RESEARCH METHODS FOR

MANAGERS
Archana .S

RESEARCH

Research is to see what everybody else
has seen and to think what nobody else
has thought
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Something new- physical
/conceptual
Research contributes to knowledge
enhancement and understanding
Research and researchers in
management field
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Systematic investigation towards increasing
the sum of knowledge
(Chambers 20th Century Dictionary)


An endeavour to discover new or collate
old facts etc. by the scientific study of a
subject or by a course of critical
investigation.
(The Concise Oxford Dictionary)

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Clifford woody
Defining and redefining problems,
formulating hypothesis, or suggested
solutions; collecting,organising,and
evaluating data; making deductions
and reaching conclusions and at last
carefully testing the conclusions to
determine whether they fit the
hypothesis

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Objectives of Research
1. To gain familiarity with a phenomenon or to
achieve new insights in to it.
2. To help mankind solve problems and make life
comfortable.
3. To explore possibility of doing things which has
not been done so far
4. To improve efficiency of present systems
5. To test existing beliefs / notions
6. To analyze past data for discovering trends,
patterns and relationships
-- business performance, prices of oil etc


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Objectives of Research
7. To expand the sphere of knowledge and increase the
horizon of vision and incidentally increases the
realization of ignorance

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Motivation for research


I. Individual
II. Organizational
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Motivation - Individual
Self advancement
Completion of assignment
PhD
Intellectual satisfaction
Making impossible possible
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Motivation - organizational
1 Self Motivation
- improve sales / market share
- improve rank in competition
- increase ROI
- diversification/ acquisition/ merger
- improve quality
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Motivation - organizational
2. Regulatory
- Based on norms / standards
- Liberalization pressures
- Tax incentives
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Motivation - organizational
3.Competition
- Narrowing of margins
- Research to bring down costs and
prices
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Motivation - organizational
4.Customer driven
- To meet expectations /needs of
customers
5. Failure
- Failure in product/ service/
advertisement campaign leads to
research to find out reasons

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Motivation - organizational
6.Technological innovations
- Medicine
- Agriculture
- Telecom
7. Environmental considerations
- e.g CFL, LED

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Motivation - organizational
8. Social
- E.g gold, health concerns

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Motivation - organizational
9.Economic
high price of petrol
s diesel engines

high value of $
s product substitution for imported
items

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Motivation - organizational
9.Operations/ process driven
customer opting high quality
products
s 6 sigma

spoilt of thin skinned tomatoes
s tomatoes with thick skin

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Motivation - organizational
10. Infrastructure
increasing price of residential
property
s low cost housing projects


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Motivation - organizational
11. Coping with changes
- Only thing constant is change

if you want to remain where you are
, you need to run

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Decisions
Decisions are made by managers every
day.
Ideally, such decisions would be made
on the basis of evidence thoughtfully and
appropriately gathered.
The more important the decisions and
their impact, the more important the
research becomes.
Some decisions may have
consequences resulting in considerable
harm/good to a large number of people

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Decisions
Consider how we make decisions:
Randomly
Intuition [sometimes called gut decision-
making]
Mystical or supernatural guidance
Hearsay
Authority [do as we are told or appeal to
authority]
Evidence gathered by another
Evidence gathered by self or colleagues

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Decisions and Evidence Now
In most cases, managers want the evidence
NOW and that creates a variety of problems.
Decision-makers must always face the issue of
deciding now or waiting until more or better
information is available. This is called the
problem of sufficiency.
There may never be enough evidence to
support a difficult decision.
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Decisions and Evidence Now
The manager lives in three time dimensions:

The past -- accurate sense of what was
accomplished and what was not

The present -- accurate sense of what is being
accomplished

The future -- what should be accomplished

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Decisions and Evidence Now
Research may be used to provide evidence on the
first two which supports decisions that will have an
impact in the future.
Research is of little value if you do not know what
evidence is needed or how to get it.
You need the "right" evidence and that requires skill,
thought, and experience

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Role Of BR in decision making
IMPLEMENT THE COURSE OF ACTION
PROBLEM/ OPPORTUNITY RESOLUTION
Develop alternative courses of action Choose best course of action
PROBLEM/ OPPORTUNITY SELECTION
Prioritize P/O Select major P/O
PROBLEM /OPPORTUNITY IDENTIFICATION
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Role Of BR in decision making
1.P/O IDENTIFICATION
Scanning & monitoring internal & external business
environment
Involves identifying P/O

2.P/O PRIORITIZATION & SELECTION
Selecting & prioritizing the problem areas
Quantitative & qualitative research studies are
undertaken
Company researches on various alternatives to utilize the
opportunity


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Role Of BR in decision making
3.P/O RESOLUTION
Developing /evaluating alternatives
Choosing best alternative

4. IMPLEMENTING THE COURSE OF ACTION
Implement
Monitor and control programs that are implemented
E.g tracking sales
Effect of discount coupons monitored

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Types of Research
1. Basic (Fundamental )&Applied
Research
2. Quantitative & Qualitative Research
3. conceptual & Empirical Research
4. Researches Based on investigation
5. Business Research


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Basic (Fundamental )&Applied
Research
Basic Research
Known as pure or fundamental
research
- FR is concerned with
generalization or with formulation
of a theory
- It is a research concerning the
principles or laws
- E.g- Research studies relating to
pure mathematics

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Basic (Fundamental )&Applied
Research
Basic Research
- It aims at the attainment , increase and
verification of knowledge
- FR is essentially positive
- FR is historical
- FR discovers principles and laws
- It provides the basis on which the whole
superstructure of applied research is built
- Individuals conduct basic research out of
curiosity , inquisitiveness, conviction etc.
- E,g relationship between intelligence and
creativity
- Not concerned about immediate application of
research

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Basic (Fundamental )&Applied
Research
Applied Research
Applied research is designed to help solve
particular, existing problems so there is a
much larger audience eager to support
research that is likely to be profitable or
solve problems of immediate concern

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Basic (Fundamental )&Applied
Research
Applied Research
AR is concerned with the solution of a
particular problem in systematic way
Aims at finding solutions to problems
affecting the society
E.g MR,social research etc
It takes the form of social surveys
AR is practical application
AR discovers the application of rules
and laws to solve the problems
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Basic (Fundamental )&Applied
Research
Applied Research
e.g company would like to evaluate the
impact of advertising campaign
Gets its name from the field where it is
applied.
E.g social, behavioural,HRD,
operations and business research
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2.Quantitative & Qualitative
Research
Quantitative Research
- It is applicable to the phenomena that
are measurable so that they can be
expressed in terms of quantity
surveys
laboratory experiments;
formal methods such as
econometrics:
numerical methods such as
mathematical modelling.


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2.Quantitative & Qualitative
Research
Quantitative Research
- ANSWERS
How much?( Measurement: growth in
retail industry in 2011)
How many? ( counting: how many MBA
students in an institute having
experience more than 2 years?)
How often? ( frequency of occurrence:
How many times the production process
went out of control)


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2.Quantitative & Qualitative
Research
Qualitative Research
- It is concerned with qualitative
phenomenon
- Research designed to find out how
people think about or feel a particular
subject
- E.g. to find out motives underlying
human behavior
- reaction, feelings
- Psychological research etc

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2.Quantitative & Qualitative
Research
Qualitative Research
Examples
Action research
Case study
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CASE STUDY
Involves in-depth study of variables
Case started in medical research
Helps in understanding why & how
Normally qualitative but could be
quantitative or combination of both
Conducted for product development,
promotions and sales.
Understanding customer preferences
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CASE STUDY
Objectives
Build upon existing theory and practice
Generate new theory & practice
Answer management research
questions
Advantages
Cost effective methodology for learning
through real life with out having
simulation
Effective tool for generating lively
discussion
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3.Conceptual & Empirical
Research
Conceptual Research
- It is related to some abstract ideas or
theory
- It is generally used by philosophers and
thinkers to develop new concepts or to
reinterpret old ones
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3.Conceptual & Empirical
Research
- Empirical Research
- It relies on experience or observation
alone
- Without the support of any theory or
model
- It is otherwise called experimental
research
- Researcher sets up hypothesis and then
gather facts to prove or disprove the
hypothesis

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3.Conceptual & Empirical
Research
- Empirical Research
Research about heavenly bodies is
based on data collected about the
movement of them
Used when the event cannot be
explained by logic / scientific reasoning
Ex: Francis Galton 1838- A study to
know the relationship between height of
fathers & sons
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4.Researches Based on
investigation
a) experimental /Lab Research
- Based on experiments conducted in a
lab
- Researches in physics
- They are useful in social sciences also
- Limitation- we need to create lab and
environmental conditions
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4.Researches Based on
investigation
b)Expost facto research
- Research based on analytical and
scientific examination of the relationship
between dependent and independent
variables
- Researcher doesn't have any control
over the independent variables
- E.g. advt expenditure IV while the sales
may be treated as DV

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4.Researches Based on
investigation
c)Action Research
- Research a person conducts in order to
enable him to achieve his purpose more
effectively
- Conducted through various stages like baseline
survey, systematic action, periodical
assessment etc.
- e.g. a teacher should take action research to
improve his own teaching
- It helps a researcher to learn how to solve a
problem objectively and to study its
relationships

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4.Researches Based on
investigation
d)Field Investigation
These are conducted in real life
situations
Used in social science and in managerial
research

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4.Researches Based on
investigation
e) Evaluation research
This is used for the purpose of
evaluating a project which has already
been carried out.
E.g performance evaluation, job
evaluation, programme evaluation and
review technique

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4.Researches Based on
investigation
f) .Library Research
- Research based on data,
documentation and material that are
available in the library
- Only depends on the material that are
available in the library

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4.Researches Based on
investigation
g) Descriptive Research
- Fact finding investigation with adequate
interpretation
- Data for it is collected through
observation, interview, manual
questionnaire
h) Diagnostic Research
-IIIr to descriptive but includes identifying
the causes of a problem and finding
solutions to it

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5. Business Research
1. Marketing research - Marketing
research (also called "consumer
research") comprises a form of applied
sociological study which concentrates on
understanding the behaviors, whims
and preferences, mainly current and
future, of consumers in a market-based
economy.

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5. Business Research
2. Market research
o Market research has a broad scope and
includes all aspects of the business
environment.
o It asks questions about competitors, market
structure, government regulations, economic
trends, technological advances, and
numerous other factors that make up the
business environment.

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5. Business Research
Market research
Sometimes the term refers more particularly
to the financial analysis of companies,
industries, or sectors.
In this case, financial analysts usually carry
out the research and provide the results to
investment advisers and potential investors


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5. Business Research
3. Product research - This looks at what
products can be produced with available
technology, and what new product
innovations near-future technology can
develop.
4. Advertising research - This attempt to
assess the likely impact of an advertising
campaign in advance, and also measure the
success of a recent campaign
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Research Methodology &
Research Methods
Research Methodology Way to
systematically solve the research
problems
It encompasses the systematic
study of methods, that are useful in
the field of study
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Research Methodology &
Research Methods
Research Methodology includes:
Collection of theories & practices
Features of various methods
Evaluation of various methods (
content, objective, scope &
limitation)
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Research Methodology &
Research Methods
Research Methods- Methods /
Techniques used by the researcher
to study his research problem
Observation
Experiments
Surveys
Analysis of Existing Data

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Research Methodology &
Research Methods
Research Methodology answers
why?
How?
When?
What?
Where?
Which?
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Types of
Research
Research
Methods
Techniques

1.Library
Research



Existing Data
1.Analysis of
historical records


2.Analysis of
documents

Recoding of notes,
Content analysis
Tape & film
listening & Analysis

Statistical
compilations,
Content analysis.

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Types of
Research
Research Methods Techniques
2. Field
Research


Observation
1.Non Participant
direct observation

2. Participant
observation


3.Mass Observation


Observational
behavioral scorer,
Score cards etc.
International
recording, tape
records, photographic
techniques.
Recording mass
behaviour, Interview
using independent
observers in public
places.

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Types of
Research
Research Methods Techniques
2.





Field Research


Surveys
4. Mail questionnaire



5. Opinionnaire


6. Personal Interview


7. Focused Interview



Identification of social
& economic
background of
respondents
Attitude scales,
projective techniques,
Sociometric scales.
Using detail schedule
with open & closed
ended question
Focused attention on a
given experience and
its effects.

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Types of
Research
Research Methods Techniques
2. Field
Research








3.Laboratory
Research

8. Group Interview



9. Telephone Survey

10. Case study &
Life history


Small group study of
random behavior,
role analysis

Small groups of
respondents are
interviewed
simultaneously
Also used as a follow
up of questionnaire
Longitudinal
collection of data of
intensive character.

Audio visual
recording devices,
observers etc.

Research Methods
All those methods which are used
by the researcher during the course
of studying his research problem
are called research methods
Necessary to understand the logic
behind using a particular Research
method.

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Research Methods can be put into
3 groups
Data collection
Establishing relationship b/n the
data & conclusion
Evaluate the accuracy of the
results obtained



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