Empirical Research in Management and Economics

After the successful participation in the module Empirical Research in Economics and Management, students will be able to understand the most important methods of empirical research, covering basic as well as advanced aspects of research design, data collection, data analysis, and interpretation. Students will learn how to understand and analyze academic empirical research and be in a position to critically question in-press reports which refer to empirical studies. Students will learn to apply basic methods of empirical research. Students will learn the basics of how to plan, set up, and conduct an empirical research project themselves (e.g., for their seminar paper or their final thesis). Finally, students will learn to interpret empirical research results.

This module prepares students for qualitative and quantitative research (e.g. for their Master's Thesis) by introducing them to basic and advanced topics of empirical research. Amongst others, the topics are: - Experiment design - Correlation analysis - Linear and multiple regression models - Qualitative methods - Factor- and cluster analysis - Conjoint analysis The acquired skills are important for students' Master's Thesis but are equally important to understand and analyze data and statistics in their future career and everyday life.

The module consists of lectures and integrated exercises (both will be recorded on Lecturio - but active participation is recommended). The lectures serve to build a thorough theoretical understanding of the related scientific concepts and methods. In the exercises students learn to apply the methods, they have learned in the lectures, in concrete analyses and interpretations. In addition to the examples of the integrated exercises, two practice sheets are provided on which the student can practice individually. The practice sheets include various topics, such as regression analysis, factor analysis, cluster analysis, and conjoint analysis, which are relevant for the exam. Both practice sheets will be discussed in detail during the tutorial sessions.