Introduction to

Research

Topics

What is Research?

Applied and Basic Research

Why do we need to learn about research?

Internal VS External Research Team

Some ways in which the term

research is used wrongly
Just collecting facts or information with no
clear purpose
Reassembling and recording facts or
information with out interpretation
As a term to get your product or idea
noticed and respected

Overview

What is Research?
Something that is undertaken in order to find out
things in systematic way, thereby increasing their
knowledge

Business Research
An organized, systematic data based, critical,
objective, scientific inquiry or investigation into a
specific problem, undertaken with the purpose of
finding answers or solutions to it
Quantitative or Qualitative
Research in different areas of Business

Types of Business
Research

Applied Research
Problem faced by an specific organization
Conducted to reveal answers to specific
questions related to action, performance, or policy
needs.

Basic Research
For improving scientific knowledge
Generating a body of knowledge
Also called Fundamental or Pure research

Basic and Applied

Research

Ontology
Onto= existence, or being real
Logia= study of, science of, knowledge of
Ontology is concerned with nature of reality

Objectivism
Reality exists regardless of human observer
Social entities exist in reality external to social
actors concerned with their existence.

Ontology

Subjectivism
Social phenomena are created from the perceptions
and consequent actions of the social actors.
Reality is constructed in the mind of the observer.
One person's
fighter.
One person's
One person's
One person's

terrorist is another person's freedom

meat is another person's poison.
junk is another person's antique.
security is another person's prison.

Epistemology
Episteme=Knowledge, Understanding
Logia= study of, science of, knowledge of

What does knowledge mean?

How does a person get to know something?
What constitutes true knowledge?

Epistemology

Empiricism
True knowledge is primarily founded on the input
from our sensory experience.

Rationalism
True knowledge is the one that can be justified
trough reasons and rational rather than
experience and observation.

Interpretivism
knowledge is socially constructed rather than
objectively determined

Internal of External
Researcher

Internal Researcher
Internal department of organization e.g. Management
services department, R&D etc.

Advantages
Better chances of acceptability by the employees of
the organization
Lesser time required to understand the organizations
culture and processes
Availability of researcher to implement the findings
Relatively less costly

For low complexity problems internal team is

ideal

Internal of External
Researcher

Disadvantages
Stereotyped view of organization i.e. lack of fresh
ideas and perceptions.
A group within the organization my influence the
team to conceal, distort or misrepresent certain
facts.
Internal team may not be considered expert by
the management and may not get the attention.

Internal of External
Researcher

Advantages of External Researcher

Experience of different types of organizations
May have more knowledge of updated problemsolving models

Disadvantages
High cost
Lack of acceptability by the employee
More time required to understand organization

Stages of Research Process