Evidence based decision-making: Research Methods and Skills prioritized at Maastricht School of Management

Maastricht School of Management’s 2016 edition of its cutting-edge Research Methods and Skills course kicked off on 19 September in Maastricht.

(Main photo: Prof Wim Naudé welcoming participants in the 2016 edition of MSM’s research methods and skills course)

Welcoming 12 new full-time students (who will be joined by 10 more students in the blended program) MSM Dean Professor Wim Naudé congratulated the participants on their commitment towards strengthening their skills in research methods, indicating that “MSM is a research-driven school for the basic reason that better management requires evidence-based decision-making, and the methods of science are the best methods that humans have yet devised in this regard”.

The Research Methods and Skills (RMS) course takes 12 weeks to complete full-time (with the option to do some courses online), and consists of five modules: (1) Introduction to Research Philosophy (2) Introduction to Research Methodology (3) Qualitative Research (4) Quantitative Data Analysis and (5) the writing and presentation of an own 10 –page research proposal.

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(Photo: Prof Wim Naudé (centre) with some of the participants in the 2016 edition of MSM’s research methods and skills course)

The course is aimed at all decision-makers (managers, directors, entrepreneurs) who would like to challenge their own practices and thinking about decision-making, and obtain a concise, 12 week overview of the latest methods and approaches. Moreover, it is also aimed at decision-makers who desire to pursue further studies, such as a Doctorate, and need to upgrade their research skills and refine their topic and problem statement.

“Given that this is probably the best and most compact introduction and overview of modern methods of scientific research available in 12 short weeks in the Netherlands, and offered by a top international faculty, we attract a large and growing percentage of international participants, and moreover an increasing number of university faculty members into the program”, said Professor Naudé.

This year, participants will also receive a guest lecture / introduction into the rise and use of so-called “Big data” analytics, including data warehousing, data mining and the use of Tableau in data presentation, and examples of data analytics in sports, health, finance. MSM recently launched an innovative course in Data Analytics for the Sports Industry in collaboration with global data analytics company Gracenote.

Please refer to our website for more information on the RMS training course: https://www.msm.nl/program/program/doctoral-programs/research-methods-and-skills-rms/