Research

Methodology
 Why take a research methods class ?

• To get my degree
• So that I can do my thesis
• So that I can read or evaluate other people’s
research report
• So that I can evaluate what I see or hear
• So that I can do research in my work
You may have heard or read in the press
that about half of teenage and adult net
surfers visit pornographic sites. You may
think this is correct and support calls for
stringent State or parental control over net
access. You may not have realised that the
report was based on a poorly done student
dissertation.
Suppose your dad asked you for advice on
whether he should invest in a property. He
showed you a brochure outlining the costs and
returns. If you are professional about it, you
would not give advice without doing your
homework, which is research. You will ask him
questions such as his holding power, exchange
rate risk, market risk, buying price, expected
selling price, holding period, tax matters and
whether property rights are secure. You might
also want to predict the future reasonably well.
 The importance of research

• Helps to understand something better

• Helps identify the root of a problem
• Helps find ways and solutions to solve a problem
• Provides data for decision making and policy
formation
• Helps generate new information and knowledge
• Helps in providing explanation on certain happenings
or phenomena
• Guides in formulating strategies for courses of action
• Helps improve existing products and services
• Helps invent/develop new products and services
Business research is the function that links an
organisation with its environment, stakeholders
and public through INFORMATION that support
appropriate decisions and actions.

Identify and define

opportunities and problems

Generate, refine, and evaluate

overall performance

Monitor day-to-day performance

Improve understanding of the

functioning of the organisation/
business as a process
Applications of Research in Business

The prime value of research in business is that it reduces

uncertainty. Research produces information that improves
decision-making in four relevant areas of:

1. Locating problems and identifying opportunities.

2. Diagnosing problems and assessing potentials.
3. Selecting and implementing a course of action.
4. Evaluating the chosen course/s of action.
(Performance monitoring research)
Research and Managerial Decision Making

Issues that warrant research based managerial Decision making

Government Policies and challenges due to changes in the economy

Strategic and Operational (technical) concerns of business and
industry
Socially relevant (internal) concerns in managing organisations
Market related issues and concerns
Issues ranging from Product Launching to
Competitive Positioning and Trends Analysis
Rationale:

Managers’ need for more and better information

Quality of the resulting decision

Availability of tools and techniques to meet the need

Determining the relevance of research
in Business Decisions
Time Data Nature Costs
Constraints Availability of decisions V/s benefits

Is Does the DO
Is the Is the Research
sufficient value of
information decision of
time research
already on considerable
available Yes Yes Yes information Yes
hand in- strategic or
before a exceed the
adequate? tactical
decision cost of
importance?
has to be doing
made? research?

No No No No

Do not conduct research

Profile requirements for a researcher

Abilities & Skills

Scientific Attitude Literary

Readiness to carry out the
work Numerical
Systematically
Appropriate Knowledge Skeptically Logical
• General & Domain-specific
Objectively
Ethically Organisational
theoretical
• Methodological Interpersonal
• Domain-specific insights
Research is a careful and systematic process of
inquiry to find answer/s to a problem of interest.
Research, in simple terms, is the application of
‘scientific method’ to a knowable universe for the
purpose of finding answers to a whole host of
questions, either intellectual or practical in
nature.
Scientific method is an aggregation of techniques
and procedures and the rules of procedures for
analysing empirical evidences in an attempt to
confirm or prove prior conceptions.
The most important hallmark of any science is its
Amenability to ‘scientific method’.
Methods of knowing/fixing beliefs

Method of Tenacity

Method of Authority

Apriori method

Method of Science
Method of Tenacity

Concrete
belief over
Time

Actively Abstract
held Conceptualisation
Knowledge (Thinking)

Reflective
Observation
(Experience)
Method of Authority
In the year of our Lord 1432, there arose a grievous quarrel among the brethren
over the number of teeth in the mouth of the horse. For 13 days the disputation
raged without ceasing. All the ancient books and chronicles were fetched out, and
wonderful and ponderous erudition, such as was never before heard of in this
region, was made manifest. At the beginning of the fourteenth day, a youthful
friar of godly bearing asked his learned superiors for permission to add a word,
and straight away, to the wonderment of the disputants, whose deep wisdom he
sore vexed, he beseeched them to unbend in a manner coarse and unheard of,
and to look into the open mouth of a horse and find the answer to their
questionings.

At this, their dignity being grievously hurt, they waxed exceedingly wroth; and
joining in a mighty uproar, they flew upon him and smote him hip and thigh, and
cast him out forthwith.They said, surely Satan hath tempted this bold neophyte
to declare unholy and unheard ways of finding truth contrary to all the teachings
of the fathers.

After many more days of grievous strife the dove of peace sat on the assembly,
and they, as one man, declared the problem to be an everlasting mystery because
of a grievous dearth of historical and theological evidence thereof, so ordered
the same writ down.
Apriori method

• Universal, but based on rules a priori.

• Involves reasoning from general to specific.
• Syllogism form: 2 premises and a conclusion.
Problems:
– From where does one get the premises?
– Problems of the correctness of premises
– Difference between validity and truth
– Ultimately tautological
Problem in Apriori method

1st Premise: All animals can fly

2nd Premise: Tiny is an animal
Therefore: Tiny can fly

Valid? Yes.

True? No.
Method of Science – knowledge is
generated through the elements of
rationalism and empiricism. It employs
rational logic to arrive at a deduced
position and then check with empirical
observation for validating the position. It
involves the continuous and systematic
interplay of facts and rational thought.
Scientific method is an aggregation of techniques
and procedures and the rules of procedures for
analysing empirical evidences in an attempt to
confirm or prove prior conceptions.
Scientific method is
a way of thinking systematically, a way of assembling
evidences and appraising them for a predetermined
purpose;

a way of conducting experiments as to understand, control

and predict as accurately as possible what will happen
in a given set of circumstances;

a way of recognising and ascertaining one’s own errors;

a way of realising the fallacies in long-held ideas;

Science itself is changing largely as a result of the

contributions from scientific method.
Model of Science

THEORIES

EMPIRICAL
HYPOTHESES
GENERALISATIONS

OBSERVATIONS
 Apriori conclusion +
Scientific method Empirical Validation

Ideas and theories

induction deduction

Facts acquired Explanations and

through observation Predictions

Validation
Inductive Reasoning
– Begins with empirical observations and
draw general conclusions from them
Observations: Psychiatrists have reported that
psychological problems of their clients and
patients are found to be rooted in their
childhood experiences.
Conclusion:
All psychological problems are based on
experiences in childhood.
 Induction (empirical)

1st instance: I know a biker (named Tiny)

who can eat 3 pies
at one sitting.

2nd instance: I know another biker

(named Tubs) who can eat

3 pies at one sitting.

3rd instance: My friend knows another
biker (named Toots) who
can eat 3 pies at one sitting.

Therefore: All bikers can

eat 3 pies at one sitting.
Induction (conceptual)

1 = 1 = 12

1+3 = 4 = 22

1+3+5 = 9 = 32
Conclusion
1+3+5+7 = 16 = 42
The sum of first ‘n’ odd
1+3+5+7+9 = 25 = 52 numbers is equal to the
square of the number of
Generalisation items or = n2

1+3+5+7+………+ (2n-1) = n2

1+3+5+7+………+ (2n+1) = ( n+1)2

Deductive Reasoning
Begins with available general conceptual positions
and draw conclusions about particular situations
based on general notions.
General notion.
Psychiatrists and psychologists have found that
psychological problems in patients depend upon their
experiences in childhood.

Conclusion:
My employees with emotional problems have
had unwholesome experiences in childhood.
We can’t be sure about the deductive conclusions
without validation
 Induction vs. Deduction

Induction: Deduction:
An approach to An approach to
social research social research
that begins with that begins with
empirical data and abstract ideas or
works towards general principles
abstract ideas or and works toward
general principles. using empirical
data to test those
ideas.
 Induction vs. Deduction

theory

Inductive concepts
Deductive
approach approach

empirical world
Characteristics of Scientific Method

Empiricism
Use of relevant concepts
Objectivity
Ethical neutrality
Generality
Predictability
Verifiability
Research defined
Manipulation of things, concepts and symbols
for the purpose of generalising, in order to
extend, correct or verify knowledge,
whether that knowledge aids in the
construction of theory or
in the practice of an art.

Manipulation of things, concepts and symbols

for the purpose of generalisation
extension, correction or verification of knowledge
construction of theory
practice of an art
Social Research defined
Systematic and objective process of
studying, analysing and conceptualising
social and human lives, for the purpose of
generalising, in order to extend, correct or
verify knowledge, whether that knowledge aids
in the construction of theory or
in the practice of an art.
Business Research defined
Systematic and objective process of
Conceptualising,gathering and analysing
business relevant data for making
business decisions and taking appropriate actions.
 Marketing & Sales
Major areas of research in business
• Market Potentials
General Business Condition • Market Segmentation
• Distribution Channels
• Business Forecasting • Product Concepts
• Industry Trends • Test Market Studies
• Global Environments • Advertising
• Inflation & Pricing • Buyer Behaviour & Satisfaction
• Acquisitions Financial Management
Management & Organisational • Financial Rates
Behaviour • Commodity Values
• Total Quality Management • Capital Formation
• Morale and Satisfaction • Mergers
• Global Management Practices • Portfolio Analyses
• Leadership • Credit Risks
• Organisational Effectiveness • Costs Analysis
• Structural Studies Information Systems
Corporate Responsibility • Knowledge & Information Needs
• Ecological Impacts • Computer Systems use & Evaluation
• Constraints on Advertising & Promotions • Technical Support Systems
• Discriminations • DBMS Analysis
• Social Values & Ethics in Business • Data Mining Systems
Ideas and Conceptualising Designing
Existing the study the study
Theories

Research Process

Study Data Data

Report Analysis Collection
 The Research Process
• Idea generating phase: All research begins with an idea,
sometimes vague; researcher’s interest in the idea is
critical.
• Problem-definition phase: Vague ideas are not sufficient;
we must put more demands on these ideas to clarify &
refine them. Involves developing and refining initial ideas
through search & understanding of the relevant literature.
• Procedure design phase: Researcher systematically decides
on the kind, nature and sources of observations and exactly
how they are to be made.
• Observation phase: Researcher
R carries out the procedures
that were determined in previous phase; observation is vital
in all research.
Empirical observations constitute the facts of
research; when observed and facts recorded, the record
constitutes the research data.
Research Process
• Data-analysis phase: usually in the form of numerical
record representing the observations, data must be put into
some order and further processed and analysed.
Statistical procedures are used to describe and
evaluate numerical data; determining which statistical
procedures are used is determined by the nature of the
question and the observational procedures.
• Interpretation phase: After data are analysed (usually with
statistics) researcher continues to make sense out of them
by interpreting the statistical results in terms of how they
help answer the research question and how this answer
contributes to current knowledge in the field.
Answers found in research and seen how well they
fit into our theoretical predictions & positions.
• Communication phase: communicating research results
through both oral presentations at scientific meetings &
written accounts in journals & books.
The Spiraling Research Process

Ideas & Concept- Design Data Findings

Theory ualisation Collection Analysis

Steps in the research process loop as well as sequence;

thus the researcher usually backtracks.
Scientific Research Process
and Types of Research

1. Research
Question Theoretical research

Deductive research

4. The empirical 2. Literature

study review

Inductive research

3. Theory and
Hypotheses
Any Questions ?