Business Research Techniques for premaster
General course information
- Objective of this course: being able to perform, steer and evaluate business
research.
- You’ll need business research skills for your thesis.
- Course is very closely related to academic competences & statistics course.
Grading
- Written exam; 85%
- Assignments; 15% (5% each)
Course components
- 9 modules in Grasple (all self-study)
- Every two weeks -> Q&A lessions
- Online tutorials (two in total)
- Web-based assignments in November.
Grasple
Objective: study the course material, check whether you understood it, and extensively
practice with it.
- 9 modules consisting of several lessons
- Combination of 1) text, 2) knowledge clips, and 3) exercises.
- Works with green checks, red crosses, or orange question marks.
- Complete one module via self-study per week.
- Modules will open after the second Q&A session took place.
Q&A lectures
- Ask questions related to the self-study modules
- Only attend the Q&A lecture you are assigned to!
- Discussion boards on Canvas. No questions will be answered through email.
Tutorials
- Attend one out of four tutorials per week.
- You need to do all the preparation work to be able to find the zoom link for the
tutorial.
- Please start with the preparation work a few days before the tutorial.
Exam
- Multiple choice.
- 25 out of 40 answers for a 5,5 (for instance)
- 2 hours, closed book exam
- Not exactly sure if the exam will be online or at the campus.
- You’ll not be penalized for wrong or blank answers.
- Exam will probably be planned somewhere around the 17th of December 2021.
Study:
- Grasple modules
- Additional articles on Canvas/Grasple
- Everything discussed during the Q&A lectures and online tutorials
- Web-based assignments + corresponding webclips
Communication
- All important information will be communicated via Canvas (you could receive an
email notification when a canvas message is posted).
- One module every week… check the specific requirements.
, -
Business research techniques module 1 & 2.
Business research
A series of well-thought-out activities and carefully executed data analyses that are
aimed to help a manager avoid, solve, or minimize a problem.
- Business research is essential to make the right decisions. No need to know what
the exact problem is to eventually solve it.
- Expert, in house or external consultants may help
- You need a firm grasp of the fundamentals of business research to understand
and control your environment
Is well thought-out…
- Needs to pinpoint exactly what the problem is.
- Which knowledge is already available to address the problem
- Collecting & analyzing data…
Better decisions because:
- Better decisions are evidence-based decisions. You rely on data & facts.
- Decisions based on sound business research tend to be way more effective than
those based on intuition and experience
Intuition and experience should never be a substitute for research
- IKEA’s American market entrance flopped because of the lack of research.
Misconceptions:
- There is a difference between managers and researchers. No not really. Managers
need to do research as well. Managers with knowledge about research have an
advantage over those without.
- The most research is not read anyway. As a manager, you should not be afraid of
research.
- Business research is only for the wealthiest organizations. No, it is very diverse
and can be cheap as well.
- Business research is only useful when you have a major decision to make. Noooo.
For small decisions, the best managers carry out their own research.
- There is just one best way of researching a business problem. There is no such
thing as an absolute truth in business.
How to evaluate whether business research is sound?
- Sound research is characterized by six hallmarks:
o Purposiveness (knowing the why of your research).
o Rigor (when there is a sound theoretical base and a sound methodological
design) (don’t ask biased questions)..
o Objectivity (draw conclusions based on facts, rather than on subjective
ideas).
o Parsimony (shaving away unnecessary details, explain a lot with little).
o Replicability (you need to find the same results if the research is repeated
in similar circumstances).
o Generalizability (being able to apply the research findings in a wide variety
of different settings. E.g. other industries, days, companies, products etc.
Fundamental vs. applied research
Applied:
- To solve a current problem faced by a manager
- Applies to specific company
, - Within firms or research agencies
Fundamental research:
- To generate new knowledge about how problems that occur in several firms can
be solved
- Applies to several organizational settings
- Mainly within universities (and knowledge institutes).
Why should you be knowledgeable about business research?
1. In order to be able to perform business research
2. In order to be able to steer business research
3. In order to be able to evaluate business research.
The 7-step deductive research process
How do you set up a research study?
1. Define the business problem
2. Formulate the problem statement
3. Develop a theoretical framework
4. Choose a research design
5. Collect data
6. Analyze data
7. Write-up
Deductive vs. inductive research
Inductive = developing a theory
Deductive = testing a theory
Inductive
- Starting with data collection
- Looking for a pattern in these observations
- Developing a theoretical framework on that basis
Deductive
- First looking for hypothesis
- Then testing those with theory and data
General course information
- Objective of this course: being able to perform, steer and evaluate business
research.
- You’ll need business research skills for your thesis.
- Course is very closely related to academic competences & statistics course.
Grading
- Written exam; 85%
- Assignments; 15% (5% each)
Course components
- 9 modules in Grasple (all self-study)
- Every two weeks -> Q&A lessions
- Online tutorials (two in total)
- Web-based assignments in November.
Grasple
Objective: study the course material, check whether you understood it, and extensively
practice with it.
- 9 modules consisting of several lessons
- Combination of 1) text, 2) knowledge clips, and 3) exercises.
- Works with green checks, red crosses, or orange question marks.
- Complete one module via self-study per week.
- Modules will open after the second Q&A session took place.
Q&A lectures
- Ask questions related to the self-study modules
- Only attend the Q&A lecture you are assigned to!
- Discussion boards on Canvas. No questions will be answered through email.
Tutorials
- Attend one out of four tutorials per week.
- You need to do all the preparation work to be able to find the zoom link for the
tutorial.
- Please start with the preparation work a few days before the tutorial.
Exam
- Multiple choice.
- 25 out of 40 answers for a 5,5 (for instance)
- 2 hours, closed book exam
- Not exactly sure if the exam will be online or at the campus.
- You’ll not be penalized for wrong or blank answers.
- Exam will probably be planned somewhere around the 17th of December 2021.
Study:
- Grasple modules
- Additional articles on Canvas/Grasple
- Everything discussed during the Q&A lectures and online tutorials
- Web-based assignments + corresponding webclips
Communication
- All important information will be communicated via Canvas (you could receive an
email notification when a canvas message is posted).
- One module every week… check the specific requirements.
, -
Business research techniques module 1 & 2.
Business research
A series of well-thought-out activities and carefully executed data analyses that are
aimed to help a manager avoid, solve, or minimize a problem.
- Business research is essential to make the right decisions. No need to know what
the exact problem is to eventually solve it.
- Expert, in house or external consultants may help
- You need a firm grasp of the fundamentals of business research to understand
and control your environment
Is well thought-out…
- Needs to pinpoint exactly what the problem is.
- Which knowledge is already available to address the problem
- Collecting & analyzing data…
Better decisions because:
- Better decisions are evidence-based decisions. You rely on data & facts.
- Decisions based on sound business research tend to be way more effective than
those based on intuition and experience
Intuition and experience should never be a substitute for research
- IKEA’s American market entrance flopped because of the lack of research.
Misconceptions:
- There is a difference between managers and researchers. No not really. Managers
need to do research as well. Managers with knowledge about research have an
advantage over those without.
- The most research is not read anyway. As a manager, you should not be afraid of
research.
- Business research is only for the wealthiest organizations. No, it is very diverse
and can be cheap as well.
- Business research is only useful when you have a major decision to make. Noooo.
For small decisions, the best managers carry out their own research.
- There is just one best way of researching a business problem. There is no such
thing as an absolute truth in business.
How to evaluate whether business research is sound?
- Sound research is characterized by six hallmarks:
o Purposiveness (knowing the why of your research).
o Rigor (when there is a sound theoretical base and a sound methodological
design) (don’t ask biased questions)..
o Objectivity (draw conclusions based on facts, rather than on subjective
ideas).
o Parsimony (shaving away unnecessary details, explain a lot with little).
o Replicability (you need to find the same results if the research is repeated
in similar circumstances).
o Generalizability (being able to apply the research findings in a wide variety
of different settings. E.g. other industries, days, companies, products etc.
Fundamental vs. applied research
Applied:
- To solve a current problem faced by a manager
- Applies to specific company
, - Within firms or research agencies
Fundamental research:
- To generate new knowledge about how problems that occur in several firms can
be solved
- Applies to several organizational settings
- Mainly within universities (and knowledge institutes).
Why should you be knowledgeable about business research?
1. In order to be able to perform business research
2. In order to be able to steer business research
3. In order to be able to evaluate business research.
The 7-step deductive research process
How do you set up a research study?
1. Define the business problem
2. Formulate the problem statement
3. Develop a theoretical framework
4. Choose a research design
5. Collect data
6. Analyze data
7. Write-up
Deductive vs. inductive research
Inductive = developing a theory
Deductive = testing a theory
Inductive
- Starting with data collection
- Looking for a pattern in these observations
- Developing a theoretical framework on that basis
Deductive
- First looking for hypothesis
- Then testing those with theory and data
