MBA 5652, Research Methods 1

Course Description
Business research methods will guide students in advancing their knowledge of different research principles and their applicability in social research. Students will investigate a business-related issue in their content area and design a publishable research proposal.

Course Textbook
Zikmund, W. G., Babin, B. J., Carr, J. C., & Griffin, M. (2013). Business research methods (9th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western.

Course Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:
1. Design and plan a research study.
2. Apply statistical methods to business research.
3. Apply research techniques to commerce and business issues.
4. Differentiate between descriptive and inferential statistics.
5. Devise the sampling theory into appropriate sampling distributions.
6. Write and test a hypothesis.
7. Contrast and compare descriptive, correlational, and qualitative non-experimental research.
8. Contrast and compare experimental and quasi-experimental research.
9. Write a publishable research proposal paper using APA guidelines.
10. Apply ethical research standards.

Credits
Upon completion of this course, the students will earn three (3) hours of college credit.

Course Structure
1. Unit Learning Outcomes: Each unit contains Learning Outcomes that specify the measurable skills and knowledge students should gain upon completion of the unit.
2. Unit Lesson: Each unit contains a Unit Lesson, which discusses unit material.
3. Reading Assignments: Each unit contains Reading Assignments from one or more chapters from the textbook. Suggested Readings are provided in the Unit I, II, III, IV, V, and VIII study guides to aid students in their course of study. The readings themselves are not provided in the course, but students are encouraged to read the resources listed if the opportunity arises as they have valuable information that expands upon the lesson material.
4. Learning Activities (Non-Graded): These non-graded Learning Activities are provided in each unit to aid students in their course of study.
5. Key Terms: Key Terms are intended to guide students in their course of study. Students should pay particular attention to Key Terms as they represent important concepts within the unit material and reading.
6. Discussion Boards: Discussion Boards are a part of all CSU term courses. Information and specifications regarding these assignments are provided in the Academic Policies listed in the Course Menu bar.
7. Unit Assessments: This course contains three Unit Assessments, one to be completed at the end of Units III, IV, and VIII. Assessments are composed of written response questions.
MBA 5652, Research Methods
Course Syllabus
MBA 5652, Research Methods 2
8. Unit Assignments: Students are required to submit for grading Unit Assignments in Units I, II, IV, V, VI, and VII. Specific information and instructions regarding these assignments are provided below. Grading rubrics are included with each assignment. Specific information about accessing these rubrics is provided below.
9. Research Proposal: Students are required to submit for grading a Research Proposal in Unit VIII. Specific information and instructions regarding this assignment are provided below. A grading rubric is included with this assignment. Specific information for accessing this rubric is included below.
10. Ask the Professor: This communication forum provides you with an opportunity to ask your professor general or course content related questions.
11. Student Break Room: This communication forum allows for casual conversation with your classmates.

CSU Online Library
There is a virtual library with resources, including both journals and ebooks, to support your program and your course at Columbia Southern University. eResources are accessible 24 hours a day/7 days a week from the CSU Online Library gateway page. To access the library, log into myCSU, and then click on CSU Online Library. Resources are organized in the library by title, but if you click on Research Guides, you will find eResources arranged by subject.
The Library Reference service is available 7 days a week; you can reach CSU’s virtual librarians by emailing [email protected]. These professional librarians will be glad to help you develop your research plan or to assist you in any way in finding relevant, appropriate, and timely information.
Librarian responses may occur within minutes or hours, but it will never take more than 24 hours for a librarian to send a response to the email address you have provided. Replies to reference requests may include customized keyword search strategies, links to videos, research guides, screen captures, attachments, a phone call, live screen sharing, and meeting room appointments, as well as other forms of instruction.
Unit Assignments
Unit I Mini Project
Using Exhibits 6.4 and 6.5 from Chapter 6 in your textbook as guidelines, respond to the following statements. You are not required to submit the responses, but use your answers as the foundation for the assignment listed below.
1. Identify a business decision situation that requires action in your organization. Be clear and succinct.
2. Assess the current situation.
3. Identify two symptoms.
4. Identify likely problems causing each symptom.
5. Write a decision statement (this is always a question).
6. Identify research objective (potential result) that corresponds to the decision statement.
7. Restate research objective in the form of a question (known as the research question).
8. Develop a hypothesis by (1) reviewing the research objectives and identifying the variables and (2) specifying the variables in a declarative statement and describing the direction of the relationship.
Write a two-page paper based on the information from your responses. The paper should include the following headings: Current Situation, Problem Statement, Research Objective, Research Question(s), and Hypothesis. Be sure to include a title page and a reference page. Use correct APA formatting when writing your paper.
NOTE: This assignment is part of the Unit VIII Research Proposal. This assignment must be submitted in sequence (i.e., Unit I must be submitted and graded by the professor, who will provide feedback to the student before he or she can progress to the Unit II assignment). The student assignment will be graded according to the assigned rubric. The professor will grade and annotate items that need to be corrected by the student. This feedback from the professor will help the student correct any discrepancies before compiling this assignment into the Research Proposal. This will help the student achieve a better review/grade for the Research Proposal.
Information about accessing the Blackboard Grading Rubric for this assignment is provided below.
MBA 5652, Research Methods 3
Unit II Mini Project
Write a three- to five-page literature review on your selected topic. Ensure your literature review has the following:
Introduction: Provide an overview of the topic. Explain why the question is important and a brief description of the research design. State the purpose of conducting the literature review. Discuss major trends in the field. Explain how the literature review will be organized.
Body: Discuss the current status of the topic. Organize this section according to the previously mentioned themes or something similar. Discuss relationships that may exist in the literature.
Conclusion: Highlight major points discussed in the previous sections. Be sure to relate the information back to the purpose and relevance of the research.
Include a minimum of five sources. Three of the sources must be from peer-reviewed journals. Use and follow APA style for this assignment.
NOTE: This assignment is part of the Unit VIII Research Proposal. This assignment must be submitted in sequence (i.e., Unit II must be submitted and graded by the professor, who will provide feedback to the student before he or she can progress to the Unit IV assignment). The student assignment will be graded according to the assigned rubric. The professor will grade and annotate items that need to be corrected by the student. This feedback from the professor will help the student correct any discrepancies before compiling this assignment into the Research Proposal. This will help the student achieve a better review/grade for the Research Proposal.
Information about accessing the Blackboard Grading Rubric for this assignment is provided below.
Unit IV Mini Project
Write a two- to three-page report discussing the sampling design for the proposal.
Describe the sampling procedures (convenience, quota, simple random) that will yield the best results for your research objective and justify your rationale for choosing the procedure(s). Include the following information:
1. Research the objective.
2. Description of the population: Process for identifying the target population and selecting the sampling frame.
3. Identify the different types of biases that are likely to occur, and explain what steps you will take to minimize them.
4. Conclusion: Highlight the major points discussed in the previous sections. Be sure to relate the information back to the purpose and relevance of the research.
You must use correct APA formatting when writing your paper. All references used, including the textbook, must be cited.
NOTE: This assignment is part of the Unit VIII Research Proposal. This assignment must be submitted in sequence (i.e., Unit IV must be submitted and graded by the professor, who will provide feedback to the student before he or she can progress to the Unit V assignment). The student assignment will be graded according to the assigned rubric. The professor will grade and annotate items that need to be corrected by the student. This feedback from the professor will help the student correct any discrepancies before compiling this assignment into the Research Proposal. This will help the student achieve a better review/grade for the Research Proposal.
Information about accessing the Blackboard Grading Rubric for this assignment is provided below.
Unit V Mini Project
Write a two-page paper describing a basic experimental design for the proposal.
Design a basic experiment to assess a cause and effect relationship based on your research question. Include the following information:
1. Research the objective.
2. Explain if the design is a true experiment or a quasi-experiment. Justify your selection.
3. Develop a hypothesis based on your research question.
4. Evaluate your hypothesis according to the characteristics provided in the lecture. Be specific.
MBA 5652, Research Methods 4
5. Describe the independent variables, blocking variables, dependent variables, and extraneous variables.
6. Explain how you plan to deal with issues related to internal and external validity. Be specific.
7. Conclusion: Highlight the major points discussed in the previous sections. Be sure to relate the information back to the purpose and relevance of the research.
You must use correct APA formatting when writing your paper. All references used, including the textbook, must be cited.
NOTE: This assignment is part of the Unit VIII Research Proposal. This assignment must be submitted in sequence (i.e., Unit V must be submitted and graded by the professor, who will provide feedback to the student before he or she can progress to the Unit VI assignment). The student assignment will be graded according to the assigned rubric. The professor will grade and annotate items that need to be corrected by the student. This feedback from the professor will help the student correct any discrepancies before compiling this assignment to the Research Proposal. This will help the student achieve a better review/grading for the Research Proposal.
Information about accessing the Blackboard Grading Rubric for this assignment is provided below.
Unit VI Mini Project
Write a 2-3 page paper discussing the measurement scale for each question in the survey developed in the Unit III assignment. Decide if you will use composite scale score or a summated scale score. Justify your decision. How will you measure reliability, validity, and sensitivity?
Explain how you will deal with ethical dilemmas during the research process (confidentiality, anonymity, conflicts of interest, informed consent, debriefing, experiments on human subjects, and so forth).
You must use correct APA formatting when writing your paper. All references used, including the textbook, must be cited.
NOTE: This assignment is part of the Unit VIII Research Proposal. This assignment must be submitted in sequence (i.e., Unit VI must be submitted and graded by the professor, who will provide feedback to the student before he or she can progress to the Unit VII assignment). The student assignment will be graded according to the assigned rubric. The professor will grade and annotate items that need to be corrected by the student. This feedback from the professor will help the student correct any discrepancies before compiling this assignment to the Research Proposal. This will help the student achieve a better review/grading for the Research Proposal.
Information about accessing the Blackboard Grading Rubric for this assignment is provided below.
Unit VII Mini Project
Using the survey that you developed in Unit III, choose 10 people in your organization to respond to the survey. If you do not have personnel in your organization to respond or you do not get a favorable response, then you may create fictitious people to conduct the survey. Before disseminating the surveys, please pre-code the data (refer to Chapter 19, pp. 470-471 or follow the example provided in the lecture).
Perform the following:
1. Create a data file using an Excel worksheet.
2. Compute descriptive statistics for the variable(s), and explain the measures of central tendency and measures of dispersion that are most appropriate for your study. Refer to the procedure for computing description statistics in Chapter 17, p. 410 of your textbook.
3. Create a pie chart with percentages. Click here to view a tutorial from the Success Center on descriptive statistics data and creating a histogram chart, pie chart, and other simple graphs.
4. Compute a frequency table and histogram for each variable. Examples are shown in Chapter 17.
5. Decide which measures of central tendency, spread, and graphical display would be most appropriate for the study.
Using the information above, write a one- to two-page paper explaining how the data will be analyzed. This section should begin with a brief introduction to the section and a description of the problem. You must also explain how the data will be coded and edited. Provide justification for the descriptive statistics that will be employed in the study. You will only need to submit the paper for this assignment. Please do not include data, results, or graphical displays.
MBA 5652, Research Methods 5
The above activities are designed to help you explain the type of analysis that will be performed. Remember that the proposal is futuristic.
You must use correct APA formatting when writing your paper. All references used, including the textbook, must be cited.
NOTE: This assignment is part of the Unit VIII Research Proposal. This assignment must be submitted in sequence (i.e., Unit VII must be submitted and graded by the professor, who will provide feedback to the student before he or she can progress to the Unit VIII assignment). The student assignment will be graded according to the assigned rubric. The professor will grade and annotate items that need to be corrected by the student. This feedback from the professor will help the student correct any discrepancies before compiling this assignment to the Research Proposal. This will help the student achieve a better review/grading for the Research Proposal.
Information about accessing the Blackboard Grading Rubric for this assignment is provided below.
Research Proposal
Compile the revised mini projects assignments from Unit I, Unit II, Unit IV, Unit V, Unit VI, and Unit VII to formulate a complete 8-10 page research proposal. Please include the appropriate headings for each section of the proposal to help transition the reader and organize the paper. Remember to create your abstract. An abstract is a self-contained, short, and powerful statement that describes a larger work. Be sure to review the abstract to ensure it is correct and include it as part of the research proposal.
Note: All assignments must have been submitted in sequence. Feedback from each mini project must have been received from your professor before moving to the next section. Please be sure to make the revisions based on the feedback provided for each mini project.
All papers must be formatted using APA guidelines.
Information about accessing the Blackboard Grading Rubric for this assignment is provided below.
APA Guidelines
CSU requires that students use APA style for papers and projects. Therefore, the APA rules for formatting, quoting, paraphrasing, citing, and listing of sources are to be followed. Students can find CSU’s Citation Guide in the myCSU Student Portal by clicking on the “Citation Resources” link in the “Learning Resources” area of the myCSU Student Portal. This document includes examples and sample papers and provides information on how to contact the CSU Success Center.
Blackboard Grading Rubrics
Assignment Rubrics
One or more assignments in this course utilizes a Blackboard Grading Rubric. A rubric is a tool that lists evaluation criteria and can help you organize your efforts to meet the requirements of an assignment. Your professor will use the Blackboard Grading Rubric to assign points and provide feedback for the assignment.
You are encouraged to view the assignment rubric before submitting your work. This will allow you to review the evaluation criteria as you prepare your assignments. You may access the rubric in “My Grades” through the “Tools” button in your course menu. Click the “View Rubric” link to see the evaluation criteria for the assignment. Upon receiving your assignment grade, you may view your grade breakdown and feedback in the rubric.
CSU Grading Rubrics for Papers/Projects, Discussion Boards, and Assessments
The Learning Resource area of the myCSU Student Portal provides the rubrics, and information on how to use them, for Discussion Boards, written response questions in Unit Assessments, and Research Papers/Projects.
MBA 5652, Research Methods 6
The course writing assignments will be graded based on the CSU Grading Rubric for all types of writing assignments, unless otherwise specified within assignment instructions. In addition, all papers will be submitted for electronic evaluation to rule out plagiarism. Course projects will contain project specific grading criteria defined in the project directions.
To view the rubrics, click the Academic Policies link on the Course Menu, or access it through the CSU Grading Rubric link found in the Learning Resources area of the myCSU Student Portal.
Communication Forums
These are non-graded discussion forums that allow you to communicate with your professor and other students. Participation in these discussion forums is encouraged, but not required. You can access these forums with the buttons in the Course Menu. Instructions for subscribing/unsubscribing to these forums are provided below.
Click here for instructions on how to subscribe/unsubscribe and post to the Communication Forums.
Ask the Professor
This communication forum provides you with an opportunity to ask your professor general or course content questions. Questions may focus on Blackboard locations of online course components, textbook or course content elaboration, additional guidance on assessment requirements, or general advice from other students.
Questions that are specific in nature, such as inquiries regarding assessment/assignment grades or personal accommodation requests, are NOT to be posted on this forum. If you have questions, comments, or concerns of a non-public nature, please feel free to email your professor. Responses to your post will be addressed or emailed by the professor within 48 hours.
Before posting, please ensure that you have read all relevant course documentation, including the syllabus, assessment/assignment instructions, faculty feedback, and other important information.
Student Break Room
This communication forum allows for casual conversation with your classmates. Communication on this forum should always maintain a standard of appropriateness and respect for your fellow classmates. This forum should NOT be used to share assessment answers.
Grading
Discussion Boards (8 @ 2%) = 16%
Mini Projects (6 @ 6.5%) = 39%
Unit Assessments (3 @ 7%) = 21%
Research Proposal = 24%
Total = 100%
Course Schedule/Checklist (PLEASE PRINT)
The following pages contain a printable Course Schedule to assist you through this course. By following this schedule, you will be assured that you will complete the course within the time allotted.
MBA 5652, Research Methods 7
MBA 5652, Research Methods Course Schedule
By following this schedule, you will be assured that you will complete the course within the time allotted. Please keep this schedule for reference as you progress through your course.
Unit I Foundation of Business Research Review:
Unit Study Guide
Learning Activities (Non-Graded): See Study Guide Read:
Chapter 1: The Role of Business Research
Chapter 4: The Business Research Process: An Overview
Chapter 6: Problem Definition: The Foundation of Business Research Suggested Reading: See Study Guide Discuss:
Discussion Board Response: Submit your response to the Discussion Board question by Saturday, Midnight (Central Time)
Discussion Board Comment: Comment on another student’s Discussion Board response by Tuesday, Midnight (Central Time) Submit:
Mini Project by Tuesday, Midnight (Central Time)
Notes/Goals:
Unit II Qualitative Research Review:
Unit Study Guide
Learning Activities (Non-Graded): See Study Guide Read:
Chapter 7: Qualitative Research Tools
Chapter 8: Secondary Data Research in a Digital Age
Suggested Reading: See Study Guide Discuss:
Discussion Board Response: Submit your response to the Discussion Board question by Saturday, Midnight (Central Time)
Discussion Board Comment: Comment on another student’s Discussion Board response by Tuesday, Midnight (Central Time) Submit:                           Mini Project by Tuesday, Midnight (Central Time)
Notes/Goals:
MBA 5652, Research Methods 8
MBA 5652, Research Methods Course Schedule
Unit III Primary Data Review:
Unit Study Guide
Learning Activities (Non-Graded): See Study Guide Read:
Chapter 9: Survey Research: An Overview
Chapter 11: Observation Methods                                                                                Chapter 15: Questionnaire Design
Suggested Reading: See Study Guide Discuss:
Discussion Board Response: Submit your response to the Discussion Board question by Saturday, Midnight (Central Time)
Discussion Board Comment: Comment on another student’s Discussion Board response by Tuesday, Midnight (Central Time) Submit:
Assessment by Tuesday, Midnight (Central Time)
Notes/Goals:
Unit IV Sampling Design Review:
Unit Study Guide
Learning Activities (Non-Graded): See Study Guide Read:
Chapter 16: Sampling Designs and Sampling Procedures
Chapter 17: Determination of Sample Size: A Review of Statistical Theory
Suggested Reading: See Study Guide Discuss:
Discussion Board Response: Submit your response to the Discussion Board question by Saturday, Midnight (Central Time)
Discussion Board Comment: Comment on another student’s Discussion Board response by Tuesday, Midnight (Central Time) Submit:
Assessment by Tuesday, Midnight (Central Time)
Mini Project by Tuesday, Midnight (Central Time)
Notes/Goals:
MBA 5652, Research Methods 9
MBA 5652, Research Methods Course Schedule
Unit V Quantitative Data Review:
Unit Study Guide
Learning Activities (Non-Graded): See Study Guide Read:
Chapter 3: Theory Building
Chapter 12: Experimental Research
Suggested Reading: See Study Guide Discuss:
Discussion Board Response: Submit your response to the Discussion Board question by Saturday, Midnight (Central Time)
Discussion Board Comment: Comment on another student’s Discussion Board response by Tuesday, Midnight (Central Time) Submit:
Mini Project by Tuesday, Midnight (Central Time)
Notes/Goals:
Unit VI Measurement and Ethics in Business Research Review:
Unit Study Guide
Learning Activities (Non-Graded): See Study Guide Read:
Chapter 5: The Human Side of Business Research: Organizational and Ethical Issues
Chapter 13: Measurement and Scaling Concepts Discuss:
Discussion Board Response: Submit your response to the Discussion Board question by Saturday, Midnight (Central Time)
Discussion Board Comment: Comment on another student’s Discussion Board response by Tuesday, Midnight (Central Time) Submit:
Mini Project by Tuesday, Midnight (Central Time)
Notes/Goals:
MBA 5652, Research Methods 10
MBA 5652, Research Methods Course Schedule
Unit VII Stages of Data Analysis: Part One—Descriptive Analysis Review:
Unit Study Guide
Learning Activities (Non-Graded): See Study Guide Read:
Chapter 19: Editing and Coding: Transforming Raw Data into Information
Chapter 20: Basic Data Analysis: Descriptive Statistics Discuss:
Discussion Board Response: Submit your response to the Discussion Board question by Saturday, Midnight (Central Time)
Discussion Board Comment: Comment on another student’s Discussion Board response by Tuesday, Midnight (Central Time) Submit:
Mini Project by Tuesday, Midnight (Central Time)
Notes/Goals:
Unit VIII Bivariate Data Analysis Review:
Unit Study Guide
Learning Activities (Non-Graded): See Study Guide Read:
Chapter 21: Univariate Statistical Analysis
Chapter 22: Bivariate Statistical Analysis: Differences Between Two Variables
Chapter 23: Bivariate Statistical Analysis: Measures of Association
Suggested Reading: See Study Guide Discuss:
Discussion Board Response: Submit your response to the Discussion Board question by Saturday, Midnight (Central Time)
Discussion Board Comment: Comment on another student’s Discussion Board response by Tuesday, Midnight (Central Time) Submit:
Assessment by Tuesday, Midnight (Central Time)
Research Proposal by Tuesday, Midnight (Central Time)
Notes/Goals: