Bellevue University

MGTC 303

Introduction to Research

 

Prerequisites:  Acceptance in the Management accelerated degree program.

 

Credit:  3 Credit Hours

 

Catalog Description:  The ability to research, synthesize and write clearly is an essential management task.  The purpose of this course is to enable students to select a topic for a professional project, do scholarly research and write a paper.  This represents a capstone to all the coursework in the Management major.  Students learn how to conduct both online- and library-based research and to organize, develop, and edit a proposal to complete the professional project during the program.

 

Mission:  The mission of the accelerated major in Management is to provide the CPS student with relevant, contemporary management theory in a practical, real-world framework.  In this way, students can apply what they learn in their regular workday activities.  Most of our students are content experts in their chosen business function.  However, because their academic preparation has been interrupted by personal and/or career commitments, they have seldom been exposed to the fundamentals of management.  Although many are promoted into managerial positions, (or aspire to be), they are often left with only in-house or external seminars as the basis for learning management science.  The student in the accelerated Management major develops relevant, applicable skills within a solid theoretical framework of Management Science.

 

Purpose:  In this course students learn how to conduct both on-line and library-based research.  They learn how to organize, develop and edit a proposal, and to complete the thesis project during the program.

 

Objectives:  Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

1.       Choose a topic for the proposal, and ultimately for the thesis.

2.       Conduct library research; research on-line and in the field so that the thesis contains all information appropriate to the topic.

3.       Use research tools for the business student including major data bases and sources.

4.       Recognize and use the American Psychological Association style and format for theses.

5.       Produce a completed thesis of at least 20-25 pages by the end of the program.

 

Course Outline:

Week 1:

Bibliographic Instruction

 

Week 2:

APA Style Guidelines

 

Week 3:

Integrating Sources into a document

 

 

 

Week 4:

Group Critique of Drafts

 

General Assignments and Evaluation of Student Work:  Begin developing source materials on your Case Company.  The company must be publicly held, that is, it must trade stock.  You must have ten sources identified by the end of this module.  Group Critique of draft Introductions.  Begin working on your Introduction to your Case Study.  It should be 3-5 pages long, and must do three things:

1.      Follow APA guidelines

2.      Integrate materials used in your search.

3.      Case Study Introduction with Reference page(s) are due at the end of the class.

 

Course/Program Assessment:  There are no tests.  Grades are based on quality of written assignments, along with their thoroughness and timeliness.

 

 

Signatures:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Resources

 

 

Required Texts and/or Materials:

Rauchut, Dr. Ed, (2003), Don't Worry It's Not as Bad as You Think (3d Edition), Harper Business.