1 Semester

36 hours of contact in weekly or block mode

Hawthorn

Completion of the Graduate Diploma

Nil

Credit Points: 12.5 Credit Points

Related Course/s:

A unit of study in the Master of Commerce (Marketing) suite and Master of Commerce (International Business) suite.

Aims & Objectives:

• To familiarise students with various methods of data collection and analysis, which would be expected to be integral to the researcher in marketing. This is to contextualise the research, that is, to ensure that the researcher can choose the most appropriate methods given the context in which the researcher operates.
• To ensure that where a student's research demands, they are conversant with the appropriate application of statistics, through the use of a recognised statistical package, for example, SPSS.
• To have an extensive understanding of the ethics of research, in particular the Swinburne Code of Ethics for Research.
• To develop an appreciation of business ethics in relation to accountability and social responsibility.

Teaching Methods:

Seminar Approach, combining Lectures with Discourse, Laboratory Workshops.

Assessment:

Class exercises 30%, Quantative assignment 40%, Qualitative assignment 30%.

Generic Skills Outcomes:

Students will develop their qualitative and quantitative research skills and written communication skills, through undertaking two research projects that will build critical thinking, personal organisational skills and independent learning.

Content:

It is expected that the study carried out in this unit will be integral to the student's Action Research Project. The intention of this unit is to provide both the theoretical and technical knowledge to assist participants to:

• Successfully formulate research questions for their master's dissertation (Action Research Project).
• Determine the appropriate methodology or methodologies.
• Collect data.
• Analyse data.
• Link findings to the theoretical underpinning of the research.
• Develop workplace implementation strategies.

Reading Materials:

Cooper, DR & Schindler, PS 1998, Business Research Methods, USA, McGraw Hill International
Davis, D 2000, Business Research for Decision Making, 5th edn, USA, Duxbury.
Margerison, CJ 1988, 'Action learning and excellence in management development', The Journal of Management Development, 1988;7(5):43–53.
Mumford, A (ed.) 1997, Action Learning at Work, London, Gower.
Salkind, NJ 1997, Exploring Research, 3rd edn, New Jersey, Prentice Hall.
Saunders, M, Lewis, P & Thornhill, A 2000, Research Methods for Business Students, 2nd edn, USA, Pearson Professional Ltd
Sekaron, U 2000, Research Methods for Business, 3rd edn, USA, John Wiley & Sons.
Ticehurst, GW & Veal, AJ 1999, Business Research Methods: A Managerial Approach, Addison Wesley Longman Aust. P/L.