Course Description
Provides students a foundation into the process of conducting scholarly behavioral research in business by examining the philosophy underlying the research process, the development and testing of theories, and the means through which we structure inquiry with particular emphasis given to operationalizations and principles of measurement and to research designs.
Athena Title
Research Methods
Semester Course Offered
Offered fall
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
The major objective of the course is to provide a foundation into the process of conducting scholarly research. After completing the course, the students will have an understanding of: (a) the philosophy of science underlying the research process (b) what is theory, how to develop and evaluate theory, and types of theories (e.g., process vs. variance theories) (c) operationalizations and principles of measurement (d) how to assess the psychometric properties of scales (e.g., reliability, dimensionality, convergent/discriminant validity, nomological validity) (e) different research methods (e.g., experiment, survey, case study, etc.) that may be used to “observe” our theory and its underlying hypotheses
Topical Outline
Nature of Scientific Inquiry What is Theory? Process vs. Variance Theories Multi-Level Theories Philosophy of Science, Ontology and Epistemology Measurement Validity Scale Development and Scale Validation Multi-dimensional, Formative, and Reflective Constructs Sampling How to Choose a Research Design Survey Research Design Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Design Qualitative Research Design
Syllabus