Business Research Methods

Lecture 01
By
Muhammad Masood Mir
Assistant Professor,
• Former Head Student Counselor KASBIT Hyderi Campus,
• Research Supervisor KASBIT
• Reviewer of Research Papers at International Journal of
contemporary economics and management (J. C.E.M)
Think………

“Think about something if you know it is not real, then

what will you do”??
Answers??

 What is the Reality? (Meta-Physics)

 How can I know the reality? (Epistemology)
 What ought to be? (Ethics)
 What should I hope for? (Aesthetic)
How Can I Know the Reality
(Epistemology)
 It is the study of knowledge
 Then What is Knowledge itself?
“Knowledge is the relationship between knower and known”

Someone who has the cognitive conscious

 Sense Expression
 Reason
 Intuition
 Authority
 Instinct
Sense Expression

 Sight
 Hearing
 Smell
 Taste
 Touch

The knowledge Created on five senses are reliable???

 Reasoning
It is the Best possible educated guess

Deduction:
Conclusion already contain in the premises, no new knowledge
I.E Rule: All the bears in the bag are white
Case: These beans are in the bag
Result: These beans are white
Induction:
Give the new knowledge conclusion is not in the premises
I.E Rule: These beans were in this bag
Case: these beans are white
Result: All the beans in the bag are white
Deduction and Induction
Rule: All dolphins are mammals
Case: All mammals have kidneys
Result: Therefore all dolphins have kidneys

Rule: All numbers ending in 0 or 5 are divisible by 5.

Case: The number 35 ends with a 5,
Result: So it is divisible by 5.

Rule: To earn a master’s degree, a student must have 32 credits.

Case: Tim has 40 credits,
Result: So Tim will earn a master’s degree
Rule: The chair in the living room is red.
Case: The chair in the dining room is red.
Result: The chair in the bedroom is red. All chairs in the house are red.

Rule: All actors that have seen are robot

Case: Tom Cruise is an actor
Result: So Tom Cruise is a robot
 Authority
It compels you to act in a certain way
Power Authorities
 God
 Religion
 Culture
 Traditional

 Culture are belief and behavior followed by a society and can be change
 Tradition comes from seven generations (Marriage, Funeral, Worship)
Instinct

Things are installed and programmed by birth, no learning required

Examples????

If we keep on believing on the instinct then???

Human being can control the instinct
Philosophy and Research Paradigms

 Positivism
 Post Positivism
 Ideology
 Interpretivism
 Feminism
Positivism

 As a research paradigm positivism helps us to distinguish between meaningful

and meaningless research. Research is meaningful if it fulfills the criteria of
verifiability and meaningless if there is no way one can empirically test the
data
 Domination of Natural Science in social science

 There are two meaningful proposition according to positivism all is meaning

less
 Analytic-A- Priory
 Synthetic A Posteriorly predicate
  Analytic-A- Priory
If the concept of predicate is already contain in the concept of subject. Denial and
negation would create a self contradiction
 Synthetic A Posteriorly predicate
If the relation between subject and predicate is determine by something external to
language that also needs empirical testing

Impact of salary on motivation

Post Positivism

Extension of Positivism, we not just verify but also falsify

Science is the name of falsification of existing theory. You cant verify on the basis
of some but you can falsify

 We can note one thing at one time

 The things are very complex one cant predict if the related theory is not
available

Keep on following the Laws or find something which will falsify

Ideology

 They don’t know but they are doing it

 The personal attributes which influences the data
 Sources of Ideology
 Religion
 Values
 Beliefs
 Cultural Capitalism
Research Methods for Business

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What is Research?

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What is Research?

 Research is the process of finding solutions to a problem after a thorough study and analysis of
the situational factors.

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Managers and Research?

 Managers in organizations constantly engage themselves in studying and analyzing issues and
hence are involved in some form of research activity as they make decisions at the workplace.

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Business Research

 Business research can be described as a

systematic and organized effort to investigate a
specific problem encountered in the work setting,
that needs a solution.
 Business research comprises a series of steps
designed and executed, with the goal of finding
answers to the issues that are of concern to the
manager in the work environment.
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Business Research

 Steps of business research:

 To know where the problem areas exist in the
organization.
 To identify as clearly and specifically as possible the
problems that need to be studied and resolved.
 Gather information, analyze the data, and determine
the factors that are associated with the problem and
solve it by taking the necessary corrective measures.

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Types of Business Research

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Examples of Applied Research

 Xerox is insular and isn’t ready for the increasingly competitive, high-tech
world. Xerox still relies on old-fashioned and slow-selling analog copiers for
more than half its revenue and despite its double-digit growth in digital
products and services, its sales rose just 4%.

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Examples of Applied Research

 In the Xerox situation, it needs to look into the efficacy of the analog
technology used in copiers and examine what should be done to increase
efficiency and promote its sales.

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Examples of Basic Research

 University professors engage in basic research in an effort

to understand and generate more knowledge about
various aspects of businesses, such as:
- How to improve the effectiveness of information systems.
- How to integrate technology into the overall strategic
objectives of an organization.
- How to increase the productivity of the employees.
- How to increase the effectiveness of small businesses.

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Examples of Basic Research

 Thesefindings later become useful for

application in business situations.

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Distinction Between Applied and
Basic Research
 The main distinction between applied and basic
business research is:
- Applied research is specifically aimed at solving
a currently experienced problem.
- Basic research has a broader objective of
generating knowledge and understanding of
phenomena and problems that occur in various
organizational settings.
- Both types of research follow the same steps of
systematic inquiry to arrive at solutions to
problems.
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How To Choose A Good Topic

1. Brainstorm for ideas

2. Read General Background Information
3. Ensure that the topic is manageable and that material is available
4. Make a list of key words
5. Be flexible
6. Define your topic as a focused research question
7. Research and read more about your topic
8. Formulate a thesis statement
9. Create a topic having cause and effect relationship 28