Business Research Methods

Post-Graduate Diploma in Business Management, 2013-14 Term-IV, Jan-Mar 2014

Dr. Ajay Kumar Chauhan Dr. Bikramjit Rishi Dr. Dhiraj Sharma Prof. Soma Arora Dr. Suryatapa Kar Dr. Tripti Ghosh Sharma

Revised 6.1.14 from 9.12.13

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Course Background and Objectives:

Managers in business use information to make managerial decisions; they are the person in the organization responsible for knowing what information must be obtained, how to get it, and how to draw conclusions from it. For most businesses, available information is frequently inadequate, and must be supplemented with systematic business research. Therefore the focus of this course is on primary research than either on secondary research or using existing data available through automated devices. This course quips you with a broad understanding of research methods, techniques and issues and their application to business problems. The course aims to develop a critical understanding of the value of the research endeavour and thereby help the management to build business knowledge and theory that generates new questions as well as help in providing answers to existing problems. The course shall also immensely help you in completing your summer internship project by equipping you with the mindset that calls for scientific research based answers to problems posed before business, than using decisions based on gut feel. After successful completion of the course, you should be able to develop a project using the research methods learnt in the course.

Student Learning Outcome

i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. vii. Appreciate the role of research in the business activities Identify the real problem, and develop research questions Identify the information needed to reach to expected decision Decide on the appropriate data collection method Perform a variety of practical skills that are needed to carry out business research Critically evaluate data sets, and employ appropriate statistical analysis Present key research findings

The last three outcomes are not intended to be developed from scratch in the course but it is expected that you shall use your learning from courses like Business Statistics and Business Communication etc. that shall get refined in the process of critical evaluation and feedback by instructors and peers in the way of your coming out with project submission and final presentation. To conclude, the intended learning outcome is: to make students intelligent consumer and producer of the business research. The learning outcome can be mapped to AACSB AOL as: demonstrate technical and analytical capabilities (Outcome #1.1)

Teaching Pedagogy
The pedagogy will be a mix of lectures, critique of readings/articles, case discussion, assignments and field/library based research projects. The course uses cases as the means to drive the contextual suitability of research methods; and assignments/ projects as primary vehicle for reinforcing learning by doing. Besides the readings in the course pack, additional reading material will be distributed in the class from time to time.

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Course Pre-requisites
i. Prerequisite to this course is the learning derived from Business Statistics and Business Communication courses. Since much of the course material requires class discussion, it is important that you are prepared for the class and present and defend your ideas. Preparation for class includes having read the assigned material. We will use a number of cases in this course. Cases are a great educational experience but they absolutely require that you be ready for the class. When cases are assigned, you should come to class ready to discuss the issues of the case. For each case, you should: a. Identify the major problem, b. Give your recommendation to resolve this problem (both short and long term), and when appropriate c. Provide supporting analysis (both qualitative and quantitative) for your recommendations. d. Answer other questions provided for each case iv. The class will be divided into a number of groups and each group will have 4-5 students. For all cases, each group will submit case analysis report and power point presentation one day before scheduled class. There will be several home assignments assigned throughout the Term along with a number of unannounced quizzes. Late homework will not be accepted and there will be no make-up quizzes. Each group is expected to take up a live problem related to business. This business problem can be from any functional area like HR, Marketing, Operations, and Finance etc. You are expected to solve the problem based on tools and techniques discussed in the class and submit your report. Each group will be required to give a presentation. Evaluation for this assignment will be done based on individual as well as group performance. Class participation will be based on the value you add to the class through your creating learning environment in class by raising intelligent questions, relevant statements on questions raised by others, and maintaining class decorum. Throughout the course, consistency would be given credit over quality alone, and quality would be given credit over quantity. Therefore, a student who makes quality contribution many times would score higher than one who contributes only occasionally. And the one who either does not practice class decorum, or whose numerous contributions are of no quality, would fetch negative marks in class participation.

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Assessment method in alignment with learning outcomes

Students will be evaluated on the basis of case analysis, project, assignments, class participation, mid-term and end-term exam. The weightages given to each of these units is listed below: Course Evaluation Quizzes (2/3) Class Participation End Term Exam Individual AOL assignment Group Assignments Group Project Report submission Group Project presentation & participation 10% 10% 40% 05% 10% 20% 05%

Specific Assessment Method Group Assessment Methods Group Project Presentation Group Project Report Submission Group Assignments Individual Assessment Methods

Weightage

Intended subject learning outcome to be assessed (Outcome #1.1)

05% 20% 10% 05% 10% 10% 40%

Individual AOL assignment*

Class Participation Quizzes End-term Exam

*Scheduled in session-12

Tentative Deadlines (subject to term-IV schedule)

In order to ensure a quality output, the following deadlines shall be adhered to: Freezing of group leader On 1st session Identification of topic for project work (deliverable!) before 6th session Formal Proposal & Questionnaire (max. 10 pages) before 13th session Process Study and Data Collection before 16th session Project Presentations on/before 18th session Submission of Final Report on/before 23rd Mar.

Course Outline: Module/Session/Topic/Reading Materials/Cases

Session 1: Business Research: Overview, Need, and Value Readings: John S. Hammond, Ralph L. Keeney, and Howard Raiffa, Hidden Traps in Decision Making, Harvard Business Review, 1998. Chapters 1 and 2 of text Learning objectives: To make the students aware of the need, role and importance of Business Research.

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Session 2 & 3: Research Process Readings: Chapters 3, and 4 of text Alan R Andreasen, Backward Market Research, Harvard Business Review, May-June 1985. Think Like a Researcher, Chapter 3, Business Research Methods, Cooper and Shindler.

Session 4: Problem Definition Readings: Chapters 6 of text Group Case Assignment-1: Tulsas Central Business District (A): Developing a Research Project Learning objectives: To make the students understand the process of Research, while emphasizing on formulation of the problem and objective.

Session 5: Research Designs: Overview; Exploratory Research Dessign: Secondary research Readings: Chapters 6 and 8 of text. Learning objectives: To enable the students to identify the type of Research, and to develop their skills of framing Research Designs.

Session 6 & 7: Exploratory Research Design: Qualitative research methods and Observations Readings: Chapters 7 of text. Reading (Optional, not mandatory): Notes on Case Study Research, Action Research, Netnography etc. Note on Qualitative Data Analysis (or Chapter-11 of Essentials of MR by Tony Proctor, Prentice Hall) Discussion: In class discussion on Delphi method, FGD, and DI In Class Exercise: FGD on a given situation Learning objectives: Students would learn to conduct a research using Exploratory Research Design.

Session 8: Descriptive Research Design: Survey research Readings:

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Chapters 9 and 10 of text Learning objectives: Students would learn to conduct a research using Descriptive Research Design.

Session 9: Measurement: concept and issues Readings: Chapters 13 and 14 of text Learning objectives: Students would learn to use different kind of scales for research.

Session 10 & 11: Questionnaire Designing Chapter 15 of text Reading (Optional, not mandatory): Malhotra, N. K., Agarwal, J. and Peterson, M. (1996), "Methodological issues in cross-cultural marketing research", International Marketing Review, Vol. 13, Issue 5, pp. 7-43. Sample of a research proposal as handout Group Case Assignment-2: Cantbury Travels Learning objectives: To equip the students with the skills of designing a professional questionnaire.

Session 12: Sampling issues in business research Chapter 16, 17 and 18 of text Reading (Optional, not mandatory): Timothy Bock, and John Sergeant, Small sample market research, International Journal of Market Research Vol. 44 Quarter 2, pp. 235-244. Discussion: In class discussion on suitability of different sampling method in given situation. In class discussion on formulation of hypothesis based on small caselets/ newspaper clips. In-class individual assignment-1: Tulsas Central Business District (B) Learning objectives: To acquaint students with various intricacies in sampling methods, and formulation of hypothesis.

Session 13: Basic Analysis-I: Business Applications of t, z, chi-square etc. tests Chapter 19, and 20, 12 and 22 (except pages 576-581) of text

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Discussion: In class discussion on Tests for normality, tabulation of data, data exploration, z, t, chi-square tests based on Newspaper Clips/ caselets. Learning objectives: To acquaint students with Preliminary Data preparation and Univariate data analysis techniques.

Session 14 & 15: Causal Research Design: Experiments; and ANOVA Chapter 12, and Chapter 22 of text Reading (Optional, not mandatory): Thomas H. Davenport, How to Design Smart Business Experiments, Harvard Business Review, Feb. 2009. In Class Exercises on ANOVA, and its application in experiments. Learning objectives: To help students understand and apply different experimental designs, in real life business problems.

Session 16 and 17: Basic Analysis-II: Business Applications of Correlation and Regression Readings: Chapter 23 and 24 (up to page no. 633 only) of text In Class Discussion: Caselets - TBA. Learning objectives: To analyse the Regression analysis and report the results which are errorfree. (Introduction to concepts of multicollinearity, heteroscedasity, and auto-correlation etc.)

Session 18: Communicating Research Results: Report Writing and Presentation Readings: Chapter 25 of text Learning objectives: To make the students understand the formal way of report writing and presenting the findings.

Session 19 & 20: Group Project Presentations Learning objectives: To make the students appreciate the soft skills of presenting the research effectively.

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Student study Effort Expected:

Class Contact Lectures Proposal &Project presentation Other Student Study Effort Assignments Cases Projects Fieldwork Total Student Study Effort 25 Hrs 5 Hrs 20 Hrs 20 Hrs 60 Hrs 50 Hrs 180 Hrs

Required Text Book

1. Business Research Methods: A South Asian perspective William G. Zikmund et al., 1st edition, Cengage Learning

Reference Books
2. Business Research Methods Allan Bryman and Emma Bell, Second Edition, Oxford University Press. The Least You Should Know about English. Wilson, Paige & Glazier, Teresa Ferster, 8th edition, 2003. (This book is very helpful for any who does not have a very strong mastery of written English) Mastering APA Style, Students Workbook and Training Guide. Gelfand, Harold; and Walker, Charles J., The American Psychological Association, 2001. Asking The Right Questions. Brown, M. Neil & Keeley, Stuart, 6th edition, 2001. Management Consulting: A Guide for Students David Biggs, University of Gloucestershire; Cengage Learning, 2010. 409 pp. Business Research Methods, Cooper and Schindler, 9th edition, Tata McGraw Hill Research Methods for Business Students, 3e, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis, and Adrian Thornhill, Pearson Education Indian Edition, 2009 Research methods and statistics: a critical thinking approach. Sherry. L. Jackson, Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2009. Research Methods for Business: A Skill Building Approach Uma Sekran, and Roger Bougie (2010). NY: Wiley.

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Journals
Journal of Business Research Organizational Research Methods

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Journal of Management International Journal of Qualitative Methods Journal of Ethnographic & Qualitative Research Marketing Research

In addition to above mentioned journals, please keep track of other journals, websites, published a ticles and papers on Qualitative Research Methods, Quantitative Research Methods, Case Research, Marketing Research, and Research Methods in general.

Websites
www.quirks.com http://zoomrang.com http://surveymonkey.com http://www.surveysampling.com/ http://www.surveyanalytics.com/resources/index.html http://spss.co.in http://www.yourvoice.co.in http://www.indiaspeaks.net

Softwares:
SPSS, and MS-Excel

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