Slide 1.

Dr. Shuja ul Islam

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Course Materials
Books:
Research Methods for
Business Students (5th
Edition) by Mark
Saunders, Philip Lewis
and Andrian Thornhill
Research Methods for
Business by Uma
Sekaran and Roger
Bougie
Research papers, case

studies

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Code of Conduct
Attendance
Proper Dressing
Class Discipline
Mobile Phones
No whispering
No eating
Class Assignment
Plagiarism
Announced Quiz
Bring Your Laptop(FOR COURSE PROJECT)

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Course Objectives

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Course Structure

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Course Structure (Cont.)

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Software
EndNote
SPSS

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Marks Distribution
1. Assignments +
Presentation
2. Quizzes

5+5
10

3. First Terminal Exam

10

4. Second Terminal Exam

10

6. Final Exam
7. Final Project(individual)

40
20

Total:-

100

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Project
Benefits
Expertise at designing, conducting Survey/Interview and
analyzing data using SPSS
Academic Writing
Expertise in specific Management Knowledge Areas
Opportunity to get and International Publication
Opportunity to travel abroad to attend

conference/seminar
Improve your CV

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Final Projects Approved

Internationally
& Italy (funded by
IABE Conference 2015, Rome,
HEC)
Nationally
Also submitted to the Journal for Publication
International Conference on Management,

Leadership and Governance (ICMLG) 2015,

University of Aucland, New Zealand (funded
by HEC)
South Asian International Conference
(SAICON) 2014, Islamabad

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Final Project
Opportunity to get publication in International

Conference / Journal Paper

Step 1: Identify Your Research Area- Target the

Call for Paper to that Relevant Area

Step 2: Literature Review(Abstract Submission
To Journal)
Step 3: Questionnaire design + data collection
Step 4: Analysis + Finalizing Article

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What is Research ?

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What
is
research?

Research. the systematic investigation

into and study of materials, sources, etc, in
order to establish facts and reach new
conclusions. b. an endeavour to discover
new or collate old facts etc by the scientific
study of a subject or by a course of critical
investigation. [Oxford Concise Dictionary]

14

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What is research?
Research is what we do when we have a

question or a problem we want to resolve

We may already think we know the answer
to our question already
We may think the answer is obvious,
common sense even
But until we have subjected our problem
to rigorous scientific scrutiny, our
'knowledge' remains little more than
guesswork or at best, intuition.
15

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What is Research?
First priority is to formulate your question
Then figure out how you are going to answer

it

How have others answered it?

How does your proposal fit in with what others

have done?
How will you know when you have answered it?

Then you can present your answer

16

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Research
Definition:
Something that people undertake in order to find things out
in a systematic way, thereby increasing their knowledge
Saunders et al. (2009)

Characteristics:
Data are collected systematically
Data are interpreted systematically
There is a clear purpose to find things out

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Why Research?

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Lab Experiments

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Managers & Research

Identify and effectively solve minor problems in the work

setting
Know how to discriminate good from bad research
Appreciate and be constantly aware of the multiple
influences & multiple effects of factors impinging on a
situation
Take calculated risk in decision making, knowing the
probabilities associated with the different possible
outcomes.
Combine experience with scientific knowledge while making
decisions

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Internal
Consultants/Researchers
Advantages:
Readily accepted by the organization where
research is to be done
Requires much less time to understand the
structure, philosophy and the functions of an
organization
Availability to implement the recommendation
after the research findings.
The internal team might cost considerably less
than an external team in resolving any problem
statement , plus needs less time.

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Internal
Consultants/Researchers
Disadvantages:
Stereotype way of looking into organization problems, which

will handicap the researchers in weighty issues and complex

problem.
Powerful coalitions in the organization can influence the
internal team to conceal, distort, or misrepresent certain
facts.
Possibility that even the most highly qualified internal
research team are not perceived as experts by the staff, and
their recommendation may not get the consideration and
attention
Certain organizational biases of the internal research

team

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External
Consultants/Researchers
Advantages:
External Team can draw on the wealth of
experience from working with different type of
organizations having similar type of problems.
Think both divergently & convergently rather
than hurry to an instant solution on the basis
of apparent solution.
Due to periodic training programs, external
teams have more knowledge of sophisticated
problem-solving methods.

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External
consultants/Researchers
Disadvantages:
The cost of hiring external consultants is

usually high.
Considerable time to understand the
organization and seldom get a warm welcome.
The external teams also charges additional
fees for their assistance in the implementation
and evaluation phases.

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Basic and applied research

Sources:

authors experience; Easterby-Smith et al. (2008); Hedrick et al. (1993)

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Basic and Applied

Research
Basic Research
Data sets
Algorithms
Mathematical Model
Improving Theoretical perspective
Example : Optimization Problems
Applied Research
Real time scenario
Improving the practical perspective
Should Corporation X adopt a paperless office

environment?

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Features of business and management research

Knowledge production
Mode 1 - Knowledge creation by academic

interest
Mode 2 - Production of practical relevant
knowledge
(Hodgkinson, 2001)
Mode 3 - Knowledge production focus on
issues of human relevance (Fukami, 2007)

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Types of Research
Classification based on Data Collection

Method
Primary

vs. Secondary Research

Classification based on the Treatment of

Data Collected
Qualitative

vs. Quantitative Research

Classification based on the Objective of

Research
Exploratory

Research

vs. Descriptive vs. Conclusive

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Stages of the research process

Formulating and clarifying a topic
Reviewing the literature
Designing the research
Collecting data
Analysing data
Writing up
Based on Figure 1.2: Saunders et al. (2009)

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Introduction to the research process

Realities and pitfalls of research
Approaches, strategies and methods
Techniques and procedures for data collection and

analysis
Appropriate use of information technology

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Factors to consider
The impact of your personal feelings and beliefs
Access to data
Time and other resources
Validity and reliability of the data
Ethical issues

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Research Articles
Reading Research Article
Abstract
Introduction
Conclusion
Read the whole article
How to search a research article??
By title
By Journal
By Date
Survey Paper

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Useful links
www.sciencedirect.com
http://scholar.google.com.pk/
http://www.apastyle.org/
www.ted.com/talks
www.Ebscohost.com

Also read
HBR Journal (Defend your research)