2024

Research Methods I

Name: Research Methods I
Code: GES12557D
9 ECTS
Duration: 15 weeks/234 hours
Scientific Area: Management

Teaching languages: Portuguese
Languages of tutoring support: Portuguese, English
Regime de Frequência: Presencial

Sustainable Development Goals

Learning Goals

The objective of this course is to promote to the students of the PhD Program the basic theoretical, methodological, and empirical knowledge inherent to the practice of scientific research in management.
Throughout the course, the students acquire the following competencies:
- Knowledge of quantitative and qualitative research designs;
- Ability to construct and evaluate data collection instruments: questionnaires, interviews, and documents.
- Reliability of psychometric scales;
- Identification and validation of secondary data;
- Use of SPSS for multivariate statistics;
- Characterization of data aggregators in qualitative research;
- Importation of documents and content analysis in the Nvivo software
- Conditional data using Boolean expressions
- Characterization of the functioning of the world scientific community

Contents

1 - Quantitative research methods
Quantitative research designs
Structured interviews and questionnaires
Structured observation
Secondary data
Introduction measurement theory
Psychometric scales: reliability analysis and exploratory, factor analysis
Cluster and Discriminant Analysis
2 – Qualitative research methods
Qualitative research designs
Data sources
Data collection instruments
Data processing qualitative research
Qualitative data analysis software
Validity and transferability of qualitative research
Scientific writing
3. World scientific community
World Organization of Knowledge Production
Identification of researchers and authorship
Scientific production
Databases and their Worldwide Organization
Scientific communication
Scientific metrics

Teaching Methods

Each lecture will be composed of, approximately, two 50-minute sections with a 10-minute break in between. The course is organized so that each practical problem-solving lecture is preceded by the corresponding theoretical one. Between each lecture, students will have to “digest” the topics to which they have been introduced during the theoretical lectures, and apply the newly developed knowledge in the completion of a small assignment. The problem-solving lectures will be based on case studies focusing on the design, development, and implementation of a research project. The case study will be related to the course’s topics and to the specific interests of the students.

Assessment

The UC assessment is based on the grade of 3 individual works, each with a weighting of 35%, 35%, and 30% for the final grade.
Students who, due to failure or absence, do not complete the curricular unit through continuous assessment must submit, via email, the 3 practical assignments referred to above within 24 hours.