Business Research Methods

bbsfourth year

Chapter Wise Notes Question Banks Syllabus Chapter Wise Questions

Business Research Methods

Subject Code: MGT 221

Course Title: Business Research Methods

Course No: MGT 221

Nature of Course: Theory & Practical

Full Marks: 50

Pass Marks: 17.5

Credit Hours: 150

Course Description

The course comprises introduction to research, different types of research, literature searching andframe working, research design issues, measurement, scaling, sampling, data collection and analysis,research proposal and report writing . This encompasses the overall understanding and application of appropriate research techniques, research statistics and presentation skills.

Course Objective

The primary aim of this course is to introduce students to the principle of research methods used most frequently by business students. Basic knowledge of these methodological approaches is absolutely critical to the comprehension of academic understanding and comprehensive and critical writing which is an essence of business students. Therefore, the basic objective of this course is to provide knowledge and understanding of basic principles of business research methods.

Course Contents

Unit 1: Introduction (20 LHs)
Meaning of research; Scientific research : features; Types of research: applied and basic; TheScientific research process; Approaches to research: Paradigm shifts – Positivist Versus
interpretivist philosophies; Management research : concept, nature and value in businessdecision making; Applying scientific thinking to management problems; and Ethical
concerns in research.Qualitative research: concept, features, assumptions; Common practices in qualitativeresearch; Methods of collecting and analyzing qualitative data; Role of computers indifferent phases of research; Qualitative data analysis: content, thematic and narrative.Methods of qualitative research: case study, ethnography, grounded theory and
phenomenological study (A short introduction only); Building trustworthiness and credibilityin qualitative research; and Strength of qualitative research.

Unit 2: Literature Searching and Theoretical Framework (10 LHs)
Literature searching : concept, purposes and kinds; Writing a literature survey; Literaturesearch through the internet; Relation of literature to research; Theoretical framework; Theory
and research: research approaches – deductive and inductive; Research problem:identification of research problem in business, research questions; and Concept ofhypothesis formulation.

Unit 3: Research Design (5 LHs)
Concept; Features; Types: descriptive, developmental, case studies, causal-comparative,experimental, cross-sectional and longitudinal; Basic principles of research design ; and
Criteria of a good research design.

Unit 4: Measurement, Scaling and Sampling (12 LHs)
Variables and their types; Nature of measurement; Types of scales of measurement: nominal,ordinal, interval and ratio scales; Scale construction for attitude measurement; Scales
commonly used in business research; Validity and reliability of measurement; Sources ofmeasurement problems; Concept of population, sample and sampling; Concept of sample
size; The sampling process; Types of sampling: probability and non-probability sampling;and Sampling and non- sampling errors.

Unit 5: Data Collection and Analysis (20 LHs)
Types of data: primary and secondary; Importance of secondary data in business research;Primary data: methods of collecting primary data; Questionnaires: design, components and
principles of questionnaire writing; Pilot testing and questionnaire administration; Theresearch interviews: face-to- face, telephone interviews and computer assisted interviewing;
Observation: concept and methods: participative and non-participative; Data analysis:organizing and preparing data, presenting data in tables, graphs and charts; Pre-conditions
and the use of statistical techniques: descriptive (Mean, Median, Mode and StandardDeviation) and inferential statistics: correlation analysis, statistical significance, basicforecasting tools, regression (concept of linear and non-linear); Concept and illustration of t-test : single mean and two means ; Chi-square test : goodness of fit and independence ofattributes; and Statistical testing of hypothesis.

Unit 6: Research Proposal and Report Writing (8 LHs)
Topic selection; Research proposal : purpose, types and structure; Writing research reports :reporting process, contents of the research report and style of writing; Typing and layout of the research report; Citations and references by using APA format; and Essentials of a goodresearch report.

Text Books

1. Cooper, D. R., Schindler, P. S., & Sharma, J. K., Business Research Methods, New Delhi:
Tata Mc Graw Hill.
2. Sekaran, U. & Bougie, R., Research Methods for Business, New Delhi: Wiley India.
3. Zikmund, W.G., Babin, B. J., Carr, J. C., Adhikari, A., & Griffin, M., Business Research
Methods, A South Asian Perspective, New Delhi: Cengage Learning.
4. Bryman, A., & Emma, B., Business Research Methods, New Delhi: Oxford University
Press.
5. Kothari, C.R., Research Methodology Methods and Techniques, New Delhi: New Age
International Publication.
6. Sachdeva,J.K., Business Research Methods, Mumbai: Himalayan publishing house.
7. Chawla, D. & Sondhi, N., Research Methodology, Mumbai: Vikash Publishing house.
8. Adhikari, D. R. & Pandey, D. L., Research Methodology for Management, Kathmandu:
Asmita Books Publishers & Distributors (p) Ltd.
9. Gautam, D.K. & Gautam,P.K.,Research Methodology, Kathmandu: KEC publication and
Distribution (p.) Ltd.