Research Methods

Course Objectives

The primary course objective is to introduce students to research methodology, writing a dissertation and presenting their findings in a short class presentation. The course aims to familiarize students with the correct means of presenting, referencing and creating bibliographies in the accepted manner for academic essays and the final dissertation of their postgraduate course.

Students will also fully understand that all forms of plagiarism are not acceptable in British universities and will know how unintentional plagiarism can be avoided.

Key Learning Outcomes

The principal aim behind this course is to equip students with an overview of what research at postgraduate level involves and how to structure a dissertation. The course will be compulsory for all Pre-Masters students and will be examined. Eight key learning outcomes are specified for course participants:Â

1.To provide an overview of the stages involved in producing a dissertation

2.To appreciate what research involves, the different approaches and how to critically appraise material

3.To understand and evaluate qualitative and quantitative methods of research

4.To know how to start the research process

5.How best to select and research literature and the variety of sources available: how best to use a library

6.To know where and how to look for primary and secondary source material

7.To understand the concept of House Styles (e.g. Harvard) and how to correctly cite material within work: bibliographies, footnotes and quotations

8.To ensure that course participants understand how to construct a workable hypothesis and evaluate it

9.To be able to appreciate some central issues involved in research: ethics, plagiarism, accuracy and information management

10.To know how to draft proposals, select and work with a supervisor and prepare presentations

Course Structure

The first part of the course provides students with an overview of what is involved when producing a dissertation. The second stage of the course explores the nature of research, hypothesis testing, ethics, plagiarism, how to select a topic and the concept of sampling.

The third and fourth stages of the course explore qualitative and quantitative methods of reaserch. The fifth stage explains the purpose of a literature review and how to use available literature so as to evaluate your hypothesis. The sixth stage examines house styles and how to correctly cite material within work. The final stage of the course explores how to write up and prepare for presentations.

Background and context:

• What is a dissertation?
• Characteristic features of a dissertation
• Structure of a typical dissertation
• What you need to consider before you start
• The role of the supervisor
• Stages involved in writing up
• Adopting house styles and regulations
• Developing a hypothesis, questions and testing
• Review of terms associated with research and your dissertation

Research: the Beginning

• What is research?
• The purpose of research
• The research process: hypothesis, investigation, data, analysis, acceptance or rejection of hypothesis
• Different types of research
• Key considerations – ethics and plagiarism
• Choosing and developing a subject to investigate
• The concept and importance of sampling
• Capturing your research: information and knowledge management
• The difference between qualitative and quantitative information

Qualitative Research

• Interviews: consideration and types
• Observations
• Diary methods
• Case studies
• Action research and critical analysis
• Ethnographic research

Quantitative Research

• The idea of hypothetico-deductive research
• Data: discrete and continuous
• Nominal, Ordinal, Interval, Ratio, Categorical
• The Data Protection Act: what are the implications?
• Techniques of data collection: Surveys, Questionnaires, Interviews
• Focus groups
• Questionnaires in more detail
• Experimental work in science
• Sampling for quantitative research: simple, systematic, stratified
• Random and non-random sampling
• Non-random: cluster, quota, purpose
• Sample size
• Triangulation
• Analyzing data collected and making inferences
• Writing a proposal
• Proposal layout
• Characteristics of a good proposal

Using Literature

The concept of primary, secondary and tertiary sources

What to Read:

• Books, Periodicals - Academic Journals
• Bibliographies
• Indexes
• Current awareness publications
• Abstracts
• Official Reports, Surveys
• Internet – search engines
• Historical records and archives
• Letters, diaries
• Theses
• Official statistics
• Trade literature
• Non-book sources –AV
• Popular media – newspapers
• Conference proceedings

What is a Literature Review?

• Using libraries
• Dewey decimal system
• Specialised libraries
• Guidelines on making a literature search
• Asking key question
• How to search: what exactly is involved

Case Studies

• How to research a topic in social sciences
• How to research a topic in finance or banking
• How to research a topic in science

Bibliographies, References, Footnotes, Quotations and Matters of Style

• House styles: Harvard system and others
• What does your university require?
• Constructing bibliographies
• Use of quotations and the use of sic
• Citing electronic sources
• Use of footnotes
• Use of et al
• Use of op.cit and ibid.
• Unpublished material
• Non-authored material

Assessment and Minimum Standards

The course will be completed with a on- and-a-half-hour written examination. The examination will incorporate various minimum standards. In addition to the examination, certain aspects of the course that are not easily formally examined will also be tested by assignments. The minimum pass mark for the course is 40%.

This involves ensuring that all students that have completed the course have understood the following points:Â

1.The structure of a typical dissertation

2.How to develop a hypothesis

3.The difference between qualitative and quantitative research

4.The importance and role of sampling

5.The difference between primary and secondary sources

6.What a literature review involves

7.Understand the variety of research sources available both within libraries, and the Internet

8.How to find sources within a typical university library

9.What constitutes plagiarism?

10.The function of an abstract

11.The need to adopt a particular style when producing the dissertation: the importance of consistency

12.How to correctly cite material; bibliographical referencing and the use of quotations

13.The correct use of et al, op. cit. and ibid.

Books recommended for the course

White, B., (2002). Writing Your MBA Dissertation. Thomson.

Wisker, G., (2007). The Postgraduate Research Handbook.,2nd Edition, Palgrave.

Swetnam, D., (2000). Writing Your Dissertation. How to Books.