GRA 6228 Research Methods for Master of Accounting and Auditing

GRA 6228 Research Methods for Master of Accounting and Auditing

Course code: 
GRA 6228
Department: 
Accounting and Operations Management
Credits: 
6
Course coordinator: 
Ignacio Garcia de Olalla Lopez
Tobias Svanstrøm
Course name in Norwegian: 
Research Methods for Master of Accounting and Auditing
Product category: 
Master
Portfolio: 
Master of Accounting and Auditing
Semester: 
2020 Autumn
Active status: 
Active
Level of study: 
Master
Teaching language: 
English
Course type: 
One semester
Introduction

This course is an introductory course for students who will write the master’s thesis as a part of the Master in Accounting and Auditing (GRA 1920). In place of this course, students may take an equivalent methods course on the master’s level.

Learning outcomes - Knowledge

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

  • understand how to write a research proposal
  • understand some of the most relevant methodologies and data sources
  • find relevant literature sources
  • evaluate sources
Learning outcomes - Skills

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

  • plan and conduct research
  • decide which methodology is more appropriate for their research
  • understand the limitations of their chosen methodology
  • find reliable data to answer to test their hypotheses.
  • find reliable literature sources to build and support their research
  • write a proper literature review
General Competence

​Upon completion of this course, the students will be able to:

  • understand the research process
  • understand how the research design and methodology influence and are influenced by the theme of interest.
  • conduct research at the MSc level and critically evaluate the research process.
Course content
  • Philosophy of science
  • The research process
  • Formulating problems to be addressed
  • Research designs
  • Problems relating to research ethics
  • Data collection
  • Data analysis
  • Advice on writing the master thesis
  • Literature search and evaluation of sources
Teaching and learning activities

The course consists of lectures. The lectures are organized in the form of ordinary lectures, seminars with student presentations, and practical exercises.

Software tools
Stata
Additional information

Please note that while attendance is not compulsory in all courses, it is the student’s own responsibility to obtain any information provided in class.

This is a course with continuous assessment (several exam components) and one final exam code. Each exam component is graded by using points on a scale from 0-100. The components will be weighted together according to the information in the course description in order to calculate the final letter grade for the examination code (course). Students who fail to participate in one/some/all exam elements will get a lower grade or may fail the course. You will find detailed information about the point system and the cut off points with reference to the letter grades when the course starts.

At resit, all exam components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course.

Qualifications

All courses in the Masters programme will assume that students have fulfilled the admission requirements for the programme. In addition, courses in second, third and/or fourth semester can have specific prerequisites and will assume that students have followed normal study progression. For double degree and exchange students, please note that equivalent courses are accepted.

Covid-19

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there may be deviations in teaching and learning activities as well as exams, compared with what is described in this course description.

Required prerequisite knowledge

 

Assessments
Assessments
Exam category: 
Submission
Form of assessment: 
Written submission
Weight: 
100
Grouping: 
Group/Individual (1 - 2)
Duration: 
12 Week(s)
Comment: 
Students are required to deliver a proposal for the master’s thesis. This proposal should contain, at a minimum, an outline for the thesis, a clear research question, a complete description of the method that will be used to analyze this research question, and an overview of relevant literature. Students who take the course without having to write the master’s thesis (GRA 1920) are not required to do this proposal.
Exam code: 
GRA 62281
Grading scale: 
Pass/fail
Resit: 
All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course
Exam category: 
Submission
Form of assessment: 
Written submission
Weight: 
10
Grouping: 
Group/Individual (1 - 3)
Duration: 
1 Week(s)
Comment: 
Library assignment
Exam code: 
GRA 62282
Grading scale: 
Point scale leading to ECTS letter grade
Resit: 
All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course
Exam category: 
Submission
Form of assessment: 
Written submission
Weight: 
25
Grouping: 
Group (1 - 3)
Duration: 
1 Month(s)
Comment: 
Hand-in (STATA)
Exam code: 
GRA 62282
Grading scale: 
Point scale leading to ECTS letter grade
Resit: 
All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course
Exam category: 
Submission
Form of assessment: 
Written submission
Invigilation
Weight: 
65
Grouping: 
Individual
Support materials: 
  • BI-approved exam calculator
  • Simple calculator
  • Bilingual dictionary
Duration: 
3 Hour(s)
Comment: 
Written examination under supervision.
Exam code: 
GRA 62282
Grading scale: 
Point scale leading to ECTS letter grade
Resit: 
All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course
Type of Assessment: 
Continuous assessment
Grading scale: 
ECTS
Total weight: 
200
Sum workload: 
0

A course of 1 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of 26-30 hours. Therefore a course of 6 ECTS credits corresponds to a workload of at least 160 hours.