SRM-MB16

SRM-MB16
MBA 2016-18: Term-II

COURSE NAME: SOCIAL RESEARCH METHODS (SRM)

Credits	03
Faculty Name	Professor Prahlad Mishra Email: pmishra@ximb.ac.in
Program	MBA – I
Term	Term – II

1. Course Description

The course provides an opportunity to the participants to expose themselves to various theoretical, methodological and empirical aspects of research in social sciences. A course like this draws its content from several disciplines. It describes various characteristics of social sciences and deals with various concepts, tools and techniques used in social research particularly empirical research. Moreover, the course helps in developing skills amongst the participants to identify research topics, formulate research proposal/design, and use suitable tools and techniques in social research. It focuses on developing skill to conduct independent research and enable the participants to appreciate articles published in research journals.

2. Student Learning Outcomes

The students will be able to

· Critically appreciate various characteristics of social sciences.
· Acquire skills to independently identify research problems/ research topics and formulate a scientific research design to conduct a research study.
· Expose themselves to various concepts, tools and techniques of social research.
· Identify statistical tools and understand the logic/rationale of using the tools to test the hypotheses in empirical studies.
· Acquire skill to present research findings in the form of a report.
· Use packages like Excel and SPSS etc for data analysis and to interpret the output/statistics related to the various statistical tools used in social research.

3. Required Text Books and Reading Material

There are a large number of books on Social Research Methods available in the XIMB Library. The following books may be referred to by the participants for the present course. Chapter reference will be given for different topics from these books. Moreover, there are a few volumes of study material (spiral bound) in the reference section of the Library which incorporates copies of relevant chapters from the following books.

1) Foundations of Behavioral Research by Kerlinger, F.N.
2) The Practice of Social Research by Babbie, E.R.
3) Business Research Methods by Mishra,P.
4) Business Research Methods by Cooper and Schindler
5) Business Research Methodology by Zikmund W.G.
6) Social Research Methods by Kothari,C.R.
7) Basic Econometrics by Gujarati,D.N.
8) Introduction to Econometrics by Dougherty,C.
9) Business Statistics by Black,K
10) Scientific Social Surveys and Research by Young,P.V.
11) Applying Regressions and Correlation By Miles J & Shevlin,M
12) Multivariate Data Analysis by Hair et al.
13) Analyzing Multivariate Data by Lattin ,J. et. al.

A text book will be given to the students which could be the base book. The students may refer to other books mentioned above.

4. Course Contents:

The course is visualized in three parts.

The first part relates to ‘Conceptualization’ with emphasis on some theoretical concepts like science and scientific approach to research, unique features of social sciences, types of research, measurement of variables etc. The students are required to relate these theoretical aspects to the second part, which is known as ‘operationalisation’.

The second part, ‘Operationalisation’

has been divided into two sub-parts

In the first part, research problem identification, research

design

instrument designing etc will be discussed. Application of a few univariate, bivariate and multivariate statistical tools and techniques used in social science research will be discussed in the second part. Emphasis will be given to the application, interpretation of the findings of the statistical tools and their rationale. The data analysis will be with the use of software packages like Excel and SPSS.

The third part constitutes a project with field study (group work) and writing a research report in which various tools will be used for data analysis. The participants, in a group, are required to identify a research topic relating to the society/economy and conduct a study on the selected topic. The group will collect secondary and primary data and use several tools to analyses those. They will take the help of the course instructor for identifying a research topic and formulating a questionnaire for primary data collection and will present the report in the assigned classes for discussion. After the presentation and feedback, a final report will be submitted by the groups towards the end of the term.

(The groups will be formed as per the advice of the instructor)

5. Tentative Session Plan *

Number of Sessions	Topics/Activities	Reading/case list etc. (Authors name has been given. Refer to the list for the names of the books)
· Conceptualization
01	Scientific approach to research and social scientific enquiry	Kelinger, F.N. , Babbie E.R. & Mishra, P.
02	Types of Research, concept, construct and variables	Mishra,P. Kerlinger,F.N., Kothari CR
01	Scale of measurement-Some basic concepts Reliability& Validity	Kerlinger, FN, Mishra P
· Operationalisation – I
01	Research Problem, Hypothesis & Research Design for Social Research	Babbie ER, Mishra P
01	Research Problem, Hypothesis & Research Design for Social Research	Babbie ER, Mishra P
01	Sampling Techniques and their uses in social research	CR Kothari, Mishra P
01	Types and sources of data & methods for collection of data.	Mishra P
01	Questionnaire Construction and operationalisation of variables	Babbie ER, Mishra P
· Operationalisation – II (Tools for Data Analysis)
01	Tabulation & diagrammatic representation of data and Univariate tools for data analysis	Mishra P
03	Explanation, Uses and Applications of Bivariate Tools (includes two variable regression)	Gujarati DN, Mishra P
06	Explanation and Application of Multivariate Techniques for Data Analysis. (The dependence and interdependence methods) a) Multiple Regression b) Exploratory Factor Analysis c) Cluster Analysis	Dougherty C; Gujarati D.N., Mishra P,Hair et.al ,
02	Report Writing & Presentation of Project Report	Babbie ER, Mishra P

* Presentation of exercises using tools for data analysis will be in the assigned classes mentioned under each tools for data analysis.
· The session plan is tentative. If necessary changes will be incorporated later.

5. Evaluation: Quizes (2) - 15%
Class exercises (4) - 20%
Project Report & Presentation - 25%

End-term Test - 40%

6. Academic Integrity: It is expected from all the students to maintain decorum and discipline in the class and in the examination hall. Any kind of academic dishonesty and indiscipline viz. exchange of remarks in the class; exchange of notes, gestures or glances at another student’s paper in the examination hall will lead to disciplinary action against the person involved in such dishonest activities. The volume of disciplinary action depends on the gravity of the offence.
Created By: Alora Kar on 09/15/2016 at 03:49 PM
Category: BM-I 2016-18 T-II Doctype: Document

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