Management Research and

methods
SUBJECT CODE – 2.2
CREDITS – 4
TEXT BOOKS – 1. Deepak Chawla, Neena Sondhi,
“Research Methodology,concepts and cases”, Vikas publishing
house
2. CR Kothari and Gaurav Garg,
“Research Methodology” 4th Edition, New age International
publications
 Module 1- Business Research
 After studying this chapter you will be able to understand –

• Meaning and Definition of Research

• Role of research
• Types of research
• Process of research
• Important terminologies of research
• Features of good research
• Ethical issues in research
Why Study Business Research ?
 1. Google Glass
Company: Google
Year introduced: 2013
What it was: Wearable technology

The announcement began with a statement of

principle: “We think technology should work for you
-- to be there when you need it and get out of your
way when you don’t.”

After two years of disappointing sales, it was

Discontinued the product in 2015
clear consumers did not need Google Glass
 Role of Business Research

Research provide various Provide analysed and

alternatives available, processed information about
business choose best product. , market, competition
alternative. and business environment

exploring Defective or poor

management decisions
within the organization.

reducing cost of production planning, motivating,

whereas profit forecasting, coordinating,
maximization is the aim of controlling, evaluatio
marketing operations

Research helps to have alternative solutions

to single problem
Meaning and Definition
 Research in simple terms refers to search for knowledge.
 It is a scientific and systematic search for information on a particular topic or issue.
 It is also known as the art of scientific investigation
 According to Redman and Mory (1923), research is a “systematized effort to gain new
knowledge”
 According to Clifford Woody (kothari, 1988), research comprises “defining and
redefining problems, formulating hypotheses or suggested solutions; collecting,
organizing and evaluating data; making deductions and reaching conclusions; and
finally, carefully testing the conclusions to determine whether they fit the formulated
hypotheses
Objectives Of Research
 The objective of research is to find answers to the questions by applying scientific procedures.
 In other words, the main aim of research is to find out the truth which is hidden and has not yet
been discovered.
 1. To gain familiarity with new insights into a phenomenon (i.e., formulative research studies);
 2. To accurately portray the characteristics of a particular individual, group, or a situation (i.e.,
descriptive research studies);
 3. To analyze the frequency with which something occurs (i.e., diagnostic research studies); and
 4. To examine the hypothesis of a causal relationship between two variables (i.e., hypothesis-
testing research studies).
 Characteristics of Research
1. The research should focus on priority problems.
2. The research should be systematic. It emphasizes that a researcher should employ a structured
procedure.
3. The research should be logical. Without manipulating ideas logically, the scientific researcher cannot
make much progress in any investigation.
4. The research should be reductive. This means that the findings of one researcher should be made
available to other researchers to prevent them from repeating the same research.
5. The research should be replicable. This asserts that there should be scope to confirm the findings of
previous research in a new environment and different settings with a new group of subjects or at a
different point in time.
6. The research should be generative. This is one of the valuable characteristics of research because
answering one question leads to generating many other new questions
7. The research should be action-oriented. In other words, it should be aimed at reaching a solution leading
to the implementation of its findings.
8. The research should follow an integrated multidisciplinary approach, i.e., research approaches from more
than one discipline are needed.
9. The research should be participatory, involving all parties concerned (from policymakers down to
community members) at all stages of the study.
10. The research must be relatively simple, timely, and time-bound, employing a comparatively simple
design.
11. The research must be as much cost-effective as possible.
12. The results of the research should be presented in formats most useful for administrators, decision-
makers, business managers, or the community members.
 Types of research:
Applied research:
Applied research refers to scientific study and research that seeks to solve practical problems.
This type of research plays an important role in solving everyday problems that often have an impact on life,
work, health, and overall well-being.
Applied research is a type of research design that seeks to solve a specific problem or provide innovative
solutions to issues affecting an individual, group or society.
When conducting applied research, the researcher takes extra care to identify a problem, develop a research
hypothesis and goes ahead to test these hypotheses via an experiment
A few examples of applied research include:

1. Analyzing what type of prompts will inspire people to volunteer their time to charities
2. Investigating if background music in a work environment can contribute to greater productivity
3. Investigating which treatment approach is the most effective for reducing anxiety
4. Researching which strategies work best to motivate workers
 Basic research/Fundamental Research

Basic research is also known as fundamental or pure research since it is mainly concerned with the improvement
of scientific knowledge.

The purpose of basic research is simply to gather more information to further understand existing phenomena
specially in the field of natural sciences
Its focus is on supporting as well as challenging assumptions which aim to explain various phenomena.
Hence, fundamental research is purely theoretical as it delves into basic laws and principles.
Though the engendered ideas may not be directly applied to current situations, such conclusions from basic
research are highly fundamental in enhancing future applied studies
Gravitational is an example for Fundamental research
Quantitative research
Quantitative research is expressed in numbers and graphs.
It is used to test or confirm theories and assumptions.
This type of research can be used to establish generalizable facts about a topic.
Common quantitative methods include experiments, observations recorded as numbers, and surveys
with closed-ended questions.
Quantitative data collection methods
Surveys: List of closed or multiple choice questions that is distributed to a sample (online, in person,
or over the phone).
Experiments: Situation in which variables are controlled and manipulated to establish cause-and-
effect relationships.
Observations: Observing subjects in a natural environment where variables can’t be controlled.
Qualitative research
Qualitative research is expressed in words.
It is used to understand concepts, thoughts or experiences.
This type of research enables you to gather in-depth insights on topics that are not well understood.
Common qualitative methods include interviews with open-ended questions, observations described in
words, and literature reviews that explore concepts and theories.
Qualitative data collection methods
Interviews: Asking open-ended questions verbally to respondents.
Focus groups: Discussion among a group of people about a topic to gather opinions that can be used
for further research.
Ethnography: Participating in a community or organization for an extended period of time to closely
observe culture and behavior.
Literature review: Survey of published works by other authors.
The differences between quantitative and qualitative
research

Quantitative research Qualitative Research

Focuses on testing theories and hypotheses Focuses on exploring ideas and formulating a theory or
hypothesis
Analyzed through math and statistical analysis Analyzed by summarizing, categorizing and interpreting
Mainly expressed in numbers, graphs and tables Mainly expressed in words
Requires many respondents Requires few respondents
Closed (multiple choice) questions Open-ended questions
Key terms: testing, measurement, objectivity, replicability Key terms: understanding, context, complexity,
subjectivity
 Conceptual and Empirical Research

Conceptual research involves abstract ideas and concepts,

whereas empirical research involves research based on observation, experiments and verifiable
evidence.
Conceptual research and empirical research are two ways of doing scientific research.
These are two opposing types of research frameworks since conceptual research doesn’t involve any
experiments and empirical research does.
Descriptive vs. Analytical Research

Descriptive research classifies, describes, compares, and measures data. Meanwhile, analytical research
focuses on cause and effect.

For example, take numbers on the changing trade deficits between the United States and the rest of the
world in 2015-2018. This is descriptive research. For example, you may talk about the mean or average
trade deficit. Meanwhile, analytical research measures something different. Instead, you’d look at why
and how the trade deficit has change.
Field/Simulation/Laboratory Research (Based on where research happens)
Field Research is a method of collecting qualitative data with the aim to understand, observe, and interact with
people in their natural setting.
Clinical research is the study of health and illness in people. It is the way we learn how to prevent, diagnose and
treat illness. Clinical research describes many different elements of scientific investigation.
Historical research (uses historical documents and remains, ex. Archaeologist)
Exploratory (fresh, basic, development of hypothesis) Vs Formal research (High procedures, hypothesis testing)
Causal research, sometimes referred to as explanatory research, is a type of study that evaluates whether two
different situations have a cause-and-effect relationship.
Research Process:

Problem formulation
Extensive literature survey
Developing of working hypothesis
Development of research design
Developing sampling design
Collecting the data and execution of project
Analysis of data
Testing for hypothesis
Generalizations and Interpretation
Report/Thesis preparation
 Some important terms of Research

Abstract:
A clear, concise summary that communicates the essential information about the study. In research
journals, it is usually located at the beginning of an article.
Data: Units of information or any statistics, facts, figures, general material, evidence, or knowledge
collected during the course of the study.
VARIABLES: Attributes or characteristics that can have more than one value, such as height or weight.
Variables are qualities or quantities, properties or characteristics of people, things, or situations that
change or vary.
An independent variable is the variable you manipulate or vary in an experimental study to explore its
effects. It’s called “independent” because it’s not influenced by any other variables in the study
A dependent variable is the variable that changes as a result of the independent variable manipulation. It’s
the outcome you’re interested in measuring, and it “depends” on your independent variable
How long you sleep (independent variable) affects your test score (dependent variable).
PROPOSITION : A Proposition is a statement or assertion of the relationship between concepts. E.g.,
relationship between anxiety and performance.
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK : Interrelated concepts or abstractions that are assembled together in
some rational scheme by virtue of their relevance to a common theme. It is also referred to as theoretical
framework.
ASSUMPTION • Basic principle that is being true on the basis of logic or reason, without proof or
verification.
HYPOTHESIS • A statement of the predicted relationship between two or more variables in a research
study; an educated or calculated guess by the researcher.
LITERATURE REVIEW • A critical summary or research on a topic of interest, generally prepared to
put a research problem in context or to identify gaps and weaknesses in prior studies so as to justify a new
investigation.
LIMITATIONS • Restrictions in a study that may decrease the credibility and generalizability of the
research findings. or studies so as to justify a new investigation.
MANIPULATION • An intervention or treatment introduced by the researcher in an experimental or quasi
experimental study; the researcher manipulates the independent variable to assess its impact on the
dependent variable.
POPULATION • The entire set of individuals or objects having some common characteristic(s) selected for a research study is referred
to as population.
TARGET POPULATION • The entire population in which the researchers are interested and to which they would like to generalize the
research findings.
RESEARCH SETTING • The study setting is the location in which the research is conducted. It could be natural, partially controlled
environment or laboratories.
SAMPLE • A part or subset of population selected to participate in the research study.
REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE • A sample whose characteristics are highly similar to that of the population from which it is drawn.
SAMPLING • The process of selecting sample from the target population to represent the entire population.
PROBABILITY SAMPLING • The selection of subjects or sampling units from a population using random procedure; E.g., Simple
random Sampling, Stratified random Sampling.
NON PROBABILITY SAMPLING • The selection of subjects or sampling units from a population using non random procedure. E.g.,
Convenient Sampling, Purposive Sampling.
RELIABILITY • The degree of consistency or accuracy with which an instrument measures the attributes it is designed to measure.
VALIDITY • The degree to which an instrument what it is intended to measure.
PILOT STUDY • Study carried out at the end of the planning phase of research in order to explore and test the research elements to
make relevant modifications in research tools and methodology.
ANALYSIS • Method of organizing , sorting, and scrutinizing data in such a way that research question can be answered or meaningful
inferences can be drawn.
 Statement of the problem
Problem statement is an explanation in research that describes the issue that is in need of study. What
problem is the research attempting to address? Having a Problem Statement allows the reader to quickly
understand the purpose and intent of the research. The importance of writing your research proposal
cannot be stressed enough.
Need of the Study:
The Significance of the Study presents the importance of your research. It gives you an opportunity to
prove the study’s impact on your field of research, the new knowledge it contributes, and the people who
will benefit from it.
Variable:
A variable is a characteristic that can be measured and that can assume different values. Height, age,
income, province or country of birth, grades obtained at school and type of housing are all examples of
variables.
INDEPENDENT & DEPENDENT VARIABLE:
Researchers often manipulate or measure independent and dependent variables in studies to test cause-
and-effect relationships.
The independent variable is the cause. Its value is independent of other variables in your study.
The dependent variable is the effect. Its value depends on changes in the independent variable.
You design a study to test whether changes in room temperature have an effect on math test scores.
Your independent variable is the temperature of the room. You vary the room temperature by making it
cooler for half the participants, and warmer for the other half.

Your dependent variable is math test scores. You measure the math skills of all participants using a
standardized test and check whether they differ based on room temperature.
Quantitative vs categorical variables
Quantitative vs categorical variables
Data is a specific measurement of a variable – it is the value you record in your data sheet.
Data is generally divided into two categories:
Quantitative data represents amounts.
Categorical data represents groupings.
variable that contains quantitative data is a quantitative variable; a variable that contains
categorical data is a categorical variable. Each of these types of variable can be broken down
into further types.
 Theoretical Framework.
A theoretical framework consists of concepts and, together with their definitions and reference to relevant scholarly
literature, existing theory that is used for your particular study. The theoretical framework must demonstrate an
understanding of theories and concepts that are relevant to the topic of your research paper and that relate to the
broader areas of knowledge being considered.
The theoretical framework strengthens the study in the following ways:
An explicit statement of theoretical assumptions permits the reader to evaluate them critically.
The theoretical framework connects the researcher to existing knowledge. Guided by a relevant theory, you are given
a basis for your hypotheses and choice of research methods.
Articulating the theoretical assumptions of a research study forces you to address questions of why and how. It
permits you to intellectually transition from simply describing a phenomenon you have observed to generalizing
about various aspects of that phenomenon.
Having a theory helps you identify the limits to those generalizations. A theoretical framework specifies which key
variables influence a phenomenon of interest and highlights the need to examine how those key variables might differ
and under what circumstances.
Deduction Logic
Deductive reasoning works from the more general to the more specific. Sometimes this is informally
called a “top-down” approach. We might begin with thinking up a theory about our topic of interest. We
then narrow that down into more specific hypotheses that we can test. We narrow down even further
when we collect observations to address the hypotheses. This ultimately leads us to be able to test the
hypotheses with specific data – a confirmation (or not) of our original theories.
Inductive reasoning

Inductive reasoning is a method of drawing conclusions by going from the specific

to the general. It's usually contrasted with deductive reasoning, where you go from
general information to specific conclusions. Inductive reasoning is also called
inductive logic or bottom-up reasoning.
Inductive reasoning is a logical approach to making inferences, or conclusions.
People often use inductive reasoning informally in everyday situations.