Session [01]: Introduction to Research

Session 01
Introduction to Research
Contents
Introduction
1.1 What is Research ,P2
1.2 What is Business Research ,P3
1.3 Basic and Applied Research in Business ,P4
1.4 Importance of Studying Business Research, P5
1.5 Global Business Research, P8
Summary, P10
Learning Outcomes

Introduction
Research provides insights to understand the uncover areas in the world and it helps to
finding solutions to a problem through analyzing the situations. The intention of this
session is to introduce you to the course of research methodology.
First we will define research with a view to helping you to understand the concept of
research. It will be further discuss various definitions and key words by using examples.
In the second section of the session, you will be able to identify the business research and
it will explain how business research be different from the research. We will then go onto
discuss the different categories of research. In this section you can understand the basic
research and applied research. Further, examples will support you to identify the
differences between two concepts. The next section will discuss the importance of
research. This will help you to understand the benefits you may get from studying
research. Finally, this session will help you to identify the global business research and
practices with examples. It will help you to understand the global research firms and
practices. Five activities are included in this session to help you test your knowledge.

“Exploration is really the essence of the human spirit.” Frank Borman

Humans like to explore things. People like to explore nature, teachings of
different religions, different countries, the behaviour of living beings and many more
things relating to them. This pattern has immensely helped us in reading and
understanding the world. Kamal is a level five student following the Bachelor of
Management Studies (BMS) at the Open University of Sri Lanka and travels to
University from his home at Bandaragama by bus and while traveling Kamal tends to
explore things around. On his way to the Open University some that he has observed are
mentioned below.
 Session [01]: Introduction to Research

1. Different shops
2.Trees
3.Traffic
4.Poeple moving around
5. Behaviour of people inside the bus
6. Behaviour of people outside the bus

Activity 01

Please list down what you can observe once you are on the way to the Open University
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1.1. What is Research?

Similar to Kamal, we too explore things and that is natural. In order to observe the
behaviour of people; it is necessary to observe the behaviour of the environment.
Observation could also be considered as a vital part of research.
Then, what is research?
There may be different definitions for research. As research is a really an interesting
subject and it is important to look at how people define research.
Re+ Search = Research
You can see many things happening around and it is important for us to question things
and try to search that again (re +search). Refer to the following example in the picture .

Figure 1.1
As depicted, just think in case Newton did not attempt to find an answer to the question
“why” when he saw an apple fell on the ground, then you could not have known about
 Session [01]: Introduction to Research

“The Universal Law of Gravitation”. This simple example reflects how human beings,
by nature have been given the ability to explore things or to conduct Re +search!
It is important to see some other definitions of research as well.
“"In the broadest sense of the word, the definition of research includes any gathering of
data, information and facts for the advancement of knowledge”
The above definition (by Shuttleworth, 2015) can be considered as a broad definition
which basically discusses about;
1. Gathering of data, information and facts
2. Advancement of knowledge

One of the prominent researcher and academic known for his work in mixed methods
research, Creswell (2015) defines research as “a process of steps used to collect and
analyze information to increase our understanding of a topic or issue”.

Above definition consists of three steps.

1. Pose a question
2. Collect data to answer the question
3. Present an answer to the question posed initially.
As defined by Cresswell (2015), the objective of research is to increase our understanding
of a topic or issue. As explained earlier Kamal would just see that there is traffic on
Bandaragama –Nugegoda route. Nevertheless, if he starts to deeply think and try to
increase his understanding of the reasons for traffic then he would tend to explore more in
the world of research.
In research, we always like to do something in a systematic way. It also means that there
has to be a logical relationship between the observed facts and the context of the problem
or issue. If you start to think that today will be a bad day for you, it is not are search, it is
merely a belief that you entertain (Ghauri and Grønhaug, 2010).

Activity 02

Please list three definitions of “research” and identify some common features in these.

Some common features of Definitions

Definition one
 Session [01]: Introduction to Research

Definition Two

Definition Three

1.2 What is Business Research?

People need to deal with many problems in their day-to-day life and there exists a
problem in relation to availability of resources. The problem of allocation of resources
arises due to the scarcity of resources. Hence, we are to make decisions about how to
allocate limited resources efficiently, in order to satisfy basic needs and as many
additional wants as possible. Therefore, it is vital for us to have proper planning,
organization, implementation and controlling mechanisms. In this context, we have to
conduct business research that deals with numerous organisational issues in relation to
customers, employees, suppliers, competitors, other stakeholders and business
environment. These issues can have a direct or an indirect impact on profitability and
other numerous organizational objectives.

Research Business Research

Figure 1.2
As depicted above, Business Research also can be considered as part of research in the
existing domain of knowledge.
 Session [01]: Introduction to Research

1.3 Basic and Applied Research in Business

In my University, I am interested in conducting a study on “Consumer behaviour in a
panic shopping situation similar to the current conditions created by Corona Pandemic”.
This is something related to basic research that aims at expanding the existing boundaries
of knowledge, nevertheless, this will not give practical solution to any prevailing, specific
management problem. Thus, the following characteristics in Basic research could be
observed (Saunders, 2011)
1. Basic research is undertaken mostly in universities when pursuing an academic
agenda.
2. It is a key role that has to be played by the academic community.
3. It gives relatively a little attention to practical applications.

See the following scenario; an example for applied research.

Kamal's friend, Karthik is an entrepreneur in Negombo and having his own restaurant
operating 24/7 hours. He wants to add Avocado Toast into the breakfast menu as a new
item from next week and therefore, he intends to do a study on this, something that is
really interesting. This is referred to as “Applied research” and in applied research, the
following attributes could be observed (Saunders, 2011)
1. You can see direct and immediate relevance to managers' decision making.
2. It is conducted when a decision must be made about a specific real-life problem.
3. It is presented in ways that they can be understood and acted upon.
In Business research, you can see both basic research and applied research.

Activity 03

Refer the following applied research scenario and describe whether you could observe above
mentioned characteristics in relation to applied research
“A study into the ways of improving the levels of customer retentions in Cargills super markets in Sri
Lanka”

1.4 Importance of Studying Business Research

Today, you could hardly come across business that does not use research and
development in their day-to-day activities. Success and continuous growth in the society
are derived through the findings of quality research work and development.
Research has special importance in relation to identifying and solving various problems
of business and industry. Business research could be related to economics, business
strategy, and ethics, in fact, anything related to modern day business and trade.
Accordingly, we can identify several important aspects of business research.
 Session [01]: Introduction to Research

Activity 4

Why is the business research important to Management students like Kamal and you ?
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Why business research

is important?

Let us talk about

importance of the
business research

Figure 1.3
Kamal and Geetha discuss the importance of business research with their lecturer and
finally they identified below facts and examples.

1. A tool for building new knowledge

Research is required not just for students and academics, but also for professionals and
nonprofessionals. Thus, research is an essential component in generating knowledge.
Ex-: Business research will help to managers and other employees to enhance their
knowledge in a vast range of different fields.

2. It can keep you updated with current trends in the market.

Research is required in identifying new business trends in the market. It helps in seeking
new business opportunities and in adapting to changing environments.
Ex-: Researchers identified that the Visual learning methods would be the most effective
method for understanding the lessons. Considering these findings academics could use
visual learning methods for teaching. Further, business organizations use research
findings to create advertisements and promotional campaigns.

3. It helps you to minimize business risks.

Research helps businesses to mitigate risks and make effective decisions through the
findings of the respective work. It helps to formulate investments and financial plans
effectively.
 Session [01]: Introduction to Research

Ex-: Kamal's brother plans to conduct a research to understand the viability in investing
money in his new business project and the result of this research could help him in
making the right decision.

Figure 1.4

4. It helps you to identify opportunities and threats in the marketplace.

Business Research is important for your business in order to understand the external
environmental opportunities and existing threats in the marketing place, thus, helping you
to gain competitive advantage in the market.
Ex-: Through the research findings, Kamal's brother found that most of the companies are
making a move towards automation from manual work. As a result, he is planning to
invest his money in a new IT project.

5. Associated benefits for fields; Government, Business administration,

community development & social work.
Research is not only important for academics and students; it also helps Government,
administration and community as a whole.
Ex-: The Government conduct and gather information through censes and specialized
surveys, which are processed and published by the Census department. This information
helps to marketers for forecasting future demand in the market.

6. It helps to build a better market position.

Business Research helps you to communicate in a better way with the existing and
potential customers in the market. It gives an idea of the target market and provides
signals on perfect time to launch the new product and how to position it in the market.

Ex-: The XYZ Company conducting discussions with retailers about the different brands
that they sell can be considered as a focus group discussion. The results of this business
research will help marketing managers determine whether they need to expand their
product distribution.
 Session [01]: Introduction to Research

Discussion with Retailers Create profitable distribution channels

7. It helps manage the human resource in an effective and efficient

manner.
Business Research helps in staffing of employees. Quality research findings help human
resource managers recognize and recruit skilled employees. Recruitment of employees
with the expected skills and attitudes help firms to increase its efficiency and
effectiveness.
Ex-: ABC Company conducted a research to find the reasons for high employee turnover.
The findings of the research will help HR manager to identify the reason behind the
employee turnover.

Activity 5

Please list down the importance of business research in the different business areas

Accounting and Finance 1.

2.
3.
Human Resource Management 1.
2.
3.
Marketing 1.
2.
3.
Operation Management 1.

2.
3.
 Session [01]: Introduction to Research

1.5 Global Business Research

In the contemporary business environment, research and development plays a vital role
by expanding their research activities worldwide. Business research firms can offer many
different ideas, methods and resources to accomplish research needs of their local and
international clients.
Companies with well established brands in their home country are now conducting research
internationally by cooperating with local firms According to ESOMAR Global Market Research
Report 2019, The ‘Optum’ is the highest revenue earning research companies in the world.
Among these 10 world famous research companies, we took some examples from the
Nielson international. Since, they conduct business research in Sri Lanka and you are
familiar with this name.

Table 1.1. Highest revenue earning research companies in the world

Ranking Company Name Headquarters US$ million*

1 Optum Eden Prairie, USA 9,008

2 The Nielsen Company New York, USA 6,515
3 IQVIA Durham, USA 3,904
4 Experian Dublin, Ireland 3,877
5 Gartner Inc. Stamford, USA 3,516
6 Kantar London, UK 3,449
7 Epsilon Irving, USA 2,175
8 Ipsos SA Paris, France 2,067
9 IHS Markit London, UK 1,996
10 GfK Nuremberg, Germany 1,616
* Source: ESOMAR Global Market Research Report 2019

Typically, more than 70% of the Nielson International Company’s revenue comes from its
top 10 clients, which includes The Coca-Cola Company, NBC Universal, Nestle S.A.,
The Procter & Gamble Company, Twenty-First Century Fox Inc. and the Unilever Group.
Nielson international research company conduct their research works in Sri Lanka
incorporate with Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM). They do monitor what certain
household’s details, consumption patterns, company activities etc.
The global research attaches a greater emphasis on business. The development and
application of these global research tools is an important subject in business research.

Activity 6

What are the famous business research companies in Sri Lanka?

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 Session [01]: Introduction to Research

Summary
Research can be considered as important to generate new knowledge. Even we use
research for our everyday life. As human beings, we do like exploring and Research helps
us to enhance our understanding of a topic or issue in a systematic way. Business
research is also a part of the research and you can see Basic and Applied Research in
Business. In basic research, mostly undertaken at Universities gives limited attention for
practical applications. However, we conduct applied research when a decision must be
made about a specific real-life problem in a specific business scenario. Research has a
special importance in relation to identifying and solving various problems of business and
industries. The development of global research is an important subject in business
research.

Learning outcomes
At the end of this unit, you should be able to:
 Identify and clearly articulate the meaning of Research
 Compare and contrast Research and Business research
 Compare and contrast Basic and Applied Research in Business
 Identify and describe the importance of business research
 Identify the role of global business research in today's context

Review Questions
 How is research different from business research? Explain
 What are the differences between basic research and applied research?
Explain with suitable examples
 Explain how research will help you as a manager in making a right decision.
 What are the importance of business research