RESEARCH METHODS FOR BUSINESS

Sofia Fernandes
LECTURE PLAN
Week 1 - Introduction to Research Methods for Business
Week 2 - Research Philosophy and Approaches
Week 3 - Research Design
Week 4 - Literature Review
Week 5 - Research Ethics
Week 6 - Selecting samples; Secondary Data
Week 7 - Collecting Primary Data through Observation
Week 8 - Collecting Primary Data using Interviews
Week 9 - Collecting Primary Data using Questionnaires
Week 10 - Analysing Quantitative Data
Week 11 - Analysing Qualitative Data
Week 12 - Writing and Presenting a Research Report
Week 13 - Overview of Course

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INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH METHODS FOR BUSINESS
Module Aims and Outcomes
Nature of Business and Management Research
Research Process
Formulating and Clarifying a Research Topic

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MODULE AIMS AND OUTCOMES
The aim of this module is to develop the knowledge of the research
process in order to enable students to understand and interpret
business related research. It also develops the practical skills and
academic confidence necessary to undertake independent research.

On successful completion of the module, the student should be able to:

Demonstrate knowledge of the research process in its wider context.
Critically evaluate the robustness of dierent research approaches
and their strengths and limitations
Design research proposals in terms of methodology and approach
Demonstrate the practical skills to administer a range of research
techniques particularly in relation to data collection and analysis

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 MODULE AIMS AND OUTCOMES

Essential reading:
Saunders, M. Thornhill, A. and Lewis, P. (2009) Research methods for
business students. London: Prentice-Hall

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NATURE OF BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT RESEARCH
What cannot be defined as research?

collecting facts or information without any purpose

reassembling or reordering facts or information without
interpretation
term to get your product or idea noticed or respected

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NATURE OF BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT RESEARCH
What is research?

data are collected systematically based on logical

interpretation,
data are interpreted systematically not just beliefs

there is a clear purpose: to find things out!

by describing,
explaining,
understanding,
criticising and
analysing
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NATURE OF BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT RESEARCH
Research for Business and Management
by using knowledge from a wide range of disciplines,
management research gets new insight
development of ideas and relating them to practice
business and management research is connected to the
both realms: theory and practice
challenge of being theoretically and methodologically
correct
challenge of being of practical relevance.

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NATURE OF BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT RESEARCH

As presented in: Saunders et al (2009, p. 9) 12

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RESEARCH PROCESS
Dierent stages:
formulating and clarifying a topic
reviewing the literature
designing the research
collecting data
analysing data
In each of the stages, it is important to consider ethical issues!

Research is not a linear process: each stage can be revisited more than once.

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FORMULATING AND CLARIFYING A RESEARCH TOPIC

Attributes of a good
research topic

As presented in: Saunders et al (2009, p. 24)

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FORMULATING AND CLARIFYING A RESEARCH TOPIC
How to generate research ideas?
Rational thinking
examining your own strengths and interests
looking at past project titles
discussion
searching the literature
scanning the media
Creative thinking
keeping a notebook of ideas
exploring personal preferences using past projects
relevance trees
brainstorming
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FORMULATING AND CLARIFYING A RESEARCH TOPIC
How do you generate research ideas?
Rational thinking
examining your own strengths and interests
- topics in line with the assignments in which you have
achieved good results;
- topics in which you are personally interested;
- topics in the field you would like to work later on.
looking at past project titles
- scanning previous research (dissertations/theses) titles
- marking the ones that draw your attention
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FORMULATING AND CLARIFYING A RESEARCH TOPIC
How do you generate research ideas?
Rational thinking
discussion
- with colleagues, friends and teachers can be good sources of possible
project ideas;
- note down the ideas from the discussions;
searching the literature
- searching for relevant literature: articles in academic and
professional journals, reports, books;
- in particular, recent academic review articles and reports, since they
include available literature in that field, but also suggestions for
further research
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FORMULATING AND CLARIFYING A RESEARCH TOPIC
How do you generate research ideas?
Rational thinking
scanning the media
- keeping up to date with the news can be a very rich source
of ideas
- make sure you use reliable sources of news, such as
reputed newspapers (online or printed version)

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FORMULATING AND CLARIFYING A RESEARCH TOPIC
How do you generate research ideas?
Creative thinking
keeping a notebook of ideas
- noting down any research ideas as you think of them
- include the reasons on why you find them interesting
exploring personal preferences using past projects
- thinking of university projects that you liked
- write down what you liked about each of the projects and why it was good
- think of 3 projects you disliked
- write down your reasons for disliking the project and why it was bad
- establish the parameters that you will use for selecting a research topic,
based on what you considered good and not so good

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FORMULATING AND CLARIFYING A RESEARCH TOPIC
How do you generate research ideas?
Creative thinking
relevance tree
- think of a broad concept
- narrow it down to more specific topics which become sub-
branches
- narrow down each of the sub-branches that become sub-
branches themselves

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FORMULATING AND CLARIFYING A RESEARCH TOPIC
How do you generate research ideas?
Creative thinking
relevance tree

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As presented in: Saunders et al (2009, p. 80)
FORMULATING AND CLARIFYING A RESEARCH TOPIC
How do you generate research ideas?
Creative thinking
brainstorming
- best done in a group, but can also be done individually
- it starts by defining a potential problem of research
- gather as many suggestions as possible related to the
problem without criticising any of them
- each suggestion needs to be reviewed and explored
- decide which suggestion is more interesting for you

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FORMULATING AND CLARIFYING A RESEARCH TOPIC
Phrasing Research Questions as Research Objectives

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As presented in: Saunders et al 2009, p. 35
CONCLUSION
Business and management research involves undertaking
systematic research to create new knowledge. It is trans-
disciplinary and engages with both theory and practice.
Generating and refining research ideas makes use of a variety
of techniques.
Clear research questions will act as a focus for the research.
The content of the research proposal should show what the
author wants to do, the reasons for doing it, what is the goal
and how to achieve that goal.

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