Research methods course 100% online for BBA students in exchange or double-degree programs abroad.
By Cécile Marsault, BBA Dissertation Coordinator, Margaux Piault Sabatini, Instructional Designer – K-lab and Karoline Strauss, Professor of Management and Academic Director of the BBA Dissertations.
This course 100% online in English is lead by Karoline Strauss, Academic Director of the BBA Dissertations. It is the result of cooperation between the K-lab – Learning Center and the BBA for the development of online educational content.
It was launched on 1st February 2019 on the Moodle platform for 27 BBA students who are currently abroad in exchange or double-degree programs. The instructor, Tina Robiolle, is in charge of the virtual classes offered to students as well as the follow-up on the online course.
The objective of this course is to give BBA students an overview of key research methods and also the time and space to think about the topic and research question they will choose for their BBA dissertation, and to get feedback and input from their research methods instructor and peers.
The digitization of the course was essential to enable students in exchange or double-degree programs abroad to follow this first essential step in the BBA dissertation process, just like students on one of the ESSEC campuses.
The course is composed of five sessions :
- Introduction / Research process & initial idea for the BBA dissertation
- Refining research ideas & formulating a research question
- Theories and concepts & academic literature
- The different research methods
- Preparation of the assignment & peer evaluation
Each session represents a course session that must be validated in order to move on to the next one. Attending “virtual meetings” (exchanges between a small group of students and the professor) is mandatory and different slots are offered for each session. The resources and exercises for each session should be completed, to the extent possible, before each virtual meeting to ensure that virtual meetings are efficient.
A particular strength of this course is that students’ individual work benefits from the contribution of their peers. The course offers, among other things, exercises and opportunities for group exchanges that allow students to articulate and further refine their ideas.