Summary Chapter 1 Business Research Methods
THE RESEARCH ENTERPRISE
- Research is systematic investigation, it is a conscious effort to concentrate our thinking and
to do it in a rational, careful manner.
- Research also is an empirical endeavour, this is an effort that is based upon systematic
observation that yields data that you can use in your decision making.
- Research also is a public effort, researchers conduct research so that it can contribute to a
broader base of knowledge.
- If a discovery survives applied research testing, there is usually a process of seeing how well
it can be implemented in and disseminated to a broad range of contexts that extend beyond
the original controlled studies.
- The research enterprise has evolved a system for synthesizing the large numbers of research
studies in different topical areas.
- There are 2 major types of research syntheses: a meta-analysis and systematic review.
- While a meta-analysis is always a quantitative synthesis, a systematic review may be a
judgmental expert-driven synthesis, a meta-analysis, or both.
- The research synthesis stage acts like a sieve that combines previous multiple research
projects and distils the core results that are needed to guide practice, as reflected in
guidelines.
DEFINITION LIST:
Research a type of systematic investigation that is empirical in nature and is designed to
contribute to public knowledge.
Research enterprise the macro-level effort to accumulate knowledge across multiple empirical
systematic public research projects.
Translational research the systematic effort to move research from initial discovery to practice
and ultimately to impact on our lives.
Research-practice continuum the process of moving from an initial research idea or discovery to
practice, and the potential for the idea to influence our lives or world.
Basic research research that is designed to generate discoveries and to understand how the
discoveries work.
Applied research research where a discovery is tested under increasingly controlled conditions in
real-world contexts.
Implementation and dissemination research research that assesses how well an innovation or
discovery can be distributed in and carried out in a broad range of contexts that extend beyond the
original controlled studies.
,Impact research research that assesses the broader effects of a discovery or innovation on
society.
Policy research research that is designed to investigate existing policies or develop and test new
ones.
Research synthesis a systematic study of multiple prior research projects that address the same
research question or topic and that summarizes the results in a manner that can be used by
practitioners.
Meta-analysis type of research synthesis that uses statistical methods to combine the results of
similar studies quantitatively in order to allow general conclusions to be made.
Systematic review type of research synthesis that focuses on a specific question or issue and uses
preplanned methods to identify, select, assess, and summarize the findings of multiple research
studies.
Guideline a systematic process that leads to a specific set of research-based recommendations for
practice that usually includes some estimates of how strong the evidence is for each
recommendation.
Evidence-based practice a movement designed to encourage or require practitioners to employ
practices that are based on research evidence as reflected in research syntheses or practice
guidelines.
Evolutionary epistemology the branch of philosophy that holds that ideas evolve through the
process of natural selection.
CONCEPTUALIZING RESEARCH
- One of the most common sources of research ideas is the experience of practical problems
in the field.
- Another source for research ideas is the literature in a specific field.
- When conducting the literature review, concentrate your efforts on the research literature
and you should do the peer review early.
- When you think about if a study is feasible, it involves making trade-offs between rigor and
practicality.
- When determining practicality: how long will the research take, do important ethical
constraints require consideration, can you acquire the cooperation needed and are the costs
manageable.
, Summary Chapter 2 Business Research Methods
FOUNDATIONS OF ETHICS IN RESEARCH
- Research can be good in different ways: in the technical sense, a good experience as a
person and it can be good in the ethical sense.
- There are several reasons why the field of ethics is important in research:
1. Norms of ethical research promote a variety of other moral and social values.
2. Ethical research advances key aims of research itself.
3. Many ethical principles such as those relating to conflict of interest and research
misconduct help ensure that researchers who are funded by public money can be
held accountable to the public.
DEFINITION LIST:
Conflict of interest a conflict of interest exists in research when a researcher’s primary interest in
the integrity of a study is compromised by a secondary interest such as personal gain (e.g., financial
profit)
HISTORICAL CASES OF UNETHICAL RESEARCH
- The Nuremberg code was the first international document to state that in any research
involving human subjects, participants should give consent and the benefits of research
must outweigh the risks.
DEFINITION LIST:
Nuremberg code this code was developed following the trial of Nazi doctors after World War II. It
includes 10 principles to guide research involving human subjects. The Code has been extremely
important as a reference point for all regulations related to the protection of human subjects.
Among other things, it established the principles of informed consent, voluntary participation
without coercion, clear scientific justification for research, and most important, limits on the risk of
harm.
Thalidomide tragedy This event involved the occurrence of very serious birth defects in children
of pregnant women who had been given Thalidomide as a sedative. The drug side effects should
have been known and available to doctors and patients, but were not until much harm had been
done.
Kefauver-Harris Amendments after the Thalidomide tragedy, these amendments to the Food,
Drug and Cosmetic Act were passed to ensure greater drug safety. For the first time, drug
manufacturers were legally required to present evidence on the safety and effectiveness of their
products to the FDA before marketing them. It also established the requirement that participants be
fully informed about potential risks or harm, and that based on this information, they voluntarily
agree to participate in clinical trials.
Declaration of Helsinki the World Medical Association adopted the Declaration of Helsinki in 1964
in order to provide a set of principles to guide the practice of medical research. The principles
include such statements as “research protocols should be reviewed by an independent committee
prior to initiation.”
Tuskegee Syphilis study this was a 40-year observational study of the impact of untreated syphilis
on men. The participants in the study were low-income African American men who were led to
, believe they were receiving treatment when in fact they were not. This was one of the major stimuli
of the Belmont Conference.
EVOLUTION OF A MODERN SYSTEM OF RESEARCH ETHICS
DEFINITION LIST:
National Research Act an Act passed by the US Congress in 1974. It represents the first serious
attempt to build a comprehensive system of research ethics in the U.S. It created a national
commission to develop guidelines for human subjects research and to oversee and regulate the use
of human experimentation in medicine.
Belmont Report the report includes basic standards that should underlie the conduct of any
biomedical and behavioural research involving human participants. It emphasizes universal
principles that are unbounded by time or technology. The three core principles described in the
Belmont Report are 1) respect for persons 2) beneficence, and 3) justice.
Respect for persons this principle means that people are to be treated as independent and
autonomous individuals. It also means that the wellbeing of those who are not in a position to be
fully autonomous should also be protected.
Vulnerable populations this is the term used to designate those who may not be fully in control of
their decision making. There are several specific groups considered vulnerable, including children,
prisoners, and people with impaired cognitive capacity (e.g., with mental retardation or dementia).
Children under 18 are not of legal age to provide consent. Instead, researchers must seek permission
from parents or legal guardians.
Assent means that a child has affirmatively agreed to participate in a study. It is not the mere
absence of an objection. The appropriateness of an assent procedure depends on the child’s
developmental level and is determined by the researcher in consultation with the IRB.
Informed consent a policy of informing study participants about the procedures and risks involved
in research that ensures that all participants must give their consent to participate.
Voluntary participation the right of voluntary participation is one of the most basic and important
of all research participant rights. It means that fully informed individuals have the right to decide
whether or not to participate in a study without coercion. It also means that they can terminate
participation at any point without negative consequences.
Beneficence the expected impact on a person’s well-being that may result from participation in
research. Researchers should attempt to maximize the benefits of participation and take steps to
identify and limit the potential for harm. This is typically done when planning a study by a careful
risk/benefit assessment.
Justice justice means that participation in research should be based on fairness and not on
circumstances that give researchers access to or control of a population based on status. The
principle of justice also means that recruiting should be done in a way that respects the rights of
individuals and does not take advantage of their status as patients, students, prisoners, children, or
others not fully able to make independent decisions.
Privacy privacy in research means protection of personal information about participants. It is
typically accomplished through the use of confidentiality procedures that specify who will have
THE RESEARCH ENTERPRISE
- Research is systematic investigation, it is a conscious effort to concentrate our thinking and
to do it in a rational, careful manner.
- Research also is an empirical endeavour, this is an effort that is based upon systematic
observation that yields data that you can use in your decision making.
- Research also is a public effort, researchers conduct research so that it can contribute to a
broader base of knowledge.
- If a discovery survives applied research testing, there is usually a process of seeing how well
it can be implemented in and disseminated to a broad range of contexts that extend beyond
the original controlled studies.
- The research enterprise has evolved a system for synthesizing the large numbers of research
studies in different topical areas.
- There are 2 major types of research syntheses: a meta-analysis and systematic review.
- While a meta-analysis is always a quantitative synthesis, a systematic review may be a
judgmental expert-driven synthesis, a meta-analysis, or both.
- The research synthesis stage acts like a sieve that combines previous multiple research
projects and distils the core results that are needed to guide practice, as reflected in
guidelines.
DEFINITION LIST:
Research a type of systematic investigation that is empirical in nature and is designed to
contribute to public knowledge.
Research enterprise the macro-level effort to accumulate knowledge across multiple empirical
systematic public research projects.
Translational research the systematic effort to move research from initial discovery to practice
and ultimately to impact on our lives.
Research-practice continuum the process of moving from an initial research idea or discovery to
practice, and the potential for the idea to influence our lives or world.
Basic research research that is designed to generate discoveries and to understand how the
discoveries work.
Applied research research where a discovery is tested under increasingly controlled conditions in
real-world contexts.
Implementation and dissemination research research that assesses how well an innovation or
discovery can be distributed in and carried out in a broad range of contexts that extend beyond the
original controlled studies.
,Impact research research that assesses the broader effects of a discovery or innovation on
society.
Policy research research that is designed to investigate existing policies or develop and test new
ones.
Research synthesis a systematic study of multiple prior research projects that address the same
research question or topic and that summarizes the results in a manner that can be used by
practitioners.
Meta-analysis type of research synthesis that uses statistical methods to combine the results of
similar studies quantitatively in order to allow general conclusions to be made.
Systematic review type of research synthesis that focuses on a specific question or issue and uses
preplanned methods to identify, select, assess, and summarize the findings of multiple research
studies.
Guideline a systematic process that leads to a specific set of research-based recommendations for
practice that usually includes some estimates of how strong the evidence is for each
recommendation.
Evidence-based practice a movement designed to encourage or require practitioners to employ
practices that are based on research evidence as reflected in research syntheses or practice
guidelines.
Evolutionary epistemology the branch of philosophy that holds that ideas evolve through the
process of natural selection.
CONCEPTUALIZING RESEARCH
- One of the most common sources of research ideas is the experience of practical problems
in the field.
- Another source for research ideas is the literature in a specific field.
- When conducting the literature review, concentrate your efforts on the research literature
and you should do the peer review early.
- When you think about if a study is feasible, it involves making trade-offs between rigor and
practicality.
- When determining practicality: how long will the research take, do important ethical
constraints require consideration, can you acquire the cooperation needed and are the costs
manageable.
, Summary Chapter 2 Business Research Methods
FOUNDATIONS OF ETHICS IN RESEARCH
- Research can be good in different ways: in the technical sense, a good experience as a
person and it can be good in the ethical sense.
- There are several reasons why the field of ethics is important in research:
1. Norms of ethical research promote a variety of other moral and social values.
2. Ethical research advances key aims of research itself.
3. Many ethical principles such as those relating to conflict of interest and research
misconduct help ensure that researchers who are funded by public money can be
held accountable to the public.
DEFINITION LIST:
Conflict of interest a conflict of interest exists in research when a researcher’s primary interest in
the integrity of a study is compromised by a secondary interest such as personal gain (e.g., financial
profit)
HISTORICAL CASES OF UNETHICAL RESEARCH
- The Nuremberg code was the first international document to state that in any research
involving human subjects, participants should give consent and the benefits of research
must outweigh the risks.
DEFINITION LIST:
Nuremberg code this code was developed following the trial of Nazi doctors after World War II. It
includes 10 principles to guide research involving human subjects. The Code has been extremely
important as a reference point for all regulations related to the protection of human subjects.
Among other things, it established the principles of informed consent, voluntary participation
without coercion, clear scientific justification for research, and most important, limits on the risk of
harm.
Thalidomide tragedy This event involved the occurrence of very serious birth defects in children
of pregnant women who had been given Thalidomide as a sedative. The drug side effects should
have been known and available to doctors and patients, but were not until much harm had been
done.
Kefauver-Harris Amendments after the Thalidomide tragedy, these amendments to the Food,
Drug and Cosmetic Act were passed to ensure greater drug safety. For the first time, drug
manufacturers were legally required to present evidence on the safety and effectiveness of their
products to the FDA before marketing them. It also established the requirement that participants be
fully informed about potential risks or harm, and that based on this information, they voluntarily
agree to participate in clinical trials.
Declaration of Helsinki the World Medical Association adopted the Declaration of Helsinki in 1964
in order to provide a set of principles to guide the practice of medical research. The principles
include such statements as “research protocols should be reviewed by an independent committee
prior to initiation.”
Tuskegee Syphilis study this was a 40-year observational study of the impact of untreated syphilis
on men. The participants in the study were low-income African American men who were led to
, believe they were receiving treatment when in fact they were not. This was one of the major stimuli
of the Belmont Conference.
EVOLUTION OF A MODERN SYSTEM OF RESEARCH ETHICS
DEFINITION LIST:
National Research Act an Act passed by the US Congress in 1974. It represents the first serious
attempt to build a comprehensive system of research ethics in the U.S. It created a national
commission to develop guidelines for human subjects research and to oversee and regulate the use
of human experimentation in medicine.
Belmont Report the report includes basic standards that should underlie the conduct of any
biomedical and behavioural research involving human participants. It emphasizes universal
principles that are unbounded by time or technology. The three core principles described in the
Belmont Report are 1) respect for persons 2) beneficence, and 3) justice.
Respect for persons this principle means that people are to be treated as independent and
autonomous individuals. It also means that the wellbeing of those who are not in a position to be
fully autonomous should also be protected.
Vulnerable populations this is the term used to designate those who may not be fully in control of
their decision making. There are several specific groups considered vulnerable, including children,
prisoners, and people with impaired cognitive capacity (e.g., with mental retardation or dementia).
Children under 18 are not of legal age to provide consent. Instead, researchers must seek permission
from parents or legal guardians.
Assent means that a child has affirmatively agreed to participate in a study. It is not the mere
absence of an objection. The appropriateness of an assent procedure depends on the child’s
developmental level and is determined by the researcher in consultation with the IRB.
Informed consent a policy of informing study participants about the procedures and risks involved
in research that ensures that all participants must give their consent to participate.
Voluntary participation the right of voluntary participation is one of the most basic and important
of all research participant rights. It means that fully informed individuals have the right to decide
whether or not to participate in a study without coercion. It also means that they can terminate
participation at any point without negative consequences.
Beneficence the expected impact on a person’s well-being that may result from participation in
research. Researchers should attempt to maximize the benefits of participation and take steps to
identify and limit the potential for harm. This is typically done when planning a study by a careful
risk/benefit assessment.
Justice justice means that participation in research should be based on fairness and not on
circumstances that give researchers access to or control of a population based on status. The
principle of justice also means that recruiting should be done in a way that respects the rights of
individuals and does not take advantage of their status as patients, students, prisoners, children, or
others not fully able to make independent decisions.
Privacy privacy in research means protection of personal information about participants. It is
typically accomplished through the use of confidentiality procedures that specify who will have
