Research Methodology

Presentation Outline

• What It Takes?
• Nature of Creativity
• Research Sequence
• Topic Selection
• Research Planning
• Literature Survey
• Problem Formulation
Presentation Outline

• How Extraordinary Creative Ideas Occur?

• Stories of Extraordinary Creative People
• A Neural Basis of Creativity
• Nurturing Creativity
• Verification of Theoretical Results
• Communication of Research Results
• Commercialization of Research Outcomes
 What It Takes?

• Creativity
• Open mind
• Curiosity
• Patience
• Persistence
• Positive Attitude
• Discipline and focus
 Nature of Creativity
• The ability of making something new
• Originality
• Utility
• No correlation with intelligence
• Nature and nurture both important
• Creative personality
Research Sequence
• Topic selection
• Research planning
• Literature survey
• Formulating the problem
• Creating new solutions
• Verification of analytical results
• Communication of results
• Commercialization of research outcomes
 Topic Selection
• ICT problems - ranging from experimental to
mathematical
• Problem sources – supervisor, industry, research
papers, conferences, “hot” areas
• Important problems lead to important discoveries
Research Planning
• Time and resource planning
• Planning of research processes
• Planning of developing new skills
• Planning of presentations
Literature Survey

• Recognizing new problems

• Important to read outside the area
• Books, journal and conference papers
• IEEE Internet Explore
 Problem Formulation

• Asking the right questions

• Developing analytical models
• Designing algorithmic descriptions
• Discussions and brain storming with the
supervisor and group
How Extraordinary Creative
Ideas Occur?

• Sudden spontaneous visions

• Dreams
• Cross-pollination from different fields
Stories of Extraordinary Inventors
Sudden Vision Discoveries
• Tesla's idea of the rotating
magnetic field came to him
instantly while he was
walking in a park.
• He drew a picture of the
rotating magnetic field in
the ground of the park. 
 Stories of Extraordinary Inventors
Sudden Vision Discoveries
• The great mathematician Gauss
proved in an instant a theorem on
which he had worked unsuccessfully
for four years. "As a sudden flash of
light, the enigma was solved. . . .“
• Similar accounts given by extraordinary
creative people such as Mozart, Tchaikovsky,
Poincare, Coleridge etc.
 Stories of Extraordinary Inventors
Dream Discoveries
• Frederick Kekule fell asleep and
dreamed of the benzene molecule
as a snake biting its tail.
• Otto Loewi had a dream that led to
his discovery of the chemical transmission
of nerve impulses.
 Stories of Extraordinary Inventors
Cross-pollination
• Trellis codes by G. Ungerboeck – modem
designer
• Turbo codes by C. Berrou – electronics
expert
• Viterbi’s algorithm – dynamic programming
from computer science
• Frequency hopping by
Hedy Lamarr - famous actress
A Neural Basis of Creativity
• A human brain is
a self-organizing system
• Brain centers specialized
for individual functions
• The cortex contains neurons
• Communications between
centers occurs via neural links
• Creative activities occur
in the associative cortex
• Creative people have rich
neural links in the associative
cortex
 Creating New Solutions
• Ordinary creativity consists of conscious
activities, represented as linear processes

• Extraordinary creativity involves unconscious

mental processes consisting in interactions
between various regions in the associative
cortex bypassing consciousness
Nurturing Creativity

• Exploring in depth a new area

• Think creatively on a regular basis
• Know when to work more deeply or to
move on
• Daily meditation
• Practicing observation and describing
• Practicing imagination
Supportive Environment

• Critical mass of creative people

• A competitive atmosphere
• Inspiring mentors
• Economic prosperity
Verification of Theoretical Results

• Computer simulations
• Hardware and field tests
Communication of Research Findings

• Seminars
• Conference papers
• Journal papers
• Theses
• Books
Writing Papers

• Focus on innovation
• Paper structure
• Make it readable and interesting
• Where to publish?
• Ethics and integrity
• Quality counts more than quantity
Commercializing Research Outcomes

• Intellectual property
• Developing prototypes
• Business plans
• Venture capital
Defining RM
Introduction

• Major issues faced by managers:

– Ongoing customer complaints
– Need to convince financers/bankers for
advances
– Unmet needs among customers
– Need to polish and internal process while
managing men, machines, materials and
money
Introduction

• Decision Makers can be found in every

type of organization: Business , non-profit
organizations and public agencies
Why Research?

• Business Competition:
– Customers
– Products
– Industry Competition
• Business Environment
• Maturing of management as a goup of
disciplines
Why Research?

• Explosive growth and influence of

Internet
• Stake holders demanding greater
influence
• More global competition
• More Govt. intervention
• More complex decisions
• Lower cost data collection
Why Research?

• Better visualization tools

• Powerful computations
• Advanced analytical tools for enhanced
insights
• New perspective on established research
methodologies
Business Strategy

• Business Intelligence system (BIS) is

designed to provide the manger with
ongoing information about evens and
trends in technological , economic,
political and legal, demographic ,
cultural, social and most critically
competitive areas.
Business Strategy
• “Strategy is defined as course of action
with general approach an organization
will follow to achieve its goals”
• Strategy is course of action which u\is
decided by all level of management
– TOP
– MIDDLE
– LOWER
Managerial Value of
Business:

• Identifying problems or opportunities.

• Selecting and implementing a course of
action.
• Evaluating the course of action.
Tactics

• Are those specific, timed activities that

executes a strategy.
Purpose of Research

• To identify and define opportunities and

problems
• To define, monitor and refine strategies
• To define, monitor and refine tactics
• To improve our understanding of various
fields of management
 When is Research Needed?

• Time constraints for making decisions.

• Availability of Data
• Nature of the decision that must be made.
• The value of the research information in
relation to its costs.
– Will the pay off or rate of return be worth the
investment.
FAQ????
– Will the information gained by business
research improve the quality of the decision
to an extent sufficient to warrant the
expenditure?
– Is the proposed research expenditure the
best of the available fund?
Internal Research

• Internal Research dept or individual who

coordinates research initiatives.

Advantages
• The internal team would stand a better chance
of being accepted by the employees.
• They team would require much less time to
understand the structure.
• They would be available for implementing their
recommendations after the research.
• The internal team might cost considerably less.
Internal Research

• Disadvantages
• Team may be stereotyped about organizational
problem.
• There is a scope of influence the internal team to
conceal, distort, or misrepresent of certain facts.
• May be an expert team is not perceived by the
Management.
• There may be the chances of internal basis.
External Consultants /
Researchers
Research firm conducts a research
Advantages
• External team has great experience in
light of that it can provide better solutions.
• They are well equipped with latest
technology and analyze the problem in a
better way.
External Consultants /
Researchers
• Disadvantages
• More expensive
• They are not welcomed so much.
• This team also charges additional fees for
implementation and evaluation phases.
Internal Versus External
Consultants Researchers
• Some organizations have their own
consulting or research department which
might be called the management services,
the organization and methods department,
R & D (Research & Development
Department)
What Research is NOT!!!
• Research isn't information gathering
• Research isn't the transportation of facts

• “Research is systematic process of

collecting and analyzing information
data) in order to increase our
understanding of phenomenon about
which we are concerned or interested.”
Methods and Methodology

Method Methodology
Techniques for gathering The underlying theory and
evidence analysis of how research
dose or should proceed,
often influenced by
discipline.

The various ways of “an epistemology” is a

proceeding in gathering theory of knowledge. It is
information theory that decides what
can be observed.
Good Research
• Requires:
– Scope and limitations of the work to be clearly
defined.
– Process to be clearly explained so that it can be
reproduced and verified by other researchers.
– A thoroughly planned that is as objective as possible.
– All limitations are documented.
– Highly ethical standards are applied.
– Data be adequately analyzed and explained.
– All findings are presented unambiguously an all
conclusions be justified by sufficient evidence.
Features of Good Research

• Good research follows the standards of

the scientific method: systematic ,
empirically based procedures for
generating replicable research.
Features of Good Research
• Purpose clearly defined.
• Research process detailed.
• Research design thoroughly planned
• High ethical standards applied
• Limitations frankly revealed.
• Analysis adequate for decision maker’s needs
• Findings presented unambiguously
• Conclusions justified
• Researcher's experience reflected
Fallacy in Research

• A fallacy is an error in reasoning, usually

based on mistaken assumptions.
• Two important type of fallacies are:
– Ecological fallacy
– Exception fallacy
Concepts and terminologies

• Theoretical and Empirical:

– Theoretical - develops, explore and test theories.
– Empirical – based on observations and measurements
of reality.
• Nomothetic:
– refers to laws or rules to general cases
• Probabilistic:
– based on probabilities
Concepts and terminologies

• Causal:
– Relate with “effect” – attempt to study cause
effect relationship.
• Cross-sectional and longitudinal:
– Cross-sectional – takes place at single point in
time.
– Longitudinal – study takes place over time
• Variables
– Is an entity that can take on values
– Variables can be independent or dependent
• Hypotheses:
– specific statement of prediction based on study.
Types of Research

• Exploratory Research
• Descriptive Research
• Causal Research
• Analytical Research
• Applied Research
• Fundamental Research
Types of Research

• Quantitative Research
• Qualitative Research
• Conceptual Research
• Empirical Research
Exploratory Research
• Gathering preliminary information defining
problems and suggest hypotheses.
• Conducted because a problem has not
been clearly defined.
• Concludes that a perceived problem does
not exist.
• Relies on secondary data /reviewing
literature or qualitative approaches.
Exploratory Research

• Result of exploratory research does not

usually useful for DM but themselves , but
provide significant insight into as given
situation.
• Useful when researcher lacks a clear idea
of problems they will meet during study.
• Save time and money
• Hypotheses for research may be needed.
Descriptive Research

• Describes market potential for as product

or demographics and attitudes of
consumers who buy the product.
• Also known as statistical research,
describes data and characteristics about
population or phenomenon being studied.
• Answer’s questions like - who,
what,where,when and how
Descriptive Research

• Though data description being factual ,

accurate & systematic , the research
cannot describe what caused a situation.
• Thus , descriptive research cannot be used
to create causal relationship.
• Best approach to carry descriptive research
is to conduct a survey invsetigation.
Causal Research

• Test hypotheses about cause-and effect

relationships.
• Researchers to determine if manipulation of
“independent “ variables affects another variable
“dependent”.
• Marketers use this approach primary for propose
of prediction and to test hypotheses, though it
can also be used to lesser extent for discovery
and explanatory purpose.
Analytical Research

• The researcher has to make use of facts

or information already available , and
analyze these to make a critical evaluation
of material.
Applied Research

• Applied Research aims at finding solution

for an immediate problem facing society
or an industrial/business organization.
Fundamental Research

• Fundamental Research is concerned with

generalizations and with the formulations
of a theory.
• Research concerned to some natural
phenomenon or relating to pure
mathematics are examples of fundamental
research
Quantitative Research

• Based on measurement of quantity or

amount.
• Applicable to phenomenon expresses in
terms of quantity.
Qualitative Research

• Based on qualitative phenomenon i.e. relating the

reasons for human behavior.
• E.g. Motivational Research.
• Aims at discovering the underlying motives and
desires, using in depth interviews for the purpose.
• Specially important in behavioral sciences where
the aim is to discover the underlying motives of
human behavior.
Conceptual Research

• Related to some abstract ideas or theory.

• Generally used by philosophers and
thinkers to develop new concepts or to
reinterpret existing ones.
Empirical Research

• Relies on experience or observation alone, often

without due regard for system and theory.
• It is data –based research, coming up with
conclusions which are capable if being verified
by observations or experiment.
• Also called as Experimental Research
• Researchers must have firsthand info at their
sources and should actively do something to
produce the desired information.
Research Approaches

• Quantitative Approach
• Qualitative Approach