This module is designed to introduce international business students to principal research methods applied to International Business (IB). It begins by discussing the evolution of IB as a field and, the emerging questions for research. This discussion provides a basis for the choice of the dissertation topic and also leads to a better understanding of IB foundations as a field of research. The module aims to develop students’ research skills to facilitate the design of a feasible and consistent research proposal. This will be achieved by developing students’ skills to choose a compatible and feasible research methodology. In addition, this module introduces the fundamentals of quantitative and qualitative researches. The emphasis will be on encouraging and enabling students to develop their analytical and technical research skills, so that they are better able to undertake dissertation projects.

By the end of the module the student should be able to:

• demonstrate comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the different methodologies employed in International Business research;
• identify and critically analyse data collection methods for a given research area or research question;
• design and propose a viable research project;
• present research data in a systematic manner and structure a dissertation.