Faculty of Commerce

Department of Human Capital Development

Program: Bachelor of Commerce Honours Degree in Human Resource
Management
Course: Business Research Methods COBM 2203
Lecturer: DR.N. NDLOVU
Contacts: nndlovu@lsu.ac.zw
Semester: JANUARY 2024

Course Aims & Objectives

The primary aim of this course is to introduce undergraduate students to the concepts,
principles and practices of research methods in a business environment.
The course material will be disseminated through lectures, class and group discussions and
presentations

Objectives

o Able to identify and apply appropriate research methodologies in order to plan,

conduct and evaluate basic research in the organization.
o Acquainted with different social research methodologies which they shall apply in
their respective work industries.
o Safeguarded against errors in data collection, data analysis and reporting.
o Drawn into attention of ethical issues to be considered in social research, which is an
important aspect in social research and always neglected.

Module Assessment
Module assessment comprises course work and end of semester/block examination.
Coursework will be through completion of assignments, tests and group presentations that are
compulsory and constitute 30% of the final course assessment. The end of semester/block
examination constitutes 70% of the overall course mark. The lecturer can give short quizzes
and/or tests in any of the scheduled lectures and absence shall not be an excuse for not having
participated in an assessment.

Assignment/Coursework Assessment Due Dates

The due dates of assessments shall be fixed by the lecturer as per requirement of the course.
These dates shall not be flexible and as a student you are strongly advised to submit your
work on before the due date. Coursework shall be published before the commencement of
examinations.

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Plagiarism
Failure to acknowledge the work of other people in your own write-ups and presenting it as
your own material is an academic and professional offence that is tantamount to cheating and
is not acceptable according to the university general academic regulations. It is therefore
incumbent upon all students to properly acknowledge the work of other authors.

Examinations Misconduct

i. Use of unauthorised materials in the examinations is an academic offence that can

attract punishment is the form of nullification of results, suspension and or
expulsion from the university.
ii. You are therefore encouraged to prepare for your examinations as well while also
advancing your knowledge in the course.

Synopsis

Research Methods COBM2203

This course is tailored to equip students to identify and apply appropriate research
methodologies in order to plan, conduct, and evaluate basic research. The course covers
social research methodologies such as survey and field research, questionnaire design, content
analysis, analysis of existing data, focus group, individual and group observation including
participatory observation. The course further covers data collection and analysis techniques
for both qualitative and quantitative research, which requires students to demonstrate an
appreciation of descriptive and inferential statistical skills. The use of data analysis software
is an integral part of this course

Content:

Topic Content Section Objectives

1 Understanding 1. What is research? Candidates are expected
Research and 2. Nature of research to:
its importance 3. Research process; this will Explain in detail what
include amongst others how to research entails.
develop research objectives and Understand why carryout
hypothesis, building a theoretical research and different
framework and data presentation types of research studies
and analysis.
4. Reasons for conducting a research
5. Types of research approaches;
exploratory, descriptive, Ex-post
facto and explanatory

2 Research 1. What is a proposal? Explain what a research

Process 2. General issues addressed by proposal is and describe
proposals. its contents in details.
3. Why proposals fail Understand why research
4. Proposal layout; to include proposals fail

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 elements of a research proposal
e.g. working title, introduction,
background of the study,
statement of the problem,
limitation, definition of key terms
and abbreviations, research
assumptions, Literature
review(preliminary),the purpose
and significance of Literature
review, Research design/research
methodology, Time frame and
work plan (budget) resources to
be used and references. Each
element will be discussed in detail

3 Introduction 1. Problem background Details of historic origin

of the problem.
Provides multiple
perspectives from which
the problem is
understood.

State in categorical terms

2. Problem statement
what the problem is.
Inform the research aim
and objectives.
3. Research questions
Informed by research
problem, aligned with
research objectives,
coherence with
4. Types of research questions conceptual framework.
Definitional, contextual,
descriptive, explanatory,
evaluative, correlational.

5. Research aim Candidates to understand

that this points to study
contribution, aligned to
research problem,
founded on research gap.
4 Literature 1. Content of Literature Review Resonates with proposed
Review title, aligned with
introduction and research
background, emphasises
concepts and constructs.
2. Purpose of Literature Review Points to significance of
study, articulate
contextual influences,
emphasises variables of

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 study, understand subject
structure, seeks to
provide insights, relates
ideas and theory to
application, delineates
research problem,
identify existing gaps in
literature, extend
boundaries of knowledge.

3. Approaches to writing literature Thematic approach,

contextual, discursive,
chronological.

Relationship of concepts
4. Conceptual framework and constructs, founded
on existing literature.

Reflecting lens for

5. Theoretical framework
understanding the
phenomenon, specific
concepts and theory
should be clearly stated.
heartbeat of the
contribution to the study.
5 Research 1. Define research methodology Understand different
Methodologies 2. Research philosophy research philosophies,
3. What are paradigms? paradigms and research
4. Two main paradigms used in approaches.
social research and their
assumptions
 Positivism paradigm
(Auguste Comte)
 Interpretivism paradigm
(Marx Weber)
5. Deductive and inductive theory
construction

6 Research 1. Quantitative research; concerned Explain the different

Strategies and with factors such as reliability and types of research studies
Designs validity. and also understand
2. Reliability; stability, internal ethical issues that must be
validity and inter-observer considered when carrying
consistency out a research.
3. Validity; measurement validity,
internal and external validity and
ecological validity

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 4. Discuss the various threats to
reliability and validity.
5. Strength and weaknesses of
quantitative research
6. Qualitative research; assumptions
of qualitative designs, reliability
and validity in qualitative
research
7. Strength and weakness of
qualitative research
8. Mixed methods research, its
advantages and disadvantages
9. Quantitative and qualitative
research strategies
10. What ethical issues to consider
when carrying out a research?

7 Data Collection 1. Sources of data e.g. Primary and Explain the significance
Methods Secondary of triangulation in a
2. Interviews; personal, telephone research
3. The “Dos” and “Don’ts” of
conducting an interview
4. Questionnaire;
Self- administered questionnaires; their
advantages and disadvantages
5. Direct observation; advantages
and disadvantages
6. Focus Group Discussions
7. Types of Data; nominal, ordinal,
interval, and ratio scale

8 Sampling 1. Defining sampling and other key Explain in detail what

terms, target population, sampling is, the rationale
elements, sample, subject behind sampling and
2. Reasons for sampling; costs, different sampling
timelines, accuracy techniques.
3. Sampling Methods;
Probability and non- probability
sampling design

9 Data 1. Descriptive and Inferential Describe the behaviour of

Interpretation Statistics different random
and Statistical 2. The mean, mode and median, and variables in the
standard deviation
Analysis population from they
3. Confidence Interval Estimation,
came from, testing the

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 Hypothesis, Simple Regression& validity of claims and
Correlation Analysis and Chi- determining the
Squared independence of
association between
categorical data.

1 Introduction to 1. What is SPSS and what it does? Capture data, code data
0 quantitative 2. Using SPSS and analyse information
and qualitative 3. Starting SPSS using SPSS
data Analysis 4. How to code data before data
using SPSS input
5. Defining variables on SPSS
variable and data view screen
6. Data analysis in SPSS

References/Reading List
Cooper, D. R., & Schindler, P. S. (2011). Business Research Methods (9th ed.). New York:
McGraw Hill.
Creswell, J. W., & Clark, V. L. P. (2017). Designing and conducting mixed methods research.
Sage publications.
Saunders, M., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2012). Research Methods for Business Students
(6th ed.). Harlow, England: Pearson.
Sekaran, U., & Bougie, R. (2009). Research Methods for Business (5th ed.). Sussex: John
Wiley & Sons.

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