Research Methods in Management

This course is designed to equip you with the scientific mindset and practical tool kit to enhance your managerial and decision-making skills. You will develop the ability to critically evaluate challenges, gather and apply evidence, and make informed decisions.

The course focuses on three main pillars:

1. Asking the Right Questions: Learn to challenge assumptions, turn problems into meaningful research questions, and define testable hypotheses.
2. Learning from Existing Evidence: Discover how to find, read, and understand scientific research, and how to synthesize relevant findings to inform your decisions.
3. Generating New Evidence: Master the methods for collecting, analyzing, and presenting new data to solve complex problems and test your ideas.

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

1. Develop healthy skepticism and challenge assumptions in management and organizational contexts.
2. Ask clear, researchable questions and create testable hypotheses.
3. Find, evaluate, and summarize existing scientific evidence to inform decisions.
4. Design and conduct different types of research, including descriptive, predictive, and experimental studies.
5. Analyze data using methods such as linear and non-linear models.
6. Recognize and avoid biases and questionable research practice, while embracing open science principles.
7. Communicate scientific findings effectively to both academic and business audiences.

This course focuses on practical, hands-on activities rather than theoretical lectures. Participation is highly recommended, as engaging with the material is essential for mastering the skills. Throughout the course, you will gradually build a group research project, applying the content from each class. You’ll learn to use both traditional and modern AI tools to search the scientific literature, program advanced surveys and randomized experiments, and analyze your data using R. These skills are highly valuable in today’s job market and will give you a competitive edge in your future career. This work will culminate in creating a 180-second video "research pill" complete with supplementary materials that support every step of your presentation.

References, bibliography, and recommended reading

Slides and supporting literature will be posted on UV in due time.

Course notes

• Université virtuelle

Campus

Solbosch

Method(s) of evaluation

• written examination
• Group work

written examination

• Closed question with multiple choices (MCQ)

Group work

The evaluation is based on: 

• The final exam will consist of an open-book multiple-choice questionnaire. This exam will cover both theoretical concepts discussed in class and practical problem-solving using data. A laptop with R installed is required for the exam.  
• For the group project, each team will create a 180-second video summarizing their research, inspired by the Three Minute Thesis competition. The video must deliver a clear, concise, and compelling explanation of the research, covering the key elements: the big question, literature review, hypotheses, method, results, and discussion. This project will help you develop strong communication skills while showcasing your research abilities. In addition to the video, each group will submit a supplementary document that includes materials, data, and code, following a provided template. Evaluation will be based on the quality of the video (clarity, rigor, originality, and effort) and a detailed review of one randomly selected element from the supplementary materials. Individual contributions will be assessed through a 360-degree peer evaluation.

Mark calculation method (including weighting of intermediary marks)

Students will receive an individual grade for the exam and a grade for the group research report, accounting for 60% and 40% of the final grade, respectively. No compensation possible; students have to achieve a final grade >10 to pass the course. 

Language(s) of evaluation

• english