DXH_MET1 Methodology 1

Faculty of Economics and Administration
Autumn 2019
Extent and Intensity
24/0/0. 6 credit(s). Recommended Type of Completion: zk (examination). Other types of completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Hynek Cígler, Ph.D. (lecturer)
doc. Mgr. Stanislav Ježek, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Jan Širůček, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Jan Širůček, Ph.D.
Department of Business Management – Faculty of Economics and Administration
Contact Person: Mgr. Lucie Přikrylová
Supplier department: Department of Business Management – Faculty of Economics and Administration
Timetable
Tue 17. 9. 14:00–15:30 S307, Tue 24. 9. 14:00–15:30 S307, Tue 1. 10. 14:00–15:30 S307, Tue 8. 10. 14:00–15:30 S307, Tue 22. 10. 14:00–15:30 S307, Tue 29. 10. 14:00–15:30 S307, Tue 5. 11. 14:00–15:30 S307, Tue 12. 11. 14:00–15:30 S307, Tue 19. 11. 14:00–15:30 S307, Tue 26. 11. 14:00–15:30 S307, Tue 3. 12. 14:00–15:30 S307, Tue 10. 12. 14:00–15:30 S307
Prerequisites
This is an introductory course and has no specific prerequisites. Students are expected to be able to read and write in English in the area of their dissertation.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The course provides an introduction to understanding and doing empirical research with people as the primary source of data in business context. It aims to provide a common working foundation to graduates of various fields which substantially differ in the their research methods curriculum. The course explicitly does not cover econometric research.
The aim of the course is to introduce students to the basic components of research planning and execution including:
- awareness of the advantages of the scientific method and of the range of research types/traditions,
- ethical issues in research,
- specifying the purpose and focus of a research project, the research question,
- building the theoretical framework based on a critical literature review,
- formulation of hypotheses,
- selecting and specifying an appropriate research design including experimental and correlational designs,
- selecting/developing valid and reliable methods of data collection including interviews, surveys, observations, and psychometric scales,
- sampling,
- elements of quantitative and qualitative data processing and analysis, and
- reporting research and research proposal.
Presented theory is applied to individual students' dissertation topics. Note: Only very introductory elements of quantitative and qualitative analysis are presented in the course.
Learning outcomes
At the and of the course students will have a realistic knowledge of all the basic components of empirical research with people in the business context. They will be able to write a successful simple research proposal, carry out a study based on the proposal, analyse and write up the results. As a consequence they will be more competent research consumers and critical peers.
Syllabus
  • 1. Introduction - role and purpose of research in business and society, the scientific method, types of research, problem statement. Overview of the research process.
  • 2. Research question - refining problem to research question (and hypotheses) through theoretical framework based on critical literature review, pilots, secondary data. Concepts and variables.
  • 3. Common research designs.
  • 4. Data collection - interviewing and surveys
  • 5. Data collection - observation and psychometric scales
  • 6. Sampling and sample weighting
  • 7. Qualitative data analysis.
  • 8. Quantitative data analysis.
  • 9. Writing research reports and proposals
Literature
  • FIELD, Andy P. Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS statistics. 5th edition. Los Angeles: Sage, 2018, xxix, 1070. ISBN 9781526419521. info
  • EASTERBY-SMITH, Mark, Richard THORPE, Paul JACKSON and Lena J. JASPERSEN. Management & business research. 6th edition. Los Angeles: Sage, 2018, xxi, 440. ISBN 9781526424808. info
  • BRYMAN, Alan and Emma BELL. Business research methods. Fourth edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015, xxxvi, 778. ISBN 9780199668649. info
  • SEKARAN, Uma and Johan Roger Gisbert BOUGIE. Research methods for business : a skill building approach. 6th ed. Chichester: Wiley, 2013, xxi, 423. ISBN 9781119942252. info
  • COOPER, Donald R. and Pamela S. SCHINDLER. Business research methods. 8th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2003, xix, 857. ISBN 0072498706. info
Teaching methods
The course is based on lectures combined with small-group discussions applying the content to individual students' dissertation topics.
Assessment methods
To pass the course students must submit a research proposal related to their dissertation topic and pass a written exam. The research proposal will be evaluated on a scale accepted-not accepted with the possibility to resubmit a corrected version. The written exam will consist of short open-ended questions and multiple-choice questions. The grading scale will be the following >=90% A, 89-83% B, 82 - 75% C, 74 - 68% D, 67 - 60 % E, less than 60% F. The final test has 20 questions, which implies the following cutpoints for individual grades: >=18, 17, 15, 13, 12.
Language of instruction
Czech
Follow-Up Courses
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course can also be completed outside the examination period.
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2018, Autumn 2020, Autumn 2021, Autumn 2022, Autumn 2023, Autumn 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2019, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/econ/autumn2019/DXH_MET1