Postgraduate Course: Methods of Business Research (CMSE11305)
Course Outline
| School | Business School |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 15 |
ECTS Credits | 7.5 |
| Summary | This course will feature as a core element of the proposed MSc in Entrepreneurship and Innovation to prepare students for the in-company project work, writing and presenting reports (own and for project 'client'), and ultimately for the dissertation.
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| Course description |
This course has three objectives. First, to help the student understand the research process in the broad field of management and the specific requirements of entrepreneurship and innovation research. Second, to facilitate them in planning, carrying out and communicating the research project that will be the basis of their in-company project work and ultimately their Masters dissertation. Third, to assist them in understanding how to read and evaluate research in both entrepreneurship and innovation specifically and management more broadly, as well as write and present reports in this context.
This course is divided into three parts: 'research design', 'qualitative analysis' and 'quantitative analysis'. These are designed to provide students with an overview of the conventions on research in social sciences in general, and entrepreneurship and innovation studies in particular, and the role of qualitative and quantitative research in such work. There will also be a dedicated session on 'ethics' and 'responsibility' in and during research. The course will also discuss the particular problems of contemporary Innovation and Entrepreneurship (e.g., that modern entrepreneurship and innovation projects are often global and international in nature and conducted over multiple contexts).
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2016/17, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
150
(
Lecture Hours 20,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 4,
Summative Assessment Hours 73,
Other Study Hours 50,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 3,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
0 )
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| Additional Information (Learning and Teaching) |
Independent prepartory readings for lectures
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Assessment is by way of a short individual presentation, a 2,500 word research proposal, and a 1,500 business report.
1) The Presentation (20%) should capture elements of the idea that is being considered as a dissertation topic:
-Mention some of the key literature underpinning this question;
-Review different research approaches to addressing this question.
2) The Business Report (1,500 - 20%) should build on the individual presentation by identifying how the findings of the work might best be communicated to a practitioner audience:
-Present the problem being investigated;
-Identify what evidence is to be collected and its appropriateness for addressing the issues under investigation;
-Critically review the methods to be used for gathering evidence;
-Identify and review critically alternative ways of presenting the evidence, findings and conclusions/recommendations in a written document, and their relative strengths and weaknesses.
3) The Research Proposal (2,500 - 60%) should:
-Identify a potential research question to be answered during the dissertation;
-Critically evaluate the key literature that underpins this question;
-Review the efficacy of different research approaches to addressing this question; and
-Present their chosen approach and the rationale for it. |
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Identify and critically evaluate literature in a given Innovation and Entrepreneurship field;
- Discuss and evaluate how to evaluate, select, justify and apply appropriate qualitative or quantitative data collection, presentation and analysis 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;
- Apply 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 a professional manner to both practitioner and academic audiences.
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Reading List
ESSENTIAL READING
Bryman, A and Bell, E (2007) Business research methods, Oxford University Press.
RECOMMENDED READING
Easterby-Smith, M, Thorpe, R and Lowe, A (2002) Management research: an introduction,Sage.
Riley, M, Wood, R, Clark, M, Wilkie E and Szivas, E (2000) Researching and writing dissertations in business and management, Thomson Learning. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Cognitive and Subject Specific Skills:
-Develop research questions and objectives in a chosen research area;
-Critically evaluate both relevant literature and different research design and data collection/analysis methods;
-Write and present reports as well as a sound research proposal;
-Recognise qualitative and quantitative techniques appropriate to the analysis of some particular circumstances, understand their strengths and limitations, and choose between them;
-Design and implement a research project to form the basis of their Masters dissertation.
Transferable Skills:
-Successfully undertake independent reading and enquiry;
-Evaluate and choose between various methods of enquiry;
-Design and plan a research project;
-Write and present reports to academic and practitioner audiences. |
| Keywords | EI-MBR |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Mr Alistair Haig
Tel: (0131 6)51 5317
Email: Alistair.Haig@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mrs Yvonne Sanderson
Tel: (0131 6)51 5333
Email: Yvonne.Sanderson@ed.ac.uk |
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