Research seminar

MIB-I

Contact Information

Associate Professor Igor Baranov

e-mail: baranov@gsom.pu.ru

room: 227 (Arthur Schultz Building)

office hours: by appointment

What are the benefits of obtaining a master

degree?

Why do you try to obtain degree in

international business ?

Why do you try to obtain degree in GSOM?

How this seminar contributes

to your competitive advantage

How this seminar contributes

to your competitive advantage

Our goal is to develop a set of SKILLS that are needed for analytical

reasoning and writing as well doing research in management

By doing this we facilitate the process of master thesis writing

This seminar is NOT about master thesis only…

… we aim at developing your professional skills necessary for

academic research, business analytics, policy study, and other types

of intellectual output

The level of development of these skills is one of the key differentiators

of master level education compared to undergrads. So, after all, this

seminar is about your competitive advantage on the job market

Objectives

To help students

to generate and formulate the research topic

and research problem

to develop skills of doing literature review,

collecting and analyzing data, writing a report

To discuss the preliminary results

To monitor the progress in thesis writing

Organization (1)

30 hours each semester

in blocks of 4 hours

Fall semester

14.10, 28.10, 11.11, 18.11, 25.11, 09.12, 16.12

Organization

Fall semester 1 year

Research workshops

Faculty presentations

Presentation of report #1

Report #1 (max 2 pages): generating and

refining research idea and the preliminary

research topic formulation

Organization (2)

You have to choose your research topic by the end of this semester

Master program director will match you with your research advisor in

January-March

(If you study abroad in spring, meet your advisor BEFORE you leave

and discuss how you will work on your research proposal)

You CAN switch between different research topics (areas) until that and

all potential advisors will present in both sections

All advisors will be officially appointed in June for your second year of

study to guide your work on master thesis

Organization

Spring semester 1 year

Research workshops

Presentation of reports #2.1, 2.2, 2.3

Report 2.1 - research topic formulation, research

questions and objectives

Report 2.2 – research design and timescale

Report 2.3 - literature review and hypothesis

Grading

Pass/ Fail

but if you fail the seminar, you fail the program!

Fall semester

Participation in workshops (20%)

Requirements of handing in report in time (10%)

The quality of the report (40%)

The presentation of the report (30%)

How do you choose your

research advisor?

How and when will you define

your research problem?

Roles and responsibilities

Research advisor is an expert in a particular field

Approximately 25 GSOM faculty are available as

research advisors for the MIB program

Research seminar instructor will:

- teach / train general approach to doing and

presenting research

- monitor your progress and give a feedback

What Is a Master’s Thesis?

research study that is an original piece of

work by the graduate student

The thesis must be an original piece of work

because it represents the student’s research and

writing abilities

Components of a Master’s

Thesis Introduction and Problem Setting

introduces the topic of the thesis to the reader and establishes the statement of the problem and research questions

Review of the Literatureintroduces the research literature related to the topic and identifies the most relevant and significant research

Methods and Informationexplains the research methods and design that were used to conduct the study and describes the actual procedures of information processing

Resultsreports the results of the study and presents the findings from the data collection process

Discussiondiscusses the results in relation to the statement of the problem and the research questions and draws conclusions about the study’s findings

This structure is similar for different types

of research

Research questions affect your research

design, research methods, data, and

interpretion of the processed data

(results).

Topic 1

The nature of business and

management research

What is research?

Research is the search for or creation of valid

knowledge

Knowledge should be differentiated from facts:

Facts are just data

Knowledge is an expert’s best interpretation of the

facts

Facts are discovered, data are collected, knowledge is

created

What makes knowledge valid?

Knowledge is accessed on the basis of competing arguments.

Typical questions scholars ask when evaluate competing arguments:

What are the reasons behind the argument?

Is the logic flawed?

What are underlying assumptions (explicit and implicit)? Are they

flawed?

How critical are the assumptions? Would different assumptions lead

to different conclusions?

What is the empirical evidence? Does it support the conclusion?

In light of the reasons and evidenced provided, is the argument

persuasive? If so, the conclusion is valid.

S.Greenlaw, p. 4

“Dualistic” thinking

―Each question has one correct answer‖ (typical way of

thinking for freshmen class)

In fact, in management and in economics it’s not always

true

But this doesn’t imply that all points of view are correct or

equal!

―There is more than one correct answer to this question, but

there are also an infinite number of incorrect answers‖

Research distinguishes itself from

experience

reasoning

Knowledge and experience

Experience results in knowledge

gained through day -to-day living

BUT

Learning from experience tends to be

uncontrolled.

Conclusions are often not

exhaustively tested

Experience can be a starting point for research,

may provide a wealth of questions to be investigated

Reasoning

BUT

Reasoning is a method of coming to conclusions

by the use of logical argument

Basic forms of reasoning: deductive

inductive

inductive/deductive

Reasoning can operate in an abstract world, divorced from reality

Three characteristics of research

research is systematic and controlled

research is empirical and turns to experience and the world around us for validation

research aims to be self-correcting.

the process of research involves rigorously testing the results obtained, and methods and results are open to public scrutiny and criticism

Spectrum of approaches to

economic methodology

―Falsification‖ approach (M.Blaug, M.Friedman, etc.)

Researchers should be able to refute their hypothesizes

―Inductive reasoning‖ approach (D.Hausman, etc.)

In social sciences scholars are not able to conduct controlled

experiment to get reliable empirical evidence. They have to use

inductive reasoning to establish basic laws (principles) and then

deduce different managerial and economic implications

Economic rhetoric (D. McCloskey)

Economists rely mostly on literary forms of proof (e.g. introspection,

case studies, metaphor), rather than on scientific ones (such as

logic or empirical evidence)

Different types of theory

Normative

specify what, or how managers should do their work

Descriptive

try to describe what managers do in practic

Analytic

take a particular theoretical perspective which

emphasises some aspects of work

The nature of management

Views of

Management

Period of

Dominance

Key Features Type of theory

Classical 1910—1950 Functional

activities

Normative

Human relations 1940—1970 Motivating people and

managing change

Normative

Decision theory 1950—1970 Optimising decisions Analytic

Work activity 1970s What managers do Descriptive

Competencies 1980s Skills required for effective

performance

Normative

Critical 1990—present Social construction

and politics

Analytic

Learning 1990—present Managing knowledge

and learning

Analytic and

normative

EXERCISE

For each of the seven perspectives of

management summarize in one sentence the

way that research is most likely to be

conducted

Features that make management

research distinctive

the practice of management is largely eclectic

managers tend to be powerful and busy

people

managers are increasingly educated

there is often an expectation that research

will lead directly to action.

A central question is

whether management research should lead

to developments in academic theory or

whether it should lead to solutions of practical

problems

Forms of research

.

Pure research Applied research

Production of knowledge by

detached scientists

focusing on theoretical

questions and problems

Production of knowledge

through direct

engagement with social practice

and problems

1½ research

Forms of research

Pure research

is intended to lead to theoretical development, and there may, or may not, be any practical implications.

its results are openly disseminated through books, articles, conference papers or theses, addressed mainly at an academic audience

Applied research

is intended to lead to the solution of specific problems,and usually involves working with clients to identify the important problems and decide how best to tackle them

the results need to be reported to the client, who is likely to evaluate the quality of the research in terms of its usability.

Can be published in practitioner or professionaljournals

Plan your research process

How to do it wrong?

«I should write and submit the first (theoretical)

chapter by…,

Then I’ll write the second chapter….

The research wheel

The research is not linear but a recursive cycle of steps that are

repeated over time.

The research process

The supervisory support

process (1)

Getting started and finding a topic

Finding out what was already known about a topic through review of the literature andscanning the field

It essential for there to be a closesupervisory relationship. Students needsupport in searching the field andformalizing their perspectives,Supervisors can help shape the directionof the research by being on hand so thatstudents can test out their ideas.

The supervisor's role as not being quiteso intense, rather the supervisor shouldmove into a position of guidance andfacilitation.

The supervisory support

process (2)

Out in the field collecting data

Writing up

Preparing for the oral defense

The supervisory responsibility is being on tap, but not on top.

It is important for supervisors to reengage with the research project (to check the quality of the work, the writing style and to give feedback.

Students are often so close to their work that they don't recognize the contributions that they had made and they often need help to stand back and see what they have achieved in perspective