Postgraduate Course: Methods of Research (CMSE11091)
Course Outline
| School | Business School |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Course type | Standard |
Availability | Available to all students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Credits | 15 |
| Home subject area | Common Courses (Management School) |
Other subject area | None |
| Course website |
None |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
| Course description | This course is divided into three parts: 'undertaking postgraduate research' 'qualitative analysis' and 'quantitative analysis'. It is designed to provide students with an overview of the scholarly conventions on research in social sciences in general, and management studies in particular, and the role of qualitative and quantitative research in such research. It also aims to provide students with the practical skills in designing their research projects for their dissertations. |
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | For Business School PG students only, or by special permission of the School. Please contact the course secretary. |
| Additional Costs | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus? | No |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Delivery period: 2013/14 Semester 2, Available to all students (SV1)
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Learn enabled: Yes |
Quota: None |
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Web Timetable |
Web Timetable |
| Course Start Date |
13/01/2014 |
| Breakdown of Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
150
(
Lecture Hours 15,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 3,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
132 )
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| Additional Notes |
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| Breakdown of Assessment Methods (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| No Exam Information |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module, students should be able to:
* Possess knowledge on the general philosophical debate in social sciences and management studies;
* Plan how they define research questions in relation to their chosen topic area;
* Choose appropriate research design for any management subject matter, given a set of constraints;
* Identify and critically evaluate literature in a given management field;
* Evaluate, select, justify and apply appropriate qualitative or quantitative data collection methods to their chosen area of research, in order to ensure that the evidence generated, its analysis and the conclusions drawn from it are valid and reliable;
* Use such knowledge to construct an original piece of research of their own, and develop further independent research skills as well as the skills for presenting the findings of their research in an academic manner.
Knowledge and Understanding:
On completion of the course students will be aware of the following issues:
* General philosophical debates and their influences on management research;
* Principle of research design and the basis issues of reliability, validity, access and ethics;
* Strengths and weakness of different methods of data collection.
* Principles of statistical sampling and the reliability of conclusions arising from it
* Appreciation of the particular meaning that statisticians give to terms such as significant, biased, correlated, and estimated.
Cognitive Skills:
On completion of the course students should demonstrate that
o They can develop research questions and objectives in a chosen research area;
o They can critically evaluate literature review and different research design and data collection methods
o They can produce a sound research proposal
o Recognize qualitative and quantitative techniques appropriate to the analysis of some particular circumstances.
o Be able to design and implement simple sampling experiments with a view to achieving or approaching adequate randomness and reliability in sample data. |
Assessment Information
Assessment is by way of a 3,000 word research proposal. This should
* Identify clearly their research question,
* Critically evaluate the key literature that underpins this question,
* Review the efficacy of qualitative and quantitative research approaches to addressing this question, and
* Present their chosen approach and the rationale for it. |
Special Arrangements
| None |
Additional Information
| Academic description |
Not entered |
| Syllabus |
Not entered |
| Transferable skills |
Not entered |
| Reading list |
Not entered |
| Study Abroad |
Not entered |
| Study Pattern |
Not entered |
| Keywords | MoR |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Neil Pollock
Tel: (0131 6)51 1489
Email: Neil.Pollock@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Rachel Allan
Tel: (0131 6)51 3757
Email: Rachel.Allan@ed.ac.uk |
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