Introduction:
Research Methods In Business or RMB is one subject that I truly wish I had a good faculty for, I am not from one of the Top Colleges of Mumbai city which is why when I write down these study guides I know how important they are to students like me who are not lucky to have amazing faculty members guide them through the different difficulties of the subjects. I had to study a lot more than the regular BMSite because I had to be my own professor, and that is really not an easy task for any student.
Research Methods in Business is very easy and very important for BMSites, a rare combination in the course. It is important because it teaches you how you can conduct a research project from scratch; it explains all the details and guides you through all the phases of doing up a project like that. It is easy because there are no complex concepts or theories, no definitions to mug up and no formula’s to remember just simple understanding which is required for this subject.
Conducting research based projects are the crux of your job in the field of Business Management and the knowledge of which is supplied by this subject. Unless and un till you do your research how will you get the answers? answers to questions regarding launching a new product, its marketing strategies, its price points, the competition that we shall have to face or the discounts and other lucrative we shall have to provide.
Is It Boring? Do I need To Join A Coaching Class?
RMB, is pure theory but not at all boring or annoying in any way! You do not need to join any coaching classes for this subject as it can be easily read and understood using self study methods. The textbook you choose will be very important as in case of all theory subjects and the time you dedicate to the same will be very important too! You can’t say that since this subject is easy I will push it for the end nor can you sit with his subject the whole day and ignore the difficult subjects that need a lot of time.
What is the Syllabus for this subject?
The syllabus for this subject has been divided into 4 very clear units:
Unit I : Fundamentals of ResearchÂ
This unit talks about types, approaches and importance of research.
Unit II : Research process
This unit talks about how to conduct the research process.
Unit III : Hypothesis
This unit talks about hypothesis and sampling.
Unit IV : Sources and Methods of data collection
 This unit defines the different sources and methods of data collection.
As I said the units are very clearly defined and it is very easy to understand what the chapters in the unit are going to be talking about. You can get the detailed syllabus and list of reference books Here!
How can I Study this Subject?
With pure theory subjects there are 5 golden rules that I always students to follow on order to score well:
- Read the chapter.
- Mark the important words/ key words for future reference.
- Learn the answers to the questions given at the end of the chapter.
- Revise using the important questions given in class by your faculty member.
- Do final revisions using the important questions given on BMS.co.in
Just make sure that you set up specific time lines to each of these steps and review yourself regularly so that you know where you stand and how much syllabus you need to cover. According to me a month should be enough for you to complete reading and learning this subject with ease. Once you are done with these steps you can focus on practise on writing papers so that you can complete the answers on time during the exam, the biggest issue with theory subjects is that we always read and learn them well but while writing answers in the paper we lose track of time and can’t complete the paper on time. Now that the papers have become 75 marks, completing the paper will be a big issue, in such subjects. Focus on practicing as much as you can because it will be very helpful on exam day.
 If you have not devoted the required time to studying the entire syllabus on time and now face difficulties in completing the stuff as you are short on time then you can follow these super easy steps to be able to complete the syllabus on time:
- Read the entire textbook like a novel, you may not remember all the steps and the formats but do make sure that you do this with 2 days.
- Once you are done doing that you will have a certain idea off what this subject deals with, then you can start learning answers from the important questions given by the professor.
- This can be completed within a week, if you still have time left over go to BMS.co.in and learn the important question answers from there.
Mugging up and cramming the answers during the exams is not going to help at all especially where such subjects are concerned because theory over theory is so difficult to mug up and eventually there comes a stage in the exam when you just blank out, so avoid that and follow the three steps given above you might just end up scoring decent marks and saving your GPA from falling.
Mugging Up Vs Understanding – whats the better pick for Theory subjects?
Mugging up is not everyone’s cup of tea and as easy as it may sound until and unless you are used to it since childhood it is a very difficult habit to develop. Similarly not everyone can understand and put those thoughts into words while writing the paper, and many of us who don’t fall into any of these categories end up becoming confused as to how to approach theory subjects and score lesser then the amount of efforts put in. If you are among those who has the habit of mugging up your answers, then it’s going to land you in big trouble further across the BMS course and in life as mugged up matter cannot be retained in the memory for long.
It’s basically the best mechanism for someone who wishes to score brilliant marks but not really learn much out of the whole ordeal. Such system works in your favour till you cross your plus two levels but now that you have chosen the course by your interest so I am assuming that you did so because you wish to make a career out of it and when you do plan to do so it is a must that whatever knowledge the course imparts you absorb it gainfully and apply it whenever necessary.
So if you are into the habit of mugging up and I know how very impossible it is to let go of the same, you will have to work towards letting it go. Understanding a concept and then applying it to the answer paper, is difficult not because you can’t understand the concept but because you can’t put across the right terminology and words to express it and end up losing marks in the process. The solution to this problem is developing a thought process in English, which most of us struggle with. Even though you may be excellent with the language but if you are in the habit of thinking and forming ideas and thoughts in your mother tongue then in times of pressure like in the examination hall, your mind will resort to the language it is most comfortable with making it difficult for you to reproduce the jargon necessary to convey the answer to your examiner.
Start thinking in English and you will be amazed at the immediate difference in your answers. An exam paper at your graduate level does not test how well you remember your textbook author’s words, because there are various sources to study from; what it wishes to test is your understanding of the concept or the theory and unless you express it well, it becomes very difficult for the examiner to award you with the necessary marks.
 Understanding the subject is as important as scoring marks and hence while you shed mugging up, you must adapt to the necessary requirements of being able to express your thoughts well in written format because that is what gets you the marks. If you study your subjects well and actually take interest in them then the BMS course imparts a lot of knowledge and insight into the kind of work life you will be faced with in future, so shed away the habit of ‘mugging up’ and start understanding what you study, it will be worth all the efforts you put in throughout the 3 years of the BMS course.
All the best for RMB 🙂
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