Business research summary quarter 2

Business research I

What is research?
- Applied research is of direct and immediate relevance to practitioners (important
issues, actionable results)
- Scientific research involves the systematic observation/experimentation of
phenomena

Research question: what am I trying to find out?

Exploration: what do I (or others) already know?
(exploratory/ descriptive research)

Research design: How will I find out what I need to know?
(descriptive/ explanatory research)

Analysis

Findings and conclusions

Definition: research questions/objectives
 A research question is the key question that your research will address.
 It can be subdivided into sub-research questions
 Research questions are useful to frame the research process
 A research objective is a clear statement that identifies what you (the researcher) want to
accomplish

Types of research objectives
 Exploratory research: if your objective is to gain insight in a topic of interest.
- What is known about ‘organic labelling’?
 Descriptive research: if your objective is to gain an accurate profile of a situation.
- What are the current sales of the “pure & honest” brand?
- Which factors affect sales of the “pure & honest” brand?
 Explanatory research: if your objective is to establish a causal relationship.
- Which factors affect sales of the “pure & honest” brand?
- Does a reduction in consumer trust decrease sales of the
“pure and honest” brand?
- We usually prefer explanatory research. This implies relationship between concepts.

Definitions: research approach, strategy, design
 A research approach is the perspective you take for your research: inductive,
deductive
 A research strategy is a general plan of how you will go about answering your
research questions.
 A research design is the framework you will use for your data collection and analysis
that will allow you to answer your research question




Research approaches: inductive vs deductive

, Inductive research: approach that involves developing theory after observation of empirical
data. (based on experience)
- Collect and then create theory
Deductive research: approach that involves testing theories by collecting empirical data.
- Know theory and then collect data (to test theory)

 A Research Proposal is a structured plan of your proposed research objective.
 The following groundwork needs to be done prior to writing your research proposal:
- Define the research objective
- Review of academic and business literature
- Identify your research approach
- Design your research / methodology
- Assess ethical issues with regards to your data collection
- Define target population and sampling techniques
- Define data collection methods and data analysis techniques

Week 2

Research approach is the perspective you take for your research: inductive or deductive.
§ Inductive: narrative inquiry
Grounded theory
Ethnography
Case study
§ Deductive: survey
Archival
Experiment
Case study

Research strategy: is a general plan of how you will go about answering your research
question.
Research design: is the framework you will use for your data collection and analysis that
will allow you to answer your research question.

§ Experiment (deductive approach): consists of checking whether a change in the
independent variable leads to a change in the dependent variable. (Considered the
golden standard of research)

Classic experiment strategy




§ Surveys (deductive approach): consists of using structured observations, structured
interviews, and questionnaires. Allow for the collection of standardized data from a
large population.