Course Title

Research Methodology

Code

BMBR 5103

Status

Major

Level

Masters

Credit Value

Prerequisites

Quantitative Methods

Evaluation

Test

20 Percent
Assignment

Research Topic Selection 10%

Review of Literature
10%
Data or Questionnaire 10%
Seminar
10%
40 Percent

Final Examination

40 Percent

Teacher

Dr.Teh Choong Hee

Semester

Sep 2014

Course Objectives

This course is the first part of a regular course on Research

Methodology, which is designed to enable students to learn the
process of conducting research. The course is useful for
managers and future managers not only in business
organizations but also in nonprofit and government
organizations especially those where the functions are similar
to business and decisions are based on research information.
The main objective of Research Methodology I is to enable
students to develop analytical skills as well as translate a
management problem into a feasible research question and
formulate hypothesis based on a strong foundation of the
particular theoretical/conceptual framework.

Synopsis
Course Outline

Tutorial 1 & 2
Part I Introduction to Business Research

Hour

1. Research in Business
Explains the reasons for studying research; define
research; and, explain the relationship between
manager-researcher relationship.

2. Scientific Thinking
Discusses the styles of thinking and the different
thought process such as deduction and induction;
provide an understanding of theory, its
components and connections such as concepts,
constructs definitions, variables, propositions and
hypothesis, theory, and models.

3. The Research Process

Explains the origin of research; how to formulate
a researchable problem and describe the question
hierarchy; explain how to explore and revise the
question, design the study, sample, resource
allocation and budget, prepare the research
proposal, pilot testing, data collection, analysis
and interpretation and reporting the results.

4. The Research Proposal

Explains the value of proposals and its value to
the sponsor and the researcher; discuss several
types of proposals; explain how to structure the
proposals; and evaluate the research proposal.
Tutorial 3
Part II The Design of Research

5. Design Strategies.
Explains what is research design and discuss
several types designs; explain the nature of
exploratory studies and the means of
explorations, descriptive studies, and causal
studies including the concept of cause, causal
relationships, and how to test causal hypothesis.

6. Measurement
Explains the nature of measurement, the types of
measurement scales (nominal, ordinal, interval
and ration scales); discuss the sources of
measurement differences and errors; explain the
characteristics of sound measurement (validity,
reliability and practicality); and explain the

process of developing measurement tools.

7. Scaling Design
Explains the nature of scaling, its definition and
classification; discuss the various response
methods such as rating scales and ranking scales;
explain the techniques to construct arbitrary
scale, consensus scaling, item analysis,
cumulative scales, and factor scales.

8. Sampling Design
Explains the nature and importance of sampling,
discuss the probability scaling, steps in sampling,
sampling concepts and sampling attributes;
discuss the various types of sampling such
systematic sampling, stratified sampling, cluster
sampling and double sampling.
Tutorial 4 & 5
Part III The Sources and Collection of Data

9. Secondary Data Sources

Explains the nature of secondary data sources, its
advantages and disadvantages; types of secondary
sources such as internal and external sources;
explain the procedure of data search including
computer search procedure and library search
procedure.

10. Survey Methods

Explain the characteristics of surveys and its
application; personal interviewing, telephone
interviewing and mail surveys, and selecting an
optimal method.

11. Survey Instruments

Explain the instrument development process,
question hierarchy, survey strategy schedule
design; question construction, question content,
question wording, response structure, question
sequence; sources of existing questions; pretesting, methods of pre-testing, purposes of pretesting.
12. Observation
Explain the uses of observation, non-behavioral
observation, behavioral observation; evaluation
of the observational method; the observer-subject
relationship, directness of observation,
concealment, participation; conducting an

observational study, the type of study, content

specification, observer training, data collection,
unobtrusive measures.
13. Experimentation
Explain what is experimentation, an evaluation of
experiments, and its advantages and
disadvantages; discuss on how to conduct an
experiment, selecting relevant variables,
specifying the levels of treatment, controlling the
experimental environment, choosing the
experimental design, selecting and assigning
subjects, pilot testing, revising, and testing, data
analysis; validity in experimentation, internal
validity, external validity; experimental research
designs, pre-experimental designs, true
experimental designs, extensions of true
experimental design, quasi-experiments.

Part IV Analysis and Preparation of Data

14. Data Preparation and Preliminary Analysis
Explain the need to edit data and the conduct of
field editing, central editing; coding, coding rules,
codebook construction, closed question coding,
open question coding, using content analysis for
open questions, dont know responses; the
evolution of data entry, technological changes,
data entry formats; preliminary analysis, an
exploratory data analysis approach; chapter closeup, techniques for displaying and examining
distributions, frequency tables, barcharts, and
piecharts, histograms, stem-and-leaf displays,
boxplots, transformation; cross-tabulation, the use
of percentages, elaboration and control variables,
computer-generated tables.

15. Hypothesis Testing

Explain hypothesis testing, testing approaches,
statistical significance, the logic of hypothesis
testing, statistical testing procedures; tests of
significance, types of tests, how to select a test,
one-sample case, two independent samples case,
two related samples case, k independent samples
case, k related samples case.

16. Measures of Association

Discuss some of the common statistical
techniques such as bivariate correlation analysis,

Pearsons product moment coefficient r,

scatterplots for exploring relationships, the
assumptions of r, computation and testing of r,
correlation matrix, interpretation of correlation;
bivariate linear regression, the basic model,
concept application, method of least squares,
predictions, testing the goodness of fit;
nonparametric measures of association, measures
for nominal data, measures for ordinal data.
17. Multivariate Analysis: An Overview
Explain the some of the multivariate and
dependency techniques such as multiple regression,
Discriminate Analysis, Manova, canonical analysis,
Lisrel, conjoint analysis; interdependency techniques,
factor analysis, cluster analysis, multidimensional
scaling.

Part V Presenting Results

18. Written Reports
Explain the process of preparing the written
research report such as the short reports, and long
reports.
19. Research Report Format
Prefatory items, introduction, methodology,
findings, conclusions, appendixes, bibliography;
writing the report, prewriting concerns, writing
the draft
20. Presentation considerations; presentation of
statistics, text presentation; semi-tabular
presentation, tabular presentation, graphic
presentation.
21. Oral Reports
Oral presentations, preparation, delivery,
audiovisuals.

References

Compulsory

Emory, C. W. and Cooper, D. R. Business Research Methods,

(Latest Edition), Chicago, IL: Irwin, Inc.

Addition

Parasuraman, A. Marketing Research, (Latest Edition),

Addison Wesley.
Hair, J. F., Anderson, R. E., Tatham, R. L. and Black, W.C.
(latest edition). Multivariate Data Analysis, New
York: Macmillan Publishing Company.

Sekaran, U. (1984). Research Methods for Managers: A

Skill Building Approach. New York: John Wiley &
Sons.
Krathwohl, D. R. (1976). How to Prepare a Research
Proposal. (latest edition). Syracuse, New York:
Syracuse University Bookstore.
Nunnally, J. C. (1978). Psychometric Theory. (2nd edition).
New York: McGraw- Hill Co.