methods to reduce
errors, sample size Considerations.
Research Proposal, Data Analysis and Hypothesis Testing
5.1. Elements of research proposal, Case study on drafting research
proposal
5.2. Data Analysis - Frequency distribution table, Charts: Bar, Pie,
and Histogram.
5.3. Hypothesis- meaning, importance and qualities of good
hypothesis. Steps, framing null & alternate hypothesis, testing
logic & importance, Type-I & Type-II error, Concept of Level
5 10 3 1
of Significance and Confidence level.
5.4. Hypotheses tests: One sample t test, Independent sample t test,
paired sample t test, One way ANOVA, chi-square test for
independence (3 Case studies using EXCEL on hypotheses
testing), (Interpretation of the given data is expected for
appropriate managerial decisions, numerical not expected)
5.5. Report Writing: layout of Report, Summer Internship Project
layout and guidelines
Total 33 7 5