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.
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.
