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INTRODUCTION CHAPTER-1 TO BUSINESS RESEARCH

Why Business Research?


Why does an Organization or a firm require Business Research?

Trivial but truethe need for information in making informed business decisions. Information is required by businesses to measure phenomena like a) Performance of company stocks b) Behavior of the consumers c) Expectation of the employees d) Retail sales and purchase patterns e) Type of training required by the employees f) Success of ERP implementation in an organization etc.

Definition of Business Research


Artemus Ward (19th century) claimed, It aren't the things we dont know that gets us in trouble. Its the things we know that aren't so. Hence we need to research- i.e. to search again. Business research is the application of the scientific method in searching for the truth about business phenomena.

The process of business research includes idea and theory development, problem definition, searching for and collecting information, analyzing data, communicating the findings and their implications.

Business Research is primarily a Scientific Method

What is research?
Management research is an unbiased, structured, and sequential method of enquiry, directed towards a clear implicit or explicit business objective. This enquiry might lead to validating existing postulates or arriving at new theories and models.

Types of research
BUSINESS RESEARCH

BASIC RESEARCH

APPLIED RESEARCH

EXPLORATORY RESEARCH

CONCLUSIVE RESEARCH

DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH

CAUSAL RESEARCH

Types of research
Basic research : the basic premise is the need to KNOW and the concern is primarily academic in nature.

Applied research: Solution or action oriented research, that is contextual and practical in approach.

Types of research
Exploratory research is loosely structured and the basic premise is to provide direction to subsequent, more structured method of enquiry. Techniques used are Focus group discussions, projective techniques, observation research. Conclusive research is structured and definite in orientation. These studies are usually conducted to validate formulated hypotheses and specified relationships.

Exploratory vs Conclusive Research


EXPLORATORY RESEARCH Loosely structured in design CONCLUSIVE RESEARCH Well structured and systematic in design Are flexible and investigative in Have a formal and definitive methodology methodology that needs to be followed and tested Do not involve testing of hypotheses Most conclusive researches are carried out to test the formulated hypotheses Findings might be topic specific and Findings are significant as they have a might not have much relevance outside theoretical or applied implication. the researchers domain

Conclusive research
Descriptive research: The main goal of this type of research is to describe the data and characteristics about what is being studied.
Quantitative Techniques used are Multiple Regression, Discriminant Analysis, ANOVA (one way, two way), t test. Factor and cluster analysis are primarily exploratory in nature but may also be considered as descriptive. Causal research: Explores the effect of one or more variables on other variable(s), with reasonable level of certainty by controlling the impact of other influencing variables. Quantitative Technique used is Experimental design

The research process


Management Dilemma Basic vs Applied Defining the Research Problem Formulating the Research Hypothesis

Developing the Research Proposal

The Research Framework Research Design Data Collection Plan Sampling Plan

Instrument Design

Pilot Testing

Data Collection

Data Refining and Preparation

Data Analysis & Interpretation

Research Reporting

Management / Research Decision

The Research Process


The management decision problem
Defining the research problem Formulation of the working hypotheses Construction of the research proposal

The research process


Formulating the research design
Sampling considerations Collecting the data for the study Data analysis and interpretation of findings

Research applications in marketing


Market & consumer analysis

Product research
Pricing research Promotional research

Place research

Research applications in finance


Capital markets Financial forecasting Behavioral finance

Volatility analysis

Training & development studies Selection and staffing studies

Research applications in human resources

Performance appraisaldesign and evaluation


Incentive and benefits studies employer branding studies

Research applications in production & operations management


Operation planning and design Demand forecasting and demand estimation Logistics and supply chain-design and evaluation

Quality estimations and assurance studies

Criteria for research


MUST have: a clearly stated research purpose/ objective MUST have: a sequential plan of execution MUST have: a logical and explicitly stated justification for the selected methods

MUST have: an unbiased and neutral method of conduct and


reporting MUST have: complete transparency and ethical conduction of

the research process


MUST have: provision for being reliable & replicable

Non Mandatory Sessions on QM


Venue LT (E) Day- 7th November- Wednesday (4.45 pm to 5.45 pm) and 9th November Friday (10.45 am to 12.00 pm)

Statistics - Measures of Location (Mean, Median and Mode) - Measures of Variability (Range, Standard Deviation and Variance).
- Measures of Association (Covariance and Correlation)

Discussion on Descriptive

Bring your laptop for we will use Excel.

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