UNIT GUIDE
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UNIT GUIDE
JANUARY 2023
SEMESTER
PROGRAMME:MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION)
COURSE CODE:DSC7014
COURSE TITLE:BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODS (January 2023 Session)
COURSE CREDIT:4
ACADEMIC TEAM
Facilitator(s)
Name: Dr. Khor Wei Min
Campus: Petaling Jaya
Email: HYPERLINK "mailto:david_kwm@hotmail.com" david_kwm@hotmail.com
Phone Number: +60 16-551 8209
Contact Hours: Please email for availability
Head of Programme (MBA/MBA-DT)
Name: Raymond Markus, Head of School
Campus: Petaling Jaya
Email: HYPERLINK "mailto:raymond@bac.edu.my" raymond@bac.edu.my
Phone Number: +60 12-942 9427
Contact Hours: Please email for availability
Unit Coordinator (MBA/MBA-DT)Name: Pardeep Kaur
Campus: Petaling Jaya
Email: pardeepkaur@bac.edu.my
Phone Number: +60 17-395 9299
Contact Hours: Please email for availability
INTRODUCTION TO THE UNIT
Business research methods constitutes one of the core courses in business studies for the primary reason that it furnishes the requisite knowledge, skills and tools to address the requirement for information under conditions of uncertainty. This course is designed to introduce students to the research methods that can be used in most business research and other research related to the social phenomenon. The areas that will be covered includes, introduction to the scientific method, research process, ethics in research, research design, measurement, sampling, data collection, analysis, interpretation and report writing.
Course Learning Outcomes (CLO)
Develop a research proposal based on logical arguments and business literature (C6, PLO2).
Integrate effective verbal communication skills while presenting the research proposal (A4, PLO5).
Integrate numeracy skills while preparing the research proposal (A4, PLO6).
Integrate personal and lifelong learning skills while preparing the research proposal (A4, PLO9).
Teaching Methodologies
Online distance learning mode offers an opportunity for students to learn and engage in content and assessment in a fully supported way. Students are expected to engage in approximately 20 contact hours of online activities as well as further independent study to make up the minimum required hours per semester.
Date Day Time* Teaching Method(s)
7/1/2023 SAT 10:00 am. to 4:00 pm. Lecture & Tutorial
14/1/2023 SAT 10:00 am. to 4:00 pm. Lecture & Tutorial
28/1/2023 SAT 10:00 am. to 4:00 pm. Lecture & Tutorial
11/2/2023 SAT 10:00 am. to 4:00 pm. Lecture & Tutorial
*pls take note of the changes in time
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
Honesty is an essential aspect of academic integrity. Individual students are responsible for doing their own work and for not taking credit for the effort and ideas of others. This includes plagiarism, cheating and not contributing to group projects. This obligation is based on mutual trust and is essential to meeting the goals of this course. Academic dishonesty of any type on exams, quizzes or other graded assessment will not be tolerated.
Some important points about academic integrity:
Unless collaboration is explicitly permitted, you should assume that every course assignment or assessment (i.e., exams) is to be completed individually. This means that you are to work on course assignments by yourself not with your friend, roommate or anyone else. Any violation of this restriction will be considered a violation of the Academic Behaviour Code and will result in an automatic failure for the assignment. If you are struggling with an assignment, you should consult with me during office hours or make an appointment.
You are responsible for keeping drafts, references/sources, and backup copies of all your written assignments, to turn in upon my request until final grades are completed.
You should begin your work early. An unforeseen event arising the night before a paper is due is not a legitimate reason for a paper extension. When submitting assignments electronically, you should request confirmation that your assignment has been received or you should save some form of confirmation that your e-mail was sent.
You are responsible for taking precautions that your work (especially written work that paraphrases another written source). If I determine that you have copied all or part of an exam or paper from another source (including another student, a web page, a textbook, or other published source), you will receive a failing grade in this course.
Academic writing core content similarity rate (Turnitin Score) of 15% or below, excluding in-text citations, reference list, etc.
COURSE CONTENT
Topic Course Content Outline
1 Writing for academics and business
2 Introduction to Business Research
3 Scientific research in business
4 Defining a research problem
5 Exploring Theories and Theoretical Framework I
6 Data collection methods
7 Designing a Questionnaire
8 Sampling Design
9 Experimental Design
10 Data Processing and Data Analysis I
11 Multivariate Data Analysis
12 Thesis Writing
SUMMARY OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment Title Weighted Percentage Length Due Date
Assessment 1:
Online Participation Coursera Quizzes
20% N/A 15-2-2023 (WED)
Assessment 2:
Individual Assignment 1
(covering Chapter 1 & 2)
40% 3500-Word 19-2-2023
(SUN)
Assessment 3:
Oral Presentation (based on Assessment 1) 10% N/A 19-2-2023
(SUN)
Assessment 4:
Individual Assignment 2
(covering Chapter 3) 30% 3000-Word 26-2-2023
(FRI)
Assessment 1: Online Participation Coursera Quizzes
Course Name: Quantitative Methods
Developed by: University of Amsterdam
Link: HYPERLINK "https://www.coursera.org/learn/quantitative-methods" https://www.coursera.org/learn/quantitative-methods
Week Topic No. of Questions
Week 2 The Scientific Method 10
Week 3 Research Designs 11
Week 4 Measurement 10
Week 5 Sampling 9
Week 6 Practice, Ethics & Integrity 8
Total 48
Assessment 2: Individual Assignment 1 (40%)
Instruction & Requirements
Pick a variable (or topic) of your interest, then propose a Title for the assignment and conduct a literature review on the variable. Your response should include:
Introduction
Apply business research concept to develop the following:
1.1 Research background,
1.2 Research gaps,
1.3 Research problem,
1.4 Research aim,
1.5 Research scope,
1.6 Research objectives,
1.7 Research questions
1.8 Research Significant &
1.9 Research limitation.
Literature Review
2.1 Dependent Variable (DV)
2.1.1Provide THREE (3) definitions for the variable of interest, i.e., dependent variable. (Definition)
2.1.2Review at least TWO (2) journal articles to examine the historical context for the variable of interest. (Historical Context)
2.1.3Review at least TWO (2) research studies within the last five years related to the variable of interest. (Recent Development)
2.1.4Present TWO (2) measurements for the variable of interest. (Measurement)
2.2 Independent Variable (IV-1)
2.2.1Provide THREE (3) definitions for a variable or factor impacting the variable of interest, i.e., independent variable. (Definition)
2.2.2Review at least TWO (2) journal articles to examine the historical context for variable or factor impacting the variable of interest. (Historical Context)
2.2.3Review at least TWO (2) research studies within the last five years related to the variable or factor impacting the variable of interest. (Recent Development)
2.2.4 Present TWO (2) measurements for the variable or factor impacting the variable of interest. (Measurement)
* Optional for additional IV will be 2.3 for IV-2 and 2.4 for IV-3
Personal & Lifelong Learning Skills Reflection
Reflect on the research skills you have learned in this assignment and how it will influence your personal and lifelong learning skills.
Guidelines for Individual Assignment 2 Preparation
1. Prepare an essay (report format) around 3500 words within an acceptable variation of more or less than 1000 words above such a requirement.
2. A minimum of 15 journal article references is required for this assignment. Please ensure that citations for sources and bibliography are properly given in the test of your essay. You must use the Harvard referencing / citation style. The overall grading will take this into consideration.
3. Faculty penalties for Bad Academic Practice and plagiarism apply.
Submission Requirements for Individual Assignment 1
1. Your assignment will be anonymously marked so you must not identify yourself other than by using your student number anywhere on, or within, the assignment.
2. Coursework must be submitted using point, font style (Times New Roman), font sizes (12), and one-and-a-half (1.5) line spaced.
3. You are advice to include page number of your work for each discussion question. Pages must be numbered consecutively throughout the text.
4. Faculty penalties for poor academic practices and plagiarism apply (Turnitin Score above 15%).
* No other information should be included on the cover.
Marking Rubric for Assignment 2: Individual Assignment 1
0 4 5 8 9 12 13 16 17 20
ProblemIdentification (20%) 1.0 Introduction Not able to explain a problem, even with assistance. Able to partially explain a problem with maximum assistance. Able to explain a problem with minimum assistance. Independently able to explain a problem clearly without assistance. Able to provide explanation of problem very clearly and accurately.
0 4 5 8 9 12 13 16 17 20
Application (20%) 1.0 Introduction Not able to apply any new idea or knowledge to a given problem. Limited ability to apply new idea or knowledge. Able to apply new idea or knowledge to a given problem with assistance from lecturer or student. Able to apply new idea or knowledge to a given problem independently. Able to apply new idea or knowledge to a given problem and able to propose alternative applications.
0 - 11 12 - 23 24 - 29 30 - 36 37 - 40
Evaluation
(40%) 2.0 Literature Review
Not able to select appropriate alternative solution. Able to evaluate several solutions but not able to select an appropriate solution with maximum assistance. Able to evaluate several solutions and able to select a solution that partially solves a problem with minimum assistance. Able to evaluate several solutions and clearly and accurately select alternative solutions without assistance. Able to evaluate several solutions and able to clearly and accurately select alternative solutions in detail.
0 4 5 8 9 12 13 16 17 20
Personal & Lifelong Skills
(20%) 3.0 Least
attempt to engage in autonomous learning Minimally engage in autonomous learning Putting effort to engage in autonomous learning Consistently engage in autonomous learning Highly engage in autonomous learning
Assessment 3: Presentation based on Assessment 1 (10%)
1. Propose to have 12 15 slides, include a reference list at the end of presentation slides.
2. Recommend voice over PowerPoint slides for total 10-15 minutes presentation
3. Presentation Outline:
Introduction Slide Student ID, Assignment Type, Lecturer Name and Topic
Presentation Outline
Before your reference list slide (last slide), put in Q&A slide with your contact info (phone and email)
Note: TRY 6 * 4 = 24 Principle (6-Word per Sentence, 4 Sentences Maximum, Font-Size 24)
Marking Rubric for Assessment 3 Presentation
0 - 4 5 - 8 9 - 12 13 - 16 17 - 20
Clear delivery of ideas (20%) Not able todeliver ideas clearly and require major improvements Able to deliver ideas and require further improvements Able to deliver ideas fairly clearly and require minor improvements Able to deliver ideas clearly Able to deliver ideas with great clarity
0 - 4 5 - 8 9 - 12 13 - 16 17 - 20
Confident delivery of ideas (20%) Not able to deliver ideas confidently Able to deliver ideas with limited confidenceand require furtherimprovements. Able to deliver ideas fairly confidentlyand require minorimprovements Able to deliver ideas confidently Able to deliver ideas with great confidence
0 - 4 5 - 8 9 - 12 13 - 16 17 - 20
Effective and articulate delivery of ideas (20%) Not able to deliver ideas effectively Able to deliver ideas with limited effectand require furtherimprovements Able to deliver ideas fairly effectivelyand require minorimprovements Able to deliver ideas effectively and articulately Ability to deliver ideas with great effect andarticulate
0 - 4 5 - 8 9 - 12 13 - 16 17 - 20
Understand and respond to questions (20%) Not able to understand and respond to a question Able to understand and answer questions but not able to accurately answer thequestion Able to understand and answer questions satisfactorily Able to respond to questions well Able to fully understand and respond to questions very well
0 - 4 5 - 8 9 - 12 13 - 16 17 - 20
Adapt delivery to audience level (20%) Not able to deliver appropriately to the audience level Able to deliver ideas with limited appropriateness to the target audienceand require furtherimprovements. Able to deliver ideas appropriately to the target audience satisfactorily Able to deliver ideas appropriately to the target audience well Able to fully deliver ideas appropriately very well
Assessment 4: Individual Assignment 2 (30%)
This assessment is based on the development of a research methodology report and reference to Research Proposal Chapter 3. The below are the requirements:
Continue from the variable of interest from Individual Assignment 1, provide the Research aim, Research objectives and Research questions and justify the connections between them.
1.Research Methodology overview - based on the research methodology overview, state all the options and propose the type of Research design you will utilize to carry out the data collection.
(10-mark)
2.Research Design - based on your research design, evaluate the following aspects of your research methodology:
(a)types of investigation
(b)data collection time frame (i.e., time horizon)
(c)study setting
(d)study population
(e)required sample calculation
(f)sampling technique
(30-mark)
3.Research Instrument - Provide the details of Research instrument on measurement scale for your variables of interest. To cover on the author(s), level of measurement, number of items, validity and reliability of your chosen research instrument. Preferably to provide in a table format
(20-mark)
4.Data collection method analyze the pros and cons of your choice of data collection method. And provide a Table showing all the necessary and related details
(10-mark)
5.Data Analysis - justify the ways you intend to analyze your data:
(a)demographic data (Feel of the data) of at least 2 areas
(b)reliability of the data (Good of the Data)
(c)statistical analysis procedure for the research questions (provide in table format)
(20-mark)
6.Post Research Limitation to list down the post-study limitations based on your research methodology selection.
(10-mark)
Guidelines for Individual Assignment 1 preparation
1. Prepare an essay (report format) around 3000 words within an acceptable variation of more or less than 300 words above such a requirement.
2. A minimum of 10 journal article references is required for this assignment. Please ensure that citations for sources and bibliography are properly given in the test of your essay. You must use the Harvard referencing / citation style. The overall grading will take this into consideration.
3. Faculty penalties for Bad Academic Practice and plagiarism apply.
Submission Requirements for Individual Assignment 2 Preparation
1. Your assignment will be anonymously marked so you must not identify yourself other than by using your student number anywhere on, or within, the assignment.
2. Coursework must be submitted using point, font style (Times New Roman), font sizes (12), and one-and-a-half (1.5) line spaced.
3. You are advice to include page number of your work for each discussion question. Pages must be numbered consecutively throughout the text.
4. Faculty penalties for poor academic practices and plagiarism apply (Turnitin Score above 15%).
* No other information should be included on the cover.
Marking Rubric for Individual Assignment 2
0 - 11 12 - 23 24 - 29 30 - 36 37 - 40
Research Methodology & Design
(40%) Not able to apply any idea or knowledge to a given topic(s). Limited ability to apply idea or knowledge. Able to apply idea or knowledge to a given tropic(s) with assistance from lecturer or student. Able to apply idea or knowledge to a given tropics (s) independently. Able to apply idea or knowledge to a given tropics and able to discussed in detailed .
0 8 9 14 15 19 20 24 25 30
Research Instrument & Data Collection (30%) Not able to apply any idea or knowledge to a given topic(s). Limited ability to apply idea or knowledge. Able to apply idea or knowledge to a given tropic(s) with assistance from lecturer or student. Able to apply idea or knowledge to a given tropics (s) independently. Able to apply idea or knowledge to a given tropics and able to discussed in detailed.
0 - 6 7 -11 12- 15 16 - 18 19-20
Data Analysis (20%)
Not able to apply any idea or knowledge to a given topic(s). Limited ability to apply idea or knowledge. Able to apply idea or knowledge to a given tropic(s) with assistance from lecturer or student. Able to apply idea or knowledge to a given tropics (s) independently. Able to apply idea or knowledge to a given tropics and able to discussed in detailed.
0 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Post Research Limitation
(10%) Least
attempt to write on the post limitation Minimally write on the post limitation Putting effort to write on the post limitation Consistently to write on the post limitation Highly engage to write on the post limitation
The required textbook(s) which are available online are:
Main Reference:
1. Gravetter, F. J. and Forzano, L. B. (2019). Research Methods for the Behavioral Sciences. 6th ed. Stamford: Cengage Learning.
Additional References:
Ranjit Kumar Research Methodology
HYPERLINK "https://corladancash.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Research-Methodology-Ranjit-Kumar.pdf" https://corladancash.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Research-Methodology-Ranjit-Kumar.pdf
Sue Greener Business Research Methods
HYPERLINK "https://pdf4pro.com/download/business-research-methods-uab-barcelona-53af49.html" https://pdf4pro.com/download/business-research-methods-uab-barcelona-53af49.html
Journal Articles:
(1) International Journal of Social Research Methodology
(2) International Journal of Research Methodology
(3) International Journal of Quantitative and Qualitative Research
There are additional supplemental readings that will be posted according to weekly topics and it is highly encouraged that students read these in addition to the required textbook readings. The teaching methods in this unit are much applied and interactive thus students are expected to participate in online forum discussions and case-based learning.
Who's Who in Veritas University College
School of Business and Communication
Name: Dr Gary Tan, Dean
Campus: Petaling Jaya
Email: gary.t@bac.edu.my
Name: Raymond Markus, Head of School
Campus: Petaling Jaya
Email: raymond@bac.edu.my
Name: Pardeep Kaur, Program Coordinator (MBA/MBDT)
Campus: Petaling Jaya
Email: pardeepkaur@bac.edu.my
Name: Jeremy Jong, Program Coordinator (DBA)
Campus: Petaling Jaya
Email: jeremy.j@veritas.edu.my
drk_17122022
