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Level 7 Diploma in Business and Organisational Psychology

Philosophical Foundations and Methodological Approaches

BOP706 · Research Design in Business Psychology — Week 2 of 16

CourseBOP706
Week2 of 16
SemesterII
TutorOnline in the course chat

This week’s topics

Philosophical Foundations and Methodological Approaches

  1. Ontological and epistemological paradigms
  2. Positivist vs. interpretivist stances in business psychology
  3. Pragmatic and critical realist frameworks
  4. Justifying paradigm selection
  5. Philosophical Beliefs and Assumptions in Business and Management Research
  6. Research philosophies in Business And Management
  7. Research paradigms explained: positivism, interpretivism & critical realism

What you will be able to do

  • 1.3 Critically explore, select, and justify the research approaches
  • 2.1 Critically analyse the different theoretical approaches to your research problem.

Activity

Start with this week’s 3 videos, then: Seminar, guided reading and a short written task: critically explore, select, and justify the research approaches

Study materials

Videos

  • Philosophical Beliefs and Assumptions in Business and Management Research · YouTube · Mark Saunders on Research Methods · 11 min · for registered students
  • Research philosophies in Business And Management · YouTube · Mark Saunders on Research Methods · 17 min · for registered students
  • Research paradigms explained: positivism, interpretivism & critical realism · YouTube · Degree Doctor · 15 min · for registered students
  • Positivism vs Interpretivism | Research Philosophy Made Easy · YouTube · Dr Hayley Stainton | Tourism Teacher · 8 min · for registered students

Further resources

  • MIT OpenCourseWare 15.347 Doctoral Seminar in Research Methods I (Fall 2004) · Reading · MIT OpenCourseWare, course · for registered students
  • Principles of Sociological Inquiry, ch. 5: Research Design · PDF · Saylor Academy, textbook chapter; pp. 51–65 · for registered students
Materials marked “for registered students” open in the student portal, which is set up as soon as you receive final acceptance.
Week 1Week 3
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Course plan
  • Week 1: Problem Formulation in Organisational Psychology
  • Week 2: Philosophical Foundations and Methodological Approaches
  • Week 3: Theoretical Frameworks and Critical Literature Synthesis
  • Week 4: Formulating Research Aim, Objectives, and Inquiries
  • Week 5: Methodological Frameworks and Research Design
  • Week 6: Sampling Strategies and Organisational Access
  • Week 7: Data Collection Instruments
  • Midterm: Midterm evaluation
  • Week 9: Qualitative and Quantitative Data Analysis Techniques
  • Week 10: Research Ethics and Governance in Applied Settings
  • Week 11: Research Proposal Design and Project Scheduling
  • Week 12: Applying Research Design in Business Psychology in practice…
  • Week 13: Assignment workshop: research, planning and referencing
  • Week 14: Assignment workshop: drafting, feedback and improvement
  • Week 15: Review and coursework completion
  • Final: Final assessment and submission
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