Summary 1ZV60
All information is based on:
- The lecture slides of the course 1ZV60
- The book: Bell, E., Bryman, A., & Harley, B. (2018). Business Research Methods.
Chapter 1 .............................................................................................................................. 2
Chapter 2 .............................................................................................................................. 5
Chapter 3 ............................................................................................................................ 13
Chapter 4 ............................................................................................................................ 17
Chapter 5 ............................................................................................................................ 19
Chapter 6 ............................................................................................................................ 23
Chapter 7 ............................................................................................................................ 27
Chapter 8 ............................................................................................................................ 29
Chapter 9 ............................................................................................................................ 30
Chapter 11 .......................................................................................................................... 32
Chapter 12 .......................................................................................................................... 33
Chapter 14 .......................................................................................................................... 36
Chapter 15 .......................................................................................................................... 37
Chapter 17 .......................................................................................................................... 42
Chapter 18 .......................................................................................................................... 45
Chapter 19 .......................................................................................................................... 49
Chapter 20 .......................................................................................................................... 51
Chapter 21 .......................................................................................................................... 53
Chapter 22 .......................................................................................................................... 54
Chapter 23 .......................................................................................................................... 56
Chapter 24 .......................................................................................................................... 58
1
,Chapter 1
Why understanding business research methods?
• Help avoid many pitfalls
• Being able to read published research well
• Can do own research in things you’re interested in
Business research: the academic study of topics related to questions relevant to business,
including management and organizations. 4 types:
1. Reporting study: summaries of data and statistics.
2. Descriptive study: tries to answer questions ‘who, what, where, when’.
3. Explanatory study: tries to explain the phenomena (based on theory).
4. Predictive study: tries to predict (based on theory).
Different research styles:
• Pure (basic) research: pure research without IE context (development of theory).
• Applied research: emphasize on solving the problem (applying the theory).
• Explorative research: not yet a hypothesis.
• Descriptive research
Epistemological considerations: focus on how the social world should be studied.
Ontological considerations: focus on the nature of social phenomena (are they relatively
inert and beyond our influence of are they a product of social interaction?)
Factors that form aspects of the context where business research takes place:
• The theories that exist
• Be familiar with the literature on the area of interest
• Relationship between theory and research
• Assumptions and views on how research should be done
• Assumptions about the natural of social phenomena
• Quality criteria
• The values of the research community (ethical issues)
• Studies focus on issues that are less likely to have implications for practice
Action research: approach in which researcher and client collaborate in diagnosis of an
organizational or job-related problem and seek to develop a solution to this problem. 3
interrelated sets of issues:
• Their preunderstanding of the setting
• Their role duality
• Organizational politics
Evidence-based management: the systematic use of the best available evidence to
improve management practice.
4 sources of information that contribute to evidence-based management:
1. Practitioner expertise and judgment
2. Evidence from the local context
3. Critical evaluation of the best available research evidence
4. Perspectives of those who may be affected by a particular decision
2
,Process of knowledge production in society falls into 2 categories:
• Mode 1: knowledge production is driven primarily by an academic agenda; makes
distinction between theoretically pure knowledge and applied knowledge.
• Mode 2: draws attention to trans-disciplinarity in research.
Types of research questions:
• Predicting an outcome
• Explaining causes and consequences of a phenomenon
• Evaluating a phenomenon
• Describing a phenomenon
• Developing good practice
• Empowerment
• Comparison
The type of research questions asked will also depend on your research strategy: ontological
assumptions you make about the nature of social phenomena as well as your
epistemological assumptions about how the social world should be studied.
Figure 1: Framework for crafting research questions
Research question is not the same as a hypothesis. A hypothesis is a specific type of
research question. It is an informed speculation, which is set up to be tested, about the
possible relationship between two or more variables. Hypotheses are not as common in
quantitative research as is sometimes supposed and in qualitative research they are typically
avoided, other than as speculations that arise in the course of fieldwork.
Hypotheses
Types:
• Descriptive: statement.
• Relational: relation between variables.
• Correlational: there is a relation without knowing if that this is cause and effect.
• Declarative: causal relation between variables.
• Categorical: statements that describe differences between groups or classes with
regard to each other or to another variable.
3
, Types of interview
• Structured interview: respondents are asked same questions in same order with
the aid of a formal interview schedule.
• Semi-structured interview: interviewer has series of question in the form of an
interview guide but can vary in sequence; questions are more general than in
structured interview; interviewer can ask questions in response to replies.
• Unstructured interview: start with a very broad question/theme (e.g. ‘tell me about
problem XY’). Then let interviewee determine the direction of the conversation.
Participant observation: researcher puts himself in social setting observing behavior;
interviewing key informants and studying documents.
Thematic analysis: the extraction of key themes in one’s data.
Secondary analysis: analysis of data by researchers that did not collect the data
themselves.
Core ingredients in research articles and books etc.:
• Introduction
• Literature review
• Research methods
• Results
• Discussion
• Conclusion
Mode 1 knowledge:
• Traditional, university-based model.
• Knowledge production driven primarily by academic agenda.
• Discoveries build upon existing knowledge in a linear fashion.
• Distinction between theoretically pure knowledge and applied knowledge.
• Little emphasis on dissemination of knowledge.
• Academic community is most important audience of knowledge.
Model 2 knowledge:
• Draws attention to the role of trans-disciplinarity in research.
• Trans-disciplinarity: process that causes the boundaries of single contributing
disciplines to be exceeded.
• Findings closely related to context and not easily replicated → knowledge production
not linear process.
• Not confined to academic institutions.
• Involves academics, policy-makers, practitioners who apply broad set of skill and
experiences to tackle a shared problem.
• Knowledge quickly disseminated and findings used to enable practical improvement.
4
All information is based on:
- The lecture slides of the course 1ZV60
- The book: Bell, E., Bryman, A., & Harley, B. (2018). Business Research Methods.
Chapter 1 .............................................................................................................................. 2
Chapter 2 .............................................................................................................................. 5
Chapter 3 ............................................................................................................................ 13
Chapter 4 ............................................................................................................................ 17
Chapter 5 ............................................................................................................................ 19
Chapter 6 ............................................................................................................................ 23
Chapter 7 ............................................................................................................................ 27
Chapter 8 ............................................................................................................................ 29
Chapter 9 ............................................................................................................................ 30
Chapter 11 .......................................................................................................................... 32
Chapter 12 .......................................................................................................................... 33
Chapter 14 .......................................................................................................................... 36
Chapter 15 .......................................................................................................................... 37
Chapter 17 .......................................................................................................................... 42
Chapter 18 .......................................................................................................................... 45
Chapter 19 .......................................................................................................................... 49
Chapter 20 .......................................................................................................................... 51
Chapter 21 .......................................................................................................................... 53
Chapter 22 .......................................................................................................................... 54
Chapter 23 .......................................................................................................................... 56
Chapter 24 .......................................................................................................................... 58
1
,Chapter 1
Why understanding business research methods?
• Help avoid many pitfalls
• Being able to read published research well
• Can do own research in things you’re interested in
Business research: the academic study of topics related to questions relevant to business,
including management and organizations. 4 types:
1. Reporting study: summaries of data and statistics.
2. Descriptive study: tries to answer questions ‘who, what, where, when’.
3. Explanatory study: tries to explain the phenomena (based on theory).
4. Predictive study: tries to predict (based on theory).
Different research styles:
• Pure (basic) research: pure research without IE context (development of theory).
• Applied research: emphasize on solving the problem (applying the theory).
• Explorative research: not yet a hypothesis.
• Descriptive research
Epistemological considerations: focus on how the social world should be studied.
Ontological considerations: focus on the nature of social phenomena (are they relatively
inert and beyond our influence of are they a product of social interaction?)
Factors that form aspects of the context where business research takes place:
• The theories that exist
• Be familiar with the literature on the area of interest
• Relationship between theory and research
• Assumptions and views on how research should be done
• Assumptions about the natural of social phenomena
• Quality criteria
• The values of the research community (ethical issues)
• Studies focus on issues that are less likely to have implications for practice
Action research: approach in which researcher and client collaborate in diagnosis of an
organizational or job-related problem and seek to develop a solution to this problem. 3
interrelated sets of issues:
• Their preunderstanding of the setting
• Their role duality
• Organizational politics
Evidence-based management: the systematic use of the best available evidence to
improve management practice.
4 sources of information that contribute to evidence-based management:
1. Practitioner expertise and judgment
2. Evidence from the local context
3. Critical evaluation of the best available research evidence
4. Perspectives of those who may be affected by a particular decision
2
,Process of knowledge production in society falls into 2 categories:
• Mode 1: knowledge production is driven primarily by an academic agenda; makes
distinction between theoretically pure knowledge and applied knowledge.
• Mode 2: draws attention to trans-disciplinarity in research.
Types of research questions:
• Predicting an outcome
• Explaining causes and consequences of a phenomenon
• Evaluating a phenomenon
• Describing a phenomenon
• Developing good practice
• Empowerment
• Comparison
The type of research questions asked will also depend on your research strategy: ontological
assumptions you make about the nature of social phenomena as well as your
epistemological assumptions about how the social world should be studied.
Figure 1: Framework for crafting research questions
Research question is not the same as a hypothesis. A hypothesis is a specific type of
research question. It is an informed speculation, which is set up to be tested, about the
possible relationship between two or more variables. Hypotheses are not as common in
quantitative research as is sometimes supposed and in qualitative research they are typically
avoided, other than as speculations that arise in the course of fieldwork.
Hypotheses
Types:
• Descriptive: statement.
• Relational: relation between variables.
• Correlational: there is a relation without knowing if that this is cause and effect.
• Declarative: causal relation between variables.
• Categorical: statements that describe differences between groups or classes with
regard to each other or to another variable.
3
, Types of interview
• Structured interview: respondents are asked same questions in same order with
the aid of a formal interview schedule.
• Semi-structured interview: interviewer has series of question in the form of an
interview guide but can vary in sequence; questions are more general than in
structured interview; interviewer can ask questions in response to replies.
• Unstructured interview: start with a very broad question/theme (e.g. ‘tell me about
problem XY’). Then let interviewee determine the direction of the conversation.
Participant observation: researcher puts himself in social setting observing behavior;
interviewing key informants and studying documents.
Thematic analysis: the extraction of key themes in one’s data.
Secondary analysis: analysis of data by researchers that did not collect the data
themselves.
Core ingredients in research articles and books etc.:
• Introduction
• Literature review
• Research methods
• Results
• Discussion
• Conclusion
Mode 1 knowledge:
• Traditional, university-based model.
• Knowledge production driven primarily by academic agenda.
• Discoveries build upon existing knowledge in a linear fashion.
• Distinction between theoretically pure knowledge and applied knowledge.
• Little emphasis on dissemination of knowledge.
• Academic community is most important audience of knowledge.
Model 2 knowledge:
• Draws attention to the role of trans-disciplinarity in research.
• Trans-disciplinarity: process that causes the boundaries of single contributing
disciplines to be exceeded.
• Findings closely related to context and not easily replicated → knowledge production
not linear process.
• Not confined to academic institutions.
• Involves academics, policy-makers, practitioners who apply broad set of skill and
experiences to tackle a shared problem.
• Knowledge quickly disseminated and findings used to enable practical improvement.
4
