Abasyn University Peshawar

Department of Management Sciences

Course Specification

Program MS/MSEM/MBA/MPhil Major/Minor General

Department offering the Program Management Sciences
Department offering the course Management Sciences
Academic Year 2022 Date of Approval

A. Basic Information

Title Advance Research Methods Code 501

Credit Hours 3 Lectures 16
Tutorial N/A Practical N/A
Total 48

B. Professional Information
1. Overall aims of course
a. Philosophy and Research Design: Students will know the underlying research philosophies
and possible research designs in business and management.
b. Research Methods: Students will understand how a variety of research methods, including
action research, case study research, and grounded theory, can be used in business and
management.
c. Critical Thinking Skills: Students will analyse and critically evaluate published examples of
researches in business and management.
d. Communication Skills: Students will write and present a research proposal and they will
develop an appreciation of the challenges of writing up a research work for a thesis,
conference paper and journal article.
2. Intended Learning Outcomes of Course (ILO’s)
Knowledge and Intellectual Skills Professional and General and
Understanding Practical Skills Transferable Skills
 Be able to explain  Critically think  Apply proper  Developing
how research about business sampling designs Research
contributes to research problems and procedures to Proposal
business decisions and various business research.  Review and
and practices. methods of Analyze the
 Describe the role of approaching the Literature
theory in the problems.
business research  Develop research
process. problem,
 Discuss the ethical questions,
issues applicable to framework, and
business research. hypotheses
 Describe the  Assess
advantages and measurement and
disadvantages of scaling options to
survey research. determine the
appropriate
measures required
to address
specific research
questions.
Contents:
Topic No. of Lecture Tutorial/Practical
Hours
Introduction 6 1&2 N/A
The Concept and Meaning of Research
Types of Research
Objectives, Motivation and Significance of Research
Research Methods Versus Methodology
The Hallmarks of Scientific Research 6 3&4 N/A
1. Purposiveness
2. Rigor
3. Testability
4. Replicability
5. Precision and Confidence
6. Objectivity
7. Generalizability
8. Parsimony
The Building Blocks of Science in Research
Deduction and Induction
The Hypothetico-Deductive Method
The Seven-Step Process
Defining the Research Problem 3 5 N/A
What is a Research Problem?
Necessity and Techniques in Defining Problem
Selecting a Research Problem
Reviewing & Drafting Research Questions
Reviewing & Drafting Research Objectives
Detailed Review of Literature 6 6&7 N/A
Importance and Purpose of Literature Review
What needs to be included in the critical review
Keywords for Literature Review
Writing a Literature Review
Plagiarism and how to Avoid It
Referencing and APA Style of Referencing
Mid-Term 3 8 N/A
Theoretical Framework and Hypothesis Development 3 9 N/A
Concept of Variables
Conceptual Framework vs Theoretical
framework
Components of Theoretical Framework
Hypothesis Development
Hypothesis Definition
Null and Alternate Hypothesis
Formulating Hypothesis
Relational and Differential Hypotheses
Research Design 3 10 N/A
Meaning, Need and Features for Research
Design
Important Concepts
Different Research Philosophies/Research
Onion
Sampling and Data Collection 6 11 & 12 N/A
Population, Element, Population Frame,
Sample and Subject
Reasons for Sampling
Normality of Distribution
Probability and Non-Probability Sampling
Determining the Sample Size
Data Collection Techniques and Ethics
 Measurement of 3 13 N/A
Variables
Operational Definition and Scales
Operational Definition: Dimensions
Scales: Nominal, Ordinal, Interval, Ratio
Qualitative Research Approach 3 14 N/A
An Overview
Research Proposal 6 15 & 16 N/A
 The format of a Research Proposal
 Writing the Research Proposal
Writing the Research Report
Structuring the Research Report
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Literature review
 Method
 Results
 Discussion
 Conclusions
 References
 Appendices.
The Common Grammatical Errors
Oral presentation of the report
Final Term Examination N/A

4. Teaching and Learning Methods:

a. Class Lectures
b. E-Learning/Resources

5. Student Assessment Methods

Description To Assess
Quiz Knowledge and Understanding
Review of Research Studies Intellectual Skills
Presentations Transformation Skills

Assessment Schedule
Assessment No. Week No.
Quiz 6
Review of Research Studies 12
Presentations 16

Weighting of Assessments
Mid-term examination 30 %
Final-term examination 50 %
Quiz 10 %
Assignments/Project 10 %
Total 100 %

6. Lists of references
 Research Methods for Business: A Skill Building Approach by Uma Sekaran (Latest edition)
 Kothari, C. (2017). research methodology methods and techniques by CR Kothari. Published
by New Age International (P) Ltd, Publishers, 91.
7. Facilities required for teaching and learning: Multimedia base classrooms.

Course Instructor: Course Coordinator:

 Mr. Shahid Rasheed
Mr. Shahid Rasheed

Head of Department
Prof. Dr. Waqar Alam