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Research Design in Quantitative Methods (CMR55047)

General information

Type:

OB

Curs:

1

Period:

S semester

ECTS Credits:

2.5 ECTS

Teaching Staff:

Group Teacher Department Language
Joan M. Batista Foguet Dirección de Personas y Organización ENG

Prerequisites

Quantitative Statistical Methods at introductory level able to cope with the Regression and Factor Analysis Models.

COURSE CONTRIBUTION TO PROGRAM

At present it is difficult to read a published article or to approach research without knowledge of the various methodological aspects, which go from the formulation of questions and hypotheses, to research designs, data collection instruments, data analysis, and presentation of the results. Students have normally had a separate view of each of these aspects and it is necessary to integrate them as something holistic, which constitutes the research method. Out of these the research design is likely the most important tool that researchers dispose for conducting high quality research. In Social Sciences unfortunately, the gold standard for maximizing inferences (the experimental design) is so constrained by real-world settings that alternatives strategies have been settled.

Course Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this course the participants will be able to:
- acquire a holistic perspective of the stages of the research process
- evaluate the quality of their research. Validity & threats to validity
- learn why the randomized experiment is so preferred when it is feasible
- have a general view about better ways to design and analyze quasi-experiments. Especially,
- mastering Regression-discontinuity and Interrupted time-series designs
- achieve criteria for designing and improving their own research projects
- achieve the ability to "think critically", when examining published research.

Competences

13. Learn to design a specific research project in business management-related areas
7. Ability to synthesise and generalise information
27. Ability to work independently
29. Focused on quality
6. Ability to reason analytically and reflectively
9. Ability to apply knowledge to research and innovation in specific business management areas
24. Ability to work in an international setting
11. Skillful in the use of quantitative methods
21. Interpersonal skills
22. Ability to work in multidisciplinary and multicultural teams
18. Decision-making skills

Relation between Activities and Competences

13 7 27 29 6 9 24 11 21 22 18
writing assigment. Critical Review                      
Class participation                      
two Quiz                      
Online identification sessions                      
teamwork. Peer evaluation                      

CONTENT

1. Introduction

-Sources of knowledge. Rationalistic Approach. What¿s Science and what¿s not?
-Theories, Research questions and hypotheses. Research perspectives and Designs
-The logic of research. Quantitative Research Design: Experimental, Quasi-Experimental & Non-Experimental
- Basic terms of Research design. Units, time, outcomes and settings, design evaluation.

2. Research methods. Research and Causality

- The scientific method and its characteristics. Putting Theories to the Test and rule out other explanations
- The variables in the research and sources of variation. Statistical Significance. Research design aims
- The research phases

3. The research designs. Validity and its threats

- Validity of the research and its threats: Typologies of Cook and Campbell, and Kish
- Validity of the statistical conclusions
- Internal validity
- Construct validity: of causes and of effects
- External validity
- Threats to each type of validity

4. Experimental designs

- Classification of the designs: Kirk¿s classification (1995)
- Randomness and assignment
- Confounding effect
- The designs and the control of the error variance
- Explanation of some of the most frequent designs: between and intrasubject and mixed

5. Quasi-experimental designs

- Concept and Classification
- Non-equivalent groups
- With both control group and pre-test
- Lacking either a control group or a pre-test
- Two common QE designs: Regression Discontinuity & Interrupted time series
- Relationships among Pre and Post designs- Enhancing design inference
- Designing designs for research

6. Introduction to the Meta-analysis

- Basic concepts & The logic of Meta-analysis. Purpose and requirements.
- Benefits and Drawbacks
- Steps in Meta-analysis. From deciding the research question to sensitivity analysis
- Potential sources of bias

Relation between Activities and Contents

1 2 3 4 5 6
writing assigment. Critical Review            
Class participation            
two Quiz            
Online identification sessions            
teamwork. Peer evaluation            

Methodology

A fundamentally conceptual view will be presented of the methodological strategies, linked to specific research questions, to which it is intended to respond through their use. The threats to validity structure utilized by Campbell and his colleagues will provide the unifying framework for this course. The advantages and disadvantages of the use of each design will be analyzed, and illustrated in published studies in which different designs have been used.

ASSESSMENT

ASSESSMENT BREAKDOWN

Description %
writing assigment. Critical Review 35
Class participation 10
two Quiz 30
Online identification sessions 10
teamwork. Peer evaluation 15

Assessment criteria

Based on 1st handing in the practical exercises, class summaries and identify online related themes proposed during the sessions; class participation; tutorial participation and peer evaluation (within the working group). 30%
2nd Critical evaluation done by each group of students of an article that includes at least one of the research designs described in the course. 40%
3rd Two test, one test at the end of the course. 30%

Bibliography

1. Ader, H. J.; Mellenbergh, G. G. (ed.) (1999). Research methodology in the social, behavioural and life sciences. Thousands Oaks, CA: Sage
2. Babbie, E. (2004). The practice of Social Research. Thompson
3. Batista-Foguet, J.M., Saris, W.E. & X. Tort-Martorell (1990). Design of experimental studies for measurement and evaluation of the determinants of Job Satisfaction. Social Indicators Research, 22, 1, p. 49-67.
4. Borenstein, M; Hedges, L.V.; Higgins, J.P.T. and Rothstein, H.R. (2009). Introduction to Meta-analysis. West Sussex, UK: Wiley.
5. Cook, T. D.; Campbell, T. D. (1979). Quasi-experimentation: Design and analysis for field experimentation. Chicago: Rand McNally.
6. Cook, T. D.; Shadish, W. R. (1994). Social experiments: some developments over the past fifteen years,. Annual Review of Psychology, 45, p. 545-580.
7. Folguera, C.; Fernández-Marín, X. & Batista-Foguet, JM. (2019). The Impact of Counselling, Training and Development on Absence of Employees with Disabilities. International Labour Review. 157, 4, 751-769
8. Meltzoff, J. (2004). Critical Thinking about Research. APA
9. Mosteo, L.; Batista-Foguet, J.M.; McKeever, J. & Serlavós, R. (2016). Understanding Cognitive-Emotional Processing through a Coaching Process: The Influence of Coaching on Vision, Goal-directed Energy, and Resilience. Journal of Applied Behavioral Sciences, 52 (1), 64-96
10. Rosenthal, R. (1991). Meta-analytic procedures for social research. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
11. Shadish, W.R., Cook, T.D., & Campbell, D.T. (2002). Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for Generalized Causal Inference. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin.
12. Trochim, W. M. K. (1984). Research design for program evaluation: The regression discontinuity approach. Beverly Hills,CA: Sage.
13. Trochim, W. M. K. (2005). Research Methods: The Concise Knowledge. Atomicdog publishing

Timetable and sections

Group Teacher Department
Joan M. Batista Foguet Dirección de Personas y Organización

Timetable