5404647: Research Design and Management

Description

This module is a requisite cross-faculty course in the preparation phase of the doctoral programme Business Economics. It addresses fundamental aspects of research design and management with a focus on the specific disciplines, styles of inquiry, and learning cultures at the University of Liechtenstein.

Research design can be broadly conceived of as the high-level plan to conducting research projects in the service of answering research questions. A research design links the key parts of a research endeavour to form a coherent scheme, under consideration of ontological, epistemological, and methodological choices. Key elements include the problematization, research question, relevant theoretical lenses and conceptual frame-works, specific strategies of inquiry, and measures to ensure key criteria including validity and reliability.

Research management skills address the researcher's ability to manage projects, work autonomously, build an international research network, think analytically, and be creative, inquisitive, and original. Through our approach towards innovative doctoral education, we contribute to embracing some key aspirations of the League of European Research Universities (LERU).

• Detailed module description with schedule

Lecture Goals

The course aims to develop key skills required for conducting scientific research in Business Economics. At this, we explicitly aim to expose PhD students to a broad range of methodological and theoretical approaches, always under consideration of the respective implications for research design. Grounded in the understanding that research designs should be in response to relevant research questions, we aim to equip our students with the skills that qualify them as competent researchers beyond the design and execution of their particular dissertations.

By developing skills in research design and research management, as well as by promoting an awareness of the variety of epistemological and methodological approaches, this module provides an understanding of the multiple logics and procedures involved in the discovery and formation of knowledge. Participants will learn to appreciate the structure and performance of successful research endeavours and will acquire conceptual and technical skills needed for designing their own research approaches in light of the particular styles and research cultures of their respective scientific communities and discourses.

Learning Outcomes

After completing the module, students will be able to

• assess the nature and quality of a research design;
• develop research designs, including problematization, research questions, philosophical assumptions, general strategies of inquiry, and specific methods for collecting and analyzing data;
• manage research projects under consideration of time, resources, and quality management;
• converse reflectively with the academic research community of their respective fields;
• position their work in the context of their research community as well as with regards to specific discourses in that community;
• apply for research funding; and
• appreciate the range of research styles and cultures across the University of Liechtenstein and beyond.

Lectures Method

Interactive, seminar style presentations and discussions

Admission Requirements

none

Literature

Literature recommendations for the submodules will be announced in the detailed module description.