Business Research Methods

Course Title: Business Research Methods

Course No: RCH 201

Nature of the Course: THEORY

Semester: 6

Credit Hours: 3

Course Description

The course has a preliminary focus on problem identification, theoretical framework development and hypothesis formulation. The course will then deal with research design issues, measurement, sampling, data collection and analysis. This encompasses the overall understanding and application of appropriate research techniques and research statistics, and report writing and presentation skills.

Course Objectives

This course is an introduction on how to do business research with an emphasis on applied problem solving and report writing. The objective of this course is therefore to provide knowledge and understanding of basic principles of business research methods.

Course Contents

1. Introduction

8 hrs

1.1. Meaning of research

1.2. Scientific research

Features

Types of research-basic research and applied research

1.3. The scientific research process

1.4. Paradigm shifts

Positivism vs. interpretivism philosophies

1.5. Management research

Concept, nature, and value in business decision making

Applying scientific thinking to management/business problems

1.6. Ethical issues in business research

2. Literature Searching and Theoretical Framework

5 hrs

2.1. Concept, purposes and steps in literature survey

2.2. Literature search through the internet

2.3. Theoretical framework

2.4. Research problem

2.5. Statement of research objectives

2.6. Formulation of research hypothesis

2.7. Approaches

Deduction

Induction

3. Research Design

5 hrs

3.1. Concept of research design

3.2. Quantitative research designs

Descriptive

Correlational

Causal-comparative

Experimental

3.3. Qualitative research

Case study

Ethnography

Grounded theory

4. Measurement, Scaling and Sampling

8 hrs

4.1. Variables

Independent, dependent and moderating

4.2. Measurement scale

Nominal, ordinal, interval, ratio

4.3. Nature of measurement

4.4. Scale construction for attitude measurement

4.5. Scales commonly used in business research

Rank order rating scale

Semantic differential scale

Likert scale

4.6. Validity and reliability of measurement

4.7. Sources of measurement problems

4.8. Sampling process

4.9. Types of sampling

Probability sampling

Non-probability sampling

4.10. Sampling and non-sampling errors

4.11. Determination of sample size

5. Data Collection and Analysis

12 hrs

5.1. Types of data and their sources

Secondary data, advantages and disadvantages of using secondary data

Primary data-sources and methods

5.2. Questionnaires

Design, components and principles of questionnaire writing

5.3. Research interviews

Face-to-face and telephone interviews

Computer assisted interviewing

5.4. Observation

Concept and methods

5.5. Presenting data in tables, diagrams and graphs

5.6. Quantitative data analysis methods

Descriptive and inferential statistics

5.7. Methods of collecting qualitative data

5.8. Qualitative data analysis methods

Content analysis

Narrative analysis

Discourse analysis

Grounded theory analysis

5.9. Chi-square test for goodness of fit and independence of attributes with examples

6. Research Proposal and Report Writing

10 hrs

6.1. Topic selection

6.2. Research proposal

Purpose, types and structure

6.3. Writing research reports

The reporting process

Procedure for writing

Style of writing

6.4. Typing and layout of the research report

6.5. Citations and references by using APA format

6.6. Essentials of a good research report

Text Books

1.Bryman, A. and E. Bell. Business Research Methods. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
2.Pant, P. R. Fundamentals of Business Research Methods. Kathmandu: Buddha Academic Enterprises.
3.Zikmund, and G. William. Business Research Methods. New Delhi: Thomson India.

Reference Books

1.Chawla, D. and N. Sondhi. Research Methodology-Concepts and Cases. New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House.
2.Cooper, D. R. Business Research Methods. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Ltd.

Notes:

This syllabus follows the official BIM curriculum of Tribhuvan University. In case of any doubt or revision, the university’s published syllabus shall be considered authoritative.https://www.fomecd.edu.np/syllabuses

Business Communication