Module Description
This module seeks to explore a range of theoretical, philosophical and methodological approaches to postgraduate research with a specific focus on the literature search and review phase of a research project. The module will look closely at the process of writing an academic literature review. Alongside this, students will develop skills in reviewing and critically analysing academic texts, developing insights on research methodology and epistemology that will be developed in later (Spring term) modules. Students will be guided in their study through intensive workshop sessions, but are also expected to undertake a substantial programme of self-directed study, including searching for, reading and reviewing relevant literature. This self-directed study forms an important part of the delivery of the module, and is built in to the schedule below. Assessment will be based on two written pieces of coursework completed at the end of the module. Full details of the assessment are given below, and additional guidance is available on the Moodle page.
Module Aims
This module aims to help students to be able to:
1. Critically evaluate academic texts and review bodies of literature.
2. Understand reflexivity and its relationship to the literature review process.
3. Comprehend different epistemological positions and their relationship to theory, research design and the selection of appropriate methods of data collection and analysis.
4. Appreciate the relationship between literature and research questions.
5. Develop the skills and understanding needed to be able to produce an academic literature review.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module, students should be able to demonstrate:
1. Skills in critically evaluating academic texts and bodies of literature.
2. The capacity to adopt a reflexive approach to research, being able to examine, and develop a critique of, different ways of engaging with and responding to literature.
3. An informed understanding of the relationship between academic literature, the formulation of research questions and the selection of appropriate methods of data collection and analysis.
4. An informed understanding of the relationship between alternative
epistemological positions and research design.
5. The capacity to produce an academic literature review in a chosen area of study.
Skills for academic and professional life (transferable skills)
In addition to the above Learning Outcomes, this module will also contribute to students' development of the following employability skills:
* Written communication
* Critical analysis
* Management and organization of resources
* Oral communication and discussion
* Research skills
* Teamwork and collaboration
* Digital and technical fluency
* Innovation and curiosity
- Module Supervisor: Louise Nash
Module Aims
This is a 10 week module and these aims and outcomes apply to the module as a whole.
* To provide a critical understanding of the methods and methodology of research in the fields of accounting
* To develop and demonstrate the requisite skills necessary to undertake research in the fields of accounting
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this module the students will have developed their: Knowledge and understanding & technical and critical understanding of:
* How Accounting research is grounded in the social sciences and relates to issues of policy and practice
* The heterogeneous nature of academic approaches deployed in Accounting research fields
* What methodology and method 'is' and how it is part of designing and doing research
* Understand the basic principles of research design and strategy
* How to identify, evaluate, and design relevant research question(s) within different research perspectives
* Understand and apply a range of research methods and tools
* How a well-structured line of argument is supported and developed
Skills & Abilities
* Develop and demonstrate the requisite skills necessary to undertake research in the fields of accounting to an appropriate standard
* Develop and demonstrate requisite skills to evaluate and select a research perspective, methodology and method for a specific research question
* Develop and demonstrate written and oral communication for analysing accounting research issues of all types covered
Skills for Your Professional Life (Transferable Skills)
The module aims to develop a variety of personal transferable skills by encouraging students to:
* Identify and distil key features and arguments covered in (research) texts, and presentations
* Communicate effectively orally and in writing, in presentations, essays and research reports
* Discriminate between relevant and irrelevant information for the purposes of doing and evaluating research lead projects
* Apply analytical skills and critical judgment as required to handle a wide range of (research) problems
* Develop coherent and well-structured lines of argument supported by relevant analysis and concepts
* Develop the ethical awareness required in research and professional life
* Participate in group discussions
* Work under pressure and meet deadlines
- Module Supervisor: Shahzad Uddin
Module Aims
The aim of this module is to introduce graduate students in management and accounting to the ways in which the social scientific understanding or knowledge of anything is shaped by (often unrecognised) assumptions regarding:
i) the nature of reality (ontology)
ii) how we might claim knowledge of that reality (epistemology)
iii) the moral & political implications that might arise from such claims (ethics)
As such, it explores what has traditionally been known as the philosophy of (scientific) knowledge.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
* Offer a coherent account of competing philosophical approaches to accounting and management as both practice and as objects of research.
* Explain and evaluate how ontological and epistemological positions underpin different interpretations of social phenomena.
* Understand some of the implications of these philosophical positions for the formulation and investigation of research problems, questions, or hypotheses.
* Understand the philosophical rationale for selecting quantitative or qualitative research methods as part of a coherent research design.
Skills for Your Professional Life (Transferable Skills)
On successful completion of the module, students should have developed the following transferable skills:
* Critical thinking
* Analytical reasoning
* Rhetoric
- Module Supervisor: Philip Hancock
Module Aims
The main aims of the module are:
1. to enable students to acquire the skills and techniques necessary to understand and critically evaluate the research literature;
2. to enable students to develop and apply those skills and techniques when writing their dissertations over the Spring and Summer terms.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
1. to understand the OLS estimator and its limitations;
2. to undertake estimation and tests of hypotheses using financial data;
3. to use the EViews econometric package to obtain estimates and to be able to interpret the output from the package.
4. to understand the econometric content in applied finance journals.
Skills for Your Professional Life (Transferable Skills)
The course will deliver several skills that will be useful in your future professional life. These include:
* Written Communication (through coursework)
* Research Skills (a key objective in this module)
* Critical Thinking
* Digital and Technical Fluency (using econometric software)
* Data and Analytics
- Module Supervisor: Christos Argyropoulos
Module Aims
The aims of this module are:
1. To introduce students to a range of methods used to collect and
analyse qualitative data.
2. To equip students with the techniques, skills and confidence to
undertake qualitative organizational research.
3. To provide an in-depth, reflexive account of the ways in which
qualitative data is collected and analysed.
Intended Learning Outcomes
Students successfully completing this module should be able to:
1. Critically evaluate key techniques used in the collection and analysis
of qualitative data.
2. Demonstrate a considered understanding of advanced research
methods used in accounting and management research.
3. Undertake and reflect on a small-scale research project that
demonstrates a critical understanding of the empirical, analytical and ethical processes that are undertaken in organizational research.
- Module Supervisor: Melissa Tyler
Module Aims
These modules are designed to provide students with the necessary training to undertake masters level research in Management and Marketing. The module has two aspects. First, it focuses on the nature of research in the area, and the social sciences in general, examining the study skills necessary to manage and undertake a research project; and secondly, it provides students with opportunities to be familiar with the important empirical and theoretical research in Management and Marketing. Such skills are intended to provide a good foundation for successfully undertaking a dissertation project.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the modules, students will be able to:
1. Appreciate the ways in which business research is located in the broader corpus of the social sciences
2. Understand the significance of and the relationship between epistemological positions and related theory construction
3. Demonstrate a critical understanding of the principles and techniques of research method and design.
4. Identify, evaluate, and apply a range of research methods
5. Undertake a systematic analysis of quantitative and/or qualitative information and present the results in a clear and consistent format
Skills for Your Professional Life (Transferable Skills)
The module will also enable you to develop a range of transferable skills:
1. Develop written communication skills through writing and receiving feedback on module assignments.
2. Develop oral communication skills through giving a presentation on your proposed research project.
3. Practice research skills through collecting and analysing organisation-specific information.
4. Hone critical analytical thinking by evaluating different approaches to doing business and management research in your research proposal.
5. Develop IT literacy through electronically accessing module materials and completing and submitting assignments.
