Business Research Methods

CHAPTER 10
Choosing a Research Method
Student Questionnaire Answer sheet
Look at these only after you have completed the whole questionnaire.
Question 1
What are the four key contextual issues you need to think about before choosing a
research method? And why is each important?
Responses:
The four issues which will frame what you can and cannot, should and should not,
choose for your research method are:
your research
the context
the literature
you.
It is important to think about the research because you need to have a clear sense of
what it is that you are trying to achieve here. hat is the central theme of your
research! This will direct you to a literature and help you frame what you want to
achieve. here does the research take place! In which organisation"s#! hat is the
level of the research "for example, can you access data and people at the very top#! $nd
is the organisation split over different geographic sites! hat is the means of
investigation! $re you trying to test something! This will propel you towards a very
specific set of research methods. $lternatively, you may be trying to explain something.
$gain this will direct you towards methods which will help you to achieve the desired
research outcomes.
It is important to think about the context of your research because it is often at the
methodology stage that you become most aware of the potential power of the
stakeholders. %y considering the context you should be thinking about the demands
made by the different stakeholder groups and what you would need to do in order to
meet those demands. In doing this, your attention should also be drawn to the resources
needed and, indeed, how the stakeholders can help you to access those resources.
The literature is your friend here& It will help to show you what other people have done,
what the favoured methods are, and how well "or otherwise# they work. It will also give
you a good idea of the skills, competencies and resources needed to use each of the
methods.
Lastly, you need to think about yourself. hat skills have you really got! $nd how do
these relate to the skills that you will need! hat other pressures are there "for
example, time'frames, organisational politics or conflicting stakeholder demands# that
you need to deal with! It is worth thinking about the support networks that you have
and how you can access them. Likewise, what are you trying to achieve ( what are your
motives! If you are aiming to get a distinction in your work, you may need to push
yourself )ust that little bit harder.
Question 2
Case study research is an approach in which the core theme of the research cannot be
separated out from the context within which it exists. his ine!itably means that
multiple methods need to be used to help the researcher explore these connecti!ities.
What are the strengths and the limitations of case study research?
Responses:
*trengths:
It allows you to understand a particular area in depth. This gives you a breadth of
understanding and data which more accurately reflects what is actually happening.
It helps you to explain +how!, or +why!, questions, giving people insights into the
reasons why problems or opportunities exist.
It allows you to synthesise the different elements of the problem or opportunity to
produce a more holistic set of research findings.
Limitations:
It is not particularly useful where all that is required is a simple positivistic answer
to a single question. In these circumstances it takes up too much time
unnecessarily.
%ecause of the integrated nature of the themes, it is not always easy to see which is
which ( to separate each out in order that they can be investigated.
It is not always easy to know when to stop gathering data. The integrative nature
means that the more data you gather, the more you become aware of the
connections with other data. The process has to stop somewhere ( but where is not
always clear.
Question 3
"rounded heory is an approach to research which is often misunderstood in business
research pro#ects. $t is a highly complex but highly structured way of undertaking a
%ualitati!e in!estigation. What are the strengths and the limitations of using a
grounded theory approach?
Responses:
*trengths:
$ -rounded Theory approach is a truly emergent approach to business research. It
allows you to be guided by the respondents and thus enable the research to draw on
the issues that are important to them, rather than the issues that you the researcher
feel are important.
$ -rounded Theory approach helps you to generate a wealth of data which can
offer detailed understandings of how and why things happen.

Limitations:
$ -rounded Theory approach often fails to meet the demands of the stakeholders in
business research pro)ects. The lack of a clearly articulated research question and a
specific sampling strategy makes it difficult for universities and organisations to
assess any potential risks with the pro)ect.
$ -rounded Theory approach is difficult to control. $s the researcher, you are
guided by what the respondents say. The data that you gather may well therefore
drift quite a distance away from the theme that was your original intention.
$ -rounded Theory approach is difficult to time'manage. The idea that data'
gathering stops only when you have got everything you need makes it difficult to
fit this neatly within a schedule.
Question 4
Action Research is an approach which sees the process of research as being a
fundamental part of the changes that the research is trying to bring about. What are the
strengths and what are the limitations of an Action Research approach?
Responses:
*trengths:
$n $ction .esearch approach can help you to produce practical solutions to real
organisational problems. It allows you to appreciate the issues which are of
importance to the people being researched rather than the issues that you think
might be important.
$ction .esearch allows you, as the researcher, to think about your own role in the
research and in the wider context within which the organisational problems exist.
Limitations:
$ction .esearch allows you to choose which methods of data'gathering and
analysis are most appropriate. /owever, because of the nature of the reflective
processes involved, it is highly likely that the choice will be between )ust
qualitative data or qualitative and quantitative data. 0uantitative data alone will
seldom suffice in an $ction .esearch approach.
$ction .esearch requires skill in ensuring that the research findings produced are
trustworthy and have not been skewed by too much of an emphasis on reflection
and insight. It can sometimes be difficult to decide on the balance between
reflection and data gathered from external sources.
Question 5
&uestionnaires' inter!iews and focus groups are all useful ways of gathering data. $n
what circumstances would you use each?
Responses:
0uestionnaires would be really useful where you needed to gather large quantities of
the same information. They allow you to do this relatively easily and cheaply,
especially if they are sent electronically. They are also useful where the questions are
quite straightforward and people are unlikely to need an explanation.
Interviews are useful where you need to get the respondents to expand on or explore the
themes from their own perspective. They are useful because they allow you the
flexibility to re'word questions, to explain what you mean, or to follow up on some
responses and not others.
1ocus groups are useful where you want to explore themes that are relevant to a group
of people. They are good because they allow the groups themselves to direct the ways
in which the dialogue develops. $lthough this might mean that you need to be an
experienced interviewer to be able to spot where the discussion drifts off'track and then
direct it back, the rewards are that you can collect multiple perspectives in a relatively
short time'frame.
Question 6
What is methodological triangulation?
Response:
2ethodological triangulation is the use of multiple types of data'gathering within the
frame of your business research pro)ect ( for example, the use of both interviews and
questionnaires.
Question 7
What is data triangulation?
Response:
3ata triangulation is the use of data gathered from a range of different sources. This
might be primary and secondary sources, different levels in the organisation, or data
gathered from different sites.
Question 8
What is interdisciplinary triangulation?
Response:
Interdisciplinary triangulation is where the same sub)ect matter is researched at the
same time by people looking at it through the lenses of different disciplines. $lthough
in +grand, research terms this might mean taking an organisational psychology
perspective as opposed to a social science view, for the purpose of business research
pro)ects this might mean that a business problem may be looked at from the perspective
of the marketing department or from the viewpoint of the finance department.
Question 9
What is in!estigator triangulation?
Response:
Investigator triangulation is a process by which data is gathered by more than one
researcher. It is a really useful way of showing how different people interpret results in
ways that are similar or different.
Question 10
What are the ad!antages and the disad!antages of mixed methods research?
Responses:
$dvantages:
2ixed methods research allows you to look at the issue that you are investigating
through a range of different lenses. This means that rather than gather one unitary
view and hope that it is appropriate or gives the answers that are needed, the
researcher has access to a breadth and depth of data each of which illuminates a
slightly different perspective.
2ixed methods also help you to meet the demands of different stakeholder groups.
This is of particular importance where some stakeholders demand verifiable facts
and figures ( a circumstance in which quantitative data may be most appropriate (
whereas others demand explanations and discussions of the +how, and +why, issues.
3isadvantages:
2ixed methods require careful consideration. 4ou need to make sure that you have
the skills to operate in both domains, that the methods that you choose are
appropriate to the nature of your research question, and that you are able to analyse
and produce robust research findings from both forms of data. Lastly, you need to
think about how you will synthesise the data gathered from the different methods or
mechanisms used, such that what you produce is a set of coherent and cohesive
research findings.