BACHELOR’S THESIS INFO SESSION 3 Joan Lofgren, Program Director Tomi Heimonen, Development Manager Jaana Santala, Information Specialist AALTO UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF BUSINESS Mikkeli Campus BScBA Degree Program 15 October /15/2014 1

Agenda Part A: General discussion, see topics below & lead discussant 1.Information retrieval – Jaana 2.Choosing a topic & keeping it manageable – Joan 3.Methods & data – Tomi 4.Company projects -- Tomi 5.Literature review, eg showing examples – Joan 6.Other issues raised in the session Part B: Open-ended Q&A with Joan and Tomi 10/15/2014 2

1. Information retrieval Good information retrieval skills improve your performance in your academic life save your time and effort lead to better results 10/15/2014 3

Information resources Books and journals Reference works Theses Reports and conference publications Archive materials Internet 10/15/2014 4

How to find the resources? Printed books: Kaakkuri Alli Melinda Digital materials: eCampus Internet Google Scholar You can find links to these databases from Mikkeli Campus library webpage in IntoMikkeli Campus library webpage 10/15/2014 5

Evaluate! Information has to be reliable relevant current Information should never be accepted without a critical approach! 10/15/2014 6

Need help? Self-study guide to information retrieval Individual information retrieval sessions in the library – book time with information specialist 10/15/2014 7

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2. Choosing a topic... Ask yourself: In which field are you most interested, for personal or professional reasons? What are you good at – or want to become good at? Where is the question, the controversy, the puzzle in what you are researching? (We are rooted in a positivist tradition, explaining things). Dig a bit into the literature to familiarize yourself with the topic. Seek advice from experts online or in books, eg Badke (in library) He says: Define a “working knowledge” of your topic and explain why it’s important to have one. “You have a working knowledge of a topic when you can talk about it for one minute without repeating yourself. It isn’t complete knowledge, but it’s enough to tell you what the topic entails, what its boundaries are, even what some of its controversies, mysteries and dangers might be.” Source: key/studyquestionskey 10/15/2014 9

And keeping it manageable Badke advises to narrowing your topic to one major aspect – that is distinct enough to really work with it (Badke 2008). Consider your resources: time, money, literature Stakeholders or key players/actors Who besides yourself and your supervisor would play a major role in making your research a success? Or will you only do desk research – if so, can your topic/questions be addressed effectively by only doing desk research? If no... Then think about other methodologies, eg interviews, eg... Do you have sufficient contacts in businesses in your target industry – or are you bold enough to create them – to get the interview subjects you need? Sometimes students get stuck, choosing a topic that needs a large N survey to address it, but then don’t get enough responses... 10/15/

Think of an hourglass! For other descriptions, Google: hourglass in research 10/15/

3. Methods and Data The choice of method is directed by the nature of the research problem, event or phenomenon at hand Therefore, establishing a central research question is critical Traditionally research methods have been classified under two main categories: Quantitative research methods Qualitative research methods 10/15/

Data collection Can involve one or a combination of several data collection methods Data may consist of words, images and numbers –Interview Structured, unstructured or semi-structured –Focus groups –Observation Complete participant, participant as observer, observer as participant, complete observer –Survey –Documents Private and public documents/sources Accounts Diaries Articles Reports Blogs Audio-visual materials 10/15/

Refers to the systematic empirical investigation of economic/business/social phenomena via statistical, mathematical, numeric data or computational techniques Objective of quantitative research is to test theories and hypotheses pertaining the phenomena Further, to develop and employ mathematical models, theories pertaining to phenomena Explaining and predicting what, where, why, how and when phenomena occurred Quantitative method provide the fundamental connection between empirical observation, mathematical expression of quantitative relationships and generalization opportunities of the results (e.g. correlation between variables, cause-effect (causal relationships or associations between variables) Key characteristics of the quantitative research method 10/15/

Quantitative data is any data that is in numeric form (e.g. statistics, percentages, financial/accounting figures, survey data) Quantitative methods could be used to verify which defined hypotheses are true or not true (rejected) Descriptive statistics: distribution, across tables, correlation tables, mean, mean square deviation, median Statistical (explaining, predicting) models: Khiin-test, T-Test (used testing hypotheses), Regression models (complex models) Key characteristics of the quantitative research method 10/15/

Aim to gather an in-depth understanding of Economic/Business/Social/Human behavior and the reasons that govern such behavior The qualitative method investigates the why and how decision making Objective of qualitative research is to discover meanings and patterns of relationships, including classifications of types of phenomena and entities, in a manner that does not involve mathematical models Further, refers to the examination, analysis and interpretation of observations Key characteristics of the qualitative research method 10/15/

Smaller but focused samples are more often used than larger samples Qualitative methods produce information only on the particular cases studied Many choices related to data collection such as grounded theory practice, narratology, storytelling, classical ethnography, action research and most commonly used interviews and case studies, further, forms of the data collected can include observation, field notes, various texts, pictures and other materials (e.g. annual reports) Data analyzes methods: e.g. observer impression, content analyzes, coding, classification Key characteristics of the qualitative research method 10/15/

Quantitative research approach 10/15/ Define central research question(s) Theory (literature review) Hypothesis formulation Research design Sampling and choice of technique Data collection Data analysis Conclusion

Qualitative research approach 10/15/ Design Experiencing Data collection Interpretation (analysis) Theory

Starting points:  Own motivation to do empirical thesis study  Company/Organization offers thesis topic Need to contact and negotiate with the company/organization  Fulfill Thesis co-operation participant needs Example of the company/organization case study plan: Collect background information Context and perspectives Why should this study be undertaken? What needs to be studied? Is there any theory that can inform you about the task? Procedures - resources and time plan? What are your central research questions? Who is the target company/organization or target group? How to select cases and informants? How to analyze the data? What are the criteria for quality? How is data going to be presented? 4. Thesis topics for companies and other organizations 10/15/

5. Literature Review, briefly See the thesis instructions, eg the lit review: –Charts what is already known about the topic –Facilitates problem definition –Exposes you to various theoretical and methodological approaches to your topic –Helps you develop a framework for analysis What it is: a survey and discussion of the relevant literature organized thematically What it is not: a list of article summaries (he said this, she said that...) What it demonstrates: that you have positioned your own research in a broad body of literature 10/15/

Tips for the lit review Browse through some theses from past years in the library. Note how the best lit reviews are organized thematically. You’ll get guidance from your supervisor and Sophia Butt if you register for the writing workshop/s... Meanwhile here are some examples... Parts of last year’s theses – these electronic versions are available in hard copy in the library Questions? 10/15/

6. Other issues, questions? After the session, several questions were raised related to working with companies. Tomi and other staff will follow up on these questions. 10/15/

References Badke, W. (2008) Research Strategies: Finding your Way through the Information (3rd edition). New York: iUniverse. 10/15/

Good luck! Joan, Tomi and Jaana 10/15/