Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Business

In this subject, students will understand and discuss philosophical underpinnings (examine ontological and epistemological issues) of discipline independent research, and then explore the foundations of research methods and techniques in applied research. This will allow students to demonstrate knowledge and application of the qualitative and quantitative methodologies underpinning research. Students will develop and extend the skills required for successful doctoral research, including the role of theory, research methodology and design, data gathering, choosing adequate statistical and non-statistical techniques, awareness of the use of research software, as well as ethical issues in applied research, and the influence of ethical considerations on research methods and methodology.

The subject is designed to develop the necessary and basic research skills students will need to conduct a thorough literature review, as well as provide insight into the management research process itself. Students will receive feedback on a literature review focused on the topic they plan to examine in their research. The Literature Review can be expected to form part of the first draft of the thesis. It is an evolving and substantial piece of work that will develop as the research focus and methodologies take shape. Further, students will be given training in web-based research techniques (e.g. general web searching, and specific training in using web-based social science indices).

The subject builds on previous introductory subjects to allow students to demonstrate advanced knowledge in both the application, analysis and reporting of qualitative research. The subject will introduce students to advanced qualitative methods as well as manual and computer aided forms of data reduction, coding and thematic analysis techniques. Students will develop and extend the analytical skills required for application of advanced qualitative methods to the analysis, interpretation and reporting of qualitative research data.

This subject introduces students to the analysis of quantitative data using advanced research methods. This will allow students to demonstrate knowledge in applying appropriate data analyzing techniques. This subject will introduce students to quantitative techniques such as multiple regression models, logistic regression models, discriminant analysis, factor analysis as well as structural equation modeling. Students will develop and extend analytical skills required for the application of those techniques in their research and interpretation of quantitative findings.

This subject is designed to support the process of developing a Research Proposal for a Higher Degree Research (HDR) project. It provides an introduction to discipline-independent research skills needed by every higher degree research student to develop an effective HDR research proposal, including but not limited to: an overview of different research paradigms; critical elements of the research process; the critical, methodological, and substantive aspects of research; literature searching, review and critique; bibliographical organisation; methods for analysing, critiquing, and formulating arguments; defining research gaps, formulating and justifying research questions, building a theoretical framework; presenting the contribution and novelty of their research proposal; as well as writing and structuring dissertations. In a series of workshops, students will learn approaches to critiquing academic literature and to peer-review other proposals. Students will be closely and continuously working with their individual supervisory teams in order to develop their own Research Proposals, and will learn the value of communicating research results by presenting these for lecturer and student review.

The aim of this subject is to enable students to disseminate their research in multiple media including; conference presentations, refereed journal publication, business literature and social media, and also to be cognizant of issues of research impact and the role of research in the business and broader community.