From Research Question to Analytical Strategy
Learning objectives
After completing this course, you will be able to:
- Align research questions with appropriate advanced statistical methodologies
- Select and justify appropriate analytical methods for different types of data, including experimental, survey and archival data.
- Apply causal inference and multivariate reasoning to business and management research questions.
- Critically assess statistical assumptions, robustness and limitations.
- Interpret statistical results in relation to both theoretical insight and practical, managerial relevance.
- Develop a coherent, defensible analytical roadmap for your own research projects and publications.
Topics covered
- Analytical reasoning in research: levels of inference (description, association, causation); statistical versus theoretical and practical significance; economics versus management traditions
- Experimental and quasi-experimental analysis: factorial designs and interaction effects; regression as a unifying framework; mediation, moderation, and internal validity
- Advanced survey analysis and latent constructs: measurement theory; exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modelling (SEM), and common method bias.
- Archival and panel data: secondary data structures; longitudinal analysis; fixed versus random effects; endogeneity and identification strategies.
- Integration, robustness, and research clinic: combining data sources; sensitivity analysis; reporting standards for research reports and publications; diagnostic review of participants' own designs
Teaching approach
The course combines interactive lectures, conceptual and analytical frameworks, and case-based discussions with guided reflection on participants' own research.
Rather than concentrating on mathematical derivations or software commands, the course focuses on analytical reasoning and methodological justification.
Throughout the week, participants apply these principles to their own research, culminating in a research clinic in which they critically review and further develop their analytical strategy.
Your profile
- PhD candidates
- Master students
- Researchers
- Professionals having affinity with Research Methods
who already have a statistical foundation but want to sharpen the analytical reasoning behind their empirical work
