College of Business and Law
Master of Business Administration
MBAD679: Business Research Methods
2014
Course
Coordinator
Lectures
Teaching
Staff
Assessment
Summary
Greg Armfield
Term 4, Tuesdays 5:00 – 8:15 pm, September 16 to November 4, 2014. Law 526
Greg Armfield
There are three items of assessment for MBAD679. Please see details below.
The following texts are reference only: available from the libraries.
Bryman, A and E Bell. (2007) Business Research Methods. 2nd Edition. Oxford: Oxford
University Press
Reference
Texts
Cooper, D.R. and P. S. Schindler, (2011) Business Research Methods. 11th Edition. New
York: McGraw Hill
Myers, M.D. (2009) Qualitative Research in Business and Management. Sage Books
Sekaran, U. (2010) Research Methods for Business. 5th Edition. Melbourne: Cambridge
University Press
Tharenou, Phyllis, Ross Donohue and Brian Cooper (2007) Management Research
Methods. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
A full range of handouts, to be read before each lecture, is on the MBAD679 Learn page.
Course
Description
MBAD679 covers all stages of empirical business research processes and methods,
including conceptualisation, design and measurement, and collecting, analysing,
interpreting and presenting data. The goal of the course is for you to acquire the abilities
and understandings to design and critically assess business research as well as to design
and carry out your own MBA project.
This course is a combination of theory and practice, the primary aim of which is to
facilitate the acquisition of the knowledge and skills necessary for carrying out business
research. This will be demonstrated in the two assessment items and the MBA Project
Proposal. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
Learning
Outcomes
1. Articulate and implement the steps of conceptualising, designing, and implementing
business research using both qualitative and quantitative methods;
2. Evaluate the use of qualitative and quantitative methods for business research in a
specific case; and
3. Create an MBA Project Proposal that complies with instructions and requirements
and provides a rationale for the research design and a plan for implementing it.
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COURSE ASSESSMENT and GRADES
This course is preparatory to and a requirement for MBAD680 The MBA Project.
There are three assignments that will measure achievement of the Learning Outcomes.
Assignment 1
Conceptualisation, design, and implementation of
qualitative research methods for a specific issue.
1500 words – complying with the requirements for
sections 6.1, 6.2, 6.3 and Appendix 1 of the project
proposal (template provided)
Learning Outcome Measured
1. Articulate and implement the steps of
conceptualising, designing, and implementing
business research using both qualitative and
quantitative methods.
40% of final grade
Due 14 October
Assignment 2
Conceptualisation, design, and implementation of
quantitative research methods for a specific issue.
1000 words – complying with the requirements for
Sections (6.1), 6.2, 6.3 and Appendix 1 of the
project proposal (template provided)
500 words – a comparison of the qualitative and
quantitative methods with respect to your project
designs for assignments 1 and 2
Learning Outcome Measured
1. Articulate and implement the steps of
conceptualising, designing, and implementing
business research using both qualitative and
quantitative methods.
2. Evaluate the use of qualitative and quantitative
methods for business research in a specific case.
40% of final grade
Due 28 October
Assignment 3 – The Project Proposal
The MBAD680 Project Proposal
(6 pages, template provided)
20% of final grade
Learning Outcome Measured
3. Create an MBA Project Proposal that complies with
instructions and requirements and provides a
rationale for the research design and a plan for
implementing it.
Due 21 November
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ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
Assignments will be marked by both the student and the instructor according to descriptive criteria that will
be provided in the form of a rubric at the time the assessment tasks are assigned.
Direct quotations are not to be used in the assignments. Indirect quotations and paraphrasing are
acceptable, providing the APA rules for citing and referencing are followed.
NOTE: This course uses the University of Canterbury license for Turnitin. Turnitin is a software
application that checks the originality of electronic text and it may be used to detect plagiarism.
(For this reason, assignments will be submitted in both hard copy and electronically.)
COURSE SCHEDULE 2014
Tuesdays 5:00 – 8:15 pm, L526
1.
Date
Sept 16
Lecture topics
1) Introduction to business research methods
2) Introduction to the MBA project
3) Induction
2.
Sept 23
3.
Sept 30
4)
5)
6)
7)
4.
Oct 7
8) Quantitative: hypothesis construction and testing, data collection,
designing a quantitative project
5.
Oct 14
9) Quantitative approach
10) Quantitative project design
6.
7.
Assignment 1 due
(hard copy and
electronically)
Oct 21
11) Quantitative with tools
Oct 28
12) Other important skills: decision making, persuasion, interviewing, etc.
13) Use of analytical software (NVivo, MINITAB), synthesis, theory
construction and conclusions
Assignment 2 due
(hard copy and
electronically)
8.
Deduction
Hypothesis testing
Qualitative research and grounded theory
Qualitative project design
Nov 4
14) Organising, preparing and writing the project proposal
Nov 21
Proposal consultations
Submit MBAD680 Project Proposal
Nov 24
Commence MBA project (full time students)
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