INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODS

SUBJECT CODE: CP- 205

 Learning Objectives
• On completion of this chapter you will be able to :
 Understand the difference between Basic and Applied
Research
Define Business Research.
Understand the Roadmap to learn business research methods.
 Learn how business research methods can be used as a
business decisions making tool by the managers.
Understand the business research process.
 Get a preliminary idea about the use of software for data
preparation and data analysis.

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• I was born on 21 June 1973. Like most people, I don’t
remember anything about the first few years of life and like
most children I did go through a phase of driving my parents
mad by asking ‘Why?’ every five seconds. ‘Dad, why is the sky
blue?’, ‘Dad, why doesn’t mummy have a willy?’ etc. Children
are naturally curious about the world.
I remember at the age of 3 being at a party of my friend Obe
(this was just before he left England to return to Nigeria, much
to my distress). It was a hot day, and there was an electric fan
blowing cold air around the room. As I said, children are natural
scientists and my little scientific brain was working through what
seemed like a particularly pressing question: ‘What happens
when you stick your finger into a fan?’
The answer, as it turned out, was that it hurts –a lot.1 My point
is this: my curiosity to explain the world never went away, and
that’s why

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• The answer, as it turned out, was that it hurts –a
lot.1 My point is this: my curiosity to explain the
world never went away, and that’s why I’m a
scientist, and that’s also why your evil lecturer is
forcing you to learn statistics.
It’s because you have a curious mind too and you
want to answer new and exciting questions. To
answer these questions we need statistics. Statistics
is a bit like sticking your finger into a revolving fan
blade: sometimes it’s very painful, but it does give
you the power to answer interesting questions. This
chapter is going to attempt to explain why statistics
are an important part of doing research.

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We will overview the whole research process, from why we
conduct research in the first place, through how theories are
generated, to why we need data to test these theories. If that
doesn’t convince you to read on then maybe the fact that we
discover whether Coca-Cola kills sperm will. Or perhaps not.

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 WHAT IS RESEARCH?

• Research is a logical and systematic search for new and

useful information on a particular topic.
In the well-known nursery rhyme
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
How I Wonder What You Are
the use of the words how and what essentially
summarizes what research is.
It is an investigation of finding solutions to scientific and social
problems through objective and systematic analysis. It is a
search for knowledge, that is, a discovery of hidden truths
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• Here knowledge means information about matters.
• The information might be collected from different sources
like experience, human beings, books, journals, nature, etc.
• A research can lead to new contributions to the existing
knowledge.
• Research is indeed civilization and determines the
economic, social and political development of a nation.
• Research is not confined to science and technology only.
There are vast areas of research in other disciplines such as
languages, literature, history and sociology.
• Applying the outcome of research for the refinement of
knowledge in other subjects, or in enhancing the quality of
human life also becomes a kind of research and
development.

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• Research is done with the help of study,
experiment, observation, analysis, comparison and
reasoning.
• For example, we know that cigarette smoking is injurious to
health;
 heroine is addictive;
 cow dung is a useful source of biogas;
 malaria is due to the virus protozoan plasmodium;
 AIDS (Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome) is due to the
virus HIV (Human Immuno Deficiency Virus).

How did we know all these? We became aware of all these

information only through research. More precisely, it seeks
predictions of events, explanations, relationships and theories
for them.
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As stated by Gerald Milburn Scientific research is a chaotic
business, stumbling along amidst red herrings, errors and
truly, creative insights.

Great scientific breakthroughs are rarely the work of a single

researchers plodding slowly by inexorably towards some final
goal.

The crucial idea behind the breakthrough may surface a

number of times, in different places, only to sink again
beneath the babble of an endless scientific discourse.

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Meaning of Research: Research is not a option-It is essential for
survival and Growth

Research is composed of two syllables a prefix ‘Re’ and a verb ‘Search’.

• Re means again, a new, over again.

• Search means to examine closely and carefully, to test and try, to probe.

In another words Research is a purposeful, precise and systematic

search for new knowledge, skills, attitudes and values, or for the

reinterpretation of existing knowledge, skills, attitude and values.

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Contd…

• It is organized systematic data based scientific inquiry, or

investigation into a specific problem undertaken with the

purpose of finding answers or solutions to it.

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 Objectives of Research
 To seek insight into a observed phenomena and explain its logic and

reasoning of happening e.g Declining Profitability

 To help the mankind in solving the problems faced from time to time for

making life more comfortable and entertaining e.g Telecommunication and e

ticketing

 To explore the possibility and methodologies of doing things which have not

been done so far but are useful for the mankind

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 Count:-
 To continuously improve the effectiveness of present systems and procedure

in any field eg. compensation , recruitment and retention policies.

 Test or challenge existing beliefs, notions etc which have not been

empirically proved so far with flux of time and need to be tested again for

relevance in the changed context eg. relationship between intelligence and

creativity

 Explore in to new areas that might have been become relevant.

 Analyze the past data of discovering trends ,patterns and relationship

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 Importance of Research methodology
• Research is important for you in every walk of life…. No
matter what career or profession you choose for
yourself.
• No one best way for undertaking all research. Rather
you will be aware of the choices you will have to make
and how these will impact upon what you can find out.
• Various research philosophies and approaches to
reasoning, explored a range of strategies , techniques
and procedures with which you could tackle your
research project.
• Learning Research methodology makes you able to
make a series of informed choices including your
research philosophy, approaches to reasoning , explored
a range of strategies that are most suitable to your own
research and be able to justify them.

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 What is not a Research?
• William (2011) argues that many of these everyday uses of
the term “Research” are not research in the true meaning
of the word. As part of this, he highlights ways in which the
term is used wrongly :

 Just collecting facts or information with no clear purpose.

 Reassembling and reordering facts or information without
interpretation.
 As an esoteric activity with no little relevance to everyday
life.

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 What Research is?
• Research has a number of Characteristics :
 Data are collected systematically.
 Data are interpreted systematically.
 There is a clear purpose : Goals.
 Thereby increasing their knowledge.
 Two phrases are important in this definition systematic way and
Goals.
 Suggest that research is based on logical relationships and not
just beliefs.
 Proper explanation of the method or methods used to collect the
data.
 Why the results obtained are meaningful and explain why
limitations that are associated with them.

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 Business Research Methods
Business researchers systematically collect, compile,
analyze, and interpret data to provide quality information
based on which a decision maker will be able to take a
decision in an optimum manner.
Conducting research to deal with any problem is a scientific,
systematic, and interlinked exercise, which requires sound
experience and knowledge.

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 Role and Functions of A Researcher

1. Education- Researchers are responsible for taking training

on the conduct of human subjects research prior to engaging
in the human subjects research activities.
The principal investigator is responsible for overseeing the
training of all research team members including key
personnel, non-key personnel and research personnel who
work with identifiable, private information. The principal
investigator must maintain records of training for these
research personnel and make such records available for
inspection at the request of the management.

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2.Ethical Principles- Researchers are responsible for conducting
research in accordance with the ethical principals outlined in the
Belmont Report. These principals are the fundamental ethical
principals upon which human subject protections are based and
they are as follows:-

 Respect for Persons

 Beneficence.
 Justice.

3. Conduct of Research- Researchers are responsible for ensuring

the research is conducted according to the approved protocol.
Principal Investigators are also responsible for the actions of all co-
investigators and research team members.

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4. Researchers have a responsibility to communicate their
research, to collaborate with others where appropriate and to
transfer and exploit knowledge for the benefit of your employer,
the economy and society as a whole. Researchers have a
responsibility to behave honestly and ethically in the course of
their research.

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Typically the researcher is expected to:

 take responsibility for finding out what is expected

 take the initiative in raising problems or difficulties
 help the supervisory team to ensure consistency
 discuss with the supervisory team how to make guidance more
effective, including disability related concerns
 agree, organize and attend mutually convenient meetings,
contribute to their agenda and circulate work in advance
 undertake research training as agreed and where need is
identified
 undertake recommended reading
 produce written work as agreed

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 comply with reporting procedures and inform supervisors of the
progress of your research
 tell supervisors about difficulties you encounter in your work
 arrange for informal sharing of information and practice
 generate your own ideas
 set realistic deadlines
 ask when you don't understand
 decide when to submit the thesis and ensure that it is submitted
on time
 Ensure that the thesis complies with regulations.

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 Difference between Basic and Applied Research

• Basic research is generally not related to a specific problem

and its findings can not be immediately applied.
• Applied research directly addresses the problem at hand.
Applied research is launched by the firm, agency or
individual facing a specific problem.

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 Which of these can be classified as research?
[1] Samad prepared a paper on “computer usage in
secondary schools” after reviewing literature on the
subject available in his university library.
[2] Manoj says that he has researched and completed a
document which gives information about the age of his
students, their results, their parents income and
distance of their schools from the District Office.
[3] Kim participated in a workshop on curriculum
development and prepared what he calls, a report on
the curriculum for Engineers.

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None of the above examples can be classified under the name
research.

Consider the following case which is an example of research:

• A general manager of a car producing company was concerned
with the complaints received from the car users that the car
they produce have some problems with sound at the dash
board and the rear passenger seat after few thousand
kilometres of driving.
He obtained information from the company workers to identify
the various factors influencing the problem.He then formulated
the problem and generated guesses (hypotheses).
He constructed a checklist and obtained requisite information
from a representative sample of cars.
He analysed the collected data, interpreted the results in the
light of his hypotheses and reached conclusions.
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 Defining Business Research

Business research method is a systematic and scientific

procedure of data collection, compilation, analysis,
interpretation, and implication pertaining to any business
problem.
Business research is defined as the systematic and objective
process of gathering , recording , analysing data for aid in
making business decisions.(Zikmund, 2007).
 Cooper and Schindler(2009) define business research as a
systematic enquiry that provides information to guide
managerial decisions.

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 Business Research methods :
A decision making tool in the hands of Management

 Decision making is always a crucial part of any

organizational functioning.
 In the field of business research, this valuable information
is obtained by using the following interrelated steps:
1. Problem or opportunity identification.
2. Diagnosing the problem or opportunity.
3. Executing business research to explore the solutions.
4. Implement presented solutions.
5. Evaluate the effect of decision making.

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 1. Problem or opportunity identification

 Any delay in problem identification and solution

implementation; and the opportunity identification and
encashment may become harmful to the organization

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 2.Diagnosing the Problem or Opportunity

 Organizations present these problems or opportunity

scenarios to business researchers.
 Business researchers actually diagnose the problem or
opportunity.
 Diagnosing involves exploring the situation to have a better
insight about the situation.

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3. Executing Business Research to Explore the Situation

 After the identification and diagnosis of the problem,

business researchers systematically conduct research to
present a solution.

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 4. Implement Present Solution

 Business researchers conduct research in consultation

with the decision makers of the concerned organization.
The findings are presented to the decision maker and he or
she analyses these findings in the light of his or her decision
range.

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 5.Evaluate the effectiveness of Decision Making

 After taking a decision, its effectiveness is examined. This is

sometimes referred to as evaluation research.

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 UNIT of Analysis

• The unit of analysis is the major entity that is being

analyzed in a study. It is the 'what' or 'who' that is being
studied For instance, any of the following could be a unit of
analysis in a study:
• individuals
• groups
• Organizations
• artifacts (books, photos, newspapers)
• geographical units (town, census tract, state)
• social interactions (dyadic relations, divorces, arrests)

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Identifying your units of analysis is an important part of the
research process. Once you have identified a research question,
you will have to select your units of analysis as part of the process
of deciding on a research method and how you will operationalize
that method. Let's review the most common units of analysis and
why a researcher might choose to study them.

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Individuals:

 Individuals are the most common units of analysis within

sociological research.
 This is the case because the core problem of sociology is
understanding the relationships between individuals and
society, so we routinely turn to studies composed of individual
people in order to refine our understanding of the ties that
bind individuals together into a society.
 Taken together, information about individuals and their
personal experiences can reveal patterns and trends that are
common to a society or particular groups within it, and can
provide insight into social problems and their solutions.

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Groups

 Sociologists are keenly interested in social ties and

relationships, which means that they often study groups of
people, be they large or small.
 Groups can be anything from couples to families, to people
who fall into particular racial or gender categories, to friend
groups, to whole generations of people (think Millennials and
all the attention they get from social scientists).
 By studying groups sociologists can reveal how social
structure and forces affect whole categories of people on the
basis of race, class, or gender.

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for example:

Sociologists have done this in pursuit of understanding a wide

range of social phenomena and problems, like for example this
study that proved that living in a racist place leads to Black people
having worse health outcomes than white people; or this study
that examined the gender gap across different nations to find out
which are better or worse at advancing and protecting the rights of
women and girls.

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Organizations
 Organizations differ from groups in that they are considered
more formal and, well, organized ways of collecting people
together around specific goals and norms.
 Organizations take many forms, including corporations, religious
congregations and whole systems like the Catholic Church,
judicial systems, police departments, and social movements, for
example.
 Social scientists who study organizations might be interested in,
for example, how corporations like Apple, Amazon, and
Walmart impact various aspects of social and economic life, like
how we shop and what we shop for, and what work conditions
have become normal and/or problematic within the U.S. labor
market. 39
Cultural Artifacts
 Sociologists know that we can learn a lot about our society and
ourselves by studying the things that we create, which is why
many of us cultural artifacts.
 Cultural artifacts are all the things that are created by humans,
including the built environment, furniture, technological devices,
clothing, art and music, advertising and language--the list is truly
endless.

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 Sociologists who study cultural artifacts might be interested in
understanding what a new trend in clothing, art, or music reveals
about the contemporary values and norms of the society that
produces it and those who consume it, or they might be
interested in understanding how advertising might impact norms
and behavior, especially in terms of gender and sexuality, which
has long been fertile ground for social science research.

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 So you have decided to do Research ?
Do you know?

 Research is an Academic activity.

 Research involves scientific procedures.
 Research has its own method, which you are going to
learn now.
 Before conducting Research, you must qualify for doing
Research- You must absorb the qualities of a Researcher.
 What are the Qualities of a Researcher ?

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 QUALITIES OF A GOOD RESEARCHER
1.In Social Science including Social Work, most of
the time research is done for vulnerable and
oppressed groups. Therefore it is very important
that you have a sense of respect for them. Learn to
Respect People (subjects).
2. Free yourself from biasness.
3.Be a good reader. Read lot of relevant literature
related to your research interest topic.

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4.Have a good understanding of Research
Methodology.

5.Question everything, reason everything, but do not

impose your ideas.

6. Accept and present the fact as it is. Do not copy or

manipulate.

7. Discuss your project with learned people from the

same field.

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Research Process

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 Research Terms and Definitions

• Concept : Concepts are abstract ideas generalised from

particular facts associated with certain events, objects,
conditions, stimulations or phenomenon.
Achievement, intelligence, aggressiveness, conformity,
honesty, etc. are all concepts used to express varieties of
human behaviour of interest to behavioural scientists.
 Bourne, Ekstrand and Dominowski define the concept as
any describable regularity of real or imagined events or
objects.
 For example, concepts like personality, perception,
leadership, motivation possess a variety of meanings and
different people communicating the same word may be
using it in a separate sense or meaning.
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• Construct - Constructs are concept invented or constructed
by researchers for special scientific purposes.
In the context of research, a construct is an abstract idea,
underlying theme, or subject matter that the researcher
wishes to measure through various means that could be
using survey questions, interviews, observations etc.
 Some constructs are relatively simple (Such as house
affiliation of a student) and can be measured using only one
or a few questions, while other constructs are more
complex (such as job satisfaction) and may require a whole
set of questions to fully operationalize the construct.

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Constructs are created and used for a wide variety of reasons,
but generally, have 2 common characteristics.

 the construct is a part of a theoretical framework and is

related in various ways to other constructs.

 A construct usually operationally defined so as to allow its

observation and measurement.

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 Types of Construct

• Intervening Variables: An intervening Variable is

constructed which is utilised as a summary term for a group
of another construct. It has no meaning apart from the
context in which it is utilised. In the example of Job
Satisfaction measurement Work Culture is a dimension with
in the construct of job satisfaction and hence work culture is
an intervening variable.
• Hypothetical constructs: The constructs that are not actually
directly observed but inferred from data are called
hypothetical construct. It is a theoretical term which is used
to describe something which is hypothesised and yet to be
statistically tested. The statistical result may or may not
accept hypothesis.

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 ATTRIBUTE AND VARIABLE

• Attribute : An attribute is a characteristic or feature of an

object (person, thing, etc).
• Variable: A variable is a symbol of an attribute to which the
researcher assigns a numeral or value. Hence a variable is a
logical set of attributes. Attributes are closely related to
variables. For example, the profitability of a firm is an
attribute and profit after tax is a variable which will vary
depicting high or low profitability. How high How low is
determined by the value of the attribute.

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 Types of Variables

• On the basis of scale of measurement

 Qualitative
Nominal
Ordinal
 Quantitative
Interval
Ratio

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• Qualitative or Categorical variables: Qualitative variables are
also known as discrete variables can be further classified as
being nominal and ordinal variables. Each of these types of
categorical variables are given to have what are known as
categories or levels.

 Nominal Variables that have just two categories are called

dichotomous variables. For example –(Male or Female),
(Customer or non-customer), (employed or unemployed). The
response can either one of the two.
 Nominal variable can also be designed with more than two
categories also. For example a respondent is asked –which
car do you own? The designed categories should be Maruti,
Honda, Chevrolet, Renault, Mahindra, Tata, Any other. The
respondent can choose either one or more than one.

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 Nominal variables do not have an intrinsic order, ie.
Nominal variables can not be ranked from lowest to highest
or vice versa.
For example: Blood Group- O, A, B, AB.
Ordinal Variables: Ordinal variables have two or more
categories similar to the normal variables. However , unlike
nominal variables, ordinal variables can also be ordered or
ranked. (i.e. in increasing and decreasing order of responses).
In case of increasing order, second response carries more
weight or attribute then first, third response carries more
attribute or weight than second and so on.
For e.g. In your opinion, to what extent internships are
important for getting a campus placement?
Based on 5-point Likert scale of 1= Strongly agree, 2=
agree,3=neither agree nor disagree, 4= disagree, 5= strongly
disagree

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• Quantitative or Continuous variables : Quantitative or
Continuous variables have numerical properties. These
numerical properties are the values by which continuous
variables can be measured, manipulated and / or controlled.
These can be further classified as Interval and Ratio variables.

Interval variables: Interval variables have a numerical value

and can be measured along a continuum. Zero (0) does not
mean the absence of the attribute. For example ,0 degree
Celsius does not mean no temperature. Further, the difference
across responses are equal. The difference between 30
degrees Celsius to 40 degree celsuis is the same as 40 degree
Celsius to 50 degree Celsius .

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Ratio Variables : Ratio Variables are variables that meet the
condition that a measurement value of 0 (zero) means that
there is none of that variable. For example- Height, mass,
weight, etc. zero kg means no weight.

Ambiguities in classifying variables

 The researcher must think carefully about how to
characterise a variable. For example, Variable gender is
considered to be a dichotomous variable , having just two
categories: male and female. On the contrary, variable gender
may be considered as a nominal variable gender may be
considered as a nominal variable having a number of
categories, including male, female, bisexual and transsexual.

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• On the basis of role played in research-
 Dependent
Independent
Moderating
Intervening
Extraneous
Manifest and Latent
Dummy

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1. Dependent Variable- A dependent variable is a variable
whose value depends upon independent variable s. The
dependent variable is what is being measured in an
experiment or evaluated in a mathematical equation. The
dependent variable is sometimes called "the outcome
variable.“
2. Independent Variable- The independent variable is the
variable the experimenter manipulates (i.e. changes) –
assumed to have a direct effect on the dependent variable.

3. Moderating Variable- A moderating variable is a variable

that impacts the direction as well as the magnitude of the
relationship between the dependent variable and
independent variable.

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• Intervening Variable- An intervening variable is one whose
occurrence would follow the independent variable and precede the
dependent variable.

• Extraneous Variable- An extraneous variables are those variables

whose variations impact the relationship between the dependent
and independent variable. The variables might or might not be
observed in the research investigation. The researcher must decide
on the magnitude of their impact.

• Manifest and Latent: A manifest variable (also known as observed

variable) is a variable that can be directly measured or observed. It
is the opposite of the latent variable, which can not be directly
observed or measured and needs a manifest variable assigned to it
as an indicator to test whether it is present. Manifest variables are
used in latent variable statistical models, which test the
relationships between a set of manifest variables and a set of latent
variables.

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• Dummy Variables: A dummy variable ( also known as an
indicator variable, design variable, Boolean indicator, binary
variable, or qualitative variable) is one that take either value 0
or 1. Value 0 indicates the absence and value 1 indicates the
presence of some categorical effect that may be expected to
shift the outcome.

Dummy variables are used as devices to sort data into mutually

exclusive categories. For example, to create a dummy for
categorising the respondent as smoker or non-smoker, value 0
indicates the respondent is non-smoker and value 1 indicates
the respondent is a smoker.

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• Hypothesis : A hypothesis is a tentative generalization, the
validity of which remains to be tested . In its most
elementary stage hypothesis may be every hunch, guess,
imaginative data, which becomes basis for action or
investigation”.

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