1ZV60 Methodology for IE Research
Lecture 1.1: Introduction to Research Methods
Why is good methodology important (for you)?
Methodology
• Method: “a systematic established procedure for approaching something”
• Methodology: “a system of methods used in a particular area of study”
Why YOU need to know about methods:
• Make informed choices in your projects
• Be able to plan and set-up your project
• Know how to apply methods to get good results (and avoid pitfalls!)
• Assess research critically (and understand its limitations!)
• Learn transferable skills that will be useful beyond your studies
• Gain an academic mindset
The role of theory in research
Theory: a set of general rules – at the core of research
Key Theory-Related Terminology
- Domain: all instances to which the theory is expected to apply
(e.g. all potential users of new computer technologies)
- Unit of analysis: the instance to which the theory applies
(e.g. a potential user of a new computer technology)
- Population: sub-set of the domain where the theory can be developed and/or tested
(e.g. all potential users of smartwatches in the Netherlands)
- Sample: the instances from the population that are studied
(e.g. potential Dutch smartwatch users reached via e-mail)
Three ways of theoretical reasoning
1. Induction: give a cause and an effect, induce the rule
2. Deduction: given the rule and the cause, deduce the effect
, 3. Abduction: given a rule and an effect, abduce a cause
Philosophical foundations of research methods
How can theories be supported?
Depends on your views about:
1. Ontology: what kind of objects exist in the “social world”?
Two views about how social (in business research often organizational) phenomena
and their meanings exist:
2. Epistemology: what can be considered “acceptable knowledge”?
Two views about what knowledge is and how it is produced:
Implications for methods
- Appropriate research methods depend on ontological and epistemological foundations
- Awareness of these topics helps you understand research that you encounter (most research
at TU/e is based on objectivist / positivist foundations)
The empirical cycle and the problem-solving cycle
Empirical cycle
• Used for generic business problems that many businesses encounter
• Relationships between variables
• Develop and empirically test theories
o Aim: generalizable insights, useable across contexts
• Use when “how things work” is not understood
,Problem-solving cycle
• Used for performance-related business issues
o Context specific!
• A business process that does not meet a defined performance level
(e.g. costs, quality, timeliness)
• Use when “how things are done” needs to be improved
The two cycles complement each other
Research ethics
In research, you will encounter many ethical issues…
- How can I protect participants’ privacy while making my results traceable?
- How should I deal with missing data?
- Should I drop this observation from my study?
- My results are not what my client expected…
- …
Ethical decisions are not always clear-cut.
Lecture 1.4: Research project and writing up / Introduction to assignment 1
CHAPTER 2:
Science: method for asking awkward questions and subjecting them to a reality-check, thus
avoiding the human tendency to believe whatever makes us feel good.
Role of science in organizations
• Science: structured activities aimed at observing, understanding, predicting and
controlling certain phenomena
• Empirical focus is on systematical testing using ‘data’
• Science in an organizational context: a scientific approach to systematically solve
organizational problems
Research styles
1. Basic research
- Also called pure or fundamental research
- Problem-solving of a theoretical nature
, - Little impact on action, performance or policy
decisions
- Mainly conducted at universities and research
institutes, but increasingly at companies (e.g.
Facebook, Google, Microsoft)
2. Applied research
- Practical problem-solving for business or
management issue
- Application of theoretical notions (evidence-
based solutions)
- Mainly performed at companies, but also at
universities
Research philosophies
• Research is based on reasoning (theory) and observations (data)
• Central dilemma: Can we know the world objectively, or is knowledge always a
subjective representation of reality?
• How objective is our world? Or is humanity unknowingly trapped inside a computer-
simulated reality?
The empirical cycle
Induction: the process in which a general conclusion is formed from a
limited set of specific cases (observations). Conclusion is true (till this
moment).
Deduction: form of reasoning in which the conclusion necessarily follows
from the reasons given (premises).
Theory: a set of systematically interrelated concepts, definitions, and propositions that are
advanced to explain or predict phenomena (facts).
- Narrows the range of facts under study
- Summarizes what is already known
- Suggests type of research approaches
- Can be used to predict any further (new) facts
Lecture 1.1: Introduction to Research Methods
Why is good methodology important (for you)?
Methodology
• Method: “a systematic established procedure for approaching something”
• Methodology: “a system of methods used in a particular area of study”
Why YOU need to know about methods:
• Make informed choices in your projects
• Be able to plan and set-up your project
• Know how to apply methods to get good results (and avoid pitfalls!)
• Assess research critically (and understand its limitations!)
• Learn transferable skills that will be useful beyond your studies
• Gain an academic mindset
The role of theory in research
Theory: a set of general rules – at the core of research
Key Theory-Related Terminology
- Domain: all instances to which the theory is expected to apply
(e.g. all potential users of new computer technologies)
- Unit of analysis: the instance to which the theory applies
(e.g. a potential user of a new computer technology)
- Population: sub-set of the domain where the theory can be developed and/or tested
(e.g. all potential users of smartwatches in the Netherlands)
- Sample: the instances from the population that are studied
(e.g. potential Dutch smartwatch users reached via e-mail)
Three ways of theoretical reasoning
1. Induction: give a cause and an effect, induce the rule
2. Deduction: given the rule and the cause, deduce the effect
, 3. Abduction: given a rule and an effect, abduce a cause
Philosophical foundations of research methods
How can theories be supported?
Depends on your views about:
1. Ontology: what kind of objects exist in the “social world”?
Two views about how social (in business research often organizational) phenomena
and their meanings exist:
2. Epistemology: what can be considered “acceptable knowledge”?
Two views about what knowledge is and how it is produced:
Implications for methods
- Appropriate research methods depend on ontological and epistemological foundations
- Awareness of these topics helps you understand research that you encounter (most research
at TU/e is based on objectivist / positivist foundations)
The empirical cycle and the problem-solving cycle
Empirical cycle
• Used for generic business problems that many businesses encounter
• Relationships between variables
• Develop and empirically test theories
o Aim: generalizable insights, useable across contexts
• Use when “how things work” is not understood
,Problem-solving cycle
• Used for performance-related business issues
o Context specific!
• A business process that does not meet a defined performance level
(e.g. costs, quality, timeliness)
• Use when “how things are done” needs to be improved
The two cycles complement each other
Research ethics
In research, you will encounter many ethical issues…
- How can I protect participants’ privacy while making my results traceable?
- How should I deal with missing data?
- Should I drop this observation from my study?
- My results are not what my client expected…
- …
Ethical decisions are not always clear-cut.
Lecture 1.4: Research project and writing up / Introduction to assignment 1
CHAPTER 2:
Science: method for asking awkward questions and subjecting them to a reality-check, thus
avoiding the human tendency to believe whatever makes us feel good.
Role of science in organizations
• Science: structured activities aimed at observing, understanding, predicting and
controlling certain phenomena
• Empirical focus is on systematical testing using ‘data’
• Science in an organizational context: a scientific approach to systematically solve
organizational problems
Research styles
1. Basic research
- Also called pure or fundamental research
- Problem-solving of a theoretical nature
, - Little impact on action, performance or policy
decisions
- Mainly conducted at universities and research
institutes, but increasingly at companies (e.g.
Facebook, Google, Microsoft)
2. Applied research
- Practical problem-solving for business or
management issue
- Application of theoretical notions (evidence-
based solutions)
- Mainly performed at companies, but also at
universities
Research philosophies
• Research is based on reasoning (theory) and observations (data)
• Central dilemma: Can we know the world objectively, or is knowledge always a
subjective representation of reality?
• How objective is our world? Or is humanity unknowingly trapped inside a computer-
simulated reality?
The empirical cycle
Induction: the process in which a general conclusion is formed from a
limited set of specific cases (observations). Conclusion is true (till this
moment).
Deduction: form of reasoning in which the conclusion necessarily follows
from the reasons given (premises).
Theory: a set of systematically interrelated concepts, definitions, and propositions that are
advanced to explain or predict phenomena (facts).
- Narrows the range of facts under study
- Summarizes what is already known
- Suggests type of research approaches
- Can be used to predict any further (new) facts
