The content of MSc operational research courses: Results of a questionnaire to Operational Research OR groups

This paper presents the results of a survey of practising Operational Research OR groups in UK organizations. The survey was conducted as part of the review procedures of Warwick University’s MSc. in Operational Research. The aim was to elicit the views of Operational Research OR practitioners as to the desirable content of such a course. The questionnaire was sent to 66 Operational Research OR groups, of which 45 responded, and covered 75 different topics. As well as presenting the basic results, this paper explores the structure of the responses using factor analysis and attempts to classify the Operational Research OR groups using cluster analysis. Comparisons are drawn with previous surveys and with the SERC Operational Research OR panel recommendations.