Research Methods for Sustainable Enterprise Development 7.5 credits

The course will help students understand how to conduct, design, implement, analyze and interpret research with a scientific and systematic approach, considering inter-disciplinary approaches. The course helps students to comprehend the philosophical roots underpinning research, such as the epistemological basis for generating scientific knowledge and the demarcation between science and pseudoscience. Furthermore, the course allows students to discuss approaches for searching relevant literature to form a sound empirical and theoretical understanding of the phenomenon being investigated. The course covers aspects of crafting research reports, understanding the research process, advice on how to write a thesis, and how to begin problematizing and formulating a purpose for a research project. A number of research methodologies are introduced, which will help students determine an appropriate data collection and data analysis strategy. Included (among other topics) are sampling issues, case study research, surveys, interviews, and participatory observation. Finally, methods for analyzing and presenting data, such as multivariate analysis, thematic analysis and content analysis are presented. **Connection to Research and Practice**<br> Research methods cover both the theoretical and practical side of the topic, focusing on understanding and evaluating theoretical frameworks and their applications through empirical material. For instance, the course draws on multiple research focus areas at JIBS and provides students with an opportunity to develop theoretical models and empirically explore them through quantitative and qualitative methods. The course is also based on a research project where students collect primary data and present their findings and analysis in the final group seminar. Sustainability is an important research topic at MMTC and CeFEO. The course helps students to empirically explore a framework through scientific methods in the group project assignment.