Advance Research Methods

Credit Hours (Theory): 3 hours per week

 INSTRUCTOR’S INTRODUCTION:

Muhammad Faisal Afzal

Visiting Lecturer
Department of the Management Sciences, COMSATS, Lahore

Academic Background

University of Hertfordshire, UK
MSc in Project Management, 2018

University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore

BSc in Mechanical Engineering, 2017
 COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course is designed to give an overview of the principles and methods of advance research
identification of research question, development of theoretical framework and model, securing the
respondents, making a test investigation, sampling, collecting data, types and errors of collected
data, tabulating and analyzing the information, interpreting the findings and stating the conclusion
through a series of class projects. Practical experience is offered to the students on how research
techniques and procedures are applied to solve the business problems. This course is also designed
to encourage the students to explore the application of theories that have been predominantly
developed in Western cultures by using different research method techniques. An understanding of
the relevance of Western research for local practice would help students to explore various
business-related problems and their plausible solutions from indigenous perspective. The course
will also help the students in understanding the importance of the business research as a
management decision tool and in dealing with various business-related theoretical and applied
problems
 COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Recognize the importance of research as a first step in Business Studies &

Translate basic/applied business issues into appropriate academic research
questions
• Understand the links between the issues being investigated and the method of
investigation, Critically Review the Literature & Make suitable research design
• An ability to learn about different data collection techniques & Understand the
governing principles in the qualitative and the survey research traditions, the
merits and limitations of each, and of their independent and supporting roles in
business contexts
• Use different software for statistical analysis and interpretation including SPSS,
Amos and etc. & Understand and apply the skills required to design and conduct
research studies using qualitative and quantitative methods
• Acquire the ability to interpret research results and establish the substantive
meaning and implications of the findings for managerial practice
 Recommended Books

• Research Methods for Business Students (5th Edition) by Mark

N.K. Saunders.
• Business research methods, Cengage Learning (9th Edition) by
Zikmund
 Course Assessment

Quiz 08
Assignment 10
Class Participation 02
Midterm Exam 25
Project 15
Final Exam 40

Total 100
 Session Learning Outcomes

• Be able to outline the purpose and distinct focus of management research;

• Be able to place your research project on a basic-applied research
continuum according to its purpose and context.
 Terminology
Methods

The techniques and procedures used to obtain and analyse data

Methodology

The theory of how research should be undertaken

 Some ways in which research is used wrongly

• Just collecting facts or information with no clear purpose.

• Reassembling and reordering facts or information without
interpretation.
• As a term to get your product or idea noticed and respected.
 What is Research
• “The systematic investigation into and study of materials, sources,
etc., in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions” Oxford
English dictionary
• “A process of finding out information and investigating the
unknown to solve a problem” Maylor and Blackmon (2005)
• “Something that people undertake in order to find out things in a
systematic way, thereby increasing their knowledge” Saunders et
al (2007, p.5)
 “Systemic” and “find out things”: What do they
mean?

• “Systematic” suggests that research is based on logical relationships

and not just beliefs.

• “To find out things” suggests there are a multiplicity of possible

purposes of your research. These may include describing,
explaining, understanding, criticizing, and analyzing.
 The Nature of Research
(Characteristics)

• Data are collected systematically

• Data are interpreted systematically

• There is a clear purpose to find things out

 The features of business and management
research
(Key Debates)

• Knowledge production –
• (Modes 1, 2 & 3 knowledge)

• The ‘relevance gap’

• Basic and applied research

 Modes of Knowledge Creation
Mode I: questions set and solved by academic interests, fundamental
nature, little emphasis on utilisation (Gibbons et al., 1994) – ‘pure
research’
Mode II: context governed by practice, collaborative, need for
practical consequences (Gibbons et al., 1994) – ‘applied research’
Mode III: focus on the human condition – ‘assure survival and
promote the common good’ (Huff and Huff, 2001 via Saunders et al,
2007)
Basic Research Vs. Applied Research
Modes of Knowledge Creation
 Research Ethics

“The appropriateness of your behaviour in relation to

the rights of those who become the subject of or are
affected by your work”
 General Ethical Issues

• privacy of possible and actual participants;

• voluntary nature of participation and the right to withdraw partially or
completely from the process;
• consent and possible deception of participants;
• maintenance of the confidentiality of data provided by individuals or
identifiable participants and their anonymity;
• reactions of participants to the way in which you seek to collect data,
including embarrassment, stress, discomfort, pain and harm;
• effects on participants of the way in which you use, analyse and report
your data, in particular the avoidance of embarrassment, stress,
discomfort, pain and harm;
• behaviour and objectivity of you as researcher.
Checklist: Assessing your research in relation to causing harm
to participants

• Is your research likely to affect negatively the well-being of those

participating?
• Have any potential risks to participants that might arise during the
course of your research been identified?
• Can you justify your research and, in particular, explain why alternatives
that involve fewer potential risks cannot be used?
The Nature of Participant Consent