HROB*4100*01 Evidence-Based People Management Fall 2015 1.0 Credit General Course Information Instructor: Email Office Location Office Hours Department/School Dr. Sean Lyons slyons01@uoguelph.ca Room 213 J.D. MacLachlan Face-to-face: Tuesday to Thursday, by appointment. Skype: Monday to Friday, by appointment Department of Management Class Schedule: T, TH 1:00-2:20 pm, MCKN 230 Pre-requisites: Co-requisites: 12.50 credits including (1of BUS*3000, HROB*2100, PSYC*3070) Equate(s): BUS*4100, PSYC*4100 Course Description This course provides you with the opportunity to learn about the entire research process through a hands-on approach you will learn by doing. You will work in research teams to identify problems worthy of study, to design, conduct, analyze and present your research to others and to revise your work based on the feedback of your peers and professor. You will also have the task of assessing the work of others and providing constructive feedback that will help them improve their work. Course Learning Outcomes The objective of this course is to provide you with opportunities to develop the following competencies: Knowledge and Understanding: 1) Explain the concept of Evidence Based Management (EBM) as an approach to organizational decision making and its limitations in practice 2) Explain the principles of useful research evidence, including reliability, validity, transferability and generalizability. 3) Understand principles of ethical research, identify ethical issues in research and take measures to avoid or minimize ethical issues Discipline/Professional and Transferable Skills: 4) Conduct a thorough literature review for the purposes of establishing research objectives and documenting existing knowledge 1
5) Plan and implement a research study, including literature review, study design, sample specification, measurement design, ethics approval, participant recruitment, data collection, data cleaning, data analysis, and interpretation of findings. 6) Communicate evidence to various end users of evidence both in writing and via presentation 7) Provide feedback on other teams research that is professional and constructive and incorporate the feedback of others into an improved revision of your work Attitudes and Values: Indicative Content Rather than standard lectures, much of this course will involve working sessions in which the instructor will coach your research teams as you: 1. identify a research problem, 2. review the relevant literature, 3. develop research questions, hypotheses and a research model, 4. design a research plan with appropriate methodology to test your hypotheses/model 5. submit your methodology of ethics review 6. implement your research plan to collect your data 7. analyze your data 8. prepare a written report of your findings and a presentation to your peers 9. submit the written report for feedback 10. revise the written report based on the feedback and prepare a final draft This is a 1.0 credit course. It will therefore involve a workload that is typical of 2 standard.5 credit courses. You will be required to dedicate a significant amount of work effort OUTSIDE of class time. Course Assessment Assessment Value Description Completion of Tri-Council Policy Statement (TCPS 2) Online Tutorial 2.5% By Sept. 29, each student must have completed the Tri-Council Policy Statement Online Tutorial on Research Ethics. This is a selfdirected online tutorial that you can complete at your own leisure. It takes 2.5-3 hours to complete. Once you have completed the tutorial, you must provide the certificate of completion for credit. Completion of the tutorial by the due date earns you the full 5 marks. If you complete it late you will lose marks at a rate of 2.5 per week. Associated Learning Outcomes Due Date/ location 3 Sept. 29 2
Weekly Assignments 30% Each week I will assign a set of group and individual tasks related to the course material. Assignments will be posted on the Courselink site on Monday morning and you are expected to come to class on Tuesday prepared to participate in activities related to the weekly assignments 4, 6 Weeks 1-7 Practical Test: 25% The practical test assesses your individual understanding of the research process. Questions may include: Research scenarios for which you will to identify problems and give recommendations to improve research design. Interpretation of evidence that is provided to you Short answer questions about research concepts 1, 2, 3, 5 Tues Oct.27 Team Research Project (More detail to be provided on Courselink) 40% The major deliverable for this course is a team research project. During the first 2 weeks of class, You will be assigned to a 4-6 member research team. Your team will work to develop and implement a research study related to a broad topic area provided by the professor. All groups will work on projects that are facets of the same broad HR issue, which will give you an interest in the other projects. 4, 5, 6, 7 Various Details on Courselink Feedback to Other Research Team 2.5% You will be required to provide brief written feedback on the research summary presented by one of the other teams. The quality of your feedback will be judged based on its constructiveness, thoughtfulness and tone. 7 Dec. 5 Total 100% 3
Teaching and Learning Practices Lectures Labs Seminars This course involves very few in-class lectures. Class time will be used for discussions, demonstrations and meetings with the professor. Some pre-recorded lecture material (e.g., videos, narrated slideshows) will be made available on the Courselink site. The instructor will work closely with your research team to coach you through the research process. Course Resources Strongly Recommended Text: This course is a practical research course, not a content-based course. As such, we will not be relying on a textbook for content. Therefore, any up-to-date text on business research methods should be sufficient as a reference. However, I strongly recommend the following text, which is available in the University Bookstore and Co-op Bookstore. Wilson, J. (2014). Essentials of Business Research: A Guide to Doing Your Research Project. London, UK: Sage. Course Policies Grading Policies Mastery Grading: Some components of the team project will follow a mastery grading approach. This approach is designed to encourage you to revise and re-submit work in order to improve it. For such course components you will receive feedback and an initial grade and you may be invited (at the discretion of the instructor) to revise your work and re-submit it with an explanation of your changes for re-evaluation. Revisions are voluntary. The instructor will only grade serious revisions; minor changes that provide only marginal improvement will not be considered. If a revised grade is provided, the initial and revised grade will be averaged together to calculate the final grade. In some instances additional revisions may be invited. If so, the original grade will be averaged with all revised grades to arrive at the final grade. Penalties for Late Submissions: Unless you have discussed an extension well ahead of the due date, late penalties of 5%/earned grade/day (including weekends) will be assigned. Extensions will only be granted on the basis of extenuating circumstances. Course Policy on Group Work: This is a team-based course. The majority of your grade will be based on your contributions to your research team. In the first week of class you will be placed in teams of 4 to 6 students. You will be given the opportunity to suggest a team, but the ultimate decision of team membership will rest with the professor. Turnitin: In this course, your instructor will be using Turnitin, integrated with the Courselink Dropbox tool, to detect possible plagiarism, unauthorized collaboration or copying as part of the ongoing efforts to maintain academic integrity at the University of Guelph. All submitted assignments will be included as source documents in the Turnitin.com reference database solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of such papers. Use of the Turnitin.com service is subject to the Usage Policy posted on the Turnitin.com site. A major benefit of using Turnitin is that students will be able to educate and empower themselves in preventing academic misconduct. In this course, you may screen your own assignments through Turnitin as 4
many times as you wish before the due date. You will be able to see and print reports that show you exactly where you have properly and improperly referenced the outside sources and materials in your assignment. Course Policy regarding use of electronic devices and recording of lectures Electronic recording of classes is expressly forbidden without consent of the instructor. When recordings are permitted they are solely for the use of the authorized student and may not be reproduced, or transmitted to others, without the express written consent of the instructor. University Policies Academic Consideration When you find yourself unable to meet an in-course requirement because of illness or compassionate reasons, please advise the course instructor in writing, with your name, id#, and e-mail contact. See the academic calendar for information on regulations and procedures for Academic Consideration: http://www.uoguelph.ca/registrar/calendars/undergraduate/current/c08/c08-ac.shtml Academic Misconduct The University of Guelph is committed to upholding the highest standards of academic integrity and it is the responsibility of all members of the University community, faculty, staff, and students to be aware of what constitutes academic misconduct and to do as much as possible to prevent academic offences from occurring. University of Guelph students have the responsibility of abiding by the University's policy on academic misconduct regardless of their location of study; faculty, staff and students have the responsibility of supporting an environment that discourages misconduct. Students need to remain aware that instructors have access to and the right to use electronic and other means of detection. Please note: Whether or not a student intended to commit academic misconduct is not relevant for a finding of guilt. Hurried or careless submission of assignments does not excuse students from responsibility for verifying the academic integrity of their work before submitting it. Students who are in any doubt as to whether an action on their part could be construed as an academic offence should consult with a faculty member or faculty advisor. The Academic Misconduct Policy is detailed in the Undergraduate Calendar: http://www.uoguelph.ca/registrar/calendars/undergraduate/current/c08/c08... Accessibility The University of Guelph is committed to creating a barrier-free environment. Providing services for students is a shared responsibility among students, faculty and administrators. This relationship is based on respect of individual rights, the dignity of the individual and the University community's shared commitment to an open and supportive learning environment. Students requiring service or accommodation, whether due to an identified, ongoing disability or a shortterm disability should contact the Centre for Students with Disabilities as soon as possible. For more information, contact CSD at 519-824-4120 ext. 56208 or email csd@uoguelph.ca or see the website: http://www.csd.uoguelph.ca/csd/ Course Evaluation Information Please refer to the Course and Instructor Evaluation Website Drop date The last date to drop one-semester courses, without academic penalty, is November 6, 2015. For regulations and procedures for Dropping Courses, see the Academic Calendar: http://www.uoguelph.ca/registrar/calendars/undergraduate/current/c08/c08 Additional Course Information 5
Schedule of Dates Week Dates Content Reading / Resources 1 Sept. 10 Business Research and Evidence-Based Wilson Ch. 1 Management o Introduction to the Course o What is Evidence-Based Management? Pfeffer, J., & Sutton, R. I. (2006). Evidencebased management. Harvard Business Review, 84(1), 62-74. 2 Sept. 14-18 Research Design Wilson Ch. 2, 5 o Basic Concepts in Research Design 3 Sept. 21-25 Literature Search and Review Wilson Ch. 3, 7 o Literature Review 4 Sept. 28-Oct. 2 Research Ethics Wilson Ch. 4, 8 o Research Ethics TCPS Tutorial and Submission of Certificate by Sept. 29 Sampling o Sampling 5 Oct. 5-9 Qualitative Research Wilson Ch. 6, 10 o Qualitative Research 6 Oct. 12-16 Quantitative Research Wilson Ch. 6, 9 o Quantitative Research 7 Oct. 19-23 Reporting Results Wilson Ch. 11 o Reporting Results 8 Oct. 26-30 Practical Test Oct. 27 Practical Test Oct. 27 Scheduled Team 9 Nov. 2-6 Scheduled Team 10 Nov. 9-13 Scheduled Team 11 Nov. 16-20 Scheduled Team 12 Nov. 23-27 Presentations in class 13. Nov. 30 -Dec. 3 Presentations in class 6