Methods of Business Research

Faculty: Raja Rub Nawaz

Email: rajarubnawaz.research@gmail.com

Semester: Fall 2016

Mobile #: All of you have it now ;)

Grading Structure
At-least 50% of the papers will be based directly on the
40 marks
Final Examination
project. The papers will have a minimum of 40% of objective 25 marks
& Mid Term
style questions.
Deliverable 1 (due on Oct 8)
5 marks
Deliverable 2 (due on Nov 5)
10 marks
Deliverable 3 (due on Nov 26)
7 marks
Deliverable 4 (due on Dec 3)
3 marks
Cohesive Project
Important: All deliverables will be subjected to plagiarism check. Any
plagiarism more than the tolerable limit of 10% will result in a zero score for
that deliverable. Three incidences of plagiarism greater than 10% will result in
a zero in the project section.
n-1 quizzes
5 marks
Quizzes
Inquisitive and Probing Questions by students etc.
5 marks
Class Discussions

Deliverable 1 (Rubrics for this deliverable will be available on Turnitin)

1. Finalize the topic
2. Write-up for Significance of the topic
3. Background (1000 words minimum)

Deliverable 2 (Rubrics for this deliverable will be available on Turnitin)

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Brief Literature Review (2500 words minimum)

Clearly identify and justify the selection of variables through the literature
Justification of relationship of variables among themselves and with dependent variable(s)
Research question(s), research objectives, and hypotheses
Research Design (theoretical, conceptual and research framework)

Deliverable 3 (Rubrics for this deliverable will be available on Turnitin)

1. Finalize and justify the statistical inference technique to be used
2. Write up for the research instrument selection, explaining the rationale of each
construct/variable/scale of instrument
3. Explanation of sample size calculations (effect size and power) and sampling technique chosen
4. Explanation of reliability and validity testing methods of the instrument

Deliverable 4 (Rubrics for this deliverable will be available on Turnitin)

1. Consolidation of Proposal (combine all three deliverables in one document)

MBR-Course Outline-Raja Rub Nawaz

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Note: All deliverables and the final proposal will be submitted to your Turnitin ID.
You should name your files as:
FullName_Reg#_Deliverable#
For example: rajarubnawaz_12345_Deliverable3
Note: Do not forget the underscore

Course Structure
The students are required to study in the following order. Classroom will be used to handle queries and
expand upon what is written in the reading list given below. Please, do not come to the class unprepared.
It will be of no use. Maximize what you take out of the class by reading the sections in advance.

WEEK #
Week 1 :
Week 2 :
Week 3: :
Week 4 :
Week 5 :
Week 6 :
Week 7 :
Week 8 :

BOOK TOPIC (Chapter #)

SLT
SLT
SLT
SLT
SLT
NKM
SLT
SLT
NKM
SLT
NKM
SLT
SLT

Week 9 :

Week 10 :

Week 11 :
Week 12 :
Week 13 :
Week 14
:
& 15

NKM
NKM
SLT
NKM
NKM
NKM
SLT
NKM
SLT
SLT
-

The nature of business management research (1)

Formulating and clarifying the research topic
Critically reviewing the literature (3)
APA format citations and referencing guidelines
Deciding on the research approach and choosing a research strategy (4)
Formulating the Research Design (5)
Research Design (3)
Negotiating access and research ethics (6)
A Guide of Plagiarism
Selecting Samples (7)
Causal Research Design: Experimentation (7)
Using secondary data (8)
Exploratory Research Design: Secondary Data (4)
Collecting primary data through observation (9)
Collecting primary data using semi-structured, in-depth and group interviews
(10)
Exploratory Research Design: Survey and Observation (6)
Exploratory Research Design: Qualitative Research (5)
Collecting primary data using questionnaire (11)
Measurement & Scaling: Fundamentals and Comparative Scaling (8)
Measurement and Scaling: Non-comparative Scaling Technique (9)
Questionnaire and Form Design (10)
Analyzing quantitative data (12)
Data Preparation (14)
Orientation and hands-on practice of SPSS
Analyzing qualitative data (13)
Writing and Presenting Your Project Report (13)
Proposal Presentations

MBR-Course Outline-Raja Rub Nawaz

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IBM SPSS
A self-study of SPSS is mandatory. Examinations would assume a working knowledge of SPSS.

Reference Resources
The course textbook is SLT (mentioned below). NKM would be the reference book.
1. SLT - Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition; Saunders, Lewis, and Thornhill
(Pearson Education)
2. NKM - Marketing Research An Applied Orientation, 6th Edition; Naresh K Malhotra (Prentice
Hall India)

MBR-Course Outline-Raja Rub Nawaz

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