SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY

Kenneth Heischmidt PhD, DBA
Professor, Harrison College of Business
RDH 246, Phone 573-651-2912
E-mail kheischmidt@semovm.semo.edu
Office Hours: Monday 1-4 p.m.

M.B.A. Program

Course No: BA620

Title of Course: QUANTITATIVE and QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS

I. COURSE DESCRIPTION AND PREREQUISITES

The course provides an analysis of the types, sources, methods, philosophy of business research and completion of a research project. 3 credit hours

II. PREREQUISITES

MG257 or equivalent and Admission to MBA Program

III. PURPOSE OR OBJECTIVES OF THE COURSE

Upon completing of this course the student should:

1. be familiar with the professional journals, periodicals, newspapers, government documents, electronic data bases, the Internet, and other research materials available to business research.

2. be familiar with the fundamentals and dynamics of the business research process as it is commonly applied and practiced.

3. be familiar with basic qualitative and quantitative research methods, techniques, and statistical tools used in business research.

4. demonstrate the ability to select, define and analyze potential research problems in a particular area of specialization.

5. demonstrate the ability for planning and conducting a research project in a scientific manner.

6. be familiar with the use of mainframe and personal computer programs in performing basic data analysis.

7. be familiar with research process application to different research problem situations through exercises and case analysis.

IV. EXPECTATION OF STUDENTS

The organization of the course is based on a combination of activities which include formal lectures, class exercises and discussions, computer interactions, student projects and student presentations. Students are expected to be fully participating members in the previous mentioned activities. Class discussion is always encouraged and student contribution is important to the success of the course. Lectures complement rather than substitute for the text. Students are also expected to behave in an academically honest manner to preserve the integrity of the classroom and the learning environment. Specific conditions and expectations for this course and the instructor assigned to teach this course are set forth in the class outline distributed to students during the first class meeting. Students are expected to be familiar with the content of the class outline and other guidelines and instructions provided by the instructor. Presentations of related material discovered outside of class are encouraged.

V. COURSE CONTENT OR OUTLINE

CLASS HOURS TOPIC, ASSIGNMENTS ETC.

3 Introduction, Syllabus, Business Research: Role, Theory Building, Process

3 The Research Proposal; Data Sources: Exploratory, Secondary. Example Of Research Projects Will Be Reviewed In Class. An Exposure To Secondary Data Sources In The Library Will Be Covered (Including New CD ROM And Internet Sources).

3 Sampling: Procedures And Determination Of Sample Size. Attitude Measurement And Scaling Techniques; Survey Research. An Example Of A Sampling Problem Will Be Provided In Class. Sampling Distribution, Estimation Of Parameters And Sample Size Will All Be Demonstrated. Students Will Practice Developing Attitude Measurement Questions And Scales.

3 Qualitative Research. Examples Of Qualitative Research Will Be Provided. Experience Surveys, Secondary Data Analysis, Case Study Methods, Focus Group Interviews, Role Playing, Projective Techniques, And Depth Interviews Will All Be Either Reviewed Or Demonstrated.

3 Observational And Qualitative Research. Student Will Review The Nature And Opportunities For Observational Studies. Students Will Demonstrate And Observe Direct And Indirect Methods As Well As Mechanical And Human Observational Methods.

3 Qualitative Research And Customer Focus. Students Will Practice The Process Of Diagnosing A Situation, Screening Alternatives, And Discovering New Ideas.

3 Questionnaire Design; Fieldwork. Students Will Demonstrate The Ability To Evaluate Question Relevancy And Accuracy, Phrasing Of Questions, And Question Sequencing.

3 Experimental Designs And Forecasting. Basic Issues, Validity, Reliability, And Classification Of Experimental Design Will Be Reviewed And Demonstrated. The Regression Relationship Between Variables In Business Decision Making Will Be Demonstrated.

3 Editing And Coding. Examples Of Field and In-House Editing Will Be Demonstrated. Introduction To Statistical Analysis Of Data Using Computer Programs.

3 Basic Data Analysis: Descriptive Statistics, Cross-Tabulations, Tabulations And Graphic Data Displays Will Be Demonstrated.

3 Univariate Statistics And Hypotheses Testing. Understanding The Differences Between Parametric And Nonparametric Hypothesis Tests As Well As Error Types Will Be Demonstrated. Examples Of Chi-Square Test For Goodness of Fit Will Be Demonstrated.

3 Bivariate Regression Statistics: Tests Of Differences And Measures Of Association. Examples Provided Related To T-test And Z-test As Well As ANOVA (Analysis Of Variance).

3 Simple Regression Analysis Will Be Developed. Examples Provided Of Relationship Between Variables As It Relates To Measures Of Association.

3 The Research Report; Multiple Regression In Research; Examples Of Report Format As Well As Demonstration Of Effective Use Of Graphic Aids Will Be Provided; Ethical Issues Demonstrated Through The Use Of Case Studies

3 Student Presentations; Final Research Project Due

VI. TEXTBOOKS AND/OR OTHER RELATED MATERIALS:

A. TEXT

Cooper D.R. and Emory, C. W. (1995), Business Research Methods, Homewood, IL, Richard D. Irwin.

This text should provide the students with concepts, terminology, principles and basic methodological techniques for understanding business research.

B. Additional selected readings will be provided to students from books and journals such as those attached to this syllabus.

VII. BASIS FOR STUDENT EVALUATION:

Each student’s grade will be determined through an evaluation of the individual’s performance on examinations and quizzes, written exercises and assignments, research projects and general contributions to class sessions.

A. EXAMINATIONS 40%

Class exams will be given during the term. Each exam will be over major sections of the course including assigned readings, lecture materials, cases, articles and supplemental information brought out in class discussions. The exams will be both objective (ie. numerical problems) and subjective (ie. essay questions) in format.

B. WRITTEN EXERCISES ,ASSIGNMENTS, AND CLASS PARTICIPATION 20%

Each student should select and evaluate selected current business articles that employ research methods and techniques related to the topic under discussion. Please submit a copy of the article together with your written report so that your information is evaluated against the article.

C. RESEARCH PROJECT 40%

Students are to complete a research study. Students may utilize any accepted research method. If they complete a research study that utilizes survey research the following is provided as suggested areas to be completed:

1. Identify a survey topic relevant to business research (i.e. Marketing, Management, Finance, Accounting, Economics, Administrative Services, etc.). Indicate the objectives of a proposed survey relevant to this topic. Specify the target population and the sample population. Identify the sampling frame and check its feasibility. Design the sample selection procedures in the survey. What difficulties do you anticipate with sampling? How do you propose to deal with them?

2. Indicate briefly the demographic, attitudinal and other data you would expect to collect for your survey. Write illustrative questions for the survey instrument. Some of the questions should be fixed alternative (i.e. be in multiple choice, yes-no, checklist or ranking format) or should be capable of being coded into a limited number of categories.

3. Explain how to collect the data for the survey. Indicate how to evaluate the validity and reliability of the questionnaire. Furthermore, indicate how to analyze the data obtained from the fixed alternative or codeable questions on the survey.

4. Simulate the data expected to be found in response to at least two questions and illustrate proposed analyses.

5. Collect the real data and analyze appropriately.

6. Students are to demonstrate qualitative research skills during some sequence of the research process (usually during the presurvey development or post data interpretation period.)

7. Each student should present a final paper.

*Please use the following manual as a guide for all of your writing. American Psychological Association (1994). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (4th ed). Washington, DC: Author.

POSSIBLE ADDITIONAL SELECTED READINGS FROM

Alreck, Pamela L. and Settle, Robert B. (1995). The Survey Research Handbook. (2nd ed.) Chicago: Richard D. Irwin.

Cook T.D., Reichardt, C.S. (1979). Qualitative and quantitative methods in evaluation research. California: Sage.

Creswell, John W. (1994.) Research Design: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. California: Sage Publications.

Denzin, Normark and Lincoln, Yvonna S. (1994). Handbook of Qualitative Research. California: Sage Publications.

Devlin, Susan., & Dong, H.K. (1994). Service quality from the customers’ perspective. Marketing Research: A Magazine of Management & Applications, 6(1), 4-13.

Dittus, Edward C. (1994). Marketing research directions in the USA. Journal of the Market Research Society, 36(1), 29-39.

Greenbaum, Thomas L. (1995). Using focus groups effectively in packing research. Marketing News, 29(12), H34.

Harris, Leslie M. (1995). Business-to-business comes of age in qualitative research. Marketing News, 29(12), H17.

Kephart, Paula. (1995). Marketing research 101. American Demographics, 57-60.

Kitaeff, Richard. (1994). Marketing research competencies. Marketing Research: A Magazine of Management Applications, 6(3), 40-41.

Lincoln, Y.S., & Cuba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. California: Sage.

Maxwell, Joseph A. (1996). Qualitative Research Design. California: Sage Publications.

McTague, Jim. (1995). Brain pickers. Barron’s, 75(22), 25-29.

Mossholder, Kevin W., Settoon, Randall P., Harris, Stanley G., Armenakis, Achilles A. (1995). Measuring emotion in open-ended survey responses: An application of textual data analysis. Journal of Management, 21(2), 335-355.

Patton, M.Q. (1980). Qualitative evaluation methods. California: Sage.

Petrozzello, Donna. (1995). Arbitron expands qualitative research. Broadcasting & Cable, 125(34), 35.

Snee, Ronald D. (1995). Listening to the voice of the employee. Quality Progress, 28(1), 91-95.

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