Addis Ababa Medical and Business College

Course: Advanced Business Research Methods

Course Code: (BADM 662)

Credit Hours: 3 Hrs.

Course Description:
Topics covered in this course include introduction to business research, business research
proposal, business research design, the sources and collection of data, processing and analysis of
data, interpretation of data, and research report writing.

Course Objective:
The main objective of the course “Business Research Methods” is to enable the students to
develop their research skills by acquiring a comprehensive knowledge in research process and its
considerations and apply the acquired theoretical knowledge to real-life situations.
After completion of the course, the students will be able to:
 Explain various tools and techniques of research
 Apply various methods of research to solve Business problems
 Prepare a good business research proposal
 Identify what sampling method to adopt in various situations and design scaling
technique
 Distinguish the various sources of data, data collection methods, statistical tools
for the analysis of the data, and effective ways to interpret the data

Chapter One: Introduction to Research Methodology

1.1 Definition of Research
1.2 Research Methods vs. Research Methodology
1.3 Types of researches
1.4 Essentials of qualitative research approach
1.5 The research process
1.6 Motivation/Importance of research
1.7 Characteristics of good research
Chapter Two: Research Topics and Problems Formulation
2.1 Choosing a research Topic
2.1 Background of the study

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 2.2 What is problem statement
2.3 Steps in problem definition
Chapter Three: Literature Review and Hypothesis Formulation
3.1. Need for literature review
3.2. Sources and Methods of reviewing literatures
3.3. Theoretical concepts and empirical studies
3.4. Theory and Establishing research Hypothesis
3.5. Operationalization of variables
Chapter Four: Research Methods
4.1 Research Design (Introduction of research methodology)
4.2 Approaches of research
4.3 Types and Sources of data
4.4 Scales of data measurement
4.5 Population Vs. sample size determination
4.6 Sampling techniques: Probability and non-probability methods
4.7 Methods of data collection and ethical issues;
4.8 Concepts of reliability and validity
4.9 Methods of Data analysis

Chapter Five: Research Proposal writing

5.1 What is a research proposal?
5.2 Importance of a research proposal
5.3 Components of the Research Proposal
5.4 Developing a proposal
Chapter Six: Data Analysis and interpretation
6.1 Preparing data for analysis (Editing, coding and data entry)
6.2 Statistical techniques in Quantitative analysis
6.3 Data Interpretation
Chapter Seven: Communicating Results of a Research
7.1 What is research report Writing?
7.2 Components of research report writing

References
1 Kothari., C.R. (2004) Research Methodology. 2nd ed. New age International Publishers.
2 Sarah., Quinton & Teresa Smallbone. (2006) Postgraduate Research in Business: A
Critical Guide. Sage Publications Ltd.

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3 John W. Creswell. Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approach. Sage
Publication Inc., ( any edition)
4 John W. Creswell. (2007) Qualitative inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among
Five Approaches. Sage Publication Inc.,
5 Steven R., Terrell. (2016) Writing a Proposal for your Dissertation: Guidelines and
Examples. The Guil Ford Press.
6 Donald R. Cooper., and Pamela S. Schindler. (2014) Business Research Methods. 12th ed.
McGraw-Hill/Irwin Companies Inc.,
7 Mark, Saunders., Philip, Lewis. and Adrian, Thornhill. (2009). Business Research Methods for
Business Students. Pearson Education Ltd.
8 Kenneth S, Bordens. and Bruce B, Abboh. (2006) Research Design and Methods: A
Process Approach. McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.,
9 John., Adams., Robert, Raeside., Hafiz T.A. and David, White. (2007) Research Methods for
Graduate Business & Social Science Students. Sage Publication Inc.,
10 Colin Fisher.,John Buglear., Diannah, Lowry., Alistair, Mutch. and Carole, Tansley. (2007)
nd
Researching on Writing a Dissertation: A Guide Book for Business Students. 2 ed.
Pearson Education Ltd.
11 Andy, Field. (2009) Discovering Statistics Using SPSS. 3rd ed. Sage Publication.
12 Alan C., Elliott. and Wayne A., Woodward. (2007) Statistical Analysis Quick Reference
Guidebook with SPSS Examples. Sage Publications Inc.,
13 Duncan, Cramer. (2003) Advanced Quantitative Data Analysis. Open University Press.
14 Perry R., Hinton., Isabella., McMurray. and Charlotte, Brownlow. (2014) Spss Explained.
Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
15 Samprit, Chatterjee. and Alis, Hadi. (2006) Regression Analysis By Example. 4th ed. John
Wiley & Sons Inc., Hoboken.
16 Darrell, Huff. (1954) How to lie with Statistics. New York: Norton and Company, Inc.
17 Sylual Barnet. And Hugo, Bedau. (2011) Critical Thinking, Reading, and Writing: A Brief
Guide to Argument. 7th ed. Bedford/st. Martin’s.

Course Work Participation

In this course, 50 % from total evaluation will be based on their participation on the
individual and group assignments of the following topics;
1. Article review and summary ( Individual)
2. Thesis evaluation ( Individual)

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 3. Formulating a research proposal (Group)
4. Research (Group)
Learning Activities
1) Article Review
Students will be assigned to review selected peer reviewed journals, and submit a three-page
report of its review. Additional information related with this activity will be provided by the
instructor.
2) Theses Review
This activity is designed to give exposure about thesis research work at the postgraduate level so
as students will start to develop and investigate questions around research methodologies and
methods. Hence, students by targeting on selected topics of interest start to review about whether
and to what extent previous researches on their research problem, objectives, methodology,
findings, conclusions and recommendation are interlinked. Prepare a paper that briefly summarizes
and reviews the thesis chosen. Special emphasis should be made for the following issues;
 Briefly discuss the research problem of the selected thesis
 Evaluate appropriateness and completeness of the research questions in line with the
stated research problem
 Assess suitability of research design, selection of sample and specification of
population, type of data collected, method of data collection, method of data analysis, and
validity and reliability of the research.
 Examine to what extent the analysis are framed to address the research questions
raised and that the conclusions follows findings and the recommendation are based on the
conclusions drawn.
 Identify the strength and weakness of the thesis
 Summarize the lessons you have gathered from the review exercise
The paper should be between 9-12 pages in length and is due by the end of the class lecture but
before the start of tutorial on SPSS.

3)Research Proposal
This aim of this research proposal is to provide students with the opportunity to try out a research
methodology in a fairly concise manner. Thus, students are required to come up with a
researchable area which is closely related to their area of study, and to collaborate with other team
members in conducting this mini research. Among other, the research proposal is expected to
encompasses;
 a clear statement of the problem and questions to be researched;

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  the purpose and motive of the research
 the research design: methodology, population and sampling, method of data collection and
analysis, and how to ensure reliability and validity of the study
 an analysis of the limitations and scope of the study
 Review of relevant literature in the area, both empirical and theoretical literature
The length of the proposal should be 10-15 pages.
4)Research
In this activity students will be engaged in conducting a research on a topic specified in their area
of study. The total number of pages for the proposal should be between 20 to 25 pages.
Method of Assessment
In this course, the total evaluation will be made in the following manner;
1. Article review and summary ( Individual) -------------------------------------- 10 %

2. Thesis evaluation ( Individual)----------------------------------------------------- 10%

3. Formulating a research proposal (Group) ------------------------------------- 15%
4. Research (Group)-------------------------------------------------------------------- 15%
5. Final Exam --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 50 %
6. Total --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 100%