44-706506/A Research Method in International Business L7 Module Handbook

 READING/RESOURCE LIST PAGE 8

ASSESSMENT

TASK BRIEF PAGE 13

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA PAGE 16 and 17

RESEARCH ETHICS PAGE 18

Module Overview 

Module Aims

This module is designed to provide postgraduate students of international business and global business with a useful and practical introduction to research methods in international business.

Specifically the module aims to:

• enable you to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of various research techniques and methods;
• encourage you to search for information from a variety of sources and databases and to evaluate and interpret these critically ;
• enable you to appreciate the principal research issues which need to be considered when choosing and utilising a range of research methods
• assist you to design a research study of a type which would be suitable for a postgraduate dissertation in international business

Module Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this module you will be able to:

• understand what research is and how it is conducted;
• appreciate the merits and limitations of various research techniques and methods;
• conduct investigations of research topics, by acquiring and using data from a variety of sources;
• understand and make use of various research methods and also understand the appropriateness of these methods and key research issues raised in the context of international business research;
• understand what a dissertation is and how to successfully undertake a dissertation project.

Schedule of Study

Reading List:

Individual Presentation (Non-ASSESSED)

Instructions to Students for the preparation of this Non-Assessed presentation 

Presentation Details:

 Please provide an outline of Research Proposal on PowerPoint slides including;

1. Your research topic,

2. Background/introduction to research topic

3. Research Aims and Objectives,

4. Rational for why this topic is important to study,

5. What are the key and relevant theories,

6. What is your methodological standpoint

7. What are your supporting references

You will need to present the outline of proposal to your tutor and classmates in the classroom. You are expected to provide your tutor with 6 slides that covers all the above areas and prepare yourself for a clear discussion on each of the above points.

There is no Submission requirements via blackboard or turnitin for this task.

Assessment brief: Research Proposal

Instructions to Students for Submission of Coursework

You are required to choose a research topic for purposes of analysis. Write a research proposal suitable for a dissertation, which will:

• Write introduction/background of your research topic
• explain the rationale for the research (i.e. why it is worth doing);
• state the aims and objectives of the research;
• provide examples of relevant theories and concepts you intend to include in the literature review;
• explain the methodology you intend to use in your research;
• explain the specific research techniques which you intend to use (e.g. questionnaire, interviews, case study etc.). Give your reasons why you think that the chosen technique(s) is (are) appropriate for this project;
• discuss what data will be collected (e.g. consider whether data is primary or secondary; qualitative or quantitative etc.);
• explain how the data will be interpreted;
• discuss whether the findings will have validity, reliability and generalisability
• discuss any potential difficulties which might arise in relation to this research and explain how you might deal with these difficulties.

The total length of the proposal should be around 3500 words.

Submission requirements

RESEARCH ETHICS CHECKLIST (SHUREC1)

This form is designed to help staff and postgraduate research students to complete an ethical scrutiny of proposed research. The SHU Research Ethics Policy should be consulted before completing the form.

Answering the questions below will help you decide whether your proposed research requires ethical review by a Faculty Research Ethics Committee (FREC). In cases of uncertainty, members of the FREC can be approached for advice.

Please note: staff based in University central departments should submit to the University Ethics Committee (SHUREC) for review and advice.

The final responsibility for ensuring that ethical research practices are followed rests with the supervisor for student research and with the principal investigator for staff research projects.

Note that students and staff are responsible for making suitable arrangements for keeping data secure and, if relevant, for keeping the identity of participants anonymous. They are also responsible for following SHU guidelines about data encryption and research data management.

The form also enables the University and Faculty to keep a record confirming that research conducted has been subjected to ethical scrutiny.

- For postgraduate research student projects, the form should be completed by the student and counter-signed by the supervisor, and kept as a record showing that ethical scrutiny has occurred. Students should retain a copy for inclusion in their thesis, and staff should keep a copy in the student file.

- For staff research, the form should be completed and kept by the principal investigator.

Please note if it may be necessary to conduct a health and safety risk assessment for the proposed research. Further information can be obtained from the Faculty Safety Co-ordinator.

General Details

1. Health Related Research involving the NHS or Social Care / Community Care or the Criminal Justice System or with research participants unable to provide informed consent

the FREC. If you answered YES to question 8 and participants cannot provide informed consent due to their incapacity you must obtain the appropriate approvals from the NHS research governance system.

Please ensure the following are included with this form if applicable, tick box to indicate:

RESEARCH ETHICS

Guidance for undergraduate, postgraduate and research students and staff undertaking research.

Topic 1: Introduction to Research in International Business; Challenges and Opportunities, Research Ethics

• The aims and objectives of the module
• The workshop (lecture and seminar) programme
• What is 'research' and why is it undertaken?
• An overview of research methods
• What are the main problems and issues involved in conducting research?
• Research ethics in the context of International Business research.

Seminar Questions and Activities

The first seminar will serve as a 'getting to know you' session and will provide you with opportunities to ask questions about the programme of activities and about the assessment tasks. It will also provide opportunities for the lecturer to gauge the extent and nature of your previous research experience.

Seminar Activities

1.Research Experience Exercise

Did you undertake an undergraduate dissertation? If so, answer the following questions:

1. What was the subject?
2. What was the length?
3. What research methods did you use?
4. What difficulties did you encounter?
5. What was the main thing you discovered about research from undertaking the dissertation?

2.Group exercise 1

1. In your groups, write down a list of subjects in the field of international business which you think might make good topics for research. Explain your reasons.
2. Each group is required to identify two suitable topics for research and also to explain to the seminar group as a whole why the topics are thought to be good ones.
3. In your groups, discuss what might be the potential problems (e.g. in terms of time management or access to material, or choice of topic) which might prevent you from delivering a good piece of research.
4. In your groups, discuss how you think any weaknesses you identify above might be overcome.

3.Group exercise 2

1. Identify the main skills required for effective study at postgraduate level
2. Discuss the main characteristics of ‘critical and reflective thinking’?
3. Discuss and outline the main obstacles to ‘critical' and reflective thinking

4.Research Ethics

Read the article by Stening and Skubik (2007) Do International Management Researchers Need a Code of Ethics?
p.107 ' If the varied predicaments associated with research ethics are murky and complicated at the general level, they become significantly more problematic when the research is being undertaken by someone in a country other than his/her own' Discuss
-interdisciplinary nature of IBM
-controversy/ debate surrounding the unit of analysis - i.e. multinational corporations/ global industries/ expatriate managers
-terms used in some literature- Third World/ underdeveloped/ developing etc.
-consider power/ status of the researcher v those being researched
-presumptions/ values of researcher- danger of ethnocentric values
-who could be interested/ impacted by the research? stakeholders.

Additional Reading :

-Bryman and Bell (2015) Chapter 1 The Nature and Process of Business Research
-Saunders et al (2019) Chapter 6 Negotiating Access and Research Ethics

Topic 2: Research Paradigms

Lecture

• What is a Research Methodology?
• Types of Research Methodology
• Defining research questions

Recommended Reading

Saunders et al, (2019). Chapter 4, understanding research philosophy and approaches to theory development Bryman and Bell (2015), Chapter 2 Business Research Strategies, Chapter 3 Research Designs,

Seminar Questions and Activities

1.In your group discuss the key features of :

a.A positivist paradigm
b.An interpretivist paradigm

Discuss the key assumptions informing the research approach and how these influence the research approach/ methodology.

Consider what a piece of research informed by a positivist/ interpretivist paradigm would look like. (Discuss drawing on ' a multiple indicator of a concept' reading and 'gaining an insider view of strategic change' reading)

Each group to present their ideas.

Class discussion contrasting the two paradigms/ implications for research.

2.Class discussion on the nature of an inductive v deductive research approach (discuss drawing on 'an example of a deductive study' and 'an example of an inductive study')

3.In your group discuss the meaning of reliability, validity and generalisability using examples.

4.Each member of the group is required to think of a topic which could be suitable for their research proposal. They are then required to choose a methodology they think would be appropriate for this research proposal topic. The findings will be presented by each student to the seminar group as a whole.

Lecture

• What is literature review?
• Why literature review?
• How to do a Critical Literature Review
• Literature review and plagiarism

Recommended Reading

Snyder, H. (2019). Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines Journal of Business Research.

Thomas, D., A., Maria, M., M Tirado, M. M. Jacob, M. (2020). Changing research on research evaluation: A critical literature review to revisit the agenda, Research Evaluation, Volume 29, Issue 3, July 2020, Pages 275–288, https://doi.org/10.1093/reseval/rvaa008

Wright, A., & Michailova, S. (2023). Critical literature reviews: A critique and actionable advice. Management Learning, 54(2), 177-197. https://doi.org/10.1177/13505076211073961

Seminar

Questions for class discussion

• Discuss some of the use of literature review when planning research such as a dissertation.
• Why is literature review very important for research into some of the emerging topics in international business such as fintech, sustainable business models etc?
• What are the most appropriate criteria for selecting and defining a research topic?

Individual and group activities

Activity 1.

Working individually, identify a topic of interest to you in the field of international business (This should take 10 to 15 minutes).
Form groups of 3 to 5 members, each member should explain to the group the criteria they use in selecting the topic. This should take 20 minutes.

As a group, discuss the common criteria considered by group members in selecting their topic. Were there any differences in the criteria used by group members? What informs such differences if there any? Each group should then present to the class what were common criteria identified in selecting topics?
Are there common differences? Are there any factors left out?
Discuss this as a class.

Activity 2.

In 30 minutes, write a brief literature review on your topic. Aim to review at least two papers on the topic and write at least a paragraph of 5 lines,
Share your written review with your colleague to provide a peer-review of your work. The reviewer should evaluate your work based on the following.
a)Is the review descriptive?
b)Is the review narrative?
c)Is the review critical?
d)In terms of critical literature review, how could the review be improved?

As a group, share your common observations with the class.
Finally, discuss how you can prevent plagiarism in your research. This should be a class discussion.

• What is qualitative research?
• What are its uses?
• Types of qualitative research
• Interpreting the results
  Recommended Reading
  Saunders et al, (2019). Chapter 10; Collecting Primary data
  Bryman and Bell (2015) Chapter 17 The nature of qualitative research Chapter 18 Sampling in Qualitative research

Seminar Questions

1.Explain the main features of qualitative research
2.What are the main types of qualitative research?
3.What are the main challenges to qualitative data analysis?
4.What factors need to be taken into account when interpreting the results of qualitative research?

Seminar Activities

1.In your group, you are required to assume that you are preparing for a Master's Dissertation, and you have agreed the following objectives with your supervisor:

• To analyse the challenges & opportunities for foreign car producers in China
• To identify and evaluate current supply chain management strategy of Honda in China
• To assess the extent to which the supply chain management is localized in China
• To identify key success factors for successful global supply chain management strategy in the Chinese automobile industry Explain:
  a)How would you obtain qualitative data for these objectives?
  b)Design a series of possible interview questions to obtain some of this data.
  c)How would you analyse this qualitative data?

2.In your group, discuss the following questions:

a)What are the main advantages of qualitative research?
b)What are the main disadvantages of qualitative research?
c)Why are qualitative research methods so widely used in the field of business?
d)Are there cases where the qualitative approach should definitely be used?
e)Are there cases where the qualitative approach should definitely not be used?

3.In your group, undertake the following exercise:

a)Each member of the group will write the reasons why qualitative research is either appropriate or not appropriate to his or her dissertation;
b)Those members of the group who intend to adopt qualitative research techniques will then explain to the other members of the group what techniques they intend to use, for discussion by the group as a whole;
c)The group will then summarize their findings, for presentation to the cohort as a whole (possibly with the aid of flip charts), giving examples of any problems or difficulties encountered in selecting suitable qualitative research techniques.

4.Case Study Discussion

Read the below Research Cases, discuss and answer the questions at the end of the article.
Weligodapola, M and Darabi, F (2018) ‘Developing General Analytical Inductive Qualitative Research Strategy to Explore Small Enterprise Growth in Turbulent Economies. Proceedings of the 17th European Conference on Research Methodology for Business and Management Studies, p 482-490. Universita Roma Tre, Rome-Italy, 12-13th July.
Darabi, F. (2016), 'Investigating a University Business School and Industry Collaboration: A General Analytical Inductive Qualitative Research Case', SAGE Research Methods Cases.

Recommended/Core Reading

Piekkari R. and Welch C. (2011) (Eds.) Rethinking the Case Study in International Business and Management Research. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham.

Welch et.al (2011) Theorising from Case Studies: Towards a pluralist future for International Business Research.Journal of International Business Studies, 42: 740-762.

Welch,C. and Piekkari R. (2017) How should we (not) judge the 'quality' of qualitative research? Journal of International Business Studies, 52, 714-725.

R. Piekkari and C. Welch (2004) Handbook of Qualitative Research Methods for IB. Part II Case Study Research.

Seminar Activities

Activity 1

In your groups consider how you might design a small research project adopting a case study approach to examine one of the following :

a.the training of expatriates within Chinese organisations.
b.cross cultural team working within the multinational
c.corporate social responsibility within the subsidiaries of multinationals
d.an alternative of the group.

Activity 2

1.What are your research aims and objective?
2.Consider whether you are planning to use a case study approach in your dissertation.
2.Discuss in your groups how you will select cases to study. How many cases will you select and why? eg. one single case / multiple cases?
3.What will be the 'case' eg. a company? a team? a process? an event? etc.
4.What sources of data will you collect?
5.Consider how your case study design is connected to your underlying research paradigm- eg. interpretivist? positivist?
6.What procedures will you use to argue the quality of your research? Link to consideration of validity/ reliability/ generalisability

Activity 3

1.What are the issues raised for a researcher choosing to do research in their own organisation?
2.What are the challenges/ issues raised in conducting overt participant observation and how would you seek to manage these?

Activity 4: Case study discussion on ‘Research Strategy’

Please read the below case study which is available under topic 5 in the Blackboard site, and discuss the questions at the end of the case study.

Darabi, F., Sccott J (Forthcoming, 2022), ‘Internationalizing engaged scholarship’: business performance and community development. Research Methods for Business Students, Ninth Edition Saunders et al., Pearson.

• What is quantitative research?
• What are its uses?
• Types of quantitative research
• Interpreting the results (e.g. SPSS)

Recommended Reading:

Bryman (2015) Chapter 7 The nature of quantitative research, Chapter 8 Sampling in quantitative research

Seminar Questions and Activities

Seminar Questions

1.Explain the main features of quantitative research;
2.Give some examples of the uses of quantitative research in international business;
3.Outline the strengths and weaknesses of quantitative research;
4.What factors need to be taken into account when interpreting the results of quantitative research?

Seminar Activity

1)A list of research questions is provided below. Which research questions could be best answered using quantitative as opposed to qualitative methods? Briefly explain your answer (in a group of 3 or 4).

• How many UK firms are involved in export related activities?
• Are the numbers of UK firms involved in export related activities rising or falling over the last 5 years?
• How many UK firms agree that Brexit has a negative impact on UK export related activities?
• What factors are related to changes in UK export activities over the last 5 years?
• Is there any relationship between growth in export activities and growth in GDP?
• Why/how the growth in export activities is influenced by a growth in GDP?

2)In your groups, discuss how quantitative research might help us to understand trends in the global car industry.

3)Use the SPSS data file available on the BB site and perform regression analysis and interpretate the results.
You    can    download    the    SPSS    software    (free)    from    the    SHU

• Mixed Methods Designs
• Does mixed methods need a particular philosophical and methodological position?
• Combining qualitative and quantitative research
• Appreciating the logic of mixed methods research designs
  •Mixed methods research in practice
• Benefits of using multiple methods research

Recommended/Core Reading

Bryman A. and Bell E. (2011) Business Research Methods. Oxford University Press. 3rd Edition. Chapter Part 4
Giddings, L.S. (2006) Mixed-Methods Research: Positivism in Drag? Journal of Nursing Research. 11 (3) 195-203
Hurmerinta-Peltomäki L. and Nummela N. (2006) Mixed Methods in International Business Research: A Value-added Perspective. Management International Review, 46 (4: 439 – 459)

Seminar Activities

Group Discussion (1)

Please read the case study in slide number 10 (source: Bryman and Bell, 2011), and discuss below questions:

-Why mixed methods research has been considered in this case study?

-How mixed methods has been conducted?

-What are data collection methods?

-Following Gray's (2010) model, which types of mixed methods design has been used in this case?

Group Discussion (2)

Please discuss the below questions.

-Is it appropriate to triangulate, consolidate, or compare quantitative data stemming from a large random sample on equal grounds with qualitative data arising from a small purposive sample?

-How much weight should be placed on qualitative data compared to quantitative data?

-Are quantitatively confirmed findings more important than findings that emerge during a qualitative study component?

Individual work

Think about your Research question and Research Objectives Please discuss;
How do you justify a mixed methods research design in answering your research question? Is mixed methods research necessarily superior to single strategy research?