Second Edition

1. Research Methods for Business Students Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill Second Edition Chapter 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Research Methods for Business Students Dr. Wasim Al-Habil.

2. Chapter 4 Research Methods for Business Students

3. Key Topics • To outline the key assumptions of the positivist, interpretivist and realist research philosophies. • To distinguish between two main approaches to research: deductive and inductive. • To identify the main research strategies and explain why these should not be thought of as mutually exclusive. • To explain the benefits of adopting a multi-method approach to the conduct of research. • To explain the concepts of validity and reliability and identify the main threats to validity and reliability. • To understand some of the main ethical issues implied by the choice of research strategy.

4. 4.1 Differing approaches to research • The research process “onion:” • Research philosophy • Research approaches • Research strategies • Time horizons • Data collection methods • See figure 4.1 in page 83

6. 4.1 Differing approaches to research • Research philosophy: • Positivism: The stance of the natural scientist • Interpretivism: The role of the interpretivist to seek to understand the subjective reality of those that they study in order to make sense of and understand their motives, actions and intentions. • Realism: Based on the belief that a reality exists. It is independent of human thoughts and beliefs.

7. Positivism (Logical Positivism) • Positivists attempt to mirror the methods of the natural • and physical scientists. • Through observing reality you can produce laws of the social • world which can be generalised from one context to another • e.g Laws of Supply and Demand in Positive Economics.

8. Positivism • Your role is to be an objective analyst, collecting data and • interpreting it in a value free way. • You are detached, neither affect nor are affected by the • subject of your research. • Emphasise the quantifiable, the observable, and replication • (the ability to repeat research)

9. Phenomenology emphasises.. • That the world is too complex to be reduced to a series of • law-like generalisations. • the uniqueness of people, and circumstances • and the constant nature of change. • details matter - in an attempt to dig into deeper • layers of reality. • subjective reality matters.

10. Phenomenology • Could be used to study – • Organisational culture layer by layer – the visual symbols • the mission statement, and the hidden world of taken • for granted assumptions which influence thinking, feeling • perceptions in the workplace. • Warning! • Finding ‘the reality working behind the reality’ may be • too challenging for some!

11. Research approaches The research process ‘onion’ Research approaches

12. Choosing a research approach A deductive approach? You develop a theory and design a strategy to test hypotheses. A close ally to the philosophy of positivism. A scientific approach. An inductive approach? You collect data and develop a theory as a result of your data analysis A close ally to the philosophy of phenomenology.

13. 4.1 Differing approaches to research • Choosing a research approach: • Deduction: testing theory: • Deducing a hypothesis from theory. • Expressing the hypothesis in operational terms. • Testing this operational hypothesis. • Examining the specific outcome of the inquiry. • If necessary, modifying the theory in the light of the findings.

14. Deduction: testing theory X does occur - theory supported If theory is true Test X X will occur X does not occur - theory challenged 15

15. A hypothesis states that there is a relationship between two concepts and specifies the direction of that relationship. Gross annual income Age 16

16. Key terms explained The elements in the boxes are called concepts. The lines between the boxes are called relationships. Theories are composed of concepts linked by relationships.

17. Variables A positive sign shows a positive relationship, e.g. (hours of study rises, exam grades rise) A negative sign shows a negative relationship, e.g. (Price of houses rises, demand falls) 19

18. Variables A variable is a characteristic which has more than one category or value. e.g. ‘Age’ The effect is called a dependent variable (Y); The assumed cause is called an independent variable (X) An intervening variable (Z) is the means by which X affects Y……..

19. variables Education job income Y X Z

20. 4.1 Differing approaches to research • Choosing a research approach • Deduction: testing theory • Several important characteristics: • There is a search to explain causal relationships between variables. • Concepts need to be operationalized in a way that enables facts to be measured quantitatively. • Generalization.

21. 4.1 Differing approaches to research • Choosing a research approach • Induction: building theory. • It enables you to take a more informed decision about your research design. • It will help you to think about those research approaches that will work for you and, crucially, those that will not. • A knowledge of the different research traditions enables you to adapt your research design to cater for constraints.

22. Induction: building theory Sir Francis Bacon 1561-1626 What is the experience of working at a particular firm? We could interview employees in UNRWA to get a feel for the issues and then analyse the data, and eventually formulate a theory about job satisfaction. With induction – theory follows data.

23. Induction: building theory Sir Francis Bacon 1561-1626 • Human beings interpret their world – they have • consciousness. • They are not unthinking research objects who respond • like the coffee machine in the corridor to the stimulus • of cash injections • Humans devise alternative explanations to the • orthodox view – they have their own stories (narratives).

24. Induction: building theory Sir Francis Bacon 1561-1626 • Context matters. • A small sample may be appropriate. • Qualitative methods acceptable. • More likely to find out ‘why’ X is happening rather than • ‘what’ is happening.

25. 4.1 Differing approaches to research • Choosing a research approach. • For major differences between deductive and inductive approaches to research, please see box 4.1 in page 89.

26. Research strategies The research process ‘onion’ Research strategies

27. 4.2 The need for a clear research strategy • List: • Experiment • Survey • Case study • Grounded theory • Ethnography • Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies • Exploratory, descriptive and explanatory studies

28. 4.2 The need for a clear research strategy • Experiment: • Definition of a theoretical hypothesis. • Selection of samples of individuals from known populations. • Allocation of samples to different experimental conditions. • Introduction of planned change on one or more of the variables. • Measurement on a small number of the variables • Control of other variables.

29. The experimental design 1. Control group Pre-test Post-test 5. Experimental group Pre-test Post-test 2. 3. 4.

30. The experimental design: stages 1. Allocate subjects to groups using systematic controls and randomization 2. Measure both groups on dependent variable 3. Introduce independent variable to experimental group 4. Measure both groups again on dependent variable 5.Compare both groups on dependent variable.

31. 4.2 The need for a clear research strategy • Survey: • The survey strategy is usually associated with the deductive approach. • They allow the collection of a large amount of data from a sizeable population in a highly economical way. • Using a survey strategy should give you more control over the research process. • The data collected by the survey strategy may not be as wide-ranging as those collected by other research strategies. • The questionnaire is not the only way to collect data.

32. Research questions appropriate for a survey • 1. Behaviour. • 2. Attitudes /Beliefs / Opinions. • Characteristics. • 4. Expectations. • 5. Self-classification. • 6. Knowledge. 10

33. Main advantages of survey • ability to collect large amounts of data; • the relatively cheap cost at which these data • may be collected; • perceived as authoritative (trustworthy) by some;

34. 4.2 The need for a clear research strategy • Case study: • A strategy for doing research which involves an empirical investigation of a particular contemporary phenomenon within its real life context using multiple sources of evidence. • The data collection methods employed may be various. They may include questionnaires, interviews, observation, documentary analysis.

35. 4.2 The need for a clear research strategy • Grounded theory: • Data collection starts without the formation of an initial theoretical framework. Theory is developed from data generated by a series of observations. • These data lead to the generation of predictions that are then tested in further observations which may confirm.

36. 4.2 The need for a clear research strategy • Ethnography: • It emanates from the field of anthropology. • The purpose is to interpret the social world the research subjects inhabit in the way in which they interpret it. • Although not a dominant research strategy in business, ethnography may be very appropriate.

37. 4.2 The need for a clear research strategy • Action research: • The strengths of an action research strategy are a focus upon change, the recognition that time needs to be devoted to reconnaissance (fact finding and analysis), monitoring and evaluation and the involvement of employees throughout the process. • The action research spiral • See figure 4.2 in page 95.

38. Time horizons The research process ‘onion’ Time horizons

39. 4.2 The need for a clear research strategy • Time horizons: • We should emphasize here that these time perspectives to research design are independent of which research strategy you are pursing.

40. 4.2 The need for a clear research strategy • Cross-sectional studies: • It is probable that your research will be cross-sectional, the study of a particular phenomenon at a particular time. • We recognize that most research projects undertaken for academic courses are necessarily time constrained.

41. 4.2 The need for a clear research strategy • Longitudinal studies: • The main strength of longitudinal research is the capacity to study change and development. • Even with time constraints it is possible to introduce a longitudinal element to yourresearch.

42. Exploratory, descriptive and explanatory studies Explanatory or Analytical More strategies……. Descriptive Exploratory Goals or Purposes of Research

43. 4.2 The need for a clear research strategy • Exploratory, descriptive and explanatory studies • Exploratory: • Exploratory Study: A valuable means of finding out “what is happening; to seek new insights; to ask questions and to assess phenomena in a new light”. • Three principal ways • A search of the literature • Talking to experts in the subjects • Conducting focus group interviews

44. 4.2 The need for a clear research strategy • Descriptive studies: It is necessary to have a clear picture of the phenomena on which you wish to collect data prior to the collection of the data. • It portrays a person, situation, or a phenomenon.

45. 4.2 The need for a clear research strategy • Explanatory studies: The emphasis here is on studying a situation or a problem in order to explain the relationship between variables.

46. Research Possibilities Grid

47. 4.2 The need for a clear research strategy • Practitioner-researcher • Researching in your organization or working context. • Advantages: • Familiarity • knowledge • Disadvantages: • Ignorance • Status • Time

48. 4.3 Using multi-methods • There are two major advantages to employing multi-methods in the same study. • Different methods can be used for different purposes in a study. • It enables triangulation to take place.

49. 4.4 The credibility of research findings • Reliability: • The same results in other occasions, by other researchers, and in a transparent way of raw data collection. • were your work to be replicated by another, would the same result be produced? • Threats to reliability • Participant error (Monday morning and Friday afternoon) • Participant bias (Interviewees may see what they think their bosses want them to say) • Observer error (Different approaches to elicit answers or replies) • Observer bias (Different approaches to interpret answers or replies)

50. 4.4 The credibility of research findings • Validity: Concerned with whether the findings are really about what they appear to be about. • Did your approaches, methods and techniques relate to the issues you were exploring and the variables you attempted to measure? • Threats to validity: • History (Research about job satisfaction conducted shortly after an increase in salaries). • Testing (Suppose your research included timing the number of sales entered by a person on the checkout of supermarket – If the operators felt that the results of the inquiry would damage them this could affect the findings.) • Instrumentation (Suppose the operators were told to increase the sales and outcome between the times you tested the first and the second group of operators – this could affect the outcome.) • Mortality (Participants dropping out of studies: change in the management style which affects the results) • Maturation (Other events or factors happen during the time of the research: New manager being hired) • Ambiguity about casual direction (A is causing B or B is causing A. Negative attitude to performance causes the poor performance ratings or the later causing the first. Or ill health and unemployment)