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 1 SYLLABUS (FALL 2009) BPS 7302 001 RESEARCH METHODS Class time: Wednesdays 13:00-15:45 Class room: Glass conference room SOM 4.418 Instructor: Dr. Lívia Markóczy Office: SOM 4.206 Phone: 972-883-4828 E-mail: livia.markoczy@utdallas.edu  Office hours: By appointment
Course pre-requisites
Being enrolled in the Ph.D. program.
Course Description
The aim of this course is to lay the foundations for good empirical research in the social sciences and to introduce students to the assumptions and logic underlying social research. Students are exposed to a variety of approaches to research design, develop their own research projects, and evaluate the products of empirical research.
Students learning objectives/outcomes
By the end of the course, you should be able to: a)
 
 plan a program of research, including the following steps:
 
framing the research question,
 
developing the research substantively and theoretically,
 
integrating what is already known (the extant literature) and developing new hypotheses,
 
designing a study to test these hypotheses, and
 
designing data collection methods and measures that accurately reflect the study design and the theory; and  b)
 
critique research done by others, covering all five points above.
Course Requirements
You are required to do all required readings, attend all classes, and participate actively in discussions. Over the course of the semester, you will develop a research question and design an empirical study to answer this research question.
Grading
Your grade for the course will be determined as follows: Research proposal: 70% Class participation: 30%
 
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Required textbook
 Kuhn, Thomas S. 1996.
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
, 3rd Edition (paperback). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN: 0-226-45808-3 In addition all the readings listed below are required readings unless specified otherwise.
COURSE OUTLINE 1.
 
August 26: Introduction to Social Science Research Topics covered
 
What are we doing this semester? What are the goals of this course?
 
What is scientific method and why do we need it?
Required reading
 Gilovich, Thomas. 1991.
 How we know what so isn’t. The fallibility of human reason in everyday life.
 The Free Press. New York. pp: 29-72. David Goodstein. How Science Works, http://methods.fullerton.edu/chapter1.html 
2.
 
September 2: Progress in Science Topics covered
 
How does science evolve?
 
Does organization science need to be more paradigmatic?
Required reading
 Kuhn, Thomas S. 1970.
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, 3rd Edition.
 Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Chapters 2-5 (pp. 10-51). Pfeffer, Jeffrey 1993. Barriers to the advance of organizational science: Paradigm development as a dependable variable.
 Academy of Management Review
, 18, 4, 599-621. Cannella, Albert A. Jr., & Paetzold, Ramona L. 1993. Pfeffer's barriers to the advance of organizational science: A rejoinder.
 Academy of Management Review
, 19, 2, 331-341. Miller, Chet C. 2006. Peer review in the organizational and management sciences: Prevalence and effects of reviewer hostility, bias, and dissensus.
 
 Academy of  Management Journal
,
 49, 3, 425-43.
 
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3.
 
September 9: Theory Topics covered
 
Why do we need a theory to guide our research?
 
What are the attributes of a good theory?
Required reading
Sutton, Robert I. & Staw, Barry M. 1995. What a theory is not.
 Administrative Science Quarterly
, 40, 3, 371-384. Weick, Karl E. 1995. What theory is not, theorizing is.
 Administrative Science Quarterly,
 40, 3, 385-390. DiMaggio, Paul J. 1995. Comments on "What theory is not".
 Administrative Science Quarterly
, 40, 3, 391-397. Whetten, David A. 1989. What constitutes a theoretical contribution?
 Academy of  Management Review
, 14, 4, 490- 496.
Recommended reading
Kuhn, Thomas S. 1970.
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, 3rd Edition
. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Chapters 6-13 (pp. 52-173).
4. September 16: Theory Testing Topics covered
 
How can we test for cause-and-effect relationships?
 
How can we evaluate our theories?
 
Can theories become self-fulfilling?
Required reading
Jonathan Baron: 2000.
Thinking and Deciding.
Third edition. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge. Chapter 7. pp: 149-171. Ferraro, Fabrizio, Pfeffer, Jeffrey, & Sutton, Robert I. 2005. Economics language and assumptions: How theories can become self-fulfilling.
 Academy of Management  Review
, 30, 1, 8-24. Bazerman, Max H., 2005. Conducting influential research: The need for prescriptive implications.
 Academy of Management Review
, 30, 1, 25-31. Ferraro, Fabrizio, Pfeffer 
,
Jeffrey, & Sutton, Robert I. 2005. Prescriptions are not enough.
 Academy
 
of Management 
 
 Review
, 30, 1, 32-35.

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