Research Methods summary

RESEARCH METHODS: INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION TO (BUSINESS) RESEARCH

WHAT IS RESEARCH?

→the process of finding solutions to a problem after a thorough study and analysis of the situational factors

BUT what is a real problem?

Ex.: we want to make the perfect pizza, but it doesn’t work?

→ how is it possible that our pizza sucks?

→ collect data about the problem




→ in general for business research:

- Can the manager identify the problem?
- Does the manager have a good insight into the relevant factors influencing the problem?
- Does the manager know what information to collect and how?
- Can the manager deduce the correct conclusions based on the data collected?
- Can the manager implement the right corrective actions based on the findings?




WHAT IS BUSINESS RESEARCH?

→ A systematic and organized effort to investigate a specific problem encountered in a work setting, which
need a solution

Good research = a systematic, organised, data-based, critical, objective inquiry or investigation

It is conducted to resolve issues in

- Accounting
o Budget control systems, practices & procedures
o Taxation methods
o Inventory costing methods
- Finance


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, o Operational of financial organizations
o Optimum financial ratios
- Management
o Employee attitudes and behaviors
o HR management
o Information systems
- Marketing
o Consumer decision making
o Customer satisfaction and loyalty
o Product image
o Sales promotion

WHY?

- Managers with knowledge of research have an advantage over those without
- Managers have to understand, predict and control events that are dysfunctional withing the
organization
o Ex: a newly developed product may not be taking off → reading about others were this is
happened and thinking and understanding this problem
- Being knowledgeable about research and research methods helps professional managers to
o Identify and effectively solve minor problems in the work setting
o Know how to discriminate good from bad research
o Appreciate and be constantly aware of the multiple influences and multiple effects of factors
impinging on a situation
o …




TYPES OF BUSINESS RESEARCH

Based on the purpose

- Theory-  practice-oriented
- Scientific problem  management problem
- Basic/fundamental business research  applied business research




→ More brought, bigger problems that can have → problem in a particular organization
an impact on many organizations

(exemples --> zie ppt slide 23-24)

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,Based on the methodology

- Quantitative  qualitative
- Numerical  non-numerical




→ about numbers → the why behind it

→ what? How much? …


Quantitative research Qualitative research


- Structured data - Unstructured data
- Statistical analysis - Summary
- Objective conclussions - Subjective conclusions
- Surveys, experiments - Interviews, focus groups, observations




A SCIENTIFIC APPROACH

→ is all research also scientific research?

8 characteristics that should be present for scientific research

THE HALLMARKS OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

→ 8 characteristics that helps us to find out if the research is scientific or not

- Purposiveness
o What is our goal?
o What do we want to do?
- Rigor (strengheid)
o Theory based and methodological sound
o Thinking about a method that is really investigated and find the solutions u need
o Doing it in a very good way, methodologically
o BUT you can miss some things --> so also theory based: do the method insulate that you want
to avoid bias as much as possible?
- Testability
o You need to investigate something that is testable → hypothesis
o Ex.: making employees more participation can increase their commitment → can be testable
via survey
o Being able to test your hypothesis
- Replicability
o If what you found is replicated → the other people are sure it is really true
o For this, details are important for the people who want to replicate the study → details
provide to replicate the study
o If you did the research again, dit you find the same conclusion?

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, - Precision & confidence
o We do research on a sample and not on the whole population → it need to be very close to
the whole population BUT it will be never 100% perfect
o Precision: shows how close we are by the reality
 We want to be as close as possible
 Aconfidence level shows us this (95%: we are 95% confidence that the research is
true)
 Always a percentage that we are wrong
- Objectivity
o Follow you r findings and do not interpretate them in a way u want them to be
o Focus and follow what the findings are
- Generalizability
o You want to try to make what you found more general
o Difficult because we can’t include a big sample
o Quantitative is more generalizable that qualitative
- Parsimony
o Keep it simple
o Find simple solutions, avoid complex solutions



NOT ALL POSSIBLE TO REACH

Example: zie dia 44 – 51

THE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH CYCLE

Example: Global warming

2 documentaries with similar data and graphs but used in a different way AND different conclusions




Inconvenient truth: people are the one that are causing the global warming → humans are responsible for the
increasing CO2 levels



The great global warming: global warming is a normal, natural thing happening influenced by the sun,
volcanoes…

→ reality = complex

There is never a guarantee that scientific statements are ‘true’


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