Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Introduction to Research
y What is research?
solutions to a problem after a thorough study and analysis of the situational factors.
that guides managers to make informed decisions to successfully deal with problems. y The information provided could be the result of a careful analysis of data gathered firsthand or of data that are already available (in the company).
y Applied research is related to a specific problem to be solved. y Scientific method - set of techniques and procedures - systematic analysis and logical interpretation of evidence y The scientific method is the essence of research.
effectively
2 Scientific Investigation
y y y y y y y y y
1 Observation 2 Identification of problem area 3 Theoretical framework 4 Hypotheses 5 Research design 6 Data collection 7 Data analysis 8 Data interpretation 9 Implementation
question or issue that is to be investigated with the goal of finding an answer or solution. y Theoretical framework is the foundation on which the entire research project is based.It is logically developed,described,and elaborated network of associations among the variables relevant to the problem situation. y A hypothesis is a tentative statement that proposes a possible explanation to some phenomenon or event. A useful hypothesis is a testable statement which may include a prediction. A hypotheses should not be confused with a theory.
y Data analysis: the data gathered are statistically analyzed to see if the
hypotheses that were generated have been supported.
Problem Formulation
y "Well begun is half done" --Aristotle, quoting an
old proverb
y Where do research topics come from? y The idea for a research project? y one of the most common sources of research ideas is
some level to stay competitive. y Companies gather data both from within and outside the organization. y The methods used to gather,analyze,and synthesize information from the external and internal environments are becoming increasingly sophisticated to the immense scope of computer technology.
1 Observation 2 Data gathering 3 Problem definition 4 Theoretical framework (variables identified) 5 Hypotheses 6 Research design 7 Data collection,analysis,interpretation 8 Deduction 9 Report writing 10 Report presentation 11 Managerial decision making
Is undertaken when no information is available on how similar problems or research issues have been solved in the past Is to able to describe the characteristics of the variables of interest in a situation. Is undertaken to explain the variance in the dependent variable or to predict organizational outcomes.
y Descriptive study
y
y Hypotheses testing
y
y Case studies
it is the "glue" that holds all of the elements in a research project together
Measurement
y The rating scale y Have several response catagories y Likert scale is designed o exermine how strongly subject agree or disagree with statements on a 5-point scale y Ranking scale y Are used to tap preferences between two or more objects or items y Goodness of measure : reliability,validity
can be primary or secondary. y Data collection methods such as: y interview(face-to-face,telephone,computer-assisted interviews),
y Questionaires y Observation y Motivational techniques
Sampling
y A sample is a subset of the population. y Sample is the process of selecting a sufficient number of elements from the population. y Studying a sample rather the entire population is sometimes to lead to more reliable results, mostly because fatigue is reduced,resulting in fewer errors on collection data. (time, cost,human resources) y Surveys are useful and powerful in finding answers to research question but if data are not collected from the people or objects that can provide the correct answers to solve the problem, the survey will be in vain.
Summary
y Business research:
function (purpose)
1. Exploratory research - initial research conducted to clarify and define the nature of a problem - sometimes the general problem is realized but a better understanding is needed before a detailed research Examples: Absenteeism is increasing and we don t know why would people be interested in our new product idea? - methods: interviews, basic statistical calculations
Summary
2. Descriptive research - research designed to describe the characteristics of a phenomenon - who? what? when? where? how? Examples: What kind of people prefer Big Mac hamburgers? What are the characteristics of students in this class? - methods: surveys, analysis of already existing data 3. Causal research - research conducted to identify cause-and-effect relationships among variables Examples: the influence of price and advertising on sales Which of two training programs is more effective? - methods: experiments, econometric analyses
The formulation of a problem is often more essential than its solution. (A. Einstein)
Thank You