Sunway University Business School (SUBS)

SUBJECT OVERVIEW
STA 2024: RESEARCH METHODS IN BUSINESS

Course : Bachelor of Science (Hons) Business Management

Bachelor of Science (Hons) Business Studies
Subject Code and Title : STA 2024 Research Methods in Business
Semester : MARCH 2018
Contact Hours per week : 2 hours of lecture
1-hour computer lab training and/or consultations
1-hour workshop
Lecturer : Dr. Jayaraman Munusamy
e-mail address : jayaramanm@sunway.edu.my
Room : Part-time Lecturer’s Room
Telephone No : (603) – 7491 8622 Ext. 7323
Consultation Hours : By prior appointment: Monday 10.00 am – 12.00 noon
and Wednesday 8.00 am – 10.00 am

__________________________________________________________________________
Subject Description

Modern society is driven by research. From shopping for a shampoo to buying a new car,
we engage in research everyday. ‘Research literacy’ is therefore important to everyone.
Without being conscious of how we arrive at a decision beyond the fact that it takes time and
thought, we are nevertheless making use of the research process. For students regardless
of discipline, understanding this process is vitally important. For them, research projects
form an integral part of academic programme even at undergraduate level. It is therefore
vital that students learn the skills necessary to undertake meaningful research.

This course provides the basic skills needed for students of business to undertake research
activities. It takes students through each step of the research process, emphasizes to them
the significance of each step, makes them aware of alternatives and alerts them to potential
pitfalls.

As both qualitative and quantitative research requires some basic knowledge of statistics,
the prerequisite for this subject is: STA 1024: Business Statistics is a pre-requisite
subject.

Subject Objectives

Solid research requires a number of critical tasks. The overall objective is to provide
students skills to perform these tasks - design, prepare and implement a research project in
business studies, and to communicate the results.

On completion of this subject, students should be able to:

-1-
Department of Marketing STA 2024 Subject Overview

SLO1: To identify a business problem on which to conduct research

SLO2: Summarise existing knowledge in the research area
SLO3: To apply appropriate research tools to aid in addressing the research problem
SLO4: Effectively communicate research findings in both written and verbal form

This subject provides the basic skills required when conducting the research project in the
final year of your degree programme: BMB 3205: Business and Community Project / STA
3014 Research Project 1 and STA 3023 Research Project 2 (For BBM and BBS students).

Programme Learning Outcomes (PLO)

Bachelor of Science (Hons) Business Studies

After completing the programme, students will be able to:

PLO1: Able to apply fundamental knowledge in business studies.

PLO2: Able to apply relevant tools and techniques used by industry to interpret data and
undertake business analysis.
PLO3: Able to take into consideration social, cultural and environmental factors in making
business decisions.
PLO4: Able to embed empathy, responsibility, integrity and professionalism in making
business decisions.
PLO5: Able to function effectively as an individual and within a group as well as demonstrate
the responsibility and qualities of an effective leader.
PLO6: Able to communicate and interact effectively with all levels of an organisation and the
wider community.
PLO7: Able to systematically identify problems and provide efficient and effective solutions.
PLO8: Able to manage information and engage in life-long learning.
PLO9: Able to apply managerial and entrepreneurial skills.

Programme Learning Outcomes (PLO)

Bachelor of Science (Hons) Business Management
After completing the programme, students will be able to:

PLO1: Able to apply fundamental knowledge in business management.

PLO2: Able to apply relevant tools and techniques used by industry to interpret data and
undertake business analysis.
PLO3: Able to take into consideration social, cultural and environmental factors in making
business decisions.
PLO4: Able to embed empathy, responsibility, integrity and professionalism in making
business decisions.
PLO5: Able to function effectively as an individual and within a group as well as demonstrate
the responsibility and qualities of an effective leader.
PLO6: Able to communicate and interact effectively with all levels of an organisation and the
wider community.
PLO7: Able to systematically identify problems and provide efficient and effective solutions.
PLO8: Able to manage information and engage in life-long learning.
PLO9: Able to apply managerial and entrepreneurial skills.

-2-
Department of Marketing STA 2024 Subject Overview

Mapping of SLO and PLO

SubjectLearning Programme Learning Outcome (PLO)

Outcome (SLO)
(PLO1) (PLO2) (PLO3) (PLO4) (PLO5) (PLO6) (PLO7) (PLO8) (PLO9)
(SLO1) √ √
(SLO2) √
(SLO3) √ √
(SLO4) √

Programme Objectives (PO):

The Bachelor of Science (Hons) Business Studies/ The Bachelor of Science (Hons)
Business Management of programmes aims are to produce:

PO1: Employable graduates with a sound knowledge and understanding of general business
studies.
PO2: Business graduates who are ethical and responsible leaders or managers.
PO3: Business graduates with the skills and competencies in critical thinking and problem
solving.
PO4: Business graduates with managerial and entrepreneurial skills.
PO5: Graduates who recognise the need to engage in life-long learning for personal and
professional growth and development.

Mapping of SLO and PO

Subject Learning Outcomes Programme Objectives (PO)

(SLO) PO 1 PO 2 PO 3 PO 4 PO 5
(SLO1) √ √
(SLO2) √ √
(SLO3) √ √
(SLO4) √

Delivery Methods

Students learn through lectures and lab work.

Lectures are delivered with MS Power Point as visual aids. Each lecture covers a major topic
on the various aspects of Research Methods in Business. Students should note that while a
lecture is self-contained in terms of presentation and broken down into 14 weeks, the topics
are closely interrelated, whereby pre-requisite knowledge is needed before progressing to
the next topic. This interconnectedness is essential to their understanding and the substance
of the subject in a holistic manner. While the focus will be on understanding the research
process, lectures and tutorials provide practice and experience in a range of research
methods. Students will be exposed to both quantitative and qualitative methods in this
subject. This is important as the preparation for them for their final year project.

Laboratory work is designed to supplement lectures, encouraging students to use hands on

approach on statistical software, namely, SPSS which has been introduced to them in STA

-3-
Department of Marketing STA 2024 Subject Overview

1024: Business Statistics. This helps them to strengthen their data analysis skill. They
consist mostly of lab practical assignments and /or short exercises that students are
expected to complete in class.

Assessment
Students are assessed throughout the semester via tests 1 and 2 and final written
examination, as shown in the table below: -

No. Method of Assessment Total

1. Assessment Components 100%
(a) Test 1 25%
(b) Test 2 25%
(c) Final Examination 50%

The details of the coursework components and submission dates are as follows: -

Assessment Description Percentage Submission

Type Date
TEST 1 Multiple Choice Questions and Short Essay 25 Week 7
Questions
MID-SEMESTER BREAK

TEST 2 Short Essay Questions 25 Week 12

FINAL Written examination in the form of essay 50 Week 18

EXAMINATION

TOTAL 100

Subject Outline
The following is the lecture topics and the respective readings covered over the course of
one semester (14 weeks). Additional readings may be added during the course. You should
note that the schedule is subject to change according to the learning needs within
semester.

Lecture/Week Topic Readings

Introduction to Research Bryman & Bell
Rationale for research. Types of research. Chap 1 & 2
1
Dimensions of contemporary business
research (context or domain in which
research takes place, themes or issues
addressed by the research, the approaches
or methodologies adopted in studies).
Qualitative and quantitative research.
Ethics and research.
The Research Process
Bryman & Bell
2 Identification of research problem. Review
Chap 2 & 3
of literature. Conceptual framework.
Sample and sampling. Formulation of
research instruments. Data collection and
analysis.
Identification of Research Problem

-4-
Department of Marketing STA 2024 Subject Overview

Lecture/Week Topic Readings

Formulation of the research problem.
Problem-analysis procedures. Evaluation of
a problem
Review of Literature
Bryman & Bell
3-5 Definition. Process of reviewing literature.
Chap 4
Purpose of literature review. Conducting a
review systematically. Note-taking in
literature review. Presentation of review and
its implications.
Conceptual or Theoretical Framework
Definition and operationalisation of concepts
(dependent and independent variables).
Relationship of concepts in research
problem.
Formulation of Research Instruments Bryman & Bell
7-9 Research instruments – questionnaires, Chap 5-9
interview schedules, focus groups,
measurement and scales, observations.
Verification of validity and reliability of data
collection instruments.

Data Collection Bryman & Bell

10 Administration of research instruments Chap 10-11
through pilot study and field work.

Data Analysis (1)

Coding. Descriptive statistics (mode, mean
and median) and frequency counts.
Data Analysis (2)
Inferential statistics (correlation, analysis of
regression).

Data Analysis (3) Bryman & Bell

11 Special Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Chap 12
and exercises.

Bryman & Bell

Quantitative: Sample and Sampling
12-13 Chap 14-19
Definition of population and a sample.
Types of sampling – random, systematic,
stratified, proportional and cluster.
Qualitative Data Analysis and Data Display
Analysing natural language data. Content
and grounded analysis. Social network
analysis. Discourse analysis. Cognitive
mapping. Semi-structured text matrices.

-5-
Department of Marketing STA 2024 Subject Overview

Lecture/Week Topic Readings

14 Reading Week

Reading List

Main Text:

Bryman, A and Bell, E (2015), Business Research Methods, 4thed, Oxford

Additional Text:

Sekaran, U (2016), Research Methods for Business: A Skill-building Approach, 4 th ed., Wiley,
New York.

Blaikie, N (2015), Analyzing Quantitative Data: From Description to Explanation, Sage,

London.

Creswell, J. W. (2014), Research Design, 4th ed. Los Angeles: Sage.

Gaur, A and Gaur, S (2009), Statistical Methods for Practice and Research: A Guide to Data
Analysis Using SPSS (Response Books) 2nded, Sage

Saunders, M., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A. (2016), Research Methods for Business Students,
Harlow: Prentice Hall.

Payne, G and Payne, J (2015), Key Concepts in Social Research, Sage, London.

Zikmund, W (2014), Business Research Methods, South Western- Cengage Learning

-6-