Undergraduate Course: Business Research Methods 2: Quantitative Approaches (BUST08058)
Course Outline
| School | Business School |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 8 (Year 2 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course introduces quantitative research in business and management. Students learn how to read and critically evaluate the methods sections of quantitative academic articles, and how to select appropriate research designs and statistical tests to answer their research questions. The course covers the full quantitative research process from planning to analysis, including formulating quantitative research questions, sampling, measurement and scale design, reliability and validity, and questionnaire design, as well as survey and experimental research designs. Students then build strong statistical foundations through hands-on practice with statistical tests commonly used in business research. The course also gives students the opportunity to experience research in practice by designing and analysing their own quantitative study. By the end of the course, students will be able to design, run, and analyse quantitative studies and justify their methodological and analytic choices with clear, critical reasoning. |
| Course description |
This course is designed to introduce students to quantitative research in business studies and practice, focusing on preparing them to undertake a quantitative dissertation as well as to interpret and communicate quantitative evidence for managerial decision-making. It develops research design skills, including the ability to read, interpret, and critically evaluate the methods sections of quantitative journal articles, and to translated business questions into appropriate research design, measures, and analytic strategies. The course also situates quantitative research in professional practice through applied examples and data-informed decision-making.
The course covers:
-Quantitative research fundamentals
-Preparing for data collection
-Core quantitative research designs: surveys and experiments
-Statistical foundations and application
Teaching combines interactive lectures with practice-oriented tutorials/computer labs. Students learn through structured exercises that build from question formulation to design, data preparation, analysis, and interpretation, using realistic business problems and datasets.
By focusing on quantitative methods, the course will foster a rigorous and critical understanding of business and management phenomena by equipping students to translate research questions into testable hypotheses and to answer 'whether' and 'how' questions through statistical inference and the scientific method.
The course is structured around three blocks:
Block I: Introduction to Quantitative Research & Research Design Refresher
-What is quantitative research, and how does it differ from qualitative research?
Block II: Preparation for Quantitative Data Collection
-Sampling
-Measurement
-Reliability / validity
-Questionnaire design
-Survey vs. Experiment
Block III: Quantitative Analysis & Interpretation
-Statistics foundation
-Descriptive statistics
-Inferential statistics
-Predictive statistics
Student learning experience:
The course aims to support students in developing the skills required to undertake independent research and to think critically. It begins with a refresher on the research process, with a particular focus on how the quantitative approaches are distinguished from qualitative approaches, including key philosophical assumptions, research ethics, and design principles. Across the course, students learn to justify and communicate methodological choices with clarity and rigour, preparing them both for their final-year dissertation and for the interpretation of quantitative evidence in applied business settings.
The course is designed to be hands-on, giving students opportunities to learn by designing, developing questionnaires, and analysing and interpreting data, alongside understanding the principles that underpin sound quantitative research decisions.
Interactive lectures provide an overview of key concepts and stages of the quantitative research process, illustrated with current examples from business research and practice. The first set of tutorials will be delivered in a classroom setting, giving students the opportunity to work in groups to apply their learning and develop practical research skills. The remaining tutorials will run in computer labs, where students will gain hands-on experience conducting analyses using software and interpreting and communicating quantitative findings. It is expected that students engage with readings and activities in advance of each class and actively contribute to, and participate in, classroom debates. The aim is to foster a collaborative, non-judgemental, and inclusive learning environment.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | Only available to students on UEBS degree programme (including joint programmes). |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2026/27, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 20,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 9,
Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 2,
Fieldwork Hours 4,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 0.5,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
160 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
40% Project Report (Group), 2,000 words including 30% Peer Review - Assesses course Learning Outcomes 1,2,3,4
60% Report (Individual), 1,800 words - Assesses course Learning Outcomes 1,4,5 |
| Feedback |
Formative feedback: will be given in class during the discussion sessions, in project advice meetings, as well as on all submitted coursework.
Summative Feedback: Feedback on coursework, together with individual marks, will be provided on Learn within agreed deadlines. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Understand the purpose, nature and scope of quantitative research process in business.
- Understand and appraise academic literature and published work in areas relevant to business and management and use it to inform a literature review.
- Define research problems and develop quantitative research questions grounded in practical phenomena and relevant literature on a selected topic.
- Demonstrate an appreciation of different quantitative research designs and research methods to address complex business problems, both systematically and creatively, along with an awareness of their contribution, limitations, and ethical considerations.
- Apply common quantitative research analysis techniques to analyse data, interpret results, and communicate findings clearly to an academic and/or managerial audience.
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Reading List
Bell, E., Bryman, A., and Harley, B (2019) Business Research Methods. 5th Oxford University Press.
Field, A. P. (2018) Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS statistics. 5th edn. Sage. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Quantitative research,Quantitative methods,Survey,Experiments,Quantitative data analysis,SPSS,Excel |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Euejung Hwang
Tel: (0131 6)51 7112
Email: Euejung.Hwang@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | |
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