Module 1

 Why are we interested in research?

 What is research?
 Characteristics
 Research Types
 Research Designs
“All progress is born of inquiry. Doubt is often
better than overconfidence, for it leads to inquiry
and inquiry leads to invention”

- Hudson Maxim
Business – Line of Work (a particular trade or
profession), Commercial Organization, Activity,
Level, Practices.
Research – Organized study: methodical
investigation into a subject in order to discover
facts, to establish or revise a theory, or to develop
a plan of action based on the facts discovered.
Nature of Research’s Result – Innovation,
Discovery and Re-search.

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Method – way of doing something: especially
according to a plan, theory and technique.
Research Method – refer to the methods
the researchers use in performing research
operations.
Research Methodology – logic behind the
methods along with explanation of particular
method’s use in a specific research study so
that the results being evaluated by
researcher and others.

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 Desire to get research degree along with its
consequential benefits.
 Desire to face challenge in solving the unsolved

problems.
 Desire to get intellectual joy of doing some

creative work.
 Desire to be of service to society.
 Desire to get respectability.
 Science…
◦ a body of established knowledge
◦ the observation, identification, investigation, and
theoretical explanation of natural phenomenon

usually the ultimate goal is theory

generation and verification
 Scientific Method…
◦ involves the principles and processes regarded as
characteristic of or necessary for scientific investigation
◦ process or approach to generating valid and trustworthy
knowledge
 Research…
◦ the application of the scientific method
◦ a systematic process of collecting and logically analyzing
information (data)
 Research Methods (Methodology)…
◦ the ways one collects and analyzes data
◦ methods developed for acquiring trustworthy knowledge
via reliable and valid procedures
 The word research is composed of two words:
re and search
 Prefix re means- again, anew or over again.
 Latter verb means – to examine closely and

carefully, to test and try, or to probe.

 Together they form a noun describing a careful,

systematic, patient study and investigation in

some field of knowledge, undertaken to establish
facts or principles.
Business research is defined as
the systematic and objective
process of generating
information for aid in making
business decisions.
 Business research is an unbiased, structured and
sequential method of enquiry, directed towards a
clear implicit or explicit business objective. This
enquiry might lead to validating existing systems
or methods and arriving at new theories and
models.
 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
 It facilitates the managerial decision process for all

aspects of a business.
 Unbiased/Objective: The researcher makes deliberate efforts
to eliminate personal preference resisting the temptation to
seek only such data that supports his/her hypothesis.
 Systematic - because there is a definite set of procedures
and steps which you will follow. There are certain things in the
research process which are always done in order to get the
most accurate results.
 Verifiable: Research methods and findings are presented to
the professional community for other researchers to analyze,
confirm or reject them.
 Organized -in that there is a structure or method in going
about doing research. It is a planned procedure, not a
spontaneous one. It is focused and limited to a specific
scope.
 Recognition of information needs.
 Effective decision making

 Systematic and objective

 Exude/disseminate information

 Analysis of information

 Recommendations for action

 Collection of information

 Helpful to managers.
 Research helps in quick and objective business
decision making.
 Solving Business Problems

 Identification of a new project, project feasibility

and project implementation.

 Research and Development (R & D) helps

discovery and invention. Developing new products

or modifying the existing products, discovering
new uses, new markets etc., is a continuous
process in business.
 Time constraints
 Availability of data

 Nature of the decision

 Benefits versus costs

 Availability of Benefits
Time Constraints Data Nature of the Decision vs. Costs
Is the infor- Does the value
Is sufficient time
Yes mation already Yes
Is the decision
Yes of the research Yes Conducting
available before of considerable
a managerial
on hand
strategic
information Business
inadequate exceed the cost
decision
for making
or tactical
of conducting Research
must be made? importance?
the decision? research?

No No No No

Do Not Conduct Business Research

 Potential Value of a Business Research Effort
Should Exceed Its Estimated Costs
 Costs
Value •Research
expenditures
•Decreased certainty •Delay of business
•Increased likelihood
decision and
of a correct decision
possible disclosure
•Improved business
of information to
performance and
rivals
resulting higher •Possible erroneous
profits
research results
 General Business Conditions and Corporate
Research
 Financial and Accounting Research

 Management and Organizational Behavior

Research
 Sales and Marketing Research

 Information Systems Research

 Corporate Responsibility Research

 Imagine you wanted to learn what the word ‘professional’
meant to arange of people .
 Deductive Approach
 It is clear that you would want to have a clear theoretical position prior
to collection of data. You might therefore research the subject and
discover a number of definitions of ‘professional’ term, for example, a
number of professional associations. You could then test this definition
on a range of people, using a questionnaire, structured interviews or
group discussion.
 You could carefully select a sample of people on the basis of age,
gender, occupation etc.
 The data gathered could then be collated and the results analysed and
presented.
 This approach offers researchers a relatively easy and systematic way
of testing established ideas on a range of people.
 Inductive Approach
 If you adopted this approach you might start by talking to a range of
people asking for their ideas and definitions of ‘professional’. From
these discussions you could start to assemble the common
elements and then start to compare these with definitions gained
from professional associations.
 The data gathered could then be collated and the results analysed
and presented.
 This approach might lead you to arrive at a new definition of the
word – or it might not! This approach can be very time-consuming,
but the reward might be in terms of arriving at a fresh way of looking
at the subject.
 Common classifications of research are:

--Basic v/s Applied research

--Quantitative v/s Qualitative research
 Basic (aka fundamental or pure ) research is driven by a
scientist's curiosity or interest in a scientific question.
 The main motivation is to expand man's knowledge, not to create or
invent something.
 The purpose behind the study is wider and all encompassing.
 The context is vast and time period flexible.

 For example, basic science investigations probe for answers to

questions such as:

• How did the universe begin?

• What are protons, neutrons, and electrons composed of?
 Applied research refers to scientific study and research that
seeks to solve practical problems.
 Applied research is used to find solutions to everyday problems,
cure illness, and develop innovative technologies, rather than to
acquire knowledge for knowledge's sake.

Examples of Applied Research

 Should McDonalds add Italian pasta dinners to its menu?

 Business research told McDonald’s it should not?

 Should Procter & Gamble add a high-priced home teeth bleaching

kit to its product line?

• Improve agricultural crop production
• Treat or cure a specific disease
• Improve the energy efficiency of homes, offices, or modes of

transportation
 For ex- you might need to study the impact of
merger b/w two large business organizations on
employee morale and subsequent turnover
intention. This is direct and applied research.
 In case the researcher wants to develop an

broader model and framework to explain turnover

intention. This is fundamental and basic research
as it expands the body of knowledge.
 Qualitative research is research dealing with
phenomena that are difficult or impossible to
quantify mathematically, such as beliefs,
meanings, attributes, and symbols.
 Qualitative researchers aim to gather an in-depth

understanding of human behaviour and the

reasons that govern such behaviour.
 The qualitative method investigates the why and

how of decision making, not just what, where,

when.
 Advantages
• It enables more complex aspects of a persons experience to be studied
• Fewer restriction or assumptions are placed on the data to be collected.
• Not everything can be quantified, or quantified easily, Individuals can be
studied in more depth
• The participants are able to provide data in their own words and in their
own way.
Disadvantages
• It is more difficult to determine the validity and reliability of linguistic
data
• “Data overload” – open-ended questions can sometimes create  lots of
data, which can take along time to analyse!
• Time consuming
 Quantitative research  refers to the systematic
empirical investigation of any phenomena via
statistical, mathematical or computational
techniques. The objective of quantitative research
is to develop and employ mathematical
models, theories and/or hypotheses pertaining to
phenomena
 Advantages

• Quantitative research allows the researcher to measure and analyse

data.
• The researcher is more objective about the findings of the research.
• Quantitative research can be used to test hypotheses in experiments
because of its ability to measure data using statistics.

Disadvantages
• The main disadvantage of quantitative research is the context of the
study or experiment is ignored.
• Quantitative research does not study things in a natural setting or

discuss the meaning things have for different people.

• A large sample of the population must be studied for more accurate

results
Thank you