1. Kwame Nkrumah University of
Science & Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
Instructor: Dominic Essuman (PhD)
Dept. Supply Chain & Information Systems
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology, Kumasi
@2021
ISD 353: Business Research Methods
Class: SCM, BIT, Marketing, IB & Hospitality
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This course seeks to help students develop knowledge and skills
necessary for conducting, reporting, and disseminating basic research
useful for improving management practice
Overall Course Objective
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Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
1. explain the nature, role, and process of business research
2. generate relevant research problems/questions and translate them
into research proposal
3. search and review literature, cite and reference appropriately, and
manage a database of literature
4. develop conceptual frameworks & hypotheses for at least bivariate
relationships between variables
5. choose and apply appropriate research philosophies and
methodologies to quantitative, qualitative, and mixed research
6. derive basic, useful meanings from quantitative and qualitative data
and present relevant discussions
7. develop and disseminate a piece of empirical research (quantitative,
or qualitative, or mixed)
Learning Outcomes
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1. Overview of business research
2. Research problem/questions and proposal development
3. Literature for academic research: role, sourcing, management,
review, and citation/referencing
4. Concepts, variables, theories, conceptual/theoretical models, and
hypotheses
5. Research philosophy and methodology: choices and justifications
6. Data types, sources, and collection, and measurement
7. Data analysis, results presentation, and discussions
8. Research dissemination
9. Ethical issues in research
Course Outline
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Core textbook:
• Bell, E., Bryman, A. &
Harley, B. (2019).
Business Research
Methods (5 ed)
Available for purchase
here:
https://www.amazon.co
m/BUSINESS-
RESEARCH-
METHODS-
5E/dp/0198809875
Course Materials
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Alt. textbook:
• Saunders, M.N.K, Lewis,
P., Thornhill, A (2019).
Research Methods For
Business Students (8
ed), Pearson, Harlow
• Available for purchase
here:
https://www.amazon.com
/dp/1292208783?tag=wo
rldcat-
20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&
psc=1
Course Materials
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Course Assessment
Category Maximum marks (%)
1. Continuous assessment
a) Group assignment 1: literature review report 5
b) Group assignment 2: research project report &
presentation
10
c) Student personal notes based on reading assignments 5
d) Class attendance & active participation in class activities 5
d) Mid-semester examination 5 30
2. End-of-semester examination 70
TOTAL 100
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• Lectures
• Practical sessions (literature search, management, & review and data
analysis)
• Class discussions and evaluations
• Individual reading assignments and student-lecturer evaluation
• Group assignment/project
• Students will do Assignment 2 and reviewed by instructor as the
course progresses
• Presentation by students (Assignment 2), after end-of-semester exams
• End-of-semester exams cover all lectures
Platforms: Face-to-face & online modes
Mode of Delivery and Assessment
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• Curiosity, openness, readiness to question established
knowledge
• Strong collaborative and participative skills
• Strong commitment to reading and writing
• Some analytical/critical thinking skills
• Some computer/digital literacy
• Basic knowledge of statistics
• Some presentation skills
Requirements for the Course
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• Quantitative data analysis: IBM SPSS
• Qualitative data analysis: Nvivo
• Mendeley
These apps should be installed on your laptops before
you attend the practical sessions
Likely Software Packages to be used
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• It’s compulsory for students to answer questions in class
• Students are encouraged to ask relevant questions and contribute to class
discussions
• Class attendance is compulsory. Written permission for absence should be sent
to course instructor via email at least 1 hour before start of lectures
• Students MUST be seated and ready for lectures before scheduled lecture time
• Only instructor-permitted group conversations would be allowed in class
• Mobile devices can ONLY be used in class for productive purposes. Phones
MUST be on vibration or silence
• Each student MUST actively contribute to group work. Member contribution
statement MUST be attached to all group reports/assignments
• AVOID all forms of plagiarism. Read further here:
https://www.ox.ac.uk/students/academic/guidance/skills/plagiarism?wssl=1
• All assignments/reports MUST be submitted before deadlines
• Students MUST read all reading materials from the instructor
Course Regulations
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• Use the suggested literature review sheet (here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kUJY2O9gxOfDPU4Z1YUs10PLE6LLmBjc/view?usp=sharing ) to review the
following articles:
• Amankwah-Amoah, J., Debrah, Y. A., & Nuertey, D. (2018). Institutional legitimacy, cross-border trade
and institutional voids: Insights from the cocoa industry in Ghana. Journal of Rural Studies, 58, 136-
145.
• Nwoba, A. C., Boso, N., & Robson, M. J. (2020). Corporate sustainability strategies in institutional
adversity: Antecedent, outcome, and contingency effects. Business Strategy and the Environment.
DOI: 10.1002/bse.2654
• Buyl, T., Boone, C., & Wade, J. B. (2019). CEO narcissism, risk-taking, and resilience: An empirical
analysis in US commercial banks. Journal of Management, 45(4), 1372-1400.
• Pham, N. T., Tučková, Z., & Jabbour, C. J. C. (2019). Greening the hospitality industry: How do green
human resource management practices influence organizational citizenship behavior in hotels? A
mixed-methods study. Tourism Management, 72, 386-399.
• Summarize each article (in about 100 to 150 words) by answering the following questions:
• What is the study about?
• Why did the author(s) conduct the study?
• What methodology was used in the study?
• What is the study’s key findings?
Assignment should be sent to dominic.essuman@knust.edu.gh before March 10, 2021.
Assignment 1
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• Formulate and empirically investigate any research problem in your field of study.
• The problem should be motivated using emerging issues that business enterprises
face, whether internally, in the supply or demand market, within the supply chain,
or in the PESTEL environment. Insights from practitioner journals and other
authoritative but non-academic sources can be used to make a business case for
the proposed problem.
• Extant, recent academic literature should be used to show that the proposed
research problem exists and that addressing it helps advance exiting knowledge in
a unique and important way.
• Follow the “research report guidelines” (here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zaK44f5twIsYpgak0-
7beJoNnlGiL3IV/view?usp=sharing) to develop the proposed research.
Group Assignment 2 (1/2)
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Additional guidelines:
• Group size: between 3 and 4
• Formatting:
• Page margins: Normal, 1 inch all round
• Line spacing: 2
• Main text should be left justified
• All paragraphs after the first paragraph under each section should be indented
• Font type: Times New Roman
• Font size: 12
• Article length: 12 to 16 pages (excluding front matter, references, and appendix)
• Report should be submitted via Turnitin account by group leaders (link will be sent
in due course)
• Research data (in MS Excel format or SPSS format) should be saved using a unique
group ID and sent to dominic.essuman@knust.edu.gh
• The report and data should be submitted before April 10, 2021.
Group Assignment 2 (2/2)
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Students are supposed to develop brief notes from their readings assigned to them
during each lecture.
A note from each reading should not be more than 200 words.
Each student is expected to share her/his note from each reading with a colleague for
review comments.
All notes (combined) should be sent to dominic.essuman@knust.edu.gh latest by April
10, 2021 for assessment.
Reading assignment
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Dominic Essuman
• Holds BSc., MBA, Ph.D. in Logistics and Supply Chain
Management, KNUST
• Lecturer, Dept of Supply Chain & Info. Systems, KNUST
• Research Associate, Gordon Institute of Business Science
(GIBS), University of Pretoria, South Africa
• Currently interested in resilience, sustainability, & operations
strategy research
• Loves research, boxing, and music production
Know Your Instructor
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Instructor
• Email (preferred): dominic.essuman@knust.edu.gh
• Face-to-face: Room TF 08, Undergraduate Block, KSB;
• Arrange meetings in advance via email.
Teaching Assistant (Mr. Derrick K. Manu)
@ Dept of Supply Chain & Information Systems, KSB
Undergraduate Block
Support? Contact…
