Research methods for business studies
Entry Requirements
Course facts
- Course name
- Research methods for business studies
- Swedish course name
- Företagsekonomiska forskningsmetoder
- Level
- Second cycle (A1N)
- Main field of study
- Business Administration
- Credits
- 7.5 credits
- Rate of study
- 50 %
- Study location
- Uppsala
- Form of instruction
- Campus-based instruction
- Application code
- SLU-30221
- Course code
- FÖ0446
- Course language
- English
- Included in program
-
Environmental Economics and Management - Master's ProgrammeAgriculture and Business ManagementAgricultural Economics and Management - Master's ProgrammeAgriculture Programme - Economics and ManagementAgricultural Science with a Specialisation in Economics and Business Administration
- Offered as a freestanding course
- Nej
- Tuition fee
-
15720 SEK
Tuition fees only for non-EU/EEA/Switzerland citizens
FÖ0446, Research methods for business studies, 7.5 Hp
Print syllabus
Syllabus
Level
Second cycle (A1N)
Main field of study
Business Administration
Grading Scale
The grade requirements within the course grading system are set out in specific criteria. These criteria must be available by the course start at the latest.
Course language
English
Entry Requirements
Objectives
The general aim in this course is to support the development of understanding of methodological issues in academic business studies, including understanding of how methodological choices affect the process and outcome of projects and research.
After successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- Describe how research goals and ethical dimensions influence the choice of an appropriate research design.
- Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of common research designs, including different methods for collecting and analyzing data.
- Use a methodological understanding to critically interpret and discuss academic studies.
- Develop and present a research plan, including a well-motivated method design.
Content
The course is largely based on assigned readings, discussion seminars, and written assignments. The course begins with a review of the philosophical issues that underlie methodological choices in academic research, which is followed by an overview of common methods for collecting, analyzing, presenting and assessing data in different approaches. With an established awareness that choices of method are influenced by subjective and philosophical positions, the course then proceeds with a more in-depth review of a number of sub-topics.
The sub-topics address the following issues:
- the role of the researcher
- logically consistent research design and rhetoric in presentation
- relevance and contribution (empirical and theoretical)
- different methods and techniques for data collection (e.g. interviews, questionnaires, archival data)
- different methods and techniques for data analysis (e.g. content analysis, regression analysis)
- different parts of a research proposal, including critically reflective issues on individual parts and how they fit together.
Examination Formats and Requirements for Passing the Course
Passed exam. Passed assignments. Passed project work.
Responsible Department/Equivalent
Department of Economics
Supplementary information
Included in program
- Environmental Economics and Management - Master's Programme
- Agriculture and Business Management
- Agricultural Economics and Management - Master's Programme
- Agriculture Programme - Economics and Management
- Agricultural Science with a Specialisation in Economics and Business Administration
Module set
| Title | Credits | Code |
|---|---|---|
| Single module | 7.5 | 0101 |
The Course Replaces
FÖ0398
Book
- Bell, E., Bryman, A. and Harley, B. 2018. Business Research Methods. Oxford university press. (Assigned chapters based on 5th ed., but 6th ed. is now available)
Journal Articles
Bryman, A., 2007. The research question in social research: what is its role? International journal of social research methodology, 10(1), pp.5-20.
Creswell, J.W., 2013. Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (Chapter 4). Sage.
Golafshani, N., 2003. Understanding reliability and validity in qualitative research. *The Qualitative Report *8, 597–607.
King, B., 2012. Problems vs. Theory, OrgTheory.net. Sept. 12, 2012 https://orgtheory.wordpress.com/2012/09/12/problems-vs-theory/.
Labaree, R. 2020. Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper: Types of Research Design. USC Libraries. https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/researchdesigns.
Linneberg, M.S. and Korsgaard, S., 2019. Coding qualitative data: A synthesis guiding the novice. Qualitative Research Journal.
Mackenzie, N., Knipe, S., 2006. Research dilemmas: Paradigms, methods and methodology. Issues in Educational Research 16(2). https://www.academia.edu/download/6787014/Research_article_IER.pdf
Mazzocchi, Mario. (2008). Statistics for marketing and consumer research. Los Angeles, Calif. ; SAGE. Chapter 6. Hypothesis testing.
Rocco, T.S., Plakhotnik, M.S., 2009. Literature Reviews, Conceptual Frameworks, and Theoretical Frameworks: Terms, Functions, and Distinctions. *Human Resource Development Review *8, 120–130.
Saunders, M., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A., 2009. Understanding research philosophy and approaches to theory development, Chpt. 4 in Research methods for business students. Pearson education. (Note: Author has made this chapter available for download on ResearchGate).
Whetten, D. A., 1989. What Constitutes a Theoretical Contribution? The Academy of Management Review, 14(4), 490–495.
academic year 2024/2025
Research methods for business studies (FÖ0446-30217)
2025-03-17 - 2025-04-07
academic year 2023/2024
Research methods for business studies (FÖ0446-30325)
2024-03-12 - 2024-04-02
academic year 2022/2023
Research methods for business studies (FÖ0446-40087)
2023-05-28 - 2023-06-18
academic year 2021/2022
Research methods for business studies (FÖ0446-40107)
2022-05-29 - 2022-06-19
academic year 2020/2021
Research methods for business studies (FÖ0446-40089)
2021-05-30 - 2021-06-20
academic year 2019/2020
Research methods for business studies (FÖ0446-40074)
2020-05-31 - 2020-06-21
academic year 2018/2019
Research methods for business studies (FÖ0446-40118)
2019-06-02 - 2019-06-23
Contact
- Course coordinator
- Richard Ferguson
- Course administrator
- Märta Berglund
- Examiner
- Richard Ferguson