COMSATS Institute of Information Technology

Department of Management Sciences (Fall 2011)

Instructor: Fahmeed Idrees (Assistant Professor) Office: D-106, e-mail: fahmeed@ciitlahore.edu.pk Office Hours: Via Appointment Only Title: Research Methodology (MBA) Outline of Syllabus: Introduction to Research Scientific Investigation and Research Process Overview The Research Process: - The Broad Problem Area and Defining the Problem Statement - Theoretical Framework Hypothesis Development - Elements of Research Design Measurements of Variables: Operational Definition Measurement: Scaling, Reliability, Validity Data Collection Methods Experimental Designs Sampling Quantitative Data Analysis and Hypothesis Testing Qualitative Research and Data Analysis Communicating Research Results: Reports, Presentation and follow up

There would be many time-to-time supplementary reading throughout the semester related to topics under study. Bibliography Primary Text Books: Research Methods for Business: A Skill Building Approach, 5th edition by Uma Sekaran and Roger Bougie Social Research Methods: Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches 6th edition by W. Lawrence Neuman

Secondary Books / Reference: Research Methods: Lecture Notes by Dr. Muhammad Hanif Business Research Method , 7th edition by Willam Zigmund Quantitative methods for Business and Management by the Association of Business Executives Research Methods for Business Students, 3rd edition by Mark Saunders, Philp Lewis, Adrian Thornhill Research Methodology: A step by step guide for beginners , 2nd edition by Ranjit Kumar Management Research Methodology: Integration of Principles, Methods and Techniques, 1st edition by K. N. Krishnaswamy, Appa Iyer Sivakumar, M. Mathirajan Research Methods: Lecture Notes by Dr. Muhammad Anwar

* The instructor reserves the right to change the course content as needed and when required.

Online Resources: http://bcs.wiley.com/he-bcs/Books?action=index&bcsId=5154&itemId=0470744790 http://www.swlearning.com/management/zikmund/bus_research/zikmund.html

Educational Aims Subject Specific: Knowledge, Understanding and Skills This course will review the major considerations and tasks involved in conducting scientific research, particularly in the area of Business Management. It introduces the essential aspects of designing, supporting and conducting a research project. General: Knowledge, Understanding and Skills Keeping in view the modern requirement of entrepreneurship, banking system, and marketing strategies, the requirement of a successful businessman needs full equipment of research techniques. The course is structured in such a lucid way to make students understand in a succinct and profound way about the philosophical approaches, modern research precepts, quantification of social abstracts, statistical methodologies and successful implementation of such concepts in the field. Learning Outcomes Those who successfully complete the course will be able to: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Produce a well-developed research paper / project. Select an appropriate methodology with respect to which conduct the research, and Defend the methodology of their selection Understand the various tasks required to carry out the research, Find the resources needed to guide them through the research process.

Subject Specific Outcomes: Knowledge, Understanding and Skills Students should be able to: 1. Learn, understand, and cognize theoretical and philosophical dimensions of the modern research methods. 2. Co-relate various theoretical approaches to the study and application of modern research methods in the field. 3. Cognize well the qualitative-quantitative debate, and must be capable to coming up with sagacious solutions. 4. Understand well the phenomena of international business such as globalization and must be able to deal with statistical issues in a cross-cultural setups. 5. Co-relate all these and related concepts and debates with general business studies. General Outcomes: Knowledge, Understanding and Skills Students should be able to: 1. Understand the interactive nature of business and significance of research in modern business studies.

2. Enrich their knowledge of statistical research and its applicability in the field across the subject such as business, management, HRM, finance, marketing and related fields. 3. Understand research related issues in the age of globalization. Evaluation: 1st Sessional Exam 2nd Sessional Exam Project, Filed Work, Quizzes, Class Participation, Presentation Final Total Grading Criteria: Grading will be done according to the University's Policy. Please remember "You will earn your grade" therefore your final grade will be dependent upon your overall semester performance in this course. Students Responsibility: It is the responsibility of the student to stay up to date with chapter reading from the text book. This will not only give you a better understanding of the material but will also prepare you for the classroom discussion and assignments. Policy: Students should expect 2 to 8 quizzes during the semester. There will be no makeup quizzes/session exams for missed sessions and/or low scoring quizzes. Submission deadlines for assignments will not be extended. All assigned work is due in the beginning of the class. Late work will not be entertained. *This syllabus may be revised at the discretion of the instructor without the prior notification or consent of the students. 10 % 15 % 25 % 50% 100%

Class Room Regulations: The student must observe the following classroom regulations to have a proper learning environment for the entire class. 1. 2. 3. Turning off the mobile phones. No chatting during the lecture. Disturbance will not be tolerated during class and the respective student will be asked to leave the classroom.

Academic Honesty: All examinations and assignments in this class are to be done individually. Any violation, or perceived violation of this policy will result in zero (0) credit for the examination and assignment for each of the parties involved. Plagiarism, Cheating and any other dishonest conduct will be penalized severely. You are advised to check the nature of each assessment. You must work individually unless it is a group assessment. There is a zero-tolerance policy on cheating. Any material taken from any other source and presented as your own work will lead to a straight F and disciplinary action according to the university's policy.