Management Research

Research Methods – An Introduction

Student Activity Sheet (1.1)
Dr Paul Joseph-Richard
Activity 1: Working individually:
1 Draw a picture that in some way represents how you see/feel about doing research for
a dissertation.
Then:
2 Ask one or two other students to ‘read’ your picture and tell you what it says to them.
3 ‘Read’ their pictures back to them.
4 Discuss how close the ‘readings’ were to what you intended when you were drawing, and
whether they include things which you did not actually intend but which are accurate.
5 Identify any features which may act as barriers to conducting successful research.
Then:
6 Share potential barriers and feelings about them in plenary.

Activity 2: Individually:
1 Visualise yourself handing in your dissertation. You are really happy with the quality of
your report. You are even happier with the learning and other benefits you have gained. List
all these benefits.
In a small group:
2 Discuss the range of benefits envisaged.
3 Revise your list in the light of discussion.
Activity 3: In a small group:
1 Discuss why it is dangerous to assume that your research will proceed in a neat
linear and logical fashion.
2 Identify some of the problems this assumption might create for you.
3 Discuss how you might avoid these pitfalls.

Activity 3: Read Andy’s “Change Evaluation Project”

Working in pairs, reflect on Andy’s situation (described in the Box below):
1 Draw a mindmap of all the important issues Andy might face, when completing his
project
2 Explain it to your partner and ask them for ideas about other factors which might be
important. Add any which seem sensible.
3 Suggest additions to others’ pictures.
4 Discuss whether the childish, cartoon-like nature of the exercise aided creative thought
about potential issue, noting any factors you had not previously thought of.

Andy is intending to evaluate the impact of a change programme, introduced a year ago by his sponsor
Liz, at the request of the then newly-arrived CEO, and to make recommendations for further action in the
light of this evaluation. The programme involved major structural change resulting in many redundancies.
The following summarises the perspectives of stakeholders in this evaluation.
Andy, whose objectives include passing his MSc (BDI) – preferably with no more work than is absolutely
necessary – has recently become a father. He also wants to impress his superiors, particularly Liz. He
hopes to move into her team once he has his MSc.
Andy’s sponsor Liz put a tremendous amount of effort into the change initiative, and wants a report that
will impress the CEO with what she has achieved. The economic savings are impressive, but there are an
increasing number of complaints from service users, and a legal case is threatened by an ex-staff member.
The CEO has been a protagonist of the change initiative and is interested in an evaluation of its
effectiveness because further changes are in the pipeline. He is slightly worried about potential
sensitivities, given that the redundancies are still fairly recent, and has suggested that the departments
which suffered the most be excluded from the study.
Andy’s boss, Devendra, is afraid that the evaluation project will divert Andy’s attention from his ‘real’
job. He is nervous because he only narrowly survived the recent round of redundancies, and many valued
colleagues lost their jobs. He feels that the reorganisation has created a lot of problems but that these are
not being acknowledged.
Employees are nervous about their jobs, resentful of the changes and of the increased workloads they are
experiencing as a consequence. They are highly suspicious of this ‘evaluation’, and of promises of
confidentiality.
Andy’s academic supervisor believes that anyone with an MSc should have mastered the important
research skills he feels a dissertation should test. He emphasises the need for sound theoretical
underpinnings derived from an extensive literature search, use of both quantitative and qualitative data,
and rigorous analytical methods.
Andy’s business school is concerned with its reputation and the maintenance of academic standards.
Accrediting bodies take a considerable interest in dissertations, which have to meet rigorous standards.

Andy’s wife is exhausted with the baby and sleepless nights, and wants him to come home from work as
 Andy & his Research
Project

Activity 4

Working in a small group, agree where to put an X on the scale beneath each statement
below.

1 Research needs to be scientific. You should therefore always seek objective measures and
use statistical tests to determine the significance of your results.

Strongly Strongly
agree disagree

2 For any research to be valid it is essential that all variables other than those you are
interested in are carefully controlled so that they do not contaminate the results.

Strongly Strongly
agree disagree

3 Most of the things that managers are interested in are not capable of being objectively
measured. If you want to understand them, you will need to use subjective measures.

Strongly Strongly
agree disagree
4 What is really important in understanding management problems is the way in which
different people are interpreting the situation. The important thing to investigate is
therefore stakeholders’ assumptions and interpretations.

Strongly Strongly
agree disagree

5 It doesn’t make sense to think of knowledge as something separate from action. Managers
addressing practical issues need to focus on the usefulness of a concept, and its
consequences

Strongly Strongly
agree disagree

6 It would be foolhardy to ignore the complexities of business situations in the interests of

rigour.

Strongly Strongly
agree disagree

7 Different research methods are needed for different types of problem. Some may be more
‘scientific’ than others, and you may sometimes need to combine methods.

Strongly Strongly
agree disagree

8 Whatever the nature of the problem, it is important to use a research method that is
acceptable to your client.

Strongly Strongly
agree disagree

9 Whether you are working with objective or subjective data you need to be careful about the
trustworthiness of the conclusions you draw, and guard against bias.

Strongly Strongly
agree disagree

10 Practical business research needs to proceed in a series of cycles of activity – if you design
every feature of your research at the outset you will be unable to benefit from what you
learn during the process.

Strongly Strongly
agree disagree
11 It is really important to capture your own thought processes as they change during a
research project. The way you are ‘making sense’ of the issue will have a strong influence
on your findings.

Strongly Strongly
agree disagree