DSIM 755 Advanced Research Methods I
The philosophy that guided the development ofthis course is twofold. First, academic researchinvolves a process of activities rather than theapplication of isolated, unrelated concepts andideas. Candidates in this course learn about howto conduct a review of current literature andscholarly work in topics they are interested inpursuing. Working closely with faculty, studentslearn strategies to get to problems worthresearching (scope). The central premise of thecourse is training scholars to ask the rightquestions. Business research usually includes ahypothesis or question, hypothesis testing, datacollection or field work, analysis, andrecommendations or conclusions. Participantslearn the sequence and flow of researchactivities and its central role in scholarlyinquiry.Second, the business scholar today requires alarge toolbox or applications to gather evidenceand analyze information. No longer can we, asbusiness scholars, rely solely on surveys orsecondary data to make recommendations. Businessresearchers, whether conducting research orreading research to self-inform, need to identifythe key quantitative and qualitative drivers tobusiness in order to decide what analysis isappropriate. Scoping the problem is the firststep to making evidence-based decisions. Afundamental review of the most widely utilizedresearch models and customer relationship management tools will enable business decisionmakers with deeper understanding of how theresults of data inquiries impact business resultstoday.