Week 1: Research Methods

MBA Management Accounting

Research Methods [OUpm020213]

Prof. R. Durbarry, G.O.S.K.

Lecture 1
1

2 Module Aims
 The aim of the module is to introduce learners to the
principles of good research practice.
 Learners will be able to develop a thorough understanding
of the principles, theory and application of research and
data analysis methods.
 It will also introduce students to demonstrate critical
awareness of methods, study designs in qualitative and
quantitative research, data analysis and ethical
considerations in research.

Prof. R. Durbarry
 Week 1: Research Methods

3 Key Elements

 Introduction to Research Methodology;

 Data Collection and Measurement;
 Data Presentation and Analysis;
 Dissertation Writing and Presentation.

4 Learning Outcomes
After successful completion of this course, learners will be able
to:
 Explain frequently-used research methods in business or
other fields;
 Discuss various sampling, measurement and analysis issues
associated with different forms of research strategy;
 Explain the limitations associated with each kind of
research method, and read and evaluate research reports
critically;
 Identify a research problem that warrants further
investigation as either a thesis topic or major paper topic.

Prof. R. Durbarry
 Week 1: Research Methods

5 5/7 sessions:

 1. Conducting research
 2. Literature Review: 11 April
 3. Quantitative Research: 9 May
 4. Analysis of Data: 20 May
 5. Qualitative Research and Analysis of Data: 6 June
 6/7. Writing up and Presentation: 13 and 14 June

6 Assessment
 The assessment for this module is comprised of two parts.
 In the first part you need to submit a short study up to 3,000 words, which
includes:
 your research title
 Introduction
 your research questions, aim and objectives,
 literature review, conceptual framework,
 methodology, data analysis and conclusion.
 You are required to either carry out a survey on 30 respondents or conduct
interviews on 5 participants to address a research question, and carry out the
data analysis.
▪ Deadline to submit :12 June 2023 .
▪ Weight: 60%

 The second part consists presenting your research findings in 10 to 15 mins

 Dates:
 Weight: 40%

Prof. R. Durbarry
 Week 1: Research Methods

7 What is Research?

 Discovery- Making known something previously

unknown.
 It is to advance human knowledge
 Also we need to explain why things are as they are —
evaluation.

8 Scientific v/s Social

 Scientific research: research conducted within the

rules and conventions of science.
 Based on logic and reason
 Systematic examination of evidence
 Should be replicable.
 Social science research: using methods and traditions
of social science.
 Deals with social behaviour
 Rarely replicated

Prof. R. Durbarry
 Week 1: Research Methods

9 Types of research
 Descriptive Research
 purpose is to “paint a picture” to answer questions such as
who, when, where, and how.
 Exploratory Research
 purpose is to examine a little understood issue or
phenomenon to develop preliminary ideas and move
towards refined research questions by focusing on the “what”
question.
 Explanatory Research
 Purpose is to explain why events occur and to build,
elaborate, extend, or test theory.
 Evaluation Research
 E.g. evaluating a policy or programme

10 Descriptive Research
 Very common
 New field of study
 Exploratory- seeks to discover, describe or map patterns of behaviour
 It is an area which is subject to constant change, e.g. spa therapy is a
new thing, some activities change over time, tourism markets change.
 Very common to brush a picture e.g. to gather information on the
market profile (types of tourists, age composition, etc.).
 Such research is interesting as it separates between research
projects and the policy, planning or management activity.

Prof. R. Durbarry
 Week 1: Research Methods

11 Exploratory research

 A valuable means of finding out what is

happening; to seek new insights; to ask questions
and to assess phenomena in a new light.
 Useful if we want to clarify our understanding of a
problem.
 It may well be that the time spent on exploratory
research is instrumental, as it may show that the
research is not worth pursuing!

12 Explanatory Research

 Moves beyond description

 Seeks to explain the patterns and trends observed
 e.g. Why is a particular type of activity or destination
falling in popularity?
 How…….?
 Why……..?
 This raises the issue of causality(e.g. number of tourist
arrival and price)
 Can be used for prediction

Prof. R. Durbarry
 Week 1: Research Methods

13 Evaluative Research

 Arises from the need to make judgements on the

success or effectiveness of some policies or
programmes.
 e.g. whether a particular tourism promotion campaign
has been cost-effective.
 e.g. Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority undertakes
intensive marketing campaign in many destinations. Is it
cost-effective?

14 Why Study Research?

 It is useful to be able to understand and evaluate

research reports and articles.
 In the interests of the pursuit of knowledge
 Evaluate reliability of a report.
 Plays an important role in policy-making, planning
and management process.

Prof. R. Durbarry
 Week 1: Research Methods

15 How the research process

operates?
 Social research involves learning something new about
the social world
 Think logically
 Follow rules
 Repeat steps over and over
 Combine theories or ideas with facts in a systematic way
 Use imagination and creativity
 Organise and plan carefully
 Select appropriate technique to address a question
 Ethic /moral issues

16
The research iceberg….

Method

Methodology

Epistemology

Ontology

Prof. R. Durbarry
 Week 1: Research Methods

17 The four-layered research iceberg…

The ontological question

 What is the form and nature of reality and, therefore, what is there that can be
known about it?

 Is there a real world out there which exists independent of our knowledge of it?

The epistemological question

 The term epistemology comes from the Greek word epistêmê, meaning
‘knowledge’. Epistemology is the philosophy of knowledge or of how we come to
know.

 What is the nature of the relationship between the knower or would-be knower and
what can be known?

 The term epistemology (what is known to be true) as opposed to doxology (what is

believed to be true)
The methodological question

 How can you go about finding out whatever you believe can be known?
The methods
 Which technique will be used to collect the data?

18 Approaches to research
 Duck or rabbit?

Prof. R. Durbarry
 Week 1: Research Methods

Different approaches to research and

19 paradigms
 1. POSITIVISM

 2. RELATIVISM

 3. POST POSITIVISM

 4. CONSTRUCTIVISM/INTERPRETIVE

 5. FEMINIST

 6. REALISM AND CRITICAL REALISM

20 Research Approaches

Quantitative
Qualitative

Prof. R. Durbarry
 Week 1: Research Methods

21 Quantitative Research
• Empirical research where the data are in the form
of numbers.
• Statistical analysis.
• Relies on numerical evidence to draw conclusions
or test hypotheses
• To test the reliability of the results it is often
necessary to study relatively large number of
people and to use the computer to analyse the
data.
• Data are derived from surveys, from observations
involving counts or from secondary sources.

22 Quantitative Research (Cont’d)

Quantitative research

Type A Type B
• Use of statistical •Little or no use of statistical
methods and tests methods and tests
• Common in American •Most sophisticated statistical
Journal measure is the percentage
•Common in British tradition of
leisure and tourism research

Prof. R. Durbarry
 Week 1: Research Methods

23 Qualitative Research

• Generally not concerned with numbers.

• Involves gathering a great deal of information
about a small number of people rather than a
limited amount of information about a large
number of people.
• Information collected not presentable in
numerical form.

24 The Research Process

 Divided into the following main elements
1. Select topic
2. Focus question-Review literature
3. Devise conceptual framework
4. Research Design
5. Collect Data
6. Analyse Data
7. Interpret Data
8. Report findings

The steps are slightly different when conducting quantitative and

qualitative research. These will be discussed through out the lectures.

Prof. R. Durbarry
 Week 1: Research Methods

The Research Process

Select a topic

Review Literature/Devise conceptual Framework

Decide Research Questions/objectives (focus)

Research Design (Methodology)

Collect Data

26 Selecting a topic

How do research topics arise?

a) The researcher’s personal interests

b) Issues identified in the literature
c) A policy or management problem
d) An issue of social concern
e) A popular or media issue

Prof. R. Durbarry
 Week 1: Research Methods

Literature Review

 Conference papers
 Articles
 Books
 Seminars/workshops
 Reports/working papers
 Ideas from your supervisors
 What discipline?

Devise Conceptual
Framework
 “… concepts involved in a study and the
hypothesized relationships between them” (Veal,
2006, p. 54)
 What’s going on here? What processes are involved
and are likely to affect one another

Prof. R. Durbarry
 Week 1: Research Methods

Devise Conceptual
Framework (Quantitative)
 Model: A theoretical Framework:
Y= aX+b e.g. how many tourists will be coming next
year (limitations??)
• Consultation with stakeholders- e.g. policy
• Any ideas for marketing conceptual framework?
Social concern ??

Devise Conceptual Framework

Example: Spatial/thematic clusters
2
1

Prof. R. Durbarry
 Week 1: Research Methods

Decide Research Questions/Aims/

Objectives (Focus)

 First the main aim(s)/main objective(s)/question(s)

e.g. Studying the main impact of spatial agglomeration
on tourism firms
• Research questions/objectives (sub)
e.g. What is the impact of proximity between tourism
firms on their levels of collaboration?
• Argument or Hypothesis (Qualitative/quantitative)

Research Design
(Methodology)
 Deciding on
HOW?
WHEN?
WHOM?
WHERE?

And WHY?? In relation to the research aims and

objectives

Prof. R. Durbarry
 Week 1: Research Methods

Research Design (Methodology)

1. Identify project elements/stages

2. Decide information gathering
techniques to be used
3. Decide data analysis
techniques to be used
4. Decide budget
5. Draw up time table

Collect Data

 Primary and secondary data

 Qualitative: observations, interviews,
 Quantitative: laboratory, statistical analysis,
survey, measuring data

Prof. R. Durbarry
 Week 1: Research Methods

The Research Process

Analyse Data

Interpret Data

Report Findings

Conclusions and Recommendations

Analyse Data
 All the data out there and qualitative/quantitative methods applied
accordingly

Interpret Data and Report Findings

•Writing up clearly and concisely, Relating
DIRECTLY to the research aims and
objectives
•E.g. the data shows that the impact of
proximity on collaborations is….. Based on the
evidence that….. (sub-questions leading to
main questions)

Prof. R. Durbarry
 Week 1: Research Methods

Conclusions and
Recommendations
 Referring back (briefly) to main aims!!

 Very concise and accurate, a short summary

 Recommendations for future research and

recommendations (e.g. policy guidelines)

Prof. R. Durbarry
 Week 1: Research Methods

39

Deductive v/s Inductive Approach

40

Conceptual
framework (theory
and literature)

Data Proposition Research

analysis questions

Empirical observation

Data collection

INDUCTIVE
DEDUCTIVE

The Research Wheel (adapted from Rudestam and Newton 1992:5)

Prof. R. Durbarry
 Week 1: Research Methods

42 Topics covered in the Book

PART 1: Nature of Research and Process

Lecture 2: Philosophical Disputes in Research (Chp. 2)
Lecture 3: The Research Process (Chp 3)
Lecture 4: Developing a Research Proposal (Chp 4)
Lecture 5: Reviewing the Literature (Chp 5)
Lecture 6: Research Ethics (Chp 6)

Prof. R. Durbarry
 Week 1: Research Methods

43 Topics covered

PART 2: Conceptual Framework and Research Methods

Lecture 7: Developing a Conceptual Framework (Chp 7)
Lecture 8: Qualitative Research (Chp 8)
Lecture 9: Quantitative Research (Chp 9)
Lecture 10: Mixed Method and Triangulation (Chp 10)
Lecture 11: Using the Internet as a Research Tool and E-
Method: Netnography (Chp 11)
Lecture 12: Online Surveys (Chp 12)
Lecture 13: Sampling (Chp 13)

44 Topics covered

PART 3: Analysing Data, Research Writing and

Presentation
Lecture 14: Analysing Qualitative Data (Chp 14)
Lecture 15: Grounded Theory and Data Analysis (Chp 15)
Lecture 16: Analysing Qualitative Data Using Nvivo (Chp
16)
Lecture 17: Analysing Quantitative Data (Chp 17)
Lecture 18: Analysing Quantitative Data Using SPSS (Chp
18)
Lecture 19: Writing the Research Report (Chp 19)
Lecture 20: Making presentations (Chp 20)

Prof. R. Durbarry
 Week 1: Research Methods

This book is available at Le

Printemps, please contact
Mr Munsoor
Available stock at ELP- 8 copies
only
Price for the first 8 copies -Rs 1150

Orders:
Air - will cost Rs 1400 per book
(estimated delivery time 2-3 weeks
Sea- will cost Rs 1200 per book
(estimated delivery time 8/10
weeks.

46 For next week

 Submit your proposed research title

 Download 5 most relevant paper related to your
chosen topic.

Prof. R. Durbarry