BUS395G

BA Thesis in Business Studies I:

Advanced Research Methods

Number of ECTS credits: 6

CONTENT OVERVIEW

Syllabus Section Course Prerequisites and Course Description Course Learning Objectives Link between PLO & CLO Main Course Material

Workload Calculation for this Course

Course Assessment Description of Assignments & Exams Rubrics Course Policies Course Schedule

Course Prerequisites (if any)

HUM101G, SSC271G or SSC272G, ECN101G. . Course Description

BUS395G and BUS396G constitute the final integrative element that concludes the academic part of the Bachelor in Business Studies. In BA Thesis in Business Studies I (BUS395G), an initial set of lectures outlines the key requirements for the extended thesis proposal (ETP), which is the main assignment and evaluation for the course. During the course students will be guided in the methods of business and economics research. Eventually, after 6 weeks, students have developed their own research question, written an introduction and drafted a theoretical framework. This is then submitted to the lecturer for evaluation and feedback. Based on the feedback, students take weeks 7 to week 10 to revise their introduction and theoretical framework. This is again submitted to the lecturer for evaluation. Pending approval of the theoretical framework, students then construct a fitting research design. At the end of week 12, students submit the final draft of their

ETP. Feedback is provided at the end of week 13. Students then revise their ETP, before submitting the final version at the end of week 14. Course Learning Objectives

The course aims to achieve the following objectives. In terms of knowledge, students should be able to…

1. … acknowledge gaps in the existing research literature based on a literature synthesis of a specific part of the literature;

In terms of skills, students should be able to…

2. … develop their own conceptual model, based on academic literature, that develops specific expectations;

3. …construct their own research question in the field of business and economics;

4. … develop a research design for a given method and research question, and provide arguments with regards to their decisions and its limitations in written form;

In terms of attitudes, students should…

5. … have a critical attitude towards their own research design, and acknowledge its limitations.

Link between Major Objectives, Course Objectives, Teaching methods and assignments

Number of assignments used in this course: 2

Programme Learning Objective

Course Learning Objectives

Methods used to Teach Course Objectives

Methods (and numbers/types of assignments) used to test these learning objectives

Type, Timing and Instances of Feedback given to Student

Broad knowledge of the different functional fields of business management.

1,5 Lectures, student work on extended thesis proposal

Draft BA Thesis BA Thesis

Feedback on Extended Thesis Proposal Feedback on BA Thesis

Insight into the broad societal context of businesses, included in the analysis of business-oriented problems.

1,2 Lectures, student work on extended thesis proposal

Draft BA Thesis BA Thesis

Feedback on Extended Thesis Proposal Feedback on BA Thesis

Knowing and applying the most common qualitative and quantitative methods research in business studies.

3,4,5 Lectures, student work on extended thesis proposal

Extended Thesis Proposal BA Thesis

Feedback on Extended Thesis Proposal Feedback on BA Thesis

Open and academic attitude of accuracy, critical reflection and

5 Lectures, student work on extended thesis proposal

Extended Thesis Proposal BA Thesis

Feedback on Extended Thesis Proposal

Programme Learning Objective

Course Learning Objectives

Methods used to Teach Course Objectives

Methods (and numbers/types of assignments) used to test these learning objectives

Type, Timing and Instances of Feedback given to Student

academic curiosity Feedback on BA Thesis

Main Course Materials:

The course material consists of powerpoint presentations, lecture notes, and the required readings. The readings comprise both textbook chapters and published academic articles, which can be found through the VUB’s Web of Science. Powerpoint presentations will be made available after the respective classes have taken place. A week-by-week overview of the course readings can be found in the section below.

The syllabus, powerpoint presentations and important messages will be uploaded to the Vesalius portal ‘Pointcarre’. Students are expected to visit this site regularly to keep abreast of course evolutions.

Course material marked as ‘suggested readings’ and ‘additional sources’ is helpful for research and to gain an increased understanding, but is not mandatory. This material can be found online or will be made available upon individual request.

Recommended books/ references for writing a thesis

Dudenhefer, P. (2014). A Guide to Writing in Economics, available at:

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/58991b1546c3c4da5df402e4/t/589c5b0f37c58162f7acb

007/1486641936481/A+Guide+to+Writing+in+Economics.pdf

Nikolov, P. (2013). Writing Tips for Economics Research Papers, available at:

http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~pnikolov/resources/writingtips.pdf

Recommended academic journals:

Publications in various leading journals in the field will also give you a good sense of the type of methodological approaches that are typically used to tackle research questions relevant to the fields of economics and business.

High-ranking journal publications tend to have greater impact, but not always. The amount of WoS citations is usually a better indicator of impact, if only because these studies have been influential in the field.

Work Load Calculation for this Course:

This course counts for 6 ECTS, which translates into 150 – 180 hours for the entire semester for this course. This means that you are expected to spend roughly 10 hours per week on this course. This includes 3 hours of lectures or seminars per

week and 7 hours ‘out of class’ time spent on preparatory readings, studying time for exams as well as time spent on preparing your assignments. Please see below the estimated breakdown of your work-load for this course.

Activity Hours

Class & meetings (3 hours per week for 6 weeks, then 4 individual meetings)

20

Course readings 16 Seeking and reading additional literature (min. 15 studies ~ 450 pages, 10 pages / hr)

45

Small assignments, revising & editing 5 Assignment 1: Part 1 ETP (3000 words, 100 words/hour) 30 Assignment 2: Full ETP (5000 words, 100 words/hour)1 50

Total 166

Course Assessment: Assignments Overview

Students’ overall course grade is calculated as follows:

• Part 1 Extended Thesis Proposal (25%)

• Full Extended Thesis Proposal (75%)

Grading Scale of Vesalius College

Vesalius College grading policy follows the American system of letter grades, which correspond to a point scale from 0 – 100. All assignments (including exams) must be graded on the scale of 0-100. To comply with the Flemish Educational norms, professors should on request also provide the conversion of the grade on the Flemish scale of 0-20. The conversion table below outlines the grade equivalents.

Letter grade Scale of 100

(VeCo Grading Scale)

Scale of 20

(Flemish System)

A 85-100 17.0-20.0

A- 81-84 16.1-16.9

B+ 77-80 15.3-16.0

B 73-76 14.5-15.2

B- 69-72 13.7-14.4

C+ 66-68 13.1-13.6

C 62-65 12.3-13.0

1 Though the full design overlaps with part 1, it will need to be extensively revised and improved based on feedback.

C- 58-61 11.5-12.2

D+ 54-57 10.7-11.4

D 50-53 10.0-10.6

F 0-49 0-9.9

Description of Activities, Grading Criteria and Deadlines:

Part 1 Extended Thesis Proposal (25%)

In week 6 of the course, students need to submit part one of the ETP. This assignment is the first section of the full ETP (see below), and is therefore a first opportunity for students to receive extensive feedback on the theoretical setup of their thesis proposal.

1. Part 1 of the research design needs to contain the following elements:

o Title Page

▪ Title that fits the ETP topic;

▪ Student name and number;

▪ Word count.

o Introduction

▪ Specific Research Question;

▪ Description of societal relevance of research question;

▪ Description of scientific relevance of the research question.

o Conceptual model

▪ Based on at least 152 academic sources3.

▪ Description of core concepts, and overview of relevant literature + findings.

▪ Description of relations between concepts: what is the dependent variable, independent variable(s)?

▪ Specific expectations, preferably written as hypotheses and/or research questions.

▪ Clear statement of the assumptions made

2. Length & Formatting 2 Exceptions may be made for research topics that are relatively novel (e.g. some subfields of social media research). However, it is the student’s responsibility to check with the course lecturer whether such an exception can be granted. 3 These include books from academic publishers (e.g. Sage, Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, …) and articles published in peer-reviewed journals (preferably available on Web of Science). See the section on ‘Course Materials’ for suggested sources. It is the student’s responsibility to check the suitability of sources. When in doubt whether a source is suitable, for example a conference paper, students should check with the professor before submitting their assignment.

o The overall length of Part 1 should be between 2500 and 4000 words, not including references and title page.

o Referencing style: APA, Chicago or Harvard. But must be consistent throughout the manuscript.

Full Extended Thesis Proposal (75%)

After receiving feedback on Part 1, students revise the introduction and conceptual model in weeks 7 to 9. From week 10 onwards, students start developing their own research design to empirically tackle the research question. To do so, they choose one of the methods available to them (content analysis, interviewing / focus groups, experiment or survey).

At this point, the class sessions shift to more applied sessions, in which students work on their proposal and present intermittent codebooks / interview guides / … to peers and the professor. This allows them to work through several iterations of the research instrument.

In week 12, students submit a full draft of their ETP to the course lecturer. The assignment should meet the following requirements. Feedback on the draft ETP is provided in week 13 through the grading form, which does not contain grades but provides students with a qualitative assessment of their ETP. After revising based on the feedback provided, students submit the final version of the ETP in week 14.

1. Components:

o Revised version of Part 1 (see above)

o Research design

▪ Argumentation for selection of method;

▪ Description and argumentation of research design – i.e. selection of source material (content analysis) or participants (interviews, surveys, experiments); sampling approach; measurement of key (in)dependent variables (see also grading rubric).

▪ Research Instrument

• Quantitative Content Analysis: codebook.

• Theoretical Model: assumptions and equilibrium properties

• Survey: questionnaire (including invitation letter/e-mail and informed consent form).

• Experiment: stimuli, overview of conditions, measurements of key (in)dependent variables (questionnaire).

• Qualitative Content Analysis: overview of sensitizing concepts, with samples from actual material to be coded.

• Interviews/Focus Groups: invitation letter/e-mail and informed consent form, description of interview process and questionnaire.

2. Length & Formatting

o Length: the full extended thesis proposal should be between 4000 and 6000 words in length, excluding references and title page.

o Referencing style: APA, Chicago or Harvard. But must be consistent throughout the manuscript.

Rubrics: Transparent Grading Criteria For Each Assignment

The following rubrics detail the criteria that will be used to grade your exam questions and assignments. Review them carefully prior to submitting any assignment, as not meeting the criteria outlined here will unavoidably affect your grade negatively! Grading form for written assignments (more than 10% of the final grade) Grading Rubric for Part 1 Extended Thesis Proposal (Note: see tables below for more extensive explanation of the grading criteria). Criterion Description

Introduction (20%)

Explains choice & societal relevance of topic (5%)

Explains scientific relevance (research gap) (5%)

Clear and Concise Research Question (5%)

Outline of structure of the ETP and main argument (5%)

Conceptual Model (60%)

Discussion of relevant concepts & arguments in literature, based on adequate number of sources (15%)

Compares, contrasts & synthesizes main authors/ approaches and their results (15%)

Identifies gaps in the literature that the ETP addresses. (15%)

Develops well-argued expectations for the research section. (15%)

Structure & Language (20%)

Correct use of language (5%)

Correct citations and references (5%)

Thesis is structured in a logical and coherent way. (5%)

Coherent line of argumentation. (5%)

Criterion Excellent – Very Good

4 - 5 Average - Good

2,5 – 3,9 Fail

0 – 2,5 Introduction

Explains choice & societal relevance of topic (2%)

The author provides a clear and convincing explanation of the choice of topic and

highlights its significance in societal terms

The author provides an explanation which is, however, not fully convincing.

No or very weak explanation provided

Explains scientific relevance (research gap) (3%)

The author explains clearly and convincingly the wider academic context

(wider topic) related to the research question and puzzle. Gaps in the literature

are briefly identified.

The author explains in general terms how the individual ETP relates to the wider

academic debate and touches on gaps.

No or very weak explanation provided.

Clear and Concise Research Question (6%)

The author provides a clear research question that is focused enough to for a feasible empirical investigation and is

relevant and ambitious enough to allow for original and critical engagement with empirical developments, theories and

author debates.

The author provides a basic research question, but it lacks clarity, conciseness or is not ambitious enough (self-evident research question). Muddled or unclear

research statement

No or very unclear research question.

Outline of structure of the paper and main argument (1%)

The author provides a clear outline of the main argument and will how she/he will

structure the ETP

The author provides an outline of the main argument and an indication of the

structure – but lacks clarity No or very weak outline

Conceptual Model

Discussion of relevant concepts & arguments in literature, based on adequate number of sources* (6%)

The conceptual model identifies the relevant (i.e. to the chosen topic) arguments and concepts in the literature and places the

student’s own topic in the wider academic context

Uses more than 15 academic sources.

The conceptual model identifies some relevant (i.e. to the chosen topic)

arguments and concepts in the literature. The student places his or her own topic in an academic context – but this is not fully

explored

At least 15 academic sources are used in a meaningful way.

No relevant literature is provided or only weakly explored. Limited or no wider academic context

provided

Compares, contrasts & synthesizes main authors/ approaches (5%)

The student compares, contrasts and synthesizes a wide range of key authors

and arguments.

The student mentions some of the key authors and arguments, but does not fully synthesize the material or compares and

contrasts in a limited manner; or only does one of the two

No or very weak synthesis and/or comparing &

contrasting or arguments and authors

Identifies gaps in the literature that the thesis addresses. (5%)

The conceptual model clearly and convincingly explains what gap(s) in the

The conceptual model discusses the gaps in the research literature relevant to the

Research gaps not explained or weakly

literature are addressed by the thesis thesis, but the explanation is not fully clear and/or convincing.

explained

Develops well-argued expectations for the research section. (5%)

The conceptual model contains clear and well-argued expectations, which may be in the form of hypotheses and / or research

questions.

The conceptual model contains expectations, but the argumentation is not

very convincing / contains gaps.

The conceptual model does not contain any expectations.

Structure / Language

Correct use of language (2%) Correct use of language - correct spelling,

grammar, and English expression Use of language with occasional flaws in

spelling, grammar and expression Very flawed use of

language. Many spelling and grammar mistakes

Correct citations and references (2%)

Correct and consistent use of citation method and correct bibliography

Occasional mistakes in citation method and bibliography

Recurring mistakes in citation and bibliography

Thesis is structured in a logical and coherent way. (2%)

The paper is structured in a coherent and logical way, supporting the clarity of the

argument and analysis

The structure is generally logical and coherent, but at places unclear – the sub-

sections could be better organized

No or very unclear/incoherent

structure

Coherent line of argumentation. (2%)

A coherent line of argumentation running through the entire paper. Inconsistencies

between sections are (almost) absent.

Basic argumentation line is clear, but not always clear or coherent. Some

inconsistencies between sections.

Unclear / absent line of argumentation, with major

inconsistencies.

Grading Rubric for Extended Thesis Proposal Criterion Description

Introduction (15%)

Explains choice & societal relevance of topic (4%)

Explains scientific relevance (research gap) (4%)

Clear and Concise Research Question (6%)

Outline of structure of the ETP and main argument (1%)

Conceptual Model (40%)

Discussion of relevant concepts & arguments in literature, based on adequate number of sources (10%)

Compares, contrasts & synthesizes main authors (10%)

Identifies gaps in the literature that the ETP addresses. (10%)

Develops well-argued expectations for the empirical section. (10%)

Research Design (30%)

Explains and justifies an appropriate method. (5%) Explains and justifies sampling/source selection. (5%) Explains and justifies operationalization of concepts. (5%) Methodological choices are linked to, and consistent with, conceptual model. (5%) Research design contains fitting research instrument (10%)

Structure & Language (15%)

Correct use of language (4%)

Correct citations and references (4%)

Thesis is structured in a logical and coherent way. (4%)

Coherent line of argumentation. (3%)

Criterion Excellent – Very Good

4 - 5 Average - Good

2,5 – 3,9 Fail

0 – 2,5 Introduction

Explains choice & societal relevance of topic (4%)

The author provides a clear and convincing explanation of the choice of topic and

highlights its significance in societal terms

The author provides an explanation which is, however, not fully convincing.

No or very weak explanation provided

Explains scientific relevance (research gap) (4%)

The author explains clearly and convincingly the wider academic context

(wider topic) related to the research question and puzzle. Gaps in the literature

are briefly identified.

The author explains in general terms how the individual ETP relates to the wider

academic debate and touches on gaps.

No or very weak explanation provided.

Clear and Concise Research Question (6%)

The author provides a clear research question that is focused enough to for a feasible empirical investigation and is

relevant and ambitious enough to allow for original and critical engagement with empirical developments, theories and

author debates.

The author provides a basic research question, but it lacks clarity, conciseness or is not ambitious enough (self-evident research question). Muddled or unclear

research statement

No or very unclear research question.

Outline of structure of the paper and main argument (1%)

The author provides a clear outline of the main argument and will how she/he will

structure the ETP

The author provides an outline of the main argument and an indication of the

structure – but lacks clarity No or very weak outline

Conceptual Model

Discussion of relevant concepts & arguments in literature, based on adequate number of sources* (10%)

The conceptual model identifies the relevant (i.e. to the chosen topic) arguments and concepts in the literature and places the

student’s own topic in the wider academic context

Uses more than 15 academic sources.

The conceptual model identifies some relevant (i.e. to the chosen topic)

arguments and concepts in the literature. The student places his or her own topic in an academic context – but this is not fully

explored At least 15 academic sources are used in

a meaningful way.

No relevant literature is provided or only weakly explored. Limited or no wider academic context

provided

Compares, contrasts & synthesizes main authors (10%)

The student compares, contrasts and synthesizes a wide range of key authors

and arguments.

The student mentions some of the key authors and arguments, but does not fully synthesize the material or compares and

contrasts in a limited manner; or only does one of the two

No or very weak synthesis and/or comparing &

contrasting or arguments and authors

Identifies gaps in the literature that the thesis addresses. (10%)

The conceptual model clearly and convincingly explains what gap(s) in the

literature are addressed by the thesis

The conceptual model discusses the gaps in the research literature relevant to the thesis, but the explanation is not fully

Research gaps not explained or weakly

explained

clear and/or convincing.

Develops well-argued expectations for the empirical section. (10%)

The conceptual model contains clear and well-argued expectations, which may be in the form of hypotheses and / or research

questions.

The conceptual model contains expectations, but the argumentation is not

very convincing / contains gaps.

The conceptual model does not contain any expectations.

Research Design

Explains and justifies an appropriate method. (5%)

The student chooses, explains and clearly justifies an appropriate method to tackle the

research question

The student chooses a method, but it lacks proper justification and is only

partially relevant / or not fully explained

No or irrelevant methods – no or weak

explanation/justification

Explains and justifies sampling/source selection. (5%)

The population to be investigated, as well as the selection of sources (and if needed,

the sampling of sources), is explained clearly and convincingly.

The methods section discusses the population and sample in a basic way.

Several inconsistencies and / or unclear aspects are present.

The population / sample is not, or insufficiently

explained.

Explains and justifies operationalization of concepts. (5%)

The methods section clearly and convincingly explains how concepts were

operationalized.

The methods section discusses how concepts were operationalized but does not provide (convincing) reasons for the

choices made.

Operationalization is missing, or it is unclear how

key concepts were measured.

Methodological choices are linked to, and consistent with, conceptual model. (5%)

The key methodological decisions are in line with the overall RQ and conceptual

model.

The design is linked to the conceptual model, but there are some inconsistencies

between the conceptual model and the methodological choices.

The link between methods and conceptual model is

unclear.

Research design contains fitting research instrument (10%)

The research instrument (codebook, interview guide, survey questionnaire,

stimuli) is well considered, and consistent with the methods & conceptual model.

The research instrument contains the most important concepts and decisions to be made but is incomplete and / or is not

well considered.

No, or extremely basic research instrument.

Structure / Language

Correct use of language (4%) Correct use of language - correct spelling,

grammar, and English expression Use of language with occasional flaws in

spelling, grammar and expression Very flawed use of

language. Many spelling and grammar mistakes

Correct citations and references (4%)

Correct and consistent use of citation method and correct bibliography

Occasional mistakes in citation method and bibliography

Recurring mistakes in citation and bibliography

Thesis is structured in a logical and coherent way. (4%)

The paper is structured in a coherent and logical way, supporting the clarity of the

argument and analysis

The structure is generally logical and coherent, but at places unclear – the sub-

sections could be better organized

No or very unclear/incoherent

structure

Coherent line of argumentation. (3%)

A coherent line of argumentation running through the entire paper. Inconsistencies

between sections are (almost) absent.

Basic argumentation line is clear, but not always clear or coherent. Some

inconsistencies between sections.

Unclear / absent line of argumentation, with major

inconsistencies.

Vesalius College Attendance Policy As the College is committed to providing students with high-quality classes and ample opportunity for teacher-student interaction, it is imperative that students regularly attend class. As such, Vesalius College has a strict attendance policy. Participation in class meetings is mandatory, except in case of a medical emergency (e.g. sickness). Students will need to provide evidence for missing class (doctor’s note). If evidence is provided, the missed class is considered as an excused class. If no evidence is provided immediately before or after the class, the missed class is counted as an absence. For students that are absent for 2 sessions, the advisor of the student will be alerted. Participation implies that students are on time: as a general rule, the College advises that students should be punctual in this regard, but it is up to the professor to decide whether to count late arrivals as absences, or not. Additional Course Policies

Because all deadlines are communicated to students beforehand, and because this is a 300 level course, it is students’ responsibility to make sure they are able to finish the assignments on time. Therefore, assignments that are not handed in on time are subject to the following penalties. These penalties are deducted after calculating the overall grade of the assignment.

- 1 day late (0-24 hours): 10% reduction of original grade;

- 2 days late (24-48 hours): 20% reduction of original grade;

- 3 days late (48-72 hours): 30% reduction of original grade;

- 4 days late (72-96 hours): 40% reduction of original grade;

- 5 days late (96-120 hours): 50% reduction of original grade.

- After five days, the assignment is no longer accepted, resulting in an automatic grade of F.

Academic Honesty Statement

Academic dishonesty is NOT tolerated in this course.

Academic honesty is not only an ethical issue but also the foundation of scholarship. Cheating and plagiarism are therefore serious breaches of academic integrity.

Following the College policy, cheating and plagiarism cases will be communicated in writing to the Associate Dean and submitted to the Student Conduct Committee for disciplinary action.

If you refer to someone else’s work, appropriate references and citations must be provided. Grammar, spelling and punctuation count, so use the tools necessary to correct before handing in assignments.

Please consult the Section “Avoiding Plagiarism” in the College Catalogue for further guidance.

Turnitin All written assignments that graded and count for more than 10% towards the final course grade need to be submitted via the anti-plagiarism software Turnitin. You will receive from your professor a unique password and access code for your Class.

Course Schedule (Overview)

Week 1 Introduction to the BA Thesis in Business Studies The first week provides students with an overview of the BA Thesis process (covering both BUS395G and BUS396G). On the one hand, it outlines the overall buildup of the thesis, discusses the syllabus. On the other hand, students get started developing their own research question for the extended thesis proposal. Students should develop a very broad research question by the end of the session. Required readings & assignments

- Chapter 1 and 2 in Sekaran, U. (2016). Research Methods in Business: A Skill Building Approach. Wiley. Seventh Edition.

- Bem, D. J. (2004). Writing the Empirical Journal Article. In J. M. Darley, M. P. Zanna, & Roediger, H.L. III (Eds.), The Compleat Academic: A Career Guide (pp. 171–201). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Revision questions:

- What are the characteristics of a good research question? - What is the idea behind the ‘hourglass figure’ as it relates to an

empirical article – and your thesis by extension?

Week 2 Conceptual Models and Refining the Research Question. This week, students proceed finetuning their research questions based on the initial draft of week 1. To achieve this, they read, and report texts related to the topic they seek to study. In class, we discuss what good introductions look like, and cover conceptual models. Required readings & assignments:

- Chapter 4 and 6 in Sekaran, U. (2016). Research Methods in Business: A Skill Building Approach. Wiley. Seventh Edition.

- Baliga, S. and Ely, J.C. (2016). Torture and the commitment problem, Review of Economic Studies, 83(3), pp. 1406-1439.

- Van Kerckhoven, S. (2015). The selection of foreign trade barriers for WTO litigation, MSI Research Reports, 1517.

- In addition, look up a minimum of three texts on Web of Science, related to your research question. Read all three texts. Submit a brief summary of each text (half a page / text), and how it relates to your RQ, to the course lecturer before Monday’s class.

- [In class exercise] Peer review of research questions. Recommended readings:

- Thomson, W. (1999). The Young Person’s Guide to Writing Economic Theory, Journal of Economic Literature, 37(1), pp. 157-183.

- Kramarz, F. (2006). How to do empirical economics, Investigagiones Economicas, 30(2), pp. 179-206.

Revision Questions: - What is a conceptual model? - Conceptual models contain two types of expectations: hypotheses

and research questions. What is the difference between the two? - In the text of Van Kerckhoven, what is the dependent variable? What

are the independent variable(s)? - In the text of Baliga and Ely, what are the main assumptions made?

Week 3 Research gaps and practical research skills Week 3 covers the important notion of research gaps: in a thesis, or any piece of academic work for that matter, we add to the existing body of literature. In other words, we fill a gap in the existing research literature. As such, it is important to clarify the research gap in the introduction of your extended thesis proposal. Moreover, we discuss and refresh two critical research skills:

- How to find literature; - How to reference literature.

Required readings & assignments:

- Submit draft introduction (RQ + scientific/social relevance) and list of at least 5 studies to be used in conceptual model before 23:59 on Friday of week 3.

- At this point in the course, you should have a clear idea of the subfield of economics/business you will be tackling in your extended thesis proposal. As such, nothing is stopping you from looking up additional literature to flesh out a) your conceptual model b) the research gap your thesis proposal aims to fill.

Week 4 Feedback sessions This week, instead of collective class sessions, students meet individually with the course instructor to receive feedback on their draft introduction and discuss difficulties with the development of their conceptual model.

Week 5 Theoretical approaches to Business and Economics Research This class is dedicated to a deeper understanding of economic theoretical research methods and how these can be applied to addressing questions in economics and business. Required readings

- Chapter 11 and 12 of Kreps, D.M. (1990). A course in Microeconomic Theory. Princeton University Press

Week 6 Empirical Approaches to Business and Economics Research This class covers some of the often used tools in econometrics research, and how these can be applied to questions in economics and business. Required readings

- Chapter 8, 10 and 12 in Sekaran, U. (2016). Research Methods in Business: A Skill Building Approach. Wiley. Seventh Edition.

Submit Part 1 Extended Thesis Proposal before 23:59 on Friday of

Week 6.

Week 7 Mid-term Week

Mid-Term Exams – No Class No Mid-Term Exam for this Course

Week 8 Methods recap (1) While students revise Part 1 of the Extended Thesis proposal based on the feedback provided, weeks 8 and 9 serve to (briefly!) refresh key methods of data collection, and the types of RQs they are best fit to investigate.

- Quantitative / Qualitative Content Analysis - Experiments - Surveys - Interviews / Focus Groups

Feedback on Part 1 Research Design is provided before 23:59 on Monday of Week 8.

Week 9 Methods recap (2) While students revise Part 1 of the Extended Thesis proposal based on the feedback provided, weeks 8 and 9 serve to (briefly!) refresh key methods of data collection, and the types of RQs they are best fit to investigate.

- Sampling - How to operationalize key concepts

o Variables, scales, experimental conditions; o Based on prior research / Novel measurements.

- Structuring & Writing Methods Section for the ETP

Week 10

Working on Research Design No class. Instead, the course lecturer meets individually with students to discuss the research design, and (if needed) part 1 of the extended thesis proposal. Submit Revised Part 1 ETP before 23:59 on Monday of Week 10.

Week 11 Working on Research Design No class. Students work individually on their research design. Feedback on Revised Part 1 is provided before 23:59 on Friday of Week 11.

Week 12 Finalizing Extended Thesis Proposal No class. Students work individually on finalizing their extended thesis proposal.

Submit Draft Extended Thesis Proposal before 23:59 on Friday of Week 12.

Week 13 Finalizing Extended Thesis Proposal No class. Students receive feedback on the draft ETP and revise it accordingly. Feedback on Draft Extended Thesis Proposal is provided before 23:59 on Thursday of Week 13.

Week 14 Finalizing Extended Thesis Proposal A final set of individual feedback sessions is organized based on a need basis. Students finalize the ETP.

Submit Final Extended Thesis Proposal before 23:59 on Friday of Week 14.

Week 15 Final Exams – No Exam For This Course