Undergraduate Course: Business Research Methods 1: Qualitative Inquiry (BUST08059)
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 students to what business research entails and demonstrates the fundamental role it plays in making of appropriate business decisions. It begins by considering the importance of reviewing existing literature and wider evidence to underpin such business decisions as well as a research project. This will help students not only with developing their own research projects but also with understanding and appraising academic literature - a key critical thinking skill needed throughout their undergraduate degree.
The course then provides an understanding of the philosophical building blocks of research design and as well as the value and necessity of being an ethical researcher. It focuses on qualitative methodologies used for researching people, societies, and cultures, detailing specific approaches to data collection and analysis. Students will explore how people make sense of their lives, e.g. as workers or as consumers, and learn how to collect, analyse, interpret, and synthetise a variety of data sources from interviews and focus groups, to archival documents, and even creative data sources (including visual content). The course gives students the opportunity to experience research in practice and collect and analyse qualitative data for themselves. |
| Course description |
This course is designed to introduce students to the research process in business studies and practice, focusing on research of people, organisations, societies, and cultures. It begins with fundamentals of business research and the philosophical underpinnings of research design. Students learn how to effectively read, review, and evaluate literature, develop research ideas, and formulate research questions. They will also carefully reflect on ethical research practices, as well as research rigor - thinking about what this means for the quality of evidence underpinning business decision-making.
Building on these foundational blocks, it then focuses on qualitative approaches and explores various qualitative techniques for data collection, including more traditional methods, such as interviews, focus groups, or use of documentary data, and more creative methods, including research with social media data, visual data, and reflective diaries. It also considers different approaches to qualitative analysis used for the wide-ranging qualitative data, including thematic, discourse, and visual analysis. The course aims to equip students with conceptual understandings of current academic debates regarding research design and qualitative methodologies, and with practical skills to apply their learning and to design, carry out, report, read, and importantly to evaluate qualitative research projects.
By focusing on qualitative methods, the course will foster a deeper and more critical understanding of human experiences, phenomena, and context, encouraging students to ask (and answer) important 'how' and 'why' questions that cannot be easily put into numbers (through other approaches and the scientific method).
The course is structured around three blocks:
Block I: Foundations of Business Research & Qualitative Methodologies
-Business Research and the Research Process
-Literature Review and Research Questions
-Research Approaches and Philosophies
-Research Ethics
-Planning and Designing Qualitative Research
Block II: Methods of Data Collection in Action
-Interviewing
-Focus Groups
-Documents, Visual Data, and Creative Methods
-Ethnography & Netnography
Block III: Qualitative Analysis & Interpretation
-Qualitative Data Analysis Processes
-Textual, Visual, and Discourse Analyses
-Writing up a Qualitative Research Project
Student Learning Experience
The course aims to support students in developing the skills and capabilities to undertake independent research and become critical thinkers, starting from reviewing scholarly literature, problematising the field and identifying gaps, designing appropriate research strategies, and selecting appropriate research methods to address these gaps, all the way to analysing and interpreting data and presenting research findings. By learning how to do research and justify and present their methodological choices with confidence and rigour, students will also learn how to evaluate research evidence to support decision-making in business contexts. The course will thus better equip them for the world of business as well as their final year when undertaking their own independent dissertation research.
The course is designed to be hands-on providing students with the opportunity to learn by conducting research and analysing data, in addition to understanding the theoretical underpinnings of business research decisions that shape society.
Interactive lectures present critical overviews of key concepts, processes, and debates within the subject, relating these to a wide range of current examples of research in business practice. Tutorials are designed to give students the opportunity to work in groups and apply their learning, providing a practical experience with the research process and specific methods. 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 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 20,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 8,
Fieldwork Hours 4,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
162 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
60% Project Report (Individual), 2,000 words - Assesses course Learning Outcomes 1,4,5
40% Literature Review (Individual), 1,800 words - Assesses course Learning Outcomes 1,2,3 |
| 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 nature and scope of business research, its process, and its philosophical foundations.
- Understand and appraise academic literature and published work in areas relevant to business and management, and write a critical literature review.
- Define research problems and formulate research questions grounded in practical phenomena and relevant literature on a selected topic.
- Demonstrate an appreciation of various qualitative research approaches and research methods to address complex business problems, both systematically and creatively, along with an awareness of their contribution, limitations, and ethical considerations.
- Apply commonly used qualitative methodologies in business - from research design, through data collection, to data analysis and sharing qualitative research findings.
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Reading List
Bell, E., Bryman, A. & Harley, B. (2022).¿Business research methods. Oxford University Press.
Braun, V. & Clark, V. (2022). Thematic Analysis: A Practical Guide. Sage.
Kara, H. (2015). Creative research methods in the social sciences: A practical guide. Bristol: Policy Press.
Myers, M. (2025). Qualitative Research in Business and Management. Sage. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Business research,literature review,research methods,qualitative research |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Kristina Auxtova
Tel:
Email: kristina.auxtova@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | |
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