Advanced Research Methods in Business Graduate Minor

Rawls College of Business Ph.D. students may earn an optional minor in advanced research methods by completing the requisite courses and specialty paper. Note the following caveats regarding the methods minor option.

• Completion of the Advanced Research Methods Minor is an optional/voluntary component of the RCOB Ph.D. program. That is, no additional requirements to the extant program are imposed to earn a Ph.D. in Business. Instead, pursuit of the advanced methods minor is voluntary, as students elect to complete the programmatic requirements for a Minor in Advanced Research Methods. Students who fulfill the requirements for the Methods Minor will also receive recognition as a CARMA (Consortium for Advanced Research Methods and Analysis; https://carmattu.com) Research Methods Scholar.
• If a student elects to pursue the Advanced Research Methods Minor, there is no change to the existing program requirements with respect to course work and qualifying exams. That is, regardless of whether students elect to pursue the methods track, they are still required to complete existing requirements with respect to Area qualifying exams. To complete the Advanced Research Methods in Business Minor, doctoral students must fulfill the following additional programmatic requirements.
  • Successfully fulfill the requirements for five additional graduate level methods courses. Two to three of these courses can build upon CARMA short courses (https://carmattu.com/short-courses/). That is, the student enrolls in either a BA 6300  (Advanced Business Research Methods) or a BA 7000  (Special Topics in Research Methods and Analysis) class, with the requirement to complete two CARMA Short Courses along with a deliverable based on those courses (e.g., a research proposal, empirical, methodological critique, etc.) to earn course credit. Additionally, two to three (depending on the number of BA 6300 /BA 7000  courses completed) methods courses from the existing Texas Tech Graduate curriculum must be successfully completed.
  • Successfully prepare a Specialty Paper on Advanced Research Methods. To earn the Business Minor in Advanced Research Methods, students must prepare an Area Specialty Paper on Advanced Research Methods. Prior to starting on the Specialty Paper, a three-page proposal that includes the title and a detailed description of the proposed research must be approved by the Area Ph.D. Committee. Following the completion of the Specialty Paper, the student will present the research to Area faculty and doctoral students. Evaluation of student performance on the paper will be conducted by the members of the Area Ph.D. Committee. If the committee determines that the candidate has not performed satisfactorily, it may recommend that the candidate prepare a revision based on the Committee’s feedback. The revision will be evaluated by the Area Ph.D. Committee. If the revision is not approved, the student will not receive the designation of a minor in Advanced Research Methods. The content of the Area Specialty Paper on Advanced Research Methods must be distinct from the any Area requirements for a Specialty Field Paper and may include a review of an area research methods relevant to business research. This review might address technical aspects of the method, how the method is used in business research, an application of the method to empirical data, a simulation investigating the method, or presentation of a new method from outside the field of business. Other topics are acceptable if approved by the Area Ph.D. Committee. Note that the paper can be focused purely on introducing, refining, or reviewing applications of a particular methodology that has high current or potential utility for research in the student’s area of concentration (e.g., Accounting, Finance, Marketing and Supply Chain Management, Information Systems & Quantitative Sciences), or it can be focused on how to apply a particular methodology in an innovative way to contribute to a substantive body of research in the student’s area of concentration. The expectation is that the paper will be of the sufficient breadth and quality to merit consideration for publication in a high-quality journal.