Research seminar MIB-I
Contact Information
Associate Professor Igor Baranov
e-mail: [email protected]
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
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%)
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).
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‖
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 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