Gathering and interpreting information is critical to business decision-making. Having a firm grasp of business research methods can enable managers and business leaders to make better decisions and to solve problems more effectively. Students taking this course will develop a firm grasp of research methods and the research process in the business context. In so doing, students will further develop their analytical awareness and an ability to communicate, as well as the ability to discriminate between good research and bad research.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

Upon successful completion of the requirements for this course, students will be able to:

1. define, explain and illustrate, from theoretical and practical perspectives, decision making concepts and processes in business settings;
2. describe and evaluate research concepts and methods in a business setting;
3. evaluate business research designs, including measurement and sampling methods; and,
4. prepare research proposals and write research reports.

Research-Led Teaching

This course introduces students to the latest scholarly research in the field. Lectures and activities will present problems that will be explored using a variety of theoretical approaches to foster critical thinking and applied learning. Students will be taught to formulate a decision-related research question, systematically acquire, appraise and aggregate published scientific evidence.

Field Trips

There are no field trips in this course.

Additional Course Costs

There are no additional class costs expected in this course.

Examination Material or equipment

There is no formal examination for this course.

Required Resources

All required resources or readings will be advised on Wattle.

Recommended Resources

Text book: The recommended reading for this course is:

Barends, E & Rousseau, D M, 2018, Evidence-based management: How to use evidence to make better organizational decisions, Kogan Page, UK.

It is available through the campus bookshop, and as well a copy of the text book will be held in the ANU library reserve & short loan collection. The ANU Library e-book copy can be found at: https://library.anu.edu.au/record=b5803516 . Please contact the Course Convener if you have difficulty getting access to the book.

In-session resources:

• It is highly desirable (but not required) that you bring an internet-connected device (smartphone, tablet or laptop) with Microsoft Excel to each session. It will be used for information search and solution development in the class discussion.
• Microsoft Excel will be used for a number of the tools and techniques used during the course. Excel is part of Microsoft Office. ANU staff and students can download a copy of Microsoft Office for free, for use on personal devices by visiting the Microsoft Office 365 Online Portal. Please refer to HERE for details. If this isn't possible, please let the Convener know.
• Students who are unable to install or access Excel should be able to use an alternative such as OpenOffice or LibreOffice Calc or Apple Numbers or the R statistical package.

Staff Feedback

Feedback: Rubrics are provided for all assessment items so that students can plan their work and can identify areas for improvement. Students may receive feedback in any of the following ways:

1. Written or rubric-based qualitative feedback on their online discussion forum contributions.
2. Synchronous live feedback as part of occasional live online classroom discussion as set up by the teaching team.
3. Feedback on the assessment pieces in in numeric, tabular, and graphical formats, and/or written or audio qualitative comments; feedback can be both to individual learners and consolidated for the whole online class.
4. Peer feedback during workshops or in online Discussion Forums.
5. Individual feedback can be provided to students in consultation with the teaching team by email or by appointment. If an appointment is required for a telephone, online chat, or online visual meeting, please email the tutor, lecturer, or Convenor to make an appointment.

Disagreement and dispute of assessment marks and feedback: ANU has policies and procedures to be followed in respect of disagreement with assessment marks or feedback (see under EDUCATIONAL POLICIES). However, it is suggested that any disagreement with assessment marks and feedback be addressed initially by email to the Convenor, including a clear description of the area(s) of dispute.

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). Feedback can also be provided to Course Conveners and teachers via the Student Experience of Learning & Teaching (SELT) feedback program. SELT surveys are confidential and also provide the Colleges and ANU Executive with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement.

Other Information

Important: Updates and announcements for this course will be circulated via emails and/or Wattle site. Students should ensure that their official ANU email address is effective and that they have access to Wattle. Students should check their ANU email address daily during teaching periods.

Student consultation:  

• Consultation requests to students will be circulated by Course Announcements or by email.
• Every effort will be made to respond to student queries as soon as possible, and within 2 business days unless there are special circumstances. The preferred initial method of contact is email, with other forms of telecommunications (such as online consultation, chat, or phone) used where appropriate.
• Students located in time zones that make standard consultation times difficult are encouraged to email to arrange a more appropriate time for personal consultation.

Course Guidance: Detailed guidance on assessment requirements, marking criteria, assessment submission standards, navigating the teaching facilities, and how to study online as well as detailed course notes are all available on the Wattle page.

• Refer to the QUICK GUIDE near the top of the page for an overview of online learning through this course,
• Then read, watch, or listen to the other resources it identifies for more details.

Personal portfolio: You may benefit from a range of learning tools. Consider keeping a personal journal throughout the course to record the thoughts, issues and dilemmas that arise for you. Such a journal may be electronic, using tools such as e-Portfolio on Wattle, or maintained in any other format that suits you. The journal is used to record insights gathered from course reading and other sources, as well as for noting personal reflections as the course proceeds. Students should reflect on the skills, resources, capabilities, thinking and learning styles and consider how they will prepare themselves for working in a management role deploying the skills and knowledge gained in this course.

Submission size: A maximum submission size is specified for assessment items. The specified sizes are adequate to cover the requirements to a high standard and they encourage focused and business-like writing and presentation. Note that words, slides, pages, or time in excess of the specified maximum submission size will not be marked.

Assessment submission standards: Advice on assessment submission standards, including detailed guidance on what is counted towards submission size, is provided on the Wattle page.

Procedure for extensions: The procedure for obtaining an extension of time for an assessment item is advised in the section on LATE SUBMISSION.

Academic Integrity: As a further academic integrity control, students may be selected for a 15 minute individual oral examination of their written assessment submissions. Note that any student identified, either during the current semester or in retrospect, as having used ghost writing services will be investigated under the University’s Academic Integrity Rule.

Scaling: Your final mark for the course will be based on the raw marks allocated for each of your assessment items. However, your final mark may not be the same number as produced by that formula, as marks may be scaled. Any scaling applied will preserve the rank order of raw marks (i.e. if your raw mark exceeds that of another student, then your scaled mark will exceed the scaled mark of that student), and may be either up or down.

Applicable timezone: The Australian National University is situated in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory and all references to times and dates refer to time in the Australian Capital Territory. Be aware that the Australian Capital Territory observes Australian Eastern Daylight Saving Time in summer months; the effect of this is to shift the time by one hour from Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) to Australian Eastern Daylight-saving Time (AEDT). This shift is taken into account in setting times for submission of assessment items or other activities so the set time will be as specified, but AEST or AEDT will apply depending on the time of year. To avoid confusion in converting the specified times to your local time, consider using a time converter such as this: https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/australia/canberra

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	Module 1. The Rational Choice Procedure model and Bounded Rationality. Multi-criteria Decision-making. Evidence-based Management: Asking, Acquiring and Appraising. Exploratory Data Analysis.	Tutorial time preference must be submitted on Wattle by the end of Week 1. Students will be notified of their tutorial time before the lecture on Monday of Week 2. Tutorials commence on Tuesday of Week 2.
2	Module 1. The Rational Choice Procedure model and Bounded Rationality. Multi-criteria Decision-making. Evidence-based Management: Asking, Acquiring and Appraising. Exploratory Data Analysis.
3	Module 1. The Rational Choice Procedure model and Bounded Rationality. Multi-criteria Decision-making. Evidence-based Management: Asking, Acquiring and Appraising. Exploratory Data Analysis.	Assessment #1: Task write-up topic released for Quiz 1. Quiz 1 opens, covering content from Module 1
4	Module 2. The Analytic Hierarchy Process. Measurement for decision-marking, including of latent constructs. Asking, Acquiring and Appraising of scientific evidence. Exploratory Data Analysis.
5	Module 2. The Analytic Hierarchy Process. Measurement for decision-marking, including of latent constructs. Asking, Acquiring and Appraising of scientific evidence. Exploratory Data Analysis.
6	Module 3. Inference, sampling, accuracy, reliability and validity of measurements. Asking, Acquiring and Appraising of scientific evidence.	Assessment #2: Task write-up topic released for Quiz 2. Quiz 2 opens, covering content from Modules 1 and 2
7	Module 3. Inference, sampling, accuracy, reliability and validity of measurements. Asking, Acquiring and Appraising of scientific evidence.	Assessment #5: optionally, advise a preferred topic for this task.
8	Module 3. Inference, sampling, accuracy, reliability and validity of measurements. Asking, Acquiring and Appraising of scientific evidence.
9	Module 4. Evidence of causation and its relation to decision-making. Correlation, information and prediction. Experiments and interrupted time series. Quality Control. The nature and importance of qualitative evidence. Bayesian reasoning and aggregation. Asking, Acquiring and Appraising of scientific evidence.	Assessment #3: Task write-up topic released for Quiz 3. Quiz 3 opens, covering contentt from Modules 1, 2, and 3
10	Module 4. Evidence of causation and its relation to decision-making. Correlation, information and prediction. Experiments and interrupted time series. Quality Control. The nature and importance of qualitative evidence. Bayesian reasoning and aggregation. Asking, Acquiring and Appraising of scientific evidence.	Assessment #5: optionally, submit a draft of this task for feedback.
11	Module 4. Evidence of causation and its relation to decision-making. Correlation, information and prediction. Experiments and interrupted time series. Quality Control. The nature and importance of qualitative evidence. Bayesian reasoning and aggregation. Asking, Acquiring and Appraising of scientific evidence.
12	The Critically Appraised Topic. Application and Assessment (Evaluation) in the EBM Framework.	Assessment #4: Task write-up topic released for Quiz 4. Quiz 4 opens, covering content from all Modules
13	No teaching	Assessment #5: Critically Appraised Topic report is due at 23:59 on the Thursday that is the first day of the examination period via Turnitin on the course Wattle site.

Tutorial Registration

ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Due Date	Return of assessment	Learning Outcomes
Quiz 1	20 %	15/08/2022	29/08/2022	1,2,3,4
Quiz 2	20 %	19/09/2022	04/10/2022	1,2,3,4
Quiz 3	20 %	10/10/2022	24/10/2022	1,2,3,4
Quiz 4	20 %	03/11/2022	01/12/2022	1,2,3,4
Critically Appraised Topic	20 %	03/11/2022	01/12/2022	1,2,3,4

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

Policies

ANU has educational policies, procedures and guidelines , which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and implement them. Students are expected to have read the Academic Integrity Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Special Assessment Consideration Guideline and General Information 
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure
• Code of practice for teaching and learning

Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the Academic Skills website. In rare cases where online submission using Turnitin software is not technically possible; or where not using Turnitin software has been justified by the Course Convener and approved by the Associate Dean (Education) on the basis of the teaching model being employed; students shall submit assessment online via ‘Wattle’ outside of Turnitin, or failing that in hard copy, or through a combination of submission methods as approved by the Associate Dean (Education). The submission method is detailed below.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Participation

• Resources including core content, academic research articles, and other audio, visual, or textual resources will be made available online through Wattle.
• Students are encouraged to participate in lectures and tutorials. In particular students are encouraged to have their video on during the sessions, and to make good use of the chat function for Q&A and running commentary.

Examination(s)

There is no final examination in this course.

Assessment Task 1

Quiz 1

Description: Students individually undertake an online open-book quiz that opens at 13:00pm on the Friday of Week 3. The questions maybe true/false, multiple choice, or short answer type and will cover:

1. Review questions: Questions based on the material covered in the current module.
2. Pre-reading questions: Questions based on the required readings for the next module.
3. Task write-up: during the Week the Quiz opens students will be given a task to carry out and write up concisely for submission via Turnitin during the time the Quiz is open.

Marking criteria: Submissions will be assessed against the Learning Outcomes shown in the ASSESSMENT SUMMARY table. Further details and marking criteria are provided on Wattle from a fortnight prior to the beginning of the semester.

Due date: 9:00am on Monday of Week 4, on the course Wattle site. Late submission is not accepted.

Feedback: Up to 10 working days after submission, excluding semester breaks.

Assessment Task 2

Quiz 2

Description: Students individually undertake an online open-book quiz that opens at 13:00pm on Friday of Week 6. The questions maybe true/false, multiple choice, or short answer type and will cover:

1. Review questions: Questions based on the material covered in the previous and current modules.
2. Pre-reading questions: Questions based on the required readings for the next module.
3. Task write-up: during the Week the Quiz opens students will be given a task to carry out and write up concisely for submission via Turnitin during the time the Quiz is open.

Marking criteria: Submissions will be assessed against the Learning Outcomes shown in the ASSESSMENT SUMMARY table. Further details and marking criteria are provided on Wattle from a fortnight prior to the beginning of the semester.

Due date: 9:00am on Monday of Week 7, on the course Wattle site. Late submission is not accepted.

Feedback: Up to 10 working days after submission, excluding semester breaks.

Assessment Task 3

Quiz 3

Description: Students individually undertake an online open-book quiz that opens at 13:00pm on Friday of Week 9. The questions maybe true/false, multiple choice, or short answer type and will cover:

1. Review questions: Questions based on the material covered in the previous and current modules.
2. Pre-reading questions: Questions based on the required readings for the next module.
3. Task write-up: during the Week the Quiz opensstudents will be given a task to carry out and write up concisely for submission via Turnitin during the time the Quiz is open.

Marking criteria: Submissions will be assessed against the Learning Outcomes shown in the ASSESSMENT SUMMARY table. Further details and marking criteria are provided on Wattle from a fortnight prior to the beginning of the semester.

Due date: :9:00am on Monday of Week 10 on the course Wattle site. Late submission is not accepted.

Feedback: Up to 10 working days after submission, excluding semester breaks.

Assessment Task 4

Quiz 4

Description: Students individually undertake an online open-book quiz that opens at 13:00pm on Friday of Week 12. The questions maybe true/false, multiple choice, or short answer type and will cover:

1. Review questions: Questions based on the material covered in all modules.
2. Task write-up: during the Week the Quiz opens students will be given a task to carry out and write up concisely for submission via Turnitin during the time the Quiz is open.

Marking criteria: Submissions will be assessed against the Learning Outcomes shown in the ASSESSMENT SUMMARY table. Further details and marking criteria are provided on Wattle from a fortnight prior to the beginning of the semester.

Due date: 9:00am on the Thursday that is the first day of the examination period. Late submission is not accepted.

Feedback: Up to 10 working days after submission, excluding semester breaks.

Assessment Task 5

Critically Appraised Topic

Description: Students individually prepare a business report of no more than 1200 words in a specified structure summarising the scientific evidence on a narrow topic.

Marking criteria: Submissions will be assessed against the Learning Outcomes shown in the ASSESSMENT SUMMARY table. Further details and marking criteria are provided on Wattle from a fortnight prior to the beginning of the semester.

Due date: 23:59 on the Thursday that is the first day of the examination period via Turnitin on the course Wattle site.

Feedback: Up to 10 working days after submission, excluding semester breaks.

Note: Students may submit an optional draft of this task by 23:59 on Thursday of Week 10 via the link on the course Wattle site. This is not assessed but you will be given formative feedback; the feedback may be used to improve your Report prior to submission.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of the ANU culture as a community of scholars. The University’s students are an integral part of that community. The academic integrity principle commits all students to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support, academic integrity, and to uphold this commitment by behaving honestly, responsibly and ethically, and with respect and fairness, in scholarly practice.

The University expects all staff and students to be familiar with the academic integrity principle, the Academic Integrity Rule 2021, the Policy: Student Academic Integrity and Procedure: Student Academic Integrity, and to uphold high standards of academic integrity to ensure the quality and value of our qualifications.

The Academic Integrity Rule 2021 is a legal document that the University uses to promote academic integrity, and manage breaches of the academic integrity principle. The Policy and Procedure support the Rule by outlining overarching principles, responsibilities and processes. The Academic Integrity Rule 2021 commences on 1 December 2021 and applies to courses commencing on or after that date, as well as to research conduct occurring on or after that date. Prior to this, the Academic Misconduct Rule 2015 applies.

 

The University commits to assisting all students to understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. All coursework students must complete the online Academic Integrity Module (Epigeum), and Higher Degree Research (HDR) students are required to complete research integrity training. The Academic Integrity website provides information about services available to assist students with their assignments, examinations and other learning activities, as well as understanding and upholding academic integrity.

Online Submission

You will be required to electronically sign a declaration as part of the submission of your assignment. Please keep a copy of the assignment for your records. Unless an exemption has been approved by the Associate Dean (Education) submission must be through Turnitin.

Hardcopy Submission

For some forms of assessment (hand written assignments, art works, laboratory notes, etc.) hard copy submission is appropriate when approved by the Associate Dean (Education). Hard copy submissions must utilise the Assignment Cover Sheet. Please keep a copy of tasks completed for your records.

Late Submission

Weekly assessment tasks: Late submissions are not accepted.

Other assessment tasks: Late submission of an assessment task without an extension is penalised at the rate of 5% of the possible marks available per working day or part thereof. Late submission of assessment tasks is not accepted after 10 working days after the due date, or on or after the date specified in the Class Summary for the return of the assessment item. Late submission is not accepted for take-home examinations or for items where this is specified in the description of the assessment task.

Procedure for extensions: All requests for extensions to assessment in RSM courses must be submitted to the RSM School Office with a completed application form and supporting documentation. The RSM Extension Application Form and further information on this process can be found at https://rsm.anu.edu.au/study/students/extension-application-procedure

Referencing Requirements

The Academic Skills website has information to assist you with your writing and assessments. The website includes information about Academic Integrity including referencing requirements for different disciplines. There is also information on Plagiarism and different ways to use source material.

Returning Assignments

All assignments will be marked and/or returned according to the timeline specified under ASSESSMENT SUMMARY.

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure. Extensions may be granted for assessment pieces that are not examinations or take-home examinations. If you need an extension, you must request an extension in writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.

Resubmission of Assignments

• Before the due date/time for submission students may re-upload their submission.
• After the due date/time students may only upload a submission if they have not already done so, and a late penalty will then apply.

Privacy Notice

The ANU has made a number of third party, online, databases available for students to use. Use of each online database is conditional on student end users first agreeing to the database licensor’s terms of service and/or privacy policy. Students should read these carefully. In some cases student end users will be required to register an account with the database licensor and submit personal information, including their: first name; last name; ANU email address; and other information.
In cases where student end users are asked to submit ‘content’ to a database, such as an assignment or short answers, the database licensor may only use the student’s ‘content’ in accordance with the terms of service – including any (copyright) licence the student grants to the database licensor. Any personal information or content a student submits may be stored by the licensor, potentially offshore, and will be used to process the database service in accordance with the licensors terms of service and/or privacy policy.
If any student chooses not to agree to the database licensor’s terms of service or privacy policy, the student will not be able to access and use the database. In these circumstances students should contact their lecturer to enquire about alternative arrangements that are available.

Distribution of grades policy

Academic Quality Assurance Committee monitors the performance of students, including attrition, further study and employment rates and grade distribution, and College reports on quality assurance processes for assessment activities, including alignment with national and international disciplinary and interdisciplinary standards, as well as qualification type learning outcomes.

Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

Support for students

The University offers students support through several different services. You may contact the services listed below directly or seek advice from your Course Convener, Student Administrators, or your College and Course representatives (if applicable).

• ANU Health, safety & wellbeing for medical services, counselling, mental health and spiritual support
• ANU Access and inclusion for students with a disability or ongoing or chronic illness
• ANU Dean of Students for confidential, impartial advice and help to resolve problems between students and the academic or administrative areas of the University
• ANU Academic Skills and Learning Centre supports you make your own decisions about how you learn and manage your workload.
• ANU Counselling Centre promotes, supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing within the University student community.
• ANUSA supports and represents undergraduate and ANU College students
• PARSA supports and represents postgraduate and research students