CHAPTER 3

The Research Process Steps 1 to 3

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1. Observation
Broad area of
research interest
identified
2. Preliminary
Data Gathering
Interviewing
Literature survey
3. Problem
Definition
Research problem
delineated
7. Data Collection
Analysis, and
Interpretation
8. Deduction
Hypotheses substantiated?
Research question answered?
4.
Theoretical
Framework

Variables
clearly
identified
and
labelled
5.
Generation
of
Hypothesis
6.
Scientific
Research
Design
9. Report
Writing
10. Report
Presentation
11.
Managerial
Decision
Making
No Yes
The Research Process for Basic
& Applied Research
Broad Problem Area
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The specific issues that need to be research in a certain
situation refers to Broad Problem Area. These issues might
be:
Problems currently existing in an organization
Areas that a manager believes need to be improved in the
organization
Some research questions that a basic researcher wants to
answer empirically
Preliminary Data Collection
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Prevailing knowledge on the topic
Nature of data to be gathered
Background information on the organization
Information on structural factors & management
philosophy
Perceptions, attitudes & behavioral responses
Literature Review
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Literature Review is the documentation of a
comprehensive review of the published work.
Purpose is to ensure no important variable is ignored
that has in the past been found repeatedly to have had
an impact on the problem.
Helps integrate information gathered - gives a
framework for the investigation.
integrate information from literature into the research
design
develop theoretical framework
not reinventing the wheel
determine originality of study

Writing up the Literature Review
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The write up needs to:
convince the reader that the researcher is knowledgeable about
the problem area and has done the background work
the theoretical framework will be built on work already done
and will add to the foundation of the existing knowledge
Writing a literature review cont...
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Get as many relevant articles as possible.
Read all and highlight points of interest or
importance.
Note down key issues that are arising across the
articles.
Plan the writing up of the literature review
around these key points.
Begin writing by drawing on the points you
found and discussing each authors work
Writing a literature review cont...
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Keep a record of all citations and quotations -
keep a running reference section. It is easy to
forget where you read something.
Keep reading while you are writing to add to the
literature review.
Take note of key references / citations made by
authors you are reading.
References must be current unless it is a
seminal piece. Eg Doll (1988) on user
satisfaction factors.
Writing a literature review cont...
Supporting your case
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To provide evidence either use quotations from a
reliable source or follow statement with citation e.g.
Most organizations use SQL (Smith 1998, Lo 1992)
When citing a book as evidence, include the page
number even if you are not quoting from the book.
See pg 52 Sekaran e.g.
The failure of information systems is often caused
by poor communication. (Bresko 1993, 41)

Reference Style
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You are expected to use the Harvard style/ APA for
referencing. Example
Journal Article

Jeanquart, S., & Peluchette, J. (1997).
Diversity in the workforce and
management models. Journal of
Social Work Studies, 43 (3), 72-85.

Problem Definition
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Define a problem as any situation where a gap exists
between the actual and the desired ideal states
Examples:
How has the new packaging affected the sales of the product?
Has the new advertising message resulted in enhanced recall?
Ethics in the preliminary stages of investigation
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It is necessary to inform all the employees about the
research
It is important to keep information related to
employees confidential
Every step should be transparent