Transcript Document 7588374

Business Research Method
MGM4104/MGM4105
PJJ
Chapter 1
The role of Business
Research
Business Research Defined
• Business research is the application of the
scientific method in searching for the truth
about business phenomena.
• The process includes:
– idea and theory development
– problem definition
– searching for and collecting information
– analyzing data
– communicating the findings and their
implications
The Scientific Method
• Scientific Method
– The way researchers go about using
knowledge and evidence to reach objective
conclusions about the real world.
– The analysis and interpretation of empirical
evidence (facts from observation or
experimentation) to confirm or disprove prior
conceptions
Chapter 3
Theory Building
What is a Theory?
• Theory
– A formal, logical explanation of some events
that includes predictions or how things relate
to one another.
• Goals of Theory
– Understanding
– Predicting
Research Concepts
• Concept (or construct)
– A generalized idea about a class of objects,
attributes, occurrences or process that has
been given a name.
• Examples:
–
–
–
–
–
–
leadership
morale
gross domestic product
assets
customer satisfaction
market share
EXHIBIT 3.2
Concepts are Abstractions of Reality
EXHIBIT 3.3
Hypotheses Are the Empirical Counterparts
of Propositions
The Scientific Method
• Scientific Method
– A set of prescribed
procedures for establishing
and connecting theoretical
statements about events,
for analyzing empirical
evidence, and for
predicting events yet
unknown.
– Techniques or procedures
used to analyze empirical
evidence in an attempt to
confirm or disprove prior
conceptions.
•
Suggested steps:
1. Assess relevant existing
knowledge of phenomenon
2. Formulate concepts and
propositions
3. State hypotheses
4. Design research to test the
hypotheses
5. Acquire empirical data
6. Analyze and evaluate data
7. Propose an explanation of
the phenomenon and state
new problems raised by the
research
Chapter 4
The Business Research
Process: An Overview
Stages in the Research Process
• Process stages:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Defining the research objectives
Planning a research design
Planning a sample
Collecting the data
Analyzing the data
Formulating the conclusions and preparing the
report
• Forward linkage—earlier stages influence later stages.
• Backward linkage—later stages influence earlier stages.
EXHIBIT 4.5
Stages of the Research Process
EXHIBIT 4.6
Flowchart
of the
Business
Research
Process
Note: Diamond-shaped boxes indicate stages in the research process in which a choice of one or more
techniques must be made. The dotted line indicates an alternative path that skips exploratory research.
Defining the Research
Objectives
• Research objectives
– The goals to be achieved by conducting
research.
• Deliverables
– The consulting term used to describe
research objectives to a research client.
• Previous Research
– Literature review
• A directed search of published works, including periodicals
and books, that discusses theory and presents empirical
results that are relevant to the topic at hand.
Planning the Research Design
• Research Design
– A master plan that specifies the methods and
procedures for collecting and analyzing the
needed information.
– Basic design techniques for descriptive and
causal research:
•
•
•
•
Surveys
Experiments
Secondary data
Observation
Gathering Data
• Unobtrusive Methods
– Methods in which research respondents do
not have to be disturbed for data to be
gathered.
Processing and Analyzing Data
• Editing
– Involves checking the data collection forms for
omissions, legibility, and consistency in classification.
• Codes
– Rules for interpreting, categorizing, recording, and
transferring the data to the data storage media.
• Data analysis
– The application of reasoning to understand the data
that have been gathered.
Drawing Conclusions and
Preparing a Report
• Steps in communicating the research findings:
– Interpreting the research results
– Describing the implications
– Drawing the appropriate conclusions for managerial decisions
• Reporting requirements
– Conclusions fulfill the deliverables promised in the research
proposal
– Consider the varying abilities of people to understand the
research results
– A clearly-written, understandable summary of the research
findings
Types of Business Research
• Exploratory
• Descriptive
• Causal
Chapter 5
The Human Side of Business
Research: Organizational and
Ethical Issues
Rights and Obligations of the
Researcher
• The researcher should:
– Understand that the purpose of research is
research (no sales pitch to research
participants)
– Maintain objectivity
– Not misrepresent research
– Be honest in reporting errors
– Protect the confidentiality of both subjects and
clients
Chapter 6
Problem Definition: The
Foundation of Business
Research
The Problem-Definition Process
• Problem
– When there is a difference between the current
conditions and a more preferable set of conditions.
• Problems Mean Gaps
– Business performance is worse than expected
business performance.
– Actual business performance is less than possible
business performance.
– Expected business performance is greater than
possible business performance.
EXHIBIT 6.2
The Problem-Definition Process
Determine the Unit of Analysis
• Unit of Analysis
– Indicates what or who should provide the data and at what level
of aggregation.
• Individuals (such as customers, employees, and owners)
• Households (families, extended families, and so forth)
• Organizations (businesses and business units)
• Departments (sales, finance, and so forth)
• Geographical areas
• Objects (products, advertisements, and so forth).
– Multi-level analysis studies variables measured at more than one
unit of analysis.
Determine the Relevant
Variable
• What is a Variable?
– Anything that varies or changes from one
instance to another; can exhibit differences in
value, usually in magnitude or strength, or in
direction.
• What is a Constant?
– Something that does not change; is not useful
in addressing research questions.
Writing Research Objectives
and Questions
• Research Questions
– Express the research objectives in terms of
questions that can be addressed by
research.
– Help to develop well-formulated, specific
hypotheses that can be empirically tested.
– Help the researcher design a study that will
produce useful results.
Clarity in Research Questions
and Hypotheses
• Research Questions
– The researcher’s translation of the problem into a specific
inquiry.
• Provide input that can be used as a standard for selecting
from among alternative solutions.
• Hypotheses
– Statements that can be empirically tested.
• State what is expected to be found through the study.
• Managerial Action Standard
– A specific performance criterion upon which a decision can be
based.
The Research Proposal
• Research Proposal
– A written statement of the research design.
• Uses for the Proposal
– As a planning tool
– As a contract
• Funded Business Research
– Basic research usually performed by
academic researchers that is financially
supported by some public or private institution
as in federal government grants.
Chapter 7
Qualitative Research Tools
What is Qualitative Research?
• Qualitative business research
– Research that addresses business objectives through
techniques that allow the researcher to provide elaborate
interpretations of phenomena without depending on numerical
measurement
• Its focus is on discovering true inner meanings and new
insights.
• Researcher-dependent
– Researcher must extract meaning from unstructured
responses such as text from a recorded interview or a
collage representing the meaning of some
experience.
Uses of Qualitative Research
• Qualitative research is useful when:
– It is difficult to develop specific and actionable
decision statements or research objectives.
– The research objective is to develop a detailed and
in-depth understanding of some phenomena.
– The research objective is to learn how a phenomenon
occurs in its natural setting or to learn how to express
some concept in colloquial terms.
– The behavior the researcher is studying is particularly
context-dependent.
– A fresh approach to studying the problem is needed.
Qualitative “versus” Quantitative
Research
• Quantitative business research
– Descriptive and conclusive
• Addresses research objectives through empirical
assessments that involve numerical measurement and
statistical analysis.
• Qualitative business research
– Exploratory
• Uses small versus large samples
• Asks a broad range of questions versus structured questions
• Subjective interpretation versus statistical analysis
Contrasting Exploratory and
Confirmatory Research
• Qualitative data
– Data that are not characterized by numbers
but rather are textual, visual, or oral.
• Focus is on stories, visual portrayals, meaningful
characterizations, interpretations, and other
expressive descriptions.
• Quantitative data
– Represent phenomena by assigning numbers
in an ordered and meaningful way.
Qualitative Research
Orientations
• Major Orientations of Qualitative Research
1. Phenomenology—originating in philosophy
and psychology
2. Ethnography—originating in anthropology
3. Grounded theory—originating in sociology
4. Case studies—originating in psychology and
in business research
What Is a Phenomenological
Approach to Research?
• Phenomenology
– A philosophical approach to studying human
experiences based on the idea that human
experience itself is inherently subjective and
determined by the context in which people live.
– Seeks to describe, reflect upon, and interpret
experiences.
– Relies on conversational interview tools and
respondents are asked to tell a story about some
experience.
What Is Hermeneutics?
• Hermeneutics
– An approach to understanding
phenomenology that relies on analysis of
texts through which a person tells a story
about him- or herself.
• Hermeneutic Unit
– A text passage from a respondent’s story that
is linked with a key theme from within the
respondent’s story or provided by the
researcher.
What Is Ethnography?
• Ethnography
– Represents ways of studying cultures through
methods that involve becoming highly active
within that culture.
• Participant-observation
– An ethnographic research approach where
the researcher becomes immersed within the
culture that he or she is studying and draws
data from his or her observations.
What Is Grounded Theory?
• Grounded Theory
– Represents an inductive investigation in which
the researcher poses questions about
information provided by respondents or taken
from historical records.
• The researcher asks the questions to him or
herself and repeatedly questions the responses to
derive deeper explanations.
– Key questions:
• What is happening here?
• How is it different?
What Are Case Studies?
• Case Studies
– The documented history of a particular
person, group, organization, or event.
• Themes
– Are identified by the frequency with which the
same term (or a synonym) arises in the
narrative description.
EXHIBIT 7.2
Common Qualitative Research Tools
Focus Group Interview
• An unstructured, free-flowing interview with a
small group (6-10 people) led by a moderator
who encourages dialogue among respondents.
• Advantages:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Relatively fast
Easy to execute
Allow respondents to piggyback off each other’s ideas
Provide multiple perspectives
Flexibility to allow more detailed descriptions
High degree of scrutiny
Focus Group Respondents
• Group Composition
– 6 to 10 people
– Relatively
homogeneous
– Similar lifestyles and
experiences
The Focus Group Moderator
• Moderator
– A person who leads a focus group interview
and insures that everyone gets a chance to
speak and contribute to the discussion.
• Qualities of a good moderator:
– Develops rapport with the group
– Good listener
– Tries not to interject his or her own opinions
– Controls discussion without being overbearing
Planning a Focus Group Outline
• Discussion guide
– Includes written introductory comments
informing the group about the focus group
purpose and rules and then outlines topics or
questions to be addressed in the group
session.
Focus Group Discussion Guide
1. Welcome and introductions should take place first.
2. Begin the interview with a broad icebreaker that does
not reveal too many specifics about the interview.
3. Questions become increasingly more specific as the
interview proceeds.
4. If there is a very specific objective to be accomplished,
that question should probably be saved for last.
5. A debriefing statement should provide respondents with
the actual focus group objectives and answering any
questions they may have.
Disadvantages of Focus Groups
• Focus groups:
– Require objective, sensitive, and effective
moderators.
– May have unique sampling problems.
– May not be useful for discussing sensitive
topics in face-to-face situations.
– Cost a considerable amount of money,
particularly when they are not conducted by
someone employed by the company desiring
the focus group.
Depth Interviews
• Depth interview
– A one-on-one interview between a professional researcher and a
research respondent conducted about some relevant business or social
topic.
• Laddering
– A particular approach to probing asking respondents to compare
differences between brands at different levels.
– Produces distinctions at the:
• attribute level
• benefit level
• value or motivation level
Conversations
• Conversations
– An informal qualitative data-gathering approach in which the researcher
engages a respondent in a discussion of the relevant subject matter.
• Semi-structured interviews
– Written form and ask respondents for short essay responses to specific
open-ended questions.
– Advantages
• An ability to address more specific issues
• Responses are easier to interpret
• Without the presence of an interviewer, semi-structured interviews
can be relatively cost effective
Social Networking
• One of the most impactful trends in recent
times.
– For many, social networking sites have become the primary tool
for communicating with friends both far and near and known
and unknown.
• MySpace
• Second Life
• Zebo
• A large portion of this information discusses
business and consumer-related information.
– Companies monitor these sites for information related to their
brands.
Other Techniques
• Observation
–
Field notes
• The researcher’s descriptions of what actually happens in the field.
• These notes then become the text from which meaning is extracted.
– Advantageous for gaining insight into things that respondents cannot or
will not verbalize.