Empirical Research Methodology and Measurement


Aims

  1. To learn basic principles and factors within each decision phase of the quantitative methodological process and their collective inter-dependencies.
  2. To develop a foundation for planning, structuring, implementing, and critiquing quantitative research methodology.
  3. To learn perspectives of quantitative methodological practices including conventional and opposing views, their respective limitations, and practical myths and urban legends.

Information

This seminar will prepare you for formulating and executing your own quantitative research studies. The course content is arranged in the order of conducting a quantitative study, beginning with understanding research questions up to the analysis stage. General topics include the scientific process; developing and evaluating research questions and hypotheses; measurement (operationalization, validity, reliability); sampling; research design (experiments, quasi-experiments, non-experiments); evaluation; and generalizability (replication, meta-analyses). 

This seminar differs from MBA and applied degree programs in that our focus is on the science underlying quantitative research methods. Each session has a similar structure: conventional perspectives, extensions through cutting-edge thinking, critiques, and applications, and evaluation of a quantitative study.

Assessment

Class participation 25%, Module assignments 15%, Paper 50%, Session leadership 10%

Materials

Schwab, D.P. 2005. Research Methods for Organizational Studies. 2nd edition, Lawrence Erlbaum, London.

Bausel, R.B. 1994. Conducting meaningful experiments: 40 steps to becoming a scientist. Sage.

Creswell, J.W. 1994. Research design: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. Sage.

Daniel, J. 2011. Sampling essentials: Practical guidelines for making sampling choices. Sage Publications.

Dillman, D. A. (2000). Mail and internet surveys: The tailored design method. New York, NY: Wiley

Additional info

The timetable for this course can be found here. The first 5 sessions of this course is online, and the last 5 sessions are on campus. (The linked timetable might not show all the sessions at one glance. Please scroll per month to see the schedule of the entire course.)

ERIM PhD candidates (Fulltime & Part-time) can register for this course via Osiris Student.

External (non-ERIM) participants are welcome to this course. To register, please fill in the registration form and e-mail it to the ERIM Doctoral Office by four weeks prior to the start of the course. For external participants, the course fee is 1300 euro.