Universität Wien

040223 SE Conversatorium for Master Candidates (2025S)

2.00 ECTS (1.00 SWS), SPL 4 - Wirtschaftswissenschaften
Continuous assessment of course work
Moodle

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 14 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Tuesday 04.03. 11:30 - 14:45 Seminarraum 6 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
  • Tuesday 11.03. 11:30 - 14:45 Seminarraum 6 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
  • Tuesday 18.03. 11:30 - 14:45 Seminarraum 6 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
  • Tuesday 01.04. 11:30 - 18:15 Seminarraum 6 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
  • Tuesday 08.04. 11:30 - 18:15 Seminarraum 4 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
  • Tuesday 29.04. 11:30 - 18:15 Seminarraum 4 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

This course is designed to offer students the opportunity to delve into aspects of the research process for the study of International Business (IB) phenomena. It applies elements learned in other courses of the Chair of IB by supporting students to develop a complete piece of work from the initial idea through to a final written report (the Masterarbeit thesis).

The course aims to support students in their process towards the master thesis and helps develop skills on self-directed study. Students will be invited to research analyse a specific area of scholarly interest in the realm of IB. Students will undertake a research project in the area of IB and make appropriate choices of theoretical lenses and research methods. The syllabus covers critical stages of the research project:
• Research question definition
• Specification of research gap
• Literature review
• Theory identification
• Development of conceptual framework
• Structure of the methodology section
• Structure of the thesis
• Writing up the project

Assessment and permitted materials

Class presentation (100% of total grade) will be held on April 1st, April 8th and April 29th 2025.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

1 ≥ 88%
2 ≥ 75%
3 ≥ 63%
4 ≥ 50%

Registered students who, for whatever reason, are not able to take the course must de-register electronically by the 10th March 2025. Students who decide to drop the course after this deadline will be graded with 5 (failed).

It is absolutely essential that all registered students attend the first session on March 4th (Introduction/Vorbesprechung) as failure to do so will result in their exclusion from the course. Students should also regularly check our homepage and Moodle for any changes in dates/times or way of connecting online.

Examination topics

Reading list

Readings on most topics can be found in:
• Biggam, J. (2012): “Succeeding with your Master’s Dissertation. A step-by-step handbook”, Open University Press.
• Creswell, J. W. (2009): “Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods Approaches”, 3rd Edition, Sage
• Denscombe, M. (2012): “Research proposals: a practical guide”, Open University Press
• Easterby – Smith et al. (2018): “Management and Business Research”, Sage Publications, 6th Edition.
• Easterby-Smith, M., Thorpe, R. and Jackson, P.R. (2008): “Management Research” 3rd edition, London: Sage
• Robson, C (2002): “Real World Research”, 2nd Edition, Blackwell
• Wallwork A. (2011): “English for writing research papers”, Springer.

The following papers provide further readings in specialist areas:
Literature Review
• Hart, C (1998): “Doing a literature review: releasing the social science research imagination”, London: Sage Publications
• Jankowicz, A.D. (2000): “Business Research Methods”, Oxford: Oxford University Press
• Thietart R.A. et al. (2001): “Doing management research: a comprehensive guide”, London. Sage Publications
• Wallace, M and Wray, A (2006): “Critical reading and writing for postgraduates”, Sage.

Qualitative Research
• Birkinshaw, J., Brannen, M. Y., and Tung, R. L. (2011): “From a distance and generalizable to up close and grounded: Reclaiming a place for qualitative methods in international business research”, Journal of International Business Studies, 42(5): pp. 573-581.
• Patton, M.Q. (2002), Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods, 3rd Edition, Thousand Oaks, London: Sage.
• Sutton, R.I. (1997): “The virtues of closet qualitative research”, Organization Science, 8: pp. 97-106.
• Welch, C., Plakoyiannaki, E., Piekkari, R., and Paavilainen-Mäntymäki, E. (2013): “Legitimizing diverse uses for qualitative research: A rhetorical analysis of two management journals”, International Journal of Management Reviews, 15(2): pp. 245-264. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijmr.12001.

See more literature on the syllabus!

Association in the course directory

Last modified: Tu 04.03.2025 00:01