BUSI42K15: Methods of Organisational Inquiry (15 credits)

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• Give students an in-depth understanding of key principles of research design and strategy in leadership and management, including the process of formulating researchable problems.
• Enable students to understand the significance of alternative epistemological positions that provide the context for theory construction, research design, and the selection of appropriate analytical techniques in leadership and management research.
• Develop students' competency in understanding and applying a range of research methods, and their transferable skills and capabilities for managing research, handling data, conducting and disseminating research through professional and ethical practice.

• The content of this module is set within a specialist organisational environment perspective and includes the following areas:
• Undertaking research in leadership and/or management;
• Making use of library facilities, databases and other learning resources;
• Planning a research project;
• The major project research process;
• Application of advanced principles, concepts and methods to select a topic;
• An awareness of alternative research approaches: Inductive or Deductive; Qualititative and Quantitative; Using tools for quantitative analysis; Case studies and text analysis;
• Selection of the appropriate research approach to match the chosen topic;
• Managing and researching knowledge inside organisations;
• The impact of public sector policy.

Subject-specific Knowledge:

• Have an advanced understanding and awareness of the nature and scope of research in a specialised organisational environment;
• Have a critical appreciation of the organisation, structure and management of a complex research project;
• Have advanced familiarity with the specialist facilities available for conducting literature searches and obtaining relevant data to facilitate empirical investigation;
• Have an advanced knowledge and critical appreciation of traditional and emergent organisational issues in relation to the nature of the specialist route of their qualification.

Subject-specific Skills:

• Have further developed advanced skills of inquiry, research design, data collection and information retrieval, measurement and analysis, interpretation and presentation;
• Be able to produce a literature review in the area of a specialised organisational environment appropriate to a masters level programme.

Key Skills:

• Written communication; self-discipline and time management; problem solving and analysis.

• The learning outcomes will be met through a combination of lectures and guided reading addressing key topics in research.
• The assessment of the module, by written assignment, is designed to:
• Test the acquisition and articulation of knowledge relating to research methodologies, and the development and articulation of research design;
• Test conceptual understanding and skills of application and interpretation on research methodologies within a specialised organisational environment.
• The group work carried out within the lectures and in the group tutorials is designed to enhance the capacity to be effective within a team environment and to value individuals' contributions in group processes.

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