Graduate Education Institute · Business Administration (English) · Master
Course Objective
This is a practical course on scholarly methods designed to enable students to carry out their own research projects. The emphasis is on quantitative research methods. Topics covered include the philosophy of research. The course also focuses on the ethics of carrying out primary and secondary research. This course is designed to: a) describe the key components of social research, b) develop skills and knowledge about quantitative social research, and c) identify criteria used to evaluate the quality of social research.
By the end of the course, the students should be able to:
- make literature review and use data sources,
- formulate research questions,
- define a research strategy and design a research project to answer a research question,
- discuss the practice and principles of social research,
- evaluate the existing research, write up and disseminate the findings.
Course Content
The course focuses on the philosophy of research, ethics of carrying out primary and secondary research, and describes the key components of social research, develops skills and knowledge required for quantitative social research, and defines criteria used to evaluate the quality of social research. Microsoft Excel and Microfit apllications shall be used to obtain descriptive statistics, correlation matrix, and OLS regression analysis. The quantitative analysis will be conducted using secondary data.
Required Resources
Social Research Methods, 4th edition, ISBN-13: 978-0199588053, Alan Bryman
Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches, 6th Edition, ISBN-13: 9781506386706, John W. Creswell and J. David Creswell
The Craft of Research, 4th Edition, ISBN-13: 9780226239736, Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams
Designing Social Inquiry: Scientific Inference in Qualitative Research, 1st Edition, ISBN-13: 9780691034713, Gary King, Robert O. Keohane, and Sidney Verba
Recommended Resources
Research Methods for Business: A Skill-Building Approach, 8th Edition, ISBN-13: 9781119561224, Uma Sekaran and Roger Bougie
The Logic of Scientific Discovery, Revised Edition, ISBN-13: 9781138012090, Karl Popper
Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches, 4th Edition, ISBN-13: 9781506361178, John W. Creswell and Cheryl N. Poth
Course Learning Outcomes
- To develop an e-commerce business plan
- Upon successful completion of this copurse students will recall most important e-commerce business and revenue models;
- To defend his/her e-business ideas and projections
- To summarize the impact of Internet and e-commerce on various industries;
- To explain advances in mobile commerce;
- To discuss consumer behavior in the online medium;
Core Area Distribution
Teaching Methods
Assessment & Evaluation
ECTS / Workload
| Activity | Quantity | Duration (h) | Total Workload |
|---|---|---|---|
| Course Duration (Including Exam Week) | 15 | 3 | 45 |
| Out of Class Study Period | 15 | 3 | 45 |
| Midterm | 1 | 30 | 30 |
| Quiz | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Assignment | 1 | 40 | 40 |
| Practice | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Final | 1 | 25 | 25 |
Course Schedule
| Week | Subject | Preparation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Nature and Process of Social Research | Bryman (2012). Ch 1 |
| 2 | Social Research Strategies | Bryman (2012). Ch 2 |
| 3 | Research Designs | Bryman (2012). Ch 3 |
| 4 | Planning a Research Project and Formulating Research Questions | Bryman (2012). Ch 4 |
| 5 | Getting Started: Reviewing the Literature | Bryman (2012). Ch 5 |
| 6 | Ethics and Politics in Social Research | Bryman (2012). Ch 6 |
| 7 | The Nature of Quantitative Research | Bryman (2012). Ch 7 |
| 8 | Sampling, Structured Interviewing | Bryman (2012). Ch 8-9 |
| 9 | Midterm Exam | Midterm Exam |
| 10 | Self-Completion Questionnaires | Bryman (2012). Ch 10 |
| 11 | Asking Questions | Bryman (2012). Ch 11 |
| 12 | Structured Observation | Bryman (2012). Ch 12 |
| 13 | Content Analysis | Bryman (2012). Ch 13 |
| 14 | Secondary Analysis and Official Statistics | Bryman (2012). Ch 14 |
| 15 | Quantitative Data Analysis | Bryman (2012). Ch 15 |
| 16 | Final Exam | Final Exam |