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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5. September 23: Rigor – Relevance

Topics covered
♦ Is rigor and relevance in conflict?
♦ What is interesting research?

Required reading

Davis, M. S. 1971. That is interesting. Philosophy of Social Sciences,1: 309-344.

Baldridge, David C., Floyd, Steven W., & Markóczy, Lívia. 2004. Are managers from
Mars and academicians from Venus? Toward an understanding of the relationship
between academic quality and practical relevance. Strategic Management
Journal, 25, 11, 1063-1074.

Markóczy, Lívia, & Deeds, David. 2009. Theory building at the intersection: Recipe for
impact or road to nowhere? Journal of Management Studies. Forthcoming.

Dess, Gregory, & Markóczy, Lívia. 2008. Rather than searching for the silver bullet, use
rubber bullets: A view on the research-practice gap. Journal of Supply Chain
Management, 44, 2, 57-62.

6. September 30: Measurement, Validity, and Reliability

Topics covered
♦ How do we know that our measures of theoretical constructs are valid? (internal
validity, construct validity, external validity)
♦ How do we develop reliable measures? (reliability)

Required reading

Shadish, W. R., Cook, Thomas D., & Campbell, Donald T. 2002. Experimental and
Quasi-Experimental Design for Generalized Causal Interference. Houghton
Mifflin: Boston. Chapter 2-Chapter 3. Pp. 33-103.

Scandura, Terri A., & Williams, Ethlyn A. 2000. Research methodology in management:
Current practices, trends, and implications for future research. Academy of
Management Journal, 43, 6, 1248-1264.

7. October 7: Sample Selection Bias

Invited speaker: Seung Lee.

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Topic covered
♦ Sample selection bias
♦ The endogeneity problem and how to deal with it

Required readings

Shaver, M. 1998. Accounting for endogeneity when assessing strategy performance:

Does entry mode choice affect FDI survival? Management Science, 44: 571-585.

Hitt, M., Bierman, L., Uhlenbruck, K., & Shimizu, K. (2006). The importance of
resources in the internationalization of professional service firms: The good, the
bad, and the ugly. Academy of Management Journal, 49: 1137-1157.

Lee, S.-H. & Makhija, M. 2009. The effect of domestic uncertainty on the real options
value of international investments. Journal of International Business Studies. 40:
405-420.

Lee, S.-H., Oh, K., & Eden, L. 2009. Why do firms bribe? Insights from residual control
theory. Management International Review. Forthcoming (ask for a copy from the
instructor).

8. October 14: I Will be away for the SMS Conference

Work individually on your research proposal, including the research question, theoretical
framework and hypotheses.

9. October 21: Research Proposal Presentations

Written proposals are due. Plus, prepare for presenting your research proposal.

10. October 28: Varieties of Research Design I: Surveys.

Invited speaker: Matthew Wilson.

Topics covered
♦ What does it take to construct and conduct good surveys?
♦ What are structured interviews and how can I conduct them?
♦ What are the strengths and weaknesses of these research designs?

Required reading

Asher, Herbert. 2004. Polling and the public: What every citizen should know. CQ Press:
Washington, DC. Chapters 2-3.

Dillman, Don A. 1991. The design and administration of mail surveys. Annual Review
of Sociology, 17: 225-249.

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Brockner, Joel, Steven Grover, Thomas Reed, Rocki DeWitt, and Michael O’Malley.
1987. Survivors’ reactions to layoffs: We get by with a little help for our friends.
Administrative Science Quarterly, 32: 526-541.

11. November 4: Varieties of Research Design II: Qualitative Research

Invited speaker: Richard Scotch

Topics covered
♦ What is ethnography (participant observation, open-ended interviews)?
♦ What can we learn from ethnography that we can’t learn from other research
designs?
♦ How does research that is primarily inductive differ, in practice, from research
that is primarily deductive?
♦ How does the use of qualitative data differ from the use of quantitative data?
♦ What are the strengths and weaknesses of case studies?

Required reading

Morgan, Gareth, & Smircich, Linda. 1980. The case for qualitative research. Academy of
Management Review, 5, 4, 491-501.

Eisenhardt, Kathleen M. 1989. Building theories from case study research. Academy of
Management Review, 14, 4, 532-551.

Rynes, Sara L. 2007. Academy of management journal editor’s forum on rich research.
Academy of Management Journal, 50, 1, 13-13.

Eisenhardt, Kathleen M., & Graebner, Melissa E. 2007. Theory building from cases:
Opportunities and challenges. Academy of Management Journal, 50, 1, 25-32.

Recommended reading

Bielefeld, Wolfgang, Scotch, Richard K., & Thielemann, G.S. 1995. National mandates
and local nonprofits: Shaping a local delivery system of HIV/AIDS services.
Policy Studies Review 14, 1/2, 127-136. (Ask for copies from the instructor).

Scotch, Richard K., & Schriner, Key. 1997. Disability as human variation: Implications
for policy. Annals, AAPSS, 549, 148-159. (Ask for copies from the instructor).

12. November 11: Varieties of Research Design III: Computational Models

Invited speaker: Richard Harrison.

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Topic covered
♦ The usefulness of computational models in organization science
♦ The validity of computational models

Required reading

Burton, R. M., & Obel, B. 1995. The validity of computational models in organizations
science: From model realism to purpose of the model. Computational and
Mathematical Organization Theory, 1, 57-71.

Burton, R. M. 2004. Computational laboratories for organization science: Questions,

validity, and docking. Computational & Mathematical Organization Theory, 9,
91-108.

Lee, Jeho & Harrison, Richard J. 2001. Innovation and industry bifurcation. The
evolution of R&D strategy. Industrial and Corporate Change, 10, 1, 2001.

13. November 18: Conducting and Publishing Research

Invited speaker: Greg Dess.

Topics covered
♦ How can you maximize your chances to have your paper published in a top tier
journal?

Required reading

Daft, Richard L. 1985. Why I recommended that your manuscript be rejected and what
you can do about it. In Larry L. Cummings and Peter J. Frost, eds., Publishing in
the Organizational Sciences: 193-209. Homewood, IL: Irwin.

Kilduff, Martin 2006. Editor's comments: Publishing theory. Academy of Management

Review, 31, 2, 252-255.

Kilduff, Martin 2007. Editor’s comment. Academy of Management Review, 32, 1, 8-8.

Rynes, Sara L. 2006. Making the most of the review process: Lessons from award-
winning authors. Academy of Management Journal, 49, 2, 189-190.

Agarwal, Rajshree, Echambadi, Raj, & Franco, Sarkar, M. B. 2006. Reap rewards:
Maximizing benefits from reviewer comments. Academy of Management
Journal, 49, 2, 191-196.

Bem, Daryl J. 1995. Writing a review article for Psychological Bulletin. Psychological
Bulletin. 118, 2, 172-177.

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14. November 25: Varieties of Research Design IV: Laboratory Experiments

Invited speaker: Rachel Croson.

Topic covered
♦ What are the features of good laboratory experiments?
♦ What are the biggest problems with laboratory experiments? How do you solve
them?

Required reading

Croson, Rachel 2002. Why and how to experiment: Methodologies from experimental
economics. Working paper. (Ask for copies from the Instructor).

Croson, Rachel 2005. The method of experimental economics. International

Negotiation. 10, 131-148.

Croson, Rachel 2005. Theories of commitment, altruism and reciprocity: Evidence from
linear public good games. Economic Inquiry. 45, 2, 199-216.

15. December 2: Paper Presentations

Students should be prepared to critique each other’s papers and presentations.

16. December 10: Deadline for Submitting Revised Project Papers