Course summary

This course aims to meet the needs of exam qualified home professionals, with relevant employment experience, who wish to acquire a masters degree and specialist research skills in order to leverage their accounting knowledge and experience so that they may progress in their chosen careers. How will my skills develop? You will receive a wide-ranging introduction to the theories and practicalities underlying research methods in the social sciences with a particular emphasis on accounting and finance themes. The implications of the choices that inform your style of research will be considered including research philosophy, methodology and the choice of qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods. Research quality, publishing and disseminating research will be discussed. At this first stage you will develop skills in assessing published research and putting together your own, viable research plan. You then apply the research methods understanding and skills to your professional accounting and business finance background to create your own research. You will choose a relevant issue or problem, design your research approach and execute it under the supervision of your personal supervisor. The aim is to produce a well-balanced, critical narrative based on a rigorous analysis of evidence, which comes to an informative, logical conclusion with recommendations where appropriate. You will learn how to communicate your research findings/results effectively and demonstrate essential skills in project management, self-organisation and time management.