Overview
CAPS 696: Primary Business Research Design is the culminating experience of the MBA program for students interested in understanding business research design. Students design a research study for primary data collection, but do not actually conduct the study or collect data. The course helps students evaluate consultant proposals, design small-scale studies, and assess data quality in business contexts.
Through a scaffolded 10-week process, students develop a viable research topic, formulate a clear research question, conduct a focused literature review, and design a methodology (qualitative or quantitative). The course emphasizes the "chain link" approach: Topic → Research Question → Literature Review → Methodology → Ethics → Contributions.
Students are assessed through a project proposal, an interim report, and a final research design report under the guidance of an academic supervisor.
Outline
This course is divided into 10 weeks across three major phases
- Week 1: Project Proposal (Stage Gate 1). Students establish their research topic, formulate their research question, and outline their preliminary research design in a project proposal. The proposal must be approved in order for students to continue in the course.
- Weeks 2-5: Methodology Development and Interim Report (Stage Gate 2). Students explore the research process, developing their methodology, expanding their literature review, and addressing any ethical concerns. By the end of Week 5, they submit an interim report, providing a self-assessment of their progress on the research design. The interim report must be approved in order for students to continue in the course.
- Weeks 6-10: Final Capstone Report (Stage Gate 3). In the second half of the course, students complete and refine their research design, further strengthening their methodology, incorporating feedback, and polishing the formatting. By the end of Week 10, they submit a final capstone report.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this course, students should be able to
- identify viable business research topics and formulate clear, answerable research questions appropriate for primary data collection.
- locate and evaluate scholarly literature organized by themes to establish what is known about a business topic and justify the practical business relevance of the research question.
- design a feasible research methodology including sampling strategies, data collection procedures, data analysis approaches, and appropriate research quality criteria.
- apply ethical principles to research design, addressing informed consent, confidentiality, risk mitigation, and voluntary participation.
- communicate research designs effectively in professional written reports with appropriate academic formatting, and work collaboratively with supervisors to refine methodological approaches.
Evaluation
Your grade will be based on the successful completion of three written assignments, evaluated on a Pass/Fail basis:
| Activity | Weight |
| Project Proposal (Week 1) | Pass/Fail |
| Interim Report (Week 5) | Pass/Fail |
| Final Capstone Report (Week 10) | Pass/Fail |
To receive a passing grade in this course, you must meet these minimum standards:
- Receive a Pass on all three deliverables (Project Proposal, Interim Report, Final Report).
- Meet deadlines as specified (Stage Gates 1, 2, and 3).
Materials
Digital course materials
Links to the following course materials will be made available in the course:
Bhattacherjee, A. (2025). Social science research: Principles, methods, and practices (Revised ed.).
All additional materials are available online through the Digital Reading Room (DRR) in Brightspace.