BUSM6001 Research Methods for Business Studies (Compulsory) School of Business, University of Hong Kong 2014/2015 I. Course Information Course Description: This course covers fundamental and contemporary research methodologies in business studies, including research design, survey method, econometric modeling and analysis, etc. The focus will be on how to develop appropriate research design for specific research questions, how to implement empirical analysis, and how to present and interpret the results. Moreover, students will present their own planned research projects, paying particular attention to (1) the contributions to existing knowledge and (2) justification for the methodology proposed. Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) To understand the research processes, concepts, models, and paradigms that collectively form the foundation for business research (CLO1) To gain the knowledge in identifying the major assumptions, strengths, and limitations of alternative research methods and obtain the hand-on knowledge on statistical techniques (CLO2) To develop the skills of evaluating and applying alterative research methods for different research questions (CLO3) To develop skills in literature review, presentation, communication, and team work (CLO4) To learn the skills of developing research papers for international journals (CLO5) Alignment of Program and Course Outcomes RPg Program Learning Goals Course LOs 1. To conduct quality research independently in their area of specialisation CLO1, CLO2, CLO3 2. To be able to teach subjects in their specialisation CLO1, CLO2, CLO3, CLO4 3. To Inculcate professionalism and leadership. CLO1, CLO2, CLO3, CLO4, CLO5 4. To master communication skills. CLO4 II. Course Assessment Teaching and Learning Activities Various activities will be employed, including lectures, class discussion and exercises, literature review, and research proposal. Course Teaching and Learning Activities Expected Study Load contact hour (% of study) T&L1. Lecture with interactive exercises 36 hours 24% T&L2. Literature review and research proposal 48 hours 32% T&L3. Self study 66 hours 44% Total 150 hours 100% 1
Assessment Class Participation 20% Literature Review 20% Research Proposal 60% 100 1. Class Participation (20%) Attendance is a necessary condition for class participation. It is also important to attend all the classes because the most insightful ideas come primarily from class discussion. To encourage learning, students are expected to actively participate in class discussion. You should read carefully all required readings before each class. You should be ready to talk about the key message and methodological sophistication, of the papers under required readings. This part of the grade includes your attendance of the class (including timeliness), your role as a critique, as well as your contribution to class discussion of the assigned readings. 2. Literature Review (20%) In each session, papers in the reading list may be assigned to each individual student. Required readings are attached to this syllabus. You must come to each class after thoroughly reading all the required readings. A two-page (typed, single spaced) review of the assigned paper will be required from each student. Please bring enough copies to the class to distribute to all the participants. Literature Review Guideline 1) Author, Title, Publication and Pages 2) Approach: Conceptual, Empirical, or Analytical 3) Major Constructs, including their definition 4) Hypothesized Relationships among the Major Constructs 5) For Empirical Studies i. Research Design: Exploratory Research, Descriptive Research, Causal Research ii. iii. iv. Construct Measurement Reliability and Validity Tests Empirical Findings 6) For Analytical Studies - Analytical Implications 7) Major Strengths and Weaknesses 8) Major Implications for Future Research 2
3. Research Proposal (60%) Every student must submit a research proposal of an empirical study on one business topic by the end of the seminar. The research project will involve writing a major publishable paper focusing on business issues. You will need to read beyond the readings in the syllabus to write a research paper. It should be 10 15 pages plus references. It should be an empirical paper without data and results sections at this stage, but including analyses and results in the paper is highly encouraged. The proposal should be developed with a targeted journal in mind. The proposal should consistent of the following parts: 1) Research questions and potential contributions of your study 2) Literature review: a brief review of existing literature related to the research question 3) Theoretical grounds and hypotheses: a brief description of the theoretical grounds and a clear statement of the hypotheses 4) Sampling and data collection 5) Measure of key variables 6) Proposed analysis: discuss how you are going to analyze the data (not just what analytical technique you would use; at this stage, no actual data collection or analysis is expected) Notes Each student will submit the research paper by the last day of the class, on which you will present your research (about 15-20 minute presentation plus 5-10 minute Q&A) Ideally, you should work on the empirical side of the paper during the rest of the year and send the full paper to major conferences in your field and then submit it to academic journals. Learning Outcomes, Teaching and Learning Activities, and Assessment Course LOs Activities Assessment To understand the research processes, concepts, T&L1, 2, 3 A1, 2, 3 models, and paradigms that collectively form the foundation for business research (CLO1) To gain the knowledge in identifying the major T&L1, 2, 3 A1, 2, 3 assumptions, strengths, and limitations of alternative research methods and obtain the hand-on knowledge on statistical techniques (CLO2) To develop the skills of evaluating and applying T&L1, 2, 3 A1, 2, 3 alterative research methods for different research questions (CLO3) To develop skills in literature review, presentation, T&L1, 2, 3 A1, 2, 3 communication, and team work (CLO4) To learn the skills of developing research papers for international journals (CLO5) T&L1, 2, 3 A1, 2, 3 3
Standard of Assessment Class participation, assignments, project reports and exams are graded using the following criteria: Grade Course Grade Descriptor A+, A, A- Strong evidence of superb ability to fulfill the intended learning outcomes of the course at all levels of learning: describe, apply, evaluate and synthesis. B+, B, B- Strong evidence of ability to fulfill the intended learning outcomes of the course at all levels of learning: describe, apply, evaluate and synthesis. C+, C, C- Evidence of adequate ability to fulfill the intended learning outcomes of the course at low levels of learning; such as describe and apply, but not at high levels of learning such as evaluate and synthesis. D+, D Evidence of basic familiarity with the subject. F Little evidence of basic familiarity with the subject. III. Reference Books: Behavioral/Survey Research 1. Malhotra, N. K. (2010) Marketing Research: An Applied Orientation, 6/E, Pearson Higher Education 2. Hair, J.F., Anderson, R.E., Tatham, R.L., & Black, W.C. (1998). Multivariate Data Analysis. fifth edition, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. 3. Aiken L, West S. 1991. Multiple Regression: Testing and Interpreting Interactions. Sage: London, UK 4. Bollen, K.A. (1989). Structural Equations with Latent Variables. NY: John Wiley & Sons. 5. Reis, H. T., & Judd, C. M. (2000). The Handbook of Research Methods in Personality and Social Psychology, Eds, New York: Cambridge University Press. 6. Aronson, E., Ellsworth, P.C., Carlsmith, J.M., & Gonzales, M.H. (1990). Methods of Research in Social Psychology. New York: McGraw-Hill. Mathematical Modeling 1. [Main] Bradley, S. P., A. C. Hax, and T. L. Magnanti (1977). Applied Mathematical Programming. Addison-Wesley. ISBN: 020100464X. (Free download available at http://web.mit.edu/15.053/www/). 2. [Main] Ross, S. M. Stochastic Processes, 2 nd edition. Wiley. ISBN: 0471120626. 3. [Reference] Bazaraa, M. S., J. J. Jarvis, and H. D. Sherali (2009). Linear Programming and Network Flows, 4 th edition. Wiley. ISBN: 0470462728. 4. [Reference] Wolsey, L. A. and G. L. Nemhauser (1999). Integer and Combinatorial Optimization, 1 st edition. Wiley-Interscience. ISBN: 0471359432. 5. [Reference] Bazaraa, M. S., H. D. Sherali, and C. M. Shetty (2006). Nonlinear Programming: Theory and Algorithms, 3 rd edition. Wiley-Interscience. ISBN: 0471486000. 6. [Reference] Puterman, M. (2005). Markov Decision Processes: Discrete Stochastic Dynamic Programming, 1 st edition. Wiley-Interscience. ISBN: 0471727822. Empirical Methods 1. Campbell, J. Y., Lo, A. W., & MacKinlay, A. C. (1997). The Econometrics of Financial Market. Princeton University Press. 2. Wooldridge, Jeffrey M., (2002). Econometric Analysis of Cross-Section and Panel Data. MIT Press, Massachusetts. 3. Greene, William H.(2011), Econometric Analysis. 7 th Edition, Prentice Hall. Data Mining/Text Mining/Social Network Analysis 1. Wasserman, S., & Faust, K. (1994). Social Network Analysis: Methods and Applications. Cambridge University Press. 2. Dunham, M. H. (2002). Data Mining: Introductory and Advanced Topics. Prentice Hall, ISBN: 0130888923. 3. Pang, B., & Lee, L. (2008). Opinion Mining and Sentiment Analysis. Now Pub. 4
IV. COURSE POLICIES Class Conduct: Please respect your instructors and your fellow students. You are required to attend all classes on time. If you have to miss a class, please write a formal notice to inform the instructor at least one day before the class. Academic Dishonesty: The University Regulations on academic dishonesty will be strictly enforced. Please check the University Statement on plagiarism at http://www.hku.hk/plagiarism/ Plagiarism, cheating, and other misconducts: Academic dishonesty will NOT be tolerated. All materials submitted in this course must be your own original work. Any material not completely original must be credited to the proper source. Attendance: According to FBE policy, students must attend at least 70% of classes in order to pass the course. V. Course Schedule Session Topic 1 Introduction: research process 2 Sampling and data collection 3 Measures: validity and factor analysis 4 Data Analysis: Mediator/Moderator 5 Empirical methods I 6 Empirical methods II 7 Statistical modeling I 8 Statistical modeling II 9 Web data collection 10 Data and text mining 11 Experimental design I 12 Experimental design II Research Proposal Presentation The information contained in this syllabus is subject to change and any changes made to this syllabus will be announced in class. 5