FACULTY OF COMMERCE
DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE
BACHELOR OF COMMERCE (HONOURS) DEGREE IN FINANCE
RESEARCH METHODS IN FINACE & ECONOMICS [CFI 2208]
COURSE OUTLINE (2026)
Lecturer: Z. CHIKAZA, Office: Finance Department, SD43 , email: [Link]@[Link] :
Cell- +263 772423191
COURSE OVERVIEW
This course is meant to be a foundation to the Business Research that the students are expected to do in
their program. The course gives an overview of research process including research problem definition,
research design, data collection, data analysis, writing of reports and ethical issues involved. The
management-specific attributes, knowledge and skills that graduates are expected to possess when they
complete the program.
At the end of the course student should be able to:
To develop understanding of the basic framework of research process.
To develop an understanding of various research designs and techniques.
To identify various sources of information for literature review and data collection.
To demonstrate knowledge of research process by conducting a literature review in their
research area interest.
Define and develop a possible research interest area to be taken forward in their business
research projects later in the second year of study.
To conduct an independent publishable research project
Topic Content Content Objectives
1 Introduction to Overview of Research After completing this topic, students
Research Characteristics of a good should be able to:
research Understand the meaning of
Reasons for conducting research
research Explain the characteristics
Types of Research Define types of research
Formulating the - Understand the reasons for
Research Topic undertaking research
2 The Research After completing this chapter, the students
Proposal should be able to , compile what has been
done on the subject to date and how you
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propose to proceed with your study.
3 Literature Review - Searching the Literature After completing this topic, students
and Critical Reading should be able to:
- Obtaining Literature
Sources - rummage through existing works
on the subject of the study and
- Theories in the
Literature Review interrogate arguments and
evidence to arrive at a position
regarding the current state of
knowledge on the subject.
4 Research Design - Definition of Research After learning this topic students should
Design be able to:
- Classification of research have a clear knowledge about the
designs sources of information and the
design techniques used in
research.
5 Sampling Design - Sampling process After completing this topic, students
- Sampling Techniques should be able to:
Select a suitable sample for the
purpose of determining
parameters or characteristics of
the whole population
6 Data Collection Primary Data Collection After completing this topic, students
Design Secondary Data should be able to:
Collection think about the practicality
of obtaining the required data in
the available time period and also
the accessibility to the field site.
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carefully consider and plan for
collection of data required
7 Data analysis - Qualitative Data Analysis Students should be able to:
a) Content Analysis - Understand the methods used for
b) Narrative both qualitative and quantitative
Analysis research methods.
c) Discourse
analysis
d) Framework
Analysis
e) Grounded Theory
- Quantitative Data
Analysis
a) Types of data
b) Descriptive
Statistics
c) Introduction to
Linear regression
Course Text book
1. Schindler, Business Research Methods, McGraw Hill Education
Other References
Zikmund, W. G., Carr, J. C., & Griffin, M. (2013). Business Research Methods. Cengage
Learning.
Bryman, Alan & Bell, Emma (2015). Business Research Methods (Fourth Edition), Oxford
University Press.
Haney, C., Banks, W. C., & Zimbardo, P. G. (1973). A study of prisoners and guards in a
simulated prison. Naval Research Review, 30, 4-17.
McLeod, S. A. (2017). Zimbardo - Stanford Prison Experiment. Retrieved from
[Link]/[Link] for Development, 2003
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Assignments
Group Assignment [25 Marks]
Use the research topic you formulated in assignment one to do the following:
a) Come up with the statement of the problem from the proposed topic.
b) Formulate the objectives and research questions
c) Draft a comprehensive questionnaire to collect data that will help to answer the research
questions.
Due Date: 27/02/2026
Individual Assignment [25 Marks]
Choose a finance related topic and produce a research proposal using the format presented in
lectures. The chosen topic should be able to contribute to knowledge in that field of study.
Take note of the following
The proposal should not exceed 15 pages
Spacing should 1.5
Use Havard style of referencing
Use current and relevant literature
Due Date: 06/03/2026
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