Download
1 / 17
E N D
Business Research Methods Dr SyedMohsin Ali Shah BBA 5th and BS 7th (B and F) Department of Management Sciences AWKUM Lecturer 1
Business Research MethodsWhat is research? “Research is the process of findingsolutions to a problem after a thorough study and analysis of thesituational factors.” Saunders et al. (2011; P: 5) define research as: “Research is something that people undertake in order to find out things in a systematic way, thereby increasing their knowledge.” Two things are important about this definition: • Systematic way . • To find out things
Business Research MethodsWhat is research? (Cont.) • Research provides the needed information that guides managers to make informed decisions to successfully deal with problems. • The information provided could be the result of a careful analysis of data gathered firsthand or of data that are already available (in the company). • Research information is neither intuitive nor haphazardly gathered. • Literally, research (re-search) -“search again” • Business research must be objective • Detached and impersonal rather than biased
Business Research MethodsThe nature of business research Easterby-Smith et al. (2008) stated the nature of business research as: • The way in which managers (and researchers) draw on knowledge developed by other disciplines; • The fact that managers tend to be powerful and busy people. Therefore, theyare unlikely to allow research access unless they can see personal or commercialadvantages; • The fact that managers are educated. Many now have undergraduate and postgraduatedegrees and, as such, tend often to be as well educated as those conducting research about them.
Business Research MethodsThe nature of business research(Cont.) • The requirement for the research to have some practical consequence. This means iteither needs to contain the potential for taking some form of action or needs to takeaccount of the practical consequences of the findings. • Another feature of managementresearch highlighted in the debate is a belief that it should be able to develop ideasand to relate them to practice.
Business Research Methods The nature of business research (Cont.) • Business and Management research needs to engage with both the world of theory and the world of practice. • In the past decade debate about the nature of management research has focused onhow it can meet the double hurdle of being both theoretically and methodologically rigorous,while at the same time embracing the world of practice and being of practical relevance(Hodgkinson et al. 2001). • In this regards, the work of Gibbons et al. (1994) has an importance:
Business Research Methods The nature of business research (Cont.) Mode 1: knowledge creation emphasizesresearch in which the questions are set and solved by academic interests,emphasizing afundamental rather than applied nature, where there is little if any focus on utilization ofthe research by practitioners. Mode 2: Emphasizes a context for research governed by the world of practice, highlighting the importance of collaboration both with and between practitioners (Starkey and Madan 2001) and the need for the production of practical relevant knowledge. Drawing from these debates, it could be argued that business andmanagementresearch not only needs to provide findings that advance knowledge and understanding,it also needs to address business issues and practical managerial problems.
Business Research Methods Types of Business research • Applied research • Is to solve a current problem faced by the manager in the work setting, demanding a timely solution. 2. Basic research (fundamental, pure) • Is to generate a body of knowledge by trying to comprehend how certain problems that occur in organizations can be solved. • The findings of such research contribute to the building of knowledge in the various functional areas of business.
Business Research Methods Types of Business research (Cont.)
Business Research Methods Types of Business research (Cont.) Other types of research • Case studies: (Case studies Involve in depth, contextual analyses of similar situations in other organizations. Case study, as a problem solving technique, is not often undertaken in organizations) • Action Research: (Action research Is sometimes undertaken by consultants who want to initiate change processes in organizations. Thus, action research is a constantly evolving project with interplay among problem, solution, effects or consequences, and new solution)
Business Research Methods Types of Business research (Cont.) Other types of research • Descriptive Research: (Descriptive research includes surveys and fact-finding enquiries of different kinds.) • The major purpose of descriptive research is description of the state of affairs as it exists at present. • The main characteristic of this method is that the researcher has no control over the variables; he can only report what has happened or what is happening. • Analytical Research: (Analytical research, on the other hand, the researcher has to use facts or information already available, and analyze these to make a critical evaluation of the material. • Analytical research attempts to explain why and how. • It usually concerns itself with cause–effect relationships .
Business Research Methods Types of Business research (Cont.) Other types of research • Qualitative research: (Qualitative research is concerned with qualitative phenomenon, i.e., phenomena relating to or involving quality or kind. Qualitative research is specially important in the behavioral sciences where the aim is to discover the underlying motives of human behavior. • This type of research aims at discovering the underlying motives and desires, using in depth interviews for the purpose. • For instance, when we are interested in Investigating the reasons for human behavior, we quite often talk of Motivation Research’ • Quantitative research: (Quantitative research is based on the measurement of quantity or amount. • It is applicable to phenomena that can be expressed in terms of quantity. • It usually involves collecting and converting data into numerical form so that statistical calculations can be made and conclusions drawn.
Business Research Methods Types of Business research (Cont.) Other types of research • Conceptual research: (Research related to some abstract idea or theory generally used by philosophers and thinkers to develop new concepts or to reinterpret existing ones) • The researcher breaks down a theorem or concept into its constituent parts to gain a better & deeper understanding of the issue concerning the theorem. • Conceptual research is a useful method but should be used in conjunction with other methods to produce better &understandable results. • Empirical Research: (Research done on experience or observation alone, without due regard for system and theory. It is also called experimental research as the conclusions can be verified by observation or experiment.) • The researcher provides himself with a working hypothesis to get the probable results. Facts are found to prove or disprove the hypothesis are made to bring forth the desired information.
Business Research Methods The Hall Marks of Scientific Research • Purposive: (Started the research with a definite aim or purpose). • Rigor: (Rigor connotes carefulness, scrupulousness, and the degree of exactitude in research investigations. • Testability: (the manager or researcher develops certain hypotheses on how employee commitment can be enhanced, then these can be tested by applying certain statistical tests to the data collected for the purpose. • Re-plicability: (The results of the tests of hypotheses should be supported again and yet again when the same type of the research is repeated in other similar circumstances.
Business Research Methods The Hall Marks of Scientific Research (Cont.) • Precision and confidence: (Design the research in a manner the ensures that our findings are as close to reality). • Precision: (Reflects the degree of accuracy or exactitude of the results on the basis of the sample, to what really exists in the universe). • Confidence: (Refer to the probability that our estimations are correct, it is important that we can confidently claim that 95% of the time our results will be true and there is only a 5% chance of our being wrong). • Objectivity: (The conclusion drawn through the interpretation of the results of data analysis should be based on facts of the findings derived from actual data, and not on our own subjective or emotional values.)
Business Research Methods The Hall Marks of Scientific Research (Cont.) • Generalizability: (Refers to the scope of applicability of the research findings in one organizational setting to other settings). • Parsimony: (Simplicity in explaining the phenomena or problems that occur, and in generating solutions for the problem, And it can be introduced with a good understanding of the problem and the important factors that influence it).
