Research

 Meaning
 Two words Re + Search
 Searching again and again
 Research is an art of scientific investigation
 Systematic effort to gain ne knowledge
 careful investigation especially through search for
new facts in any branch of knowledge
 Research comprises defining and redefining
problems, formulating hypotheses or suggested
solution, collecting, organizing and evaluating data ,
reaching at conclusions
Definition
• Sekaran
– Research is an organized, systematic, data-based,
critical, scientific inquiry or investigation into a
specific problem. Undertaken with the objective of
finding answers or solution to it.
• Kerlinger
Research is a systematic, controlled, empirical and
critical investigation of hypothetical proposition
about the pre-assumed relations among natural
phenomena.

BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODS - I

 Nature and purpose of research
 Exploration: To explore the reality
 Description: To describe the phenomenon under
investigation. Precise observation and description
are the basis of research. Here it is concerned with
nature of variables to be used in exploration.
 Explanation: To clarify the reasons for occurring
the events. Why, how and also cause and effect
relationship
 Generalization and prediction: Applying findings
from sample to entire population. Estimating for a
particular context.
BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODS - I
 Criteria of Good Research
• Purpose should be clearly defined
• common concepts should be used that should
be readable for general reader
• Research methods should be explained in detail.
• Research design should be carefully designed
• Researcher should declare all possible errors and
their possible impacts on findings.
• The methods of analysis should be appropriate.
• Reliability and validity should be checked
carefully.
 Scientific Research
 A method of inquiry that is based on empirical and
measurable evidence subject to specific principles of
reasoning.
 The chief characteristic which distinguishes the scientific
method from other methods of acquiring knowledge is
that scientists seek to let reality speak for itself.
 Scientific inquiry is generally intended to be as objective
as possible in order to reduce biased interpretations of
results.
 Scientific researchers propose hypotheses as explanations
of phenomena and design experimental studies to test
these hypotheses via predictions which can be derived
from them.
Scientific Research Process
 Paradigms in Research
• A paradigm is a matrix of beliefs and
perceptions
• A paradigm is a “worldview” or a set of
assumptions about how things work.
• Rossman & Rollis define paradigm as “shared
understandings of reality”
• Quantitative and qualitative research methods
involve very different assumptions about how
research should be conducted and the role of
the researcher.
 Research Research approach Research methods Examples
paradigms

Positivism Quantitative Surveys: - Attitude of distance learners towards

longitudinal,
cross-sectional, correlational;
experimental, and
quasi-experimental and
ex-post facto research
online based education
- Relationship between students’ motivation
and their academic achievement.
- Effect of intelligence on the academic
performances of primary school learners

Anti-positivism Qualitative Biographical; - A study of autobiography of a great

Phenomenological; statesman.
Ethnographical; - A study of dropout among the female
case study students
- A case study of a open distance learning
Institution in a country.

Critical theory Critical and action- Ideology critique; - A study of development of education
oriented action research during the British rule in India
- Absenteeism among standard five students
of a primary school
Epistemology
 The branch of philosophy that studies the nature of
knowledge, its presuppositions and foundations, and its
extent and validity.
 The branch of philosophy that deals with questions
concerning the nature, scope, and sources of
knowledge.
 Study of the origin, nature, and limits of human
knowledge.
 Therefore, epistemology is the investigation into the
grounds and nature of knowledge itself. The study of
epistemology focuses on our means for acquiring
knowledge and how we can differentiate between truth
and falsehood.
Modern epistemology generally involves a debate
between rationalism and empiricism.
Empiricism: knowledge is obtained through
experience.
Rationalism: knowledge can be acquired through
the use of reason.
However, it attempts to answer the following questions:
 How do we know?
 What do we know?
 What is knowledge?
 How do we gain it ?
 How do we communicate it?
Approaches to epistemology
 Rationalism
 we gain knowledge through reasoning
 Rationalists focus on what they call necessary truth. 
 certain things are necessarily true, always, universally.
 knowledge comes from reason alone but not from religion,
beliefs and faiths.
 Empiricism
 we gain knowledge through sensory experience
 focuses, logically enough, on empirical truth which we
derive from our sensory experience of the world
 The simplest form of empirical truth is that based on
direct observation.
 knowledge comes from experience and inquiry
 Positivism
The philosophical system recognizing only that
which can be scientifically verified or which is
capable of logical or mathematical proof.
• Key Features
– Scientific
– Objective
– Robust
– Involves identifying causes
– Tests hypotheses
– Uses methods of natural sciences
Interpretivism
 Social action has meanings
 The researcher job is to interpret the social
action
 Subjective and constructed reality
 Relative truths
 Need to explore, explain and understand
reality
 Qualitative
Contd……..

Interpretivism refers to approaches

emphasizing the meaningful nature of people's
participation in social and cultural life.

The methods of natural science are seen as

inappropriate for such investigation.

 Researchers working within this tradition

analyze the meanings people confer upon their
own and others' actions.
• Interpretivism is a term used to identify
approaches to social science that share particular
ONTOLOGICAL and EPISTEMOLOGICAL
assumptions.
• The study of social phenomena requires an
understanding of the social worlds that people
inhabit, which they have already interpreted by
the meanings they produce and reproduce as a
necessary part of their everyday activities
together.
 Difference between positivism and Interpretivism
umptions
Nature of reality
Goal of research
Focus of interest
Knowledge generated
Subject/Researcher
relationship
Desired information
Positivism Interpretivism
Objective, tangible, single Socially constructed,
multiple
Explanation, strong Understanding, weak
prediction prediction
What is general, average and What is specific, unique, and
representative deviant
Laws Meanings
Absolute (time, context, and Relative (time, context,
value free) culture, value bound)
Rigid separation Interactive, cooperative,
participative
How many people think and What some people think and
do a specific thing, or have a do, what kind of problems
specific problem they are confronted with,
and how they deal with
them
Interpretivism research Technique

• Descriptive/Interpretive
• Focus Group
• Action Research
• Ethnographic Research
• Grounded Theory
Participatory Research
• Participatory research (PR) is a partnership
approach to research that equitably involves, for
example, community members, organizational
representatives, and researchers in all aspects of
the research process and in which all partners
contribute expertise and share decision making and
ownership.
• The aim of CBPR is to increase knowledge and
understanding of a given phenomenon and
integrate the knowledge gained with interventions
and policy and social change to improve the health
and quality of life of community members.
 Types
• Participant Observer
• Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA)
• Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA)
• Participatory Action Research (PAR)
Participant observation
• The "participant observer" field technique is well
established in anthropology and has been
adopted by other disciplines.
• The method derives from the insight that you
derive from a community's values, dynamics,
internal relationships, structures and conflicts
best from their observed actions, rather than
from their (normative) statements of what "is".
The participant observer attempts immersion, to
the extent permitted, in local life in order to
understand and document how things work.
 Action Research
• Action research is a research initiated to solve an immediate
problem or a reflective process of progressive problem
solving led by individuals working with others in teams or as
part of a community of practice to improve the way they
address issues and solve problems.
• Action research involves the process of actively participating in
an organization change situation whilst conducting research.
• Action research can also be undertaken by larger organizations
or institutions, assisted or guided by professional researchers,
with the aim of improving their strategies, practices and
knowledge of the environments within which they practice.
• As designers and stakeholders, researchers work with others to
propose a new course of action to help their community
improve its work practices.
• In other words, it involves a continuous gathering and analyzing
of research data during the normal on-going operations of an
organization.
Action Research
Types of Action Research
Participatory Action Research
• Principles of collective inquiry and
experimentation grounded in experience and
social history.
• Within a PAR process, "communities of inquiry
and action evolve and address questions and
issues that are significant for those who
participate as co-researchers.
• Direct involvement of concerned stakeholders is
the basic feature of PAR.
 Practical Action Research
• Action research can also be undertaken by larger
organizations or institutions, assisted or guided
by professional researchers, with the aim of
improving their strategies, practices and
knowledge of the environments within which
they practice.
• As designers and stakeholders, researchers work
with others to propose a new course of action to
help their community improve its work practices.
 Ethical Issues in Business Research
• As in other aspects of business, all parties in research
should exhibit ethical behavior.
• Ethics are norms or standards of behavior that guide
moral choices about our behavior and our relationship
with others.
• The goal of ethics in research is to ensure that no one
is harmed or suffers adverse consequences from
research activities.
• Unethical activities are pervasive and include violating
nondisclosure agreements, breaking participant
confidentiality, misrepresenting results, deceiving
people, invoicing irregularities, avoiding legal liability,
and more.
Research Strategies: Qualitative and Quantitative research
Quantitative
Quantitative research focuses on numbers or
quantities.
Quantitative studies have results that are based
on numeric analysis and statistics.
Often, these studies have many participants.
It is not unusual for there to be over a thousand
people in a quantitative research study.
It is ideal to have a large number of participants
because this gives analysis more statistical power.
 Strength of quantitative research
• Quantitative analysis allows to test specific hypotheses
• statistical analysis allows for generalization to others.
• Tests the theory
• Measurable
• Reasoning is logistic and deductive
• Establishes the relationship
• Context free
• Mechanistic (parts equal to whole)
• Context dependent
Qualitative Research
• Qualitative research studies are focused on
differences in quality, rather than differences in
quantity.
• Results are in words or pictures rather than
numbers.
• Qualitative studies usually have fewer
participants than quantitative studies because
the depth of the data collection does not allow
for large numbers of participants.
Strengths of qualitative research
• Qualitative analysis is usually for more
exploratory purposes.
• Qualitative research is based on observation,
experience rather than numeric figure
• It provides in-depth information.
• It develops the theory
• Interpretive
• Organismic: whole is greater than part.
• Reasoning is dialectic and inductive.
• Describes meaning, discovery
Ethical Issues
Ethical treatment of participants
– Whether data are gathered in an experiment, interview,
observation, or survey, the participant has many rights to
be safeguarded.
– In general, research must be designed so that a participant
does not suffer physical harm, discomfort, pain
embarrassment, or loss of privacy. To safeguard these the
researcher should follow three guidelines:
• Explain study results
• Explain participant rights and protections./ don’t
deceive the participants (deception occurs when the
participants are told only part of the truth or when the
truth is fully compromised.)
• Obtain informed consent.
Right to privacy
it means one has the right to refuse to be interviewed or to refuse
to answer any question in an interview.
• Potential participants have a right to privacy in their own homes,
including not admitting researchers and not answering telephones. And
they have the right to engage in private behaviour in private places
without fear of observation. To address these the researchers do the
following:
– Inform participants of their right to refuse to answer any questions
or participate in the study.
– Obtain permission to interview participants.
– Schedule field and phone interviews.
– Limit the time required for participation.
– Restrict observation to public behavior only.
• Confidentiality
• the confidentiality of survey answer is an important aspects of
participants treatment. Once it is guaranteed protecting confidentiality
is essential. The ways may be:
– Obtaining signed nondisclosure documents.
– Restricting access to participant identification.
– Revealing participant information only with written consent.
– Restricting access to data instruments where the participant is
identified.
– Not disclosing data subsets.
 Ethics and the Sponsor
 There are also ethical considerations to keep in mind when
dealing with the research client or sponsor.
 Confidentiality
 some sponsors wish to undertake research without revealing
themselves. They have right to several types of confidentiality
including:
– Sponsor nondisclosure
– Purpose non disclosure
– Findings nondisclosure
 Right to quality research
– Providing a research design appropriate for the research
questions.
– Maximizing the sponsor’s value for the resources expended.
– Providing data handling and reporting techniques
appropriate for the data collected.
 Sponsor’s ethics
• occasionally, research specialists may be asked by
sponsors to participate in unethical behavior that to be
avoided:
– Violating participant confidentiality
– Changing data or creating false data to meet a desired
objectives
– Changing data presentations or interpretations.
– Interpreting data from a biased perspective.
– Omitting sections of data analysis and conclusions.
– Making recommendations beyond the scope of the
data collected.
– A sponsor may offer a promotion, future contracts, or
a larger payment for the existing research contract; or
the sponsor may threaten to fire the researcher or
tarnish the researcher's reputation.
Researchers and Team members
 Right to safety
 it is the researcher’s responsibility to design a project so that
the safety of all interviewers, surveyors, experiments, or
observers is protected.

 Ethical behavior of assistants: assistants are expected-

 to carry out the sampling plan, to interview or observe participants
without bias;
 To accurately record all necessary data.
 to avoid filling in an interview sheet without having asked the
participant the questions.
 Remain under direct control of the responsible researcher or field
supervisors.
 Ethically behave with participants.

 Protection of anonymity
Professional Standards
• Various standards of ethics exist for the professional
researcher.
• Many corporations, professional associations, and
universities have a code of ethics.
• These should be followed and maintained.
Theory and Research
• An explanation about how and why something is known
as theory.
• A theory is a set of general statements about how
phenomena are connected.
• It allows you to go beyond the known facts, suggesting
what you might expect in the future, and allowing you to
organize the facts you already have.
• A theory provides a conceptual framework for research.
• Research facilitates to the development of theory.
• Empirical research may help to new insight to the existing
theory.
• The findings of research may lead the formulation of new
theory or modification of existing theory.
• I. Concepts (ideas or categories that incorporate
specific events) are the flesh of a theory.
– Concept is a symbol of representing an object.
– Concepts are usually expressed as nouns and adjectives
(qualities of thingness).
– blood pressure and body temperature--two variables
that help to operationalize the concept health.
– Therefore, concept is the transformation of existing
ideas.
Concept represents three basic components;
Mental representation (entities that exist in brain)
Abilities (cognitive agent)
Abstract objects (constituents of propositions that
mediate between thought, language and referents)
 II. Construct
• A construct is a concept that can be measured.
• It can be a very broad idea, or it can be very specific. The more
specific it is, the easier it is to measure.
• The abstract concepts deducted from observable events are
known as Constructs.
• It is an image or idea especially generated for a given research.
• A combination of similar concepts is a construct.
• Constructs is independent of time and places.
• Constructs need to be converted into operation to generate
empirical evidence.
• For example, health is a construct. It can be measured with a
series of tests at the doctor’s office or by a self-rating scale
completed by the individual.
III. Proposition
• Propositions (statements that assert
relationships among concepts) are the bones of a
theory.
• Proposition is a statement about concepts that
may be judge as true or false if it refers to
observable phenomenon.
• Therefore, proposition is the relationship among
concepts and constructs.
 Interlink between theory and research

Logical Induction
 Deduction and Induction
A. Deduction: Testing Theory
– Deduction is the process of reasoning from one or more
general statements (premises) to reach a logically certain
conclusion.
– It is the research approach used to test a theory.
– It is also known as top-down logic
– We might begin with thinking up a theory about our topic
of interest. We then narrow that down into more specific
hypotheses that we can test.
– We narrow down even further when we collect
observations to address the hypotheses. This ultimately
leads us to be able to test the hypotheses with specific
data -- a confirmation (or not) of our original theories.
 Deduction Reasoning

WATERFALL
B. Induction: Building theory
• Inductive reasoning works the other way, moving from specific
observations to broader generalizations and theories. Informally,
we sometimes call this a "bottom up" approach.
• In inductive reasoning, we begin with specific observations and
measures, begin to detect patterns and regularities, formulate
some tentative hypotheses that we can explore, and finally end up
developing some general conclusions or theories.
• Conclusions is likely based on premises.
• Involves a degree of uncertainty.
• Reasoning Observations tend to be used for Inductive arguments
Inductive Reasoning

Hill Climbing
Mixed method research
A mixed methods research design is a
procedure for collecting, analyzing, and
“mixing” both quantitative and qualitative
research and methods in a single study to
understand a research problem.
To utilize this design effectively, you must
understand both quantitative and qualitative
research.
Philosophical Approaches
Steps in Mixed method research
• Determine the feasibility of mixed methods.
• Identify the rational of mixed methods study
• Identify the data collection strategy and type of
design to be used
• Develop quantitative, qualitative and mixed
methods questions
• Collection of quantitative and qualitative data
• Analyze data separately or concurrently
• Write the report as one-or-two phase study
Use of mixed methods design
 When both quantitative and qualitative data, together, provide
a better understanding of your research problem than either
type by itself.
 When one type of research (qualitative or quantitative) is not
enough to address the research problem or answer the
research questions.
 Pragmatism –practicality; multiple view points; biased and
unbiased; subjective and objective
 To incorporate a qualitative component into an otherwise
quantitative study
 To build from one phase of a study to another
 Explore qualitatively then develop an instrument
 Follow-up a quantitative study qualitatively to obtain more detailed
information
Management Research
 Sekaran
Business research is a systematic and organized
investigation conducted to resolve problematic
issues in or interrelated among, the different
areas of management
 Zikmund
Management research is the systematic and
objective process of gathering, recording and
analyzing data for aid in making business
decisions.
 Nature of Business Research
• much more recent origin
• supported and conducted by business organizations that hope
to achieve a competitive advantages, not by public authorities.
• The findings and outcomes are generally kept secret. So, it is
not in the public domain.
• operates in a less favorable environment than physical research.
• People generally hesitate to accept research findings that differ
from their opinions.
• Business research may take various form- reporting, descriptive,
explanatory, predictive and problem solving.
Role of research in Management
• Supplies the information
• Helps to identify the problem
• Helps to formulate strategies
• Helps in organizational change
• Helps to control
Stages in Management Research
I. Analysis
It is the initial stage in which past
performances are evaluated and attempts
are made to identify the emerging
opportunities and threats
Attempts to understand the nature and the
scope of a given problem.
Assess the internal strengths and
weaknesses

Contd…..
II. Planning
• In this stage the researcher needs to develop
and select the alternative to meet the objective
• These decisions are taken by the higher level of
authority of the organization
• Decisions involves formulation of objectives,
policies formulation to govern the use of
recourses.
• Planning information comes from th external
sources.
III. Execution
• Implementation of plans and strategies
• Focuses on day to day activities of the
organization
• Execution information comes from routine and
necessary sources: Financial accounting,
inventory control, production scheduling
• Information is generated internally
IV. Control
• This is the final stage in which performance
against pre-assigned plan is evaluated.
• Control decisions are made by medium level
decision makers.
• Control information are generated from internal
sources
• Links are made with analysis stage
• If outcomes deviate from planning then changes
are made if required.
• Goals and programs are modified as necessary
Types of Management
Research
 Policy Research
 Managerial research
 Action Research
 Evaluation research
 Formative
 Summative
 I. Policy Research
• Necessary to prepare the goals and objectives of the
organization.
• Setting organizational targets
• Preparing different strategies to meet the goals
• Various options are available for formulating and
identifying the policy
• But research findings are the important bases for the
development of organizational policies and strategies.
 THEREFORE RESEARCH IS CONDUCTED TO FORMULATE
POLICY AND STRATEGIES IS KNOWN AS POLICY
RESEARCH.
Elements of Policy research
• Policy research studies how policy formulation
occurs with a view to understanding and
improving the process.
• It is designed to analyze situation at the
strategic level and to formulate overall policy
proposals
• It systematically evaluates the priorities to be
accorded to conflicting and complementary
policy alternatives.
II. Managerial research
• The research which is related to the specific
problem with limited scope for which
management has need of additional
information on which to base a decision.
• It is based on particular activity, scheme or
project
• If the project is not going as planned then this
research may be recommended to find what
wrong has occurred.
 III. Action Research
• By name it concerns with ACTION + RESEARCH
together.
• Researcher repeats the process, perform an
action, reflect on what has happened and use the
information to plan the action.
• Process, outcomes and their applications are
closely linked.

Contd…….
Basic features of Action
Research
• Addresses the practical problems: It involves
the identification of practical problems in a
specific context and
• Generates new knowledge
• Enacts (performs) the change
• Participatory
• Depends on a cyclic process: Improved action
implementation is undertaken through cycles of
observation, reflection, planning and action.
 IV. Evaluation Research
• Evaluation research is used to determine the impact of
an intervention.
• An intervention is an action taken within a context
designed to produce an intended result.
• Evaluation research thus analyzes the impact of a
particular program on a certain problem the program is
trying to solve.
• Therefore, Evaluation research can be defined as a type
of study that uses standard research methods for
evaluative purposes, as a specific research methodology,
and as an assessment process that employs special
techniques unique to the evaluation of programs.
Several evaluation methods are then presented,
including input measurement,
output/performance measurement,
impact/outcomes assessment, service quality
assessment, process evaluation, benchmarking,
standards, quantitative methods, qualitative
methods, cost analysis, organizational
effectiveness, program evaluation methods.
 Types of Evaluation Research
• A. Formative Evaluation: It is the procedure of gathering
information during the process of implementation of any project
with a view to informing the development of the program.
Therefore, formative research occurs before a program is designed
and implemented, or while a program is being conducted.
Formative research can be helpful
– define and understand the weight of the program
– create programs that are specific to the needs of those
populations
– ensure programs are acceptable and feasible to clients before
launching
– improve the relationship between clients and agencies.
Therefore, It seeks answers to questions about the process of
implementation
Formative evaluation should be an integral part of
developing programs or adapting programs, and
should be used while the program is on-going to
help refine and improve program activities.
B. Summative Evaluation
• A study which is used to gather information on
the effectiveness of a program after it has been
implemented is known as Summative Evaluation.
• Is also known as impact or outcomes evaluation.
• It seeks answers to questions about what
relationship exists between the goals of the
programs and its outcomes.
• Summative evaluation provides information on
the product's efficacy ( it's ability to do what it
was designed to do).
 Value of research in decision making
• Reduces uncertainties providing information
• Provides information about the significant
factors that affect decision making.
• Provides the information before the problem
becomes uncontrollable that facilitates to take
decision in an appropriate time.
• Informs the consequences of business failure and
suggests the techniques to reduce the chance s
of failure of business in advance.