Business Research and Quantitative Techniques

Research

Re+Search

• Research is an organized and systematic way of finding answers to questions

The chief responsibility of a university is to produce and disseminate new knowledge. New
knowledge is created through research. Research is based on primary and secondary data often
together with original data collected via research "instruments" (surveys, interviews,
questionnaires, "focus groups," etc.) to produce new knowledge on a particular topic.

In addition to primary sources and original instruments, secondary sources are used to provide an
overview of existing published knowledge on a topic, and possible current debates about the
topic. The background provided by secondary sources provides a contextual background and
establishes how the new knowledge described in a paper differs from what is already known.

Research may be categorized as either Basic or Applied:

 Basic research looks at causes, effects, and the nature of things

 Applied research tries to find answers and solutions to specific problems.

Research Process

Defining Problem

Literature Review

Developing Hypothesis

Research Design

Sample Design

Collecting data

Analyzing data

Testing Hypothesis

Findings and conclusion

Making Report
Ethics in Business

Ethics are norms or standard of behavior that guide the moral choices about the behavior that
guide moral choices about the behavior and relationship with others.

Ethical Treatment of Participants

Benefits

Deception

Informed consent

Debriefing of Participants

Rights of Privacy

Business Ethics

 Ethics in business research refer to a code of conduct or an expected societal norm of

behavior while conducting research.
 Ethical conduct applies to the organization and the members that sponsor the research,
the researchers who undertake the research, and the respondents who provide them with
the necessary data.
 The goal is to ensure that no one is harmed or suffers adverse consequences from the
research activities.

Need for Business Research Ethics

 Fundamental changes in society (values under change, growing individual choices)

 Urbanization and changes in lifestyles have changed the way we deal in business
 Globalization and increasing competition
 Diversity of religions
 People are more aware of their rights and less about their duties and responsibilities

Ethical treatment of participants

 Begin data collection by explaining to the participants the benefits expected from the
research being conducted
 Explain to the participants that their rights and well-being will be adequately protected
and say how this will be achieved
 Be certain that interviewers obtain the informed consent of the participant

Codes & Policies for Research Ethics

 1. Honesty

 Strive for honesty in all scientific communications.

 Honestly report data, results, methods and procedures, and publication status.
 Do not fabricate, falsify, or misrepresent data.

2. Objectivity

 Strive to avoid bias in experimental design, data analysis, data interpretation, and other
aspects of research where objectivity is expected or required.
 Avoid or minimize bias or self-deception.
 Disclose personal or financial interests that may affect research.

Codes & Policies for Research Ethics

3. Integrity

 Keep your promises and agreements

 Act with sincerity
 Strive for consistency of thought and action

4. Carefulness

 Avoid careless errors and negligence

 Carefully and critically examine your own work and the work of your peers
 Keep good records of research activities, such as data collection, research design, and
correspondence with agencies or journals.

5. Openness

 Share data, results, ideas, tools, resources

 Be open to criticism and new ideas.

6. Respect for Intellectual Property

 Honour patents, copyrights, and other forms of intellectual property

 Do not use unpublished data, methods, or results without permission
 Give credit where credit is due. Give proper acknowledgement or credit for all
contributions to research
 Never plagiarize

7. Confidentiality

 Protect confidential communications, such as papers or grants submitted for publication,

personnel records, trade or military secrets, and patient records.
8. Responsible Publication

 Publish in order to advance research and scholarship, not to advance just your own
career.
 Avoid wasteful and duplicative publication.

9. Social Responsibility

 Strive to promote social good and prevent or mitigate social harms through research,
public education, and advocacy.

10. Non-Discrimination

 Avoid discrimination against colleagues or students on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity, or
other factors that are not related to their scientific competence and integrity.

11. Legality

 Know and obey relevant laws and institutional and governmental policies.

12. Human Subjects Protection

 When conducting research on human subjects minimize harms and risks and maximize
benefits.
 Respect human dignity, privacy, and autonomy.
 Take special precautions with vulnerable populations.
 Strive to distribute the benefits and burdens of research fairly.

13. Accountability

 Ethical executives acknowledge and accept personal accountability for the ethical quality
of their decisions and omissions to themselves, their colleagues, their companies, and
their communities.

Ethical issues related to participants’ protection

 The participant is told only part of the truth or when the truth is fully compromised
 Biasing the participants before the survey or experiment
 Informed consent
 Debriefing
 Right to Privacy/Confidentiality
 Data Collection in Cyberspace

Ethical issues related to customer/client

  Sponsor non-disclosure
 Purpose non-disclosure
 Findings non-disclosure

Ethical issues related to sponsor

 Sometimes researchers will be asked by sponsors to participate in unethical behavior

 To avoid coercion by sponsor the researcher should:
 Educate sponsor to the purpose of research
 Explain researcher’s role
 Explain how distortion of the truth leads to future problem
 If necessary, terminate relationship with sponsor

Examples of Unethical behavior in business research

 Publishing the same paper in two different journals without telling the editors
 Conducting a review of the literature that fails to acknowledge the contributions of other
people in the field or relevant prior work
 Using an inappropriate statistical technique in order to enhance the significance of your
research
 Wasting animals in research
 Stealing supplies, books, or data
 Sabotaging someone's work

Sample Design

A sample design is made up of two elements.

 Sampling method. Sampling method refers to the rules and procedures by which some
elements of the population are included in the sample. Some common sampling methods
aresimple random sampling , stratified sampling , and cluster sampling .

 Estimator. The estimation process for calculating sample statistics is called the
estimator. Different sampling methods may use different estimators. For example, the
formula for computing a mean score with a simple random sample is different from the
formula for computing a mean score with a stratified sample. Similarly, the formula for
the standard errormay vary from one sampling method to the next.

The "best" sample design depends on survey objectives and on survey resources. For example, a
researcher might select the most economical design that provides a desired level of precision. Or,
if the budget is limited, a researcher might choose the design that provides the greatest precision
without going over budget.
 Sampling Methods can be divided into two parts:

 Probability sampling Method

 Non Probabilistic sampling Method

The following sampling methods are examples of probability sampling:

Sampling

 A sample is “a smaller (but hopefully representative) collection of units from a

population used to determine truths about that population” (Field, 2005)
 Why sample?
o Resources (time, money) and workload
o Gives results with known accuracy that can be calculated mathematically
 The sampling frame is the list from which the potential respondents are drawn
o Registrar’s office
o Class rosters
o Must assess sampling frame errors
 3 factors that influence sample representative-ness
 Sampling procedure
 Sample size
 Participation (response)

PROBABILISTIC SAMPLING METHODS

 Simple Random Sampling (SRS)

o Stratified Sampling.
o Cluster Sampling.
o Systematic Sampling.
o Multistage Sampling (in which some of the methods above are combined
in stages)

Non-Probability Samples

o Convenience sample
o Purposive sample
o Quota

Scope & Its applications in different functions of management

1. Advertising Research

a. Motivation research b

. Copy research
Media researchd.

Studies of advertisement effectivenesse.

2 . B u s i n e s s e c o n o m i c a n d c o r p o r a t e research

a. Short range forecasting

b. Long range forecasting

c. Studies of business trends

d. Pricing studies

e. Plant and warehouse location studies

f. product mix studiesg. Acquisition Studies

h. Export and international studiesi. Others

3. Corporate responsibility research

4. Product research

5. Packaging research

6. Sales and market research

a. Measurement of market potential

b. Market share analysis

c. Sales analysis

d. Establishment of sales quotas & territories

e. Distribution channel studies

f. Test markets

g. Consumer panel operation

h. Sales compensation studies

I Promotional studies
j. Others