The lectures start in Week 3 (October 1st). 

I assume  for most students this is the first semester of  their study programme. Everyone has at least a wide topic of their dissertation. Some have topics that lead directly to econometric projects, some have topics that lead to questions about behavior of people in business or other economics-relevant contexts. For some topics it may not be clear at present in which of these two directions they would lead. Since a dissertation is often a collection of studies it may just as well lead to both.

Since this course is about social-science research projects that ultimately have people - their behavior, emotions, words etc. - as the source of data and focus of interest I would like each student to browse through current journal articles in their area of interest and find an empirical study which could possibly be a model for a study you might do as a part of your dissertation. A study that makes you think "I would like to be able to do a study like this."

The purpose of this is to generate examples of studies you would like to be able to do. There is no commitment implied by your choice. I will not push you to plan to do such a study. 

Please, bring the study with you to the first lecture.

Also, this would be a good time to quickly browse through the textbooks for this course. I have not yet finally decided which to use and I would like to discuss it  during the first lecture. All of them are informally available online or in some or other edition in the MU libraries. Just see if you like the language and tone and to what extent is approaches the topic of research from your particular background.

Introduction - role and purpose of research in business and society, the scientific method, types of research, problem statement. Overview of the research process.

Reading: Sekaran & Bougie, 7th Ed. Chapters 1 and 2.

Reading: Sekaran & Bougie, 7th Ed. Chapters 3, 4 and 5. 

Research design is a plan for producing data that could, with proper analysis, provide answers to our research questions. Details of the design also provide information about the limitations of inference from the data. Chapter 6 presents a wide ranging overview of designs used in social-science research with their strengths and limitations. However, it must be noted that the descriptions do not go in any depth - they are sufficient for realising a particular design/strategy is suitable for one's current research question. For actual use, a researcher should refer to specific textbooks/monographs for each design. The only research design covered in more detail is the experimental design covered in chapter 10. 

Reading: Sekaran & Bougie, 7th Ed. Chapters 6 and 10. 

Reading: Sekaran & Bougie, 7th Ed. Chapters 7 and 9. 

Reading: Sekaran & Bougie, 7th Ed. Chapters 8, 11 and 12. 

Reading: Sekaran & Bougie, 7th Ed. Chapter 13. 

There will be no lecture for this topic. The introduction to quantitative data analysis is very much covered by the parallel econometrics course. Here, I will point out only a coupe of specifics that may present a problem to researchers working with people data.

1. Coding. There is a higher chance that you will actually have to produce your data matrix either by transcribing paper-and-pen questionnaires to a computer or by setting codes for responses in some online questionnaire administration system or observation system. Please take note of the conventions about coding invalid responses, non-responses. Also, please be aware of the number of errors that may arise in such procedures.

2. Important correction. Sekaran & Bougie write on p. 276 that inconsistent responses may be edited by the researcher. This is NOT acceptable. There are  several reasons why a respondent may perceive his/her responses as consistent with respect to their understanding of the questions. Inconsistencies may be coded as invalid data but not "corrected to be consistent".

Reading: Sekaran & Bougie, 7th Ed. Chapters 14 and 15. 

Reading: Sekaran & Bougie, 7th Ed. Chapter 16. 

Reading: Sekaran & Bougie, 7th Ed. Chapter 17.