Overview
This unit provides the essential skills and techniques for designing, implementing and evaluating research in business contexts. It provides an in-depth introduction to the critical thinking and planning required in the initial stages of a thesis or research project. You will undertake research problem definition, design a research project, development of a literature review, consider qualitative and quantitative methods, measurement concepts, qualitative and quantitative data analysis, reporting and presentation of results with the final outcome of the unit being the development of a research proposal. This unit is designed as the pre-requisite for the work you will undertake in your final year capstone unit Professional Project.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
There are no requisites for this unit.
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 3 - 2025
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Postgraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of 'pass' in order to pass the unit. If any 'pass/fail' tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully ('pass' grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the 'assessment task' section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback - Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from On-campus lecturers
Textbook uptake was very low, and subsequently some elements of basic in this unit were being missed
Substitution of required readings available on the Moodle site instead of textbooks is recommended. This has been instituted for the first time in T2 2025.
Feedback from As part of the CC74 Master of Management for Engineers (MME) Five-Year Course Review (FYCR) completed in T1 2025, the review panel recommended that all CC74 MME units be reviewed, including BUSN20016 Research in Business. The current UUP BUSN20016 was approved for T1 2016, and it is therefore due for a review and update. Thus, a UUP for BUSN20016 should be approved for delivery in T1 2026.
Review the unit and create an Update Unit Proposal (UUP) in due time for implementation in T1 2026.
The unit is to be reviewed from different perspectives, including but not limited to the impact of AI on content and assessment, Unit Overview, Unit Learning Outcomes (ULOs), and Graduate Attributes (GAs). Rationales for GAs must be included, as they are now mandatory. The review of the unit should also be conducted from the perspective of the courses for which the unit is delivered.
- formulate problems in business studies into a concise and precise research question;
- develop and employ ethical practices that consider social, cultural and legal responsibilities of researchers and the research process;
- critically evaluate published academic research, identify secondary data sources, and review extant literature, to develop a theoretical framework for a business problem or opportunity;
- choose and apply the appropriate research strategies (qualitative and/or quantitative) and techniques to best address the research problem;
- demonstrate the application of data analysis techniques and measurement concepts; and
- prepare and communicate a comprehensive research proposal.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 1 - Practical and Written Assessment - 20% | ||||||
| 2 - Practical and Written Assessment - 30% | ||||||
| 3 - Written Assessment - 50% | ||||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 1 - Knowledge | ||||||
| 2 - Communication | ||||||
| 3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills | ||||||
| 4 - Research | ||||||
| 5 - Self-management | ||||||
| 6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility | ||||||
| 7 - Leadership | ||||||
| 8 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | ||||||
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | |
| 1 - Practical and Written Assessment - 20% | ||||||||
| 2 - Practical and Written Assessment - 30% | ||||||||
| 3 - Written Assessment - 50% | ||||||||
Textbooks
There are no required textbooks.
Additional Textbook Information
Students will be given weekly readings, however students wishing further readings can draw on an introductory research methods textbook such as Research Methods for Business by Uma Sekaran and Roger Bougie (any edition).
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
- Microsoft Excel (or equivalent)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: American Psychological Association 7th Edition (APA 7th edition)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
r.klafke@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
- The nature and issues of business research.
- Why research matters, and its importance for your business career.
- Learning to read research outputs.
Chapter
The readings for this week are available to be found under Moodle Week 1 tile
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
- Business research process, design and ethics.
- Writing like a researcher.
- Thinking like a researcher.
- Coming up with ideas for research projects.
Chapter
The readings for this week are available to be found under Moodle Week 2 tile
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
- Types, sources and scale of data.
- Finding data.
- Understanding variables.
Chapter
The readings for this week are available to be found under Moodle Week 3 tile
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Data collection and sampling methods (primary data).
Chapter
The readings for this week are available to be found under Moodle Week 4 tile
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
- Quantitative data analysis.
- Some basic processes and approaches.
Chapter
The readings for this week are available to be found under Moodle Week 5 tile
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
- Hypothesis development and testing.
- "Good" questions versus "bad" questions.
Chapter
The readings for this week are available to be found under Moodle Week 6 tile
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
- Quantitative analysis
- Examining relationships between variables: correlation, regression and Chi square
- Multiple regression analysis
Chapter
The readings for this week are available to be found under Moodle Week 7 tile
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Qualitative data analysis: an introduction.
Chapter
The readings for this week are available to be found under Moodle Week 8 tile
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
- Advanced qualitative data analysis.
- Looking at examples of approaches.
Chapter
The readings for this week are available to be found under Moodle Week 9 tile
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
- Writing the proposal.
- Refining the problem statement and research scope, looking at limitations and delimitations.
- Understanding the weaknesses of your research project.
Chapter
The readings for this week are available to be found under Moodle Week 10 tile
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
- Draft research proposal: common mistakes and how to eliminate them.
- Academic research writing: dos and don'ts
Chapter
Additional resources are under Week 1-10 tiles
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
- Final research proposal: final checks.
- Do you have a future in research?
- Research careers, in business and beyond.
Chapter
Readings under the tile on industry and non-academic research jobs.
Additional resources are under Week 1-10 tiles
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Practical and Written Assessment
Students are to provide an outline of a research project that they intend to use as the basis for their final assessment task (Assessment 3). This assignment should not exceed 700 words excluding the cover page, table of contents and references. Students should familiarise themselves with the databases provided on the Moodle site, and begin to design a single project around one or a combination of these datasets.
Students need to present the following:
- Title and study area - no more than 25 words;
- Problem statement - students must present what they would like to investigate and why? Here, you need to critically evaluate and analyse the literature to support your problem statement.
- Research aim, objectives and scope of the study- students to identify the potential research aim and objectives that can address the problem that they have identified followed by scope and limitation of the study.
- Methodology, sources of secondary data and data analysis - students must provide a rationale for the type of methodology selected to address the research problem (quantitative, qualitative or mixed methods); and students must clearly identify which dataset or datasets they are choosing to conduct the research. Students must also discuss the methods and tools that will be used to analyse the collected data.
- References - We expect you to read and reflect on at least ten recent refereed journal articles closely related to your proposed research topic. The number of references is not of key importance however. Focus on the quality, and you should link all evidence or information that can help identify the problem of your research and the methods of data collection and analysis with appropriate in-text references that you have read. False referencing (i.e. referencing that is clearly not linked to the information presented) will lead to a reduction of marks and further analysis for evidence of academic misconduct.
This is an individual research task. As a Masters student, you are required to engage in research and demonstrate your understanding of the relevant body of work including recent developments in a discipline and/or area of professional practice. You are also required to demonstrate knowledge of research methods applicable to real-life business research. All students are required to present a three minute long presentation on their project topic and sources of secondary data by end of Week 4. You will be expected to show some degree of mastery of your topic and data set, to evidence that you have done this task on your own, and have absorbed the key elements.
This assessment requires students to adhere to the guidelines on the use of artificial intelligence tools as specified in the Artificial Intelligence Assessment Scale20 (Level 2 - AIAS). Any misuse or lack of disclosure regarding the use of AI tools will be considered a breach of academic integrity. You may use AI for planning, idea development and research. Your final submission should show how you have developed and refined these ideas. Remember, it is important that you learn more than just how to use AI: you need to be able to 'think on your feet', and that requires that YOU learn the core concepts and skills.
Week 4 Friday (5 Dec 2025) 11:45 pm AEST
Online submission, plus in-class presentation.
Week 6 Friday (19 Dec 2025)
Every effort will be made to return submissions that were made on time within a fortnight of the due date.
All of the assessment criteria outlined below are equally weighted for this assessment piece (i.e. 20% for each criterion).
Criteria Grade:
- A brief statement of the problem (4 marks);
- Research aim, objectives and scope of the study (4 marks);
- A brief methodology, clear identification of secondary data, data presentation and analysis approach (4 marks);
- Accurate referencing, use of correct English and logical sequencing (4 marks);
- Topic and Data Presentation (4 marks).
- formulate problems in business studies into a concise and precise research question;
- develop and employ ethical practices that consider social, cultural and legal responsibilities of researchers and the research process;
- critically evaluate published academic research, identify secondary data sources, and review extant literature, to develop a theoretical framework for a business problem or opportunity;
- Knowledge
- Communication
- Cognitive, technical and creative skills
- Research
- Self-management
- Ethical and Professional Responsibility
- Leadership
2 Practical and Written Assessment
This is an online and individual research exercise.
The online link will be available from 9am on Monday in Week 9 and closes at 5pm AEST on Friday of Week 9.
Once you open it, the link will remain open for 100 minutes.
You need to complete this task in one sitting. You cannot exit and re-enter the site.
There will be 30 multiple choice questions and one short essay question (300 words or less) with questions based on two sources: weekly readings on the Moodle site and content delivered during weekly lectures. Examples of the short essay question will be given during lectures.
Each correct answer to the multiple choice questions is worth 0.5 mark and 30 correct answers are worth 15 marks. The short essay question is also worth 15 marks.
This assessment requires students to adhere to the guidelines on the use of artificial intelligence tools as specified in the Artificial Intelligence Assessment Scale (Level 2 - AIAS). Any misuse or lack of disclosure regarding the use of AI tools will be considered a breach of academic integrity. You may use AI for planning, idea development and research. Your final submission should show how you have developed and refined these ideas. Remember, it is important that you learn more than just how to use AI: you need to be able to 'think on your feet', and that requires that YOU learn the core concepts and skills.
Week 9 Friday (23 Jan 2026) 11:45 pm AEST
Students need to complete this assessment during week 9
Week 11 Friday (6 Feb 2026)
Results will be released on Moodle
Multiple choice questions are automatically graded. Each correct answer is worth 0.5 mark.
The following criteria apply to the short essay component, which is worth 50% of the total marks of this assessment (i.e. 15 marks in total).
- Appropriate length (2 marks): 300 words or less. Marks will be deducted for a response that is more than 50 words overlength.
- Correctness (5 marks): The material included is factually correct and appropriate in answering the question.
- Comprehensiveness (5 marks): The response fully answers the question.
- Clarity (3 marks): The answer is clearly written and easy to understand.
- choose and apply the appropriate research strategies (qualitative and/or quantitative) and techniques to best address the research problem;
- demonstrate the application of data analysis techniques and measurement concepts; and
- Knowledge
- Cognitive, technical and creative skills
- Research
- Self-management
- Ethical and Professional Responsibility
3 Written Assessment
Assessment task three requires the preparation of a full project proposal that should not exceed 3000 words excluding the cover page, table of contents (if included) and reference list.
Students need to address the following:
- Refined Problem Statement, Aim, Objectives and Scope - students need to provide a detailed statement of the problem you would like to investigate as well as aim and objectives of the project within the scope of the study.
- Research Project Justification - students need to explain why your chosen project is important both theoretically and practically.
- The Conceptual Framework - students need to provide a review of literature relevant to the research project that leads to the development of a conceptual framework to investigate the research problem.
- Methodology - based on the conceptual framework, research aim and research objectives, students need to provide a detailed description of the data collection methods, tools and data sources that will be used to analyse the data.
This is an individual research task. Students are required to demonstrate their understanding of the relevant body of work in a real-life business research context. We expect students to read and reflect on, and use in-text at least twenty recent refereed journal articles on their topics, supported by any other evidence or information that can help refine the problem of your research, formulate a conceptual framework and develop the methods for data collection and analyses. The key, as with Assessment 1, is not the NUMBER of journal articles, but that they are appropriate, good quality, and that each of the key arguments presented in your submission is linked to evidence appropriately drawn from the journal articles you have read. Understanding how to read and reference research articles is part of this course.
You should link all evidence or information that can help identify the problem of your research and the methods of data collection and analysis with appropriate in-text references that you have read. False referencing (i.e. referencing that is clearly not linked to the information presented) will lead to a reduction of marks and further analysis for evidence of academic misconduct. Please read the guidelines on the use of Artificial Intelligence (e.g. Chat GPT) provided on the unit's Moodle site.
This assessment requires students to adhere to the guidelines on the use of artificial intelligence tools as specified in the Artificial Intelligence Assessment Scale (Level 2 - AIAS). Any misuse or lack of disclosure regarding the use of AI tools will be considered a breach of academic integrity. You may use AI for planning, idea development and research. Your final submission should show how you have developed and refined these ideas. Remember, it is important that you learn more than just how to use AI: you need to be able to 'think on your feet', and that requires that YOU learn the core concepts and skills.
Week 12 Friday (13 Feb 2026) 11:45 pm AEST
Online submission
Students gain access feedback and marks on the day of Certification of Grades.
All of the assessment criteria outlined below are equally weighted for this assessment piece (20% each).
Criteria:
- A detailed statement of the problem, research aim and objectives, research questions and scope of the study (10 marks);
- A detailed justification of the project, including an insight into the research gap being explored (10 marks);
- The conceptual framework and theoretical insight (10 marks);
- Methodology, organisation of the study (10 marks);
- Accurate referencing, use of correct English, logical sequencing and attention to detail (10 marks).
- develop and employ ethical practices that consider social, cultural and legal responsibilities of researchers and the research process;
- critically evaluate published academic research, identify secondary data sources, and review extant literature, to develop a theoretical framework for a business problem or opportunity;
- choose and apply the appropriate research strategies (qualitative and/or quantitative) and techniques to best address the research problem;
- demonstrate the application of data analysis techniques and measurement concepts; and
- prepare and communicate a comprehensive research proposal.
- Knowledge
- Communication
- Cognitive, technical and creative skills
- Research
- Self-management
- Ethical and Professional Responsibility
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
