Chapter 02 Business Research Methodology

Chapter 02

The Research Process: Coming to Terms

M. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury 2-1

University of Dhaka
 Chapter 02 Business Research Methodology

From Problem to Solution

All you need to do is to identify an interesting question,
collect some some data, and proof!-instant research! Not
quite. The model of scientific inquiry does a nice job of
specifying the steps in the research process, but there is quite a
bit more to the process than that.

Duckett and Richards (1989).
“Maternal Employment and Young Adolescents’ Daily Experience in
Single-Mother Families”.
The objective of the study is to examine the impact of maternal
employment on adolescent development.
Sample: 436 fifth through ninth graders and their mothers.
The researchers compared adolescents living with two parents (88%)
with adolescents living with only their mother.
A signal telling the participant to stop and complete the form was sent
on an average of every two hours between 7:30 AM and 9:30 PM,
with a total of 49 signals sent for the week for each participant (in
total 21, 364 forms).

M. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury 2-2

University of Dhaka
 Chapter 02 Business Research Methodology

The Language of Research

Many different terms are used in the research community, and
the faster you become familiar with them, the easier the entire
process will be to understand.

All About Variables
 The word variable has several synonyms, such as
changeable or unsteady. Our set of rules tells us that a
variable is a noun, not an adjective, and represents a class
of out-comes that can take on more than one value.
For example height (expressed as short or tall, or 5 feet, 3
inches or 6 feet, 1 inch), weight (expressed as heavy or
light, 128 pounds or 150 pounds), age at immunization
(expressed as young or old, 6 weeks or 18 months),
number of words remembered, time off work, political
party affiliation,

M. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury 2-3

University of Dhaka
Chapter 02 Business Research Methodology

Types of Variables

Type of Definition Other Terms You

Variable , Might See
A variable that is measured to see whether the • Outcome variable
Dependent treatment or manipulation of the independent • Results variable
variable had an effect • Criterion variable
• Treatment variable
A variable that is manipulated to examine its
Independent • Factor
impact on a dependent variable
• Predictor variable
A variable that is related to the dependent
Control variable. the influence of which needs to be • Restricting variable
removed
A variable that is related to the dependent
Extraneous variable or independent variable that is not part • Threatening variable
of the experiment
A variable that is related to the dependent
Moderator variable or independent variable and has an • Interacting variable
impact on the dependent variable

M. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury 2-4

University of Dhaka
 Chapter 02 Business Research Methodology

Types of Variables

A dependent variable represents the measure that reflects the
outcomes of a research study.
For example, if you measure the difference between two groups of
adults on how well they can remember a set of ten single digits after a
five-hour period, the number of digits remembered is the dependent
variable. Another example: If you are looking at the effect of parental
involvement in school on children's grades, the grades that the
children received would be considered a dependent variable.

An independent variable represents the treatments or conditions
that the researcher has either direct or indirect control over to test
their effects on a particular outcome.
 Independent variable is also known as a treatment variable.
 For example, age and education of the respondent.

M. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury 2-5

University of Dhaka
 Chapter 02 Business Research Methodology

Types of Variables

A control variable is a variable that has a potential influence on the
dependent variable; consequently, the influence must be removed or
controlled.
For example, if you are interested in examining the relationship
between reading speed and reading comprehension, you may want to
control for differences in intelligence. Because intelligence is related
both to reading speed and to reading comprehension. Intelligence
must be held constant for you to get a good idea of the nature of the
relationship between the variables of interest.

An extraneous variable is a variable that has an unpredictable
impact upon the dependent variable.
For example, if you are interested in examining the effects of
television watching on achievement, you might find that the type of
television programs watched is an extraneous variable that might
affect achievement. Such programs as Discovery, ova, Sesame
Street, and 3-2-1 Contact might have a positive impact on
achievement, whereas other programs might have a negative impact.

M. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury 2-6

University of Dhaka
 Chapter 02 Business Research Methodology

Types of Variables

A moderator variable is a variable that is related to the variables
of interest (such as the dependent and independent variable),
masking the true relationship between the independent and
dependent variable.
For example, if you are examining the relationship between crime
rate and ice cream consumption, you need to include temperature
because it moderates that relationship.

M. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury 2-7

University of Dhaka
 Chapter 02 Business Research Methodology

Hypothesis

A hypothesis was defined as "an educated guess."

Although a hypothesis reflects many other things, perhaps its most
important role is to reflect the general problem statement or the
question that was the motivation for undertaking the research
study.

That is why taking care' and time with that initial question is so
important. Such consideration can guide you through the creation of
a hypothesis, which in turn helps you to determine the types of
techniques you will use to test the hypothesis and answer the
original question.

The "I wonder ... " stage becomes the problem statement stage,
which then leads to the study's hypothesis. Here is an example of
each of these.

M. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury 2-8

University of Dhaka
 Chapter 02 Business Research Methodology

Hypothesis

“I wonder"
It seems to me that several things could be done to help our
employees-lower their high absentee rate. Talking with some of them
tells me that they are concerned about after-school care for their
children. I wonder what would happen if a program were started right
here in the factory to provide child supervision and activities?

The hypothesis:
Parents who enroll their children in after-school programs will miss
fewer days of work in one year and will have a more positive attitude
toward work as measured by the Attitude Toward Work (ATW)
survey than parents who do not enroll their children in such programs.
A good hypothesis provides a transition from a problem statement
into a form that is more amenable to testing using the research
methods.

M. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury 2-9

University of Dhaka
 Chapter 02 Business Research Methodology

+ull Hypothesis

A null hypothesis is an interesting little creature. If it could talk, it
would say something like, "I represent no relationship between the
variables that you are studying."

In other words, null hypotheses are statements of equality such as,
There will be no difference in the average score of ninth graders and
the average score of twelfth graders on the ABC memory test.

A null hypothesis, such as the ones described here, would be
represented by the following equation:

Two purposes of null hypothesis:

First, the null hypothesis acts as a starting point because it is the state
of affairs that is accepted as true in the absence of other information.
The second purpose of the null hypothesis is to provide a benchmark
against which observed outcomes can be compared to determine
whether these differences are caused by chance or by some other
factor.

M. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury 2-10

University of Dhaka
 Chapter 02 Business Research Methodology

Hypothesis

The Research Hypothesis
Whereas a null hypothesis is a statement of no relationship between
variables, a research hypothesis is a definite statement of the
relationship between two variables.
For example, for each of the null hypotheses stated earlier, there is a
corresponding research hypothesis.
there can certainly be more than one research hypothesis for anyone
null hypothesis.
For example:

The average score of ninth graders is different from the average score
of twelfth graders on the ABC memory test.
There is a relationship between personality type and job success.

M. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury 2-11

University of Dhaka
 Chapter 02 Business Research Methodology

Hypothesis

The on-directional Research Hypothesis
 A non-directional research hypothesis reflects a difference
between groups, but the direction of the difference is not
specified.
For example, the research hypothesis The
average score of ninth graders is different from the average
score of twelfth graders on the ABC memory test is non-
directional in that the direction of the difference between the
two groups is not specified.
The hypothesis states only that there is a difference and says
nothing about the direction of that difference. It is a research
hypothesis because a difference is hypothesized, but the nature
of the difference is not specified.
A non-directional research hypothesis such as the one
described here would be represented by the following equation:

M. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury 2-12

University of Dhaka
 Chapter 02 Business Research Methodology

Hypothesis

The Directional Research Hypothesis
A directional research hypothesis reflects a difference between
groups, and the direction of the difference is specified.
For example, the research hypothesis The average score of twelfth
graders is greater than the average score of ninth graders on the
ABC memory test is directional, because the direction of the
difference between the two groups is specified-one group's score is
hypothesized to be greater than the other.
Directional hypotheses can take the following forms:
A is greater than B (or A> B)
B is greater than A (or B > A)
 It can be represented by the following equation:

M. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury 2-13

University of Dhaka
 Chapter 02 Business Research Methodology

+ull Hypothesis Vs. Research Hypothesis

The null hypothesis represents an equality and the research hypothesis
represents an inequality.

There are several important differences between these two types of
hypotheses.

First, the null hypothesis states that there is no relationship between
variables (an equality), whereas the research hypothesis states that there is
a relationship (an inequality).

Second, null hypotheses always refer to the population, whereas research
hypotheses always refer to the sample.

Third, because the entire population cannot be directly tested (again, it is
impractical, uneconomical, and often impossible), you can never really say
that there is actually no difference between groups (or an inequality) on a
specified dependent variable (if you accept the null hypothesis). Rather,
you have to infer it (indirectly) from the results of the test of the research
hypothesis, which is based on the sample.

Hence, the null hypothesis must be indirectly tested, whereas the research
hypothesis is directly tested.

M. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury 2-14

University of Dhaka
 Chapter 02 Business Research Methodology

What Makes a “Good” Hypothesis?

The criteria we want to apply to a "good" hypothesis:
A good hypothesis is stated in declarative form, not as a question.
Hypotheses are most effective when they make a clear and forceful
statement.
A good hypothesis posits an expected relationship between variables.
Hypotheses reflect the theory or literature upon which they are
based.
A hypothesis should be brief and to the point.
Good hypotheses are testable hypotheses.

M. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury 2-15

University of Dhaka
 Chapter 02 Business Research Methodology

Samples and Populations

Given the constraints of limited time and limited research funds, the
best strategy is to take a portion of a larger group of participants and
do the research with that smaller group.

The larger group is referred to as a population, and

The smaller group selected from a population is referred to as a
sample.

Samples should be selected from populations in such a way that you
maximize the likelihood that the sample represents the population
as much as possible.

The goal is to have the sample resemble the population as much as
possible.

The most important implication of ensuring similarity between the
two is that, once the research is finished, the results based on the
sample can be generalized to the population.

When the sample does represent the population, the results of the
study are said to be generalizable or to have generalizability.

M. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury 2-16

University of Dhaka
 Chapter 02 Business Research Methodology

The Concept of Significance

Significance is a measure of how much risk we are willing to take
when reaching a conclusion about the relationship between
variables.

Let's modify the meaning of "differences " to include the adjective
"significant." Here, significant differences are the differences
observed between adolescents of mothers who work and of those
who do not that are due to some influence and do not appear just by
chance.

Because the world and you and I and the research process are not
perfect, one must allow for some leeway. In other words, you need
to be able to say that, although you are pretty sure the difference
between the two groups of adolescents is due to the mothers‘
working, you cannot be absolutely, 100%, positively,
unequivocally, indisputably sure.

M. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury 2-17

University of Dhaka
 Chapter 02 Business Research Methodology

The Concept of Significance

In most scientific endeavors that involve proposing hypotheses and

examining differences between groups, there is bound to be a
certain amount of error that simply cannot be controlled.

Significance level is the risk associated with not
being 100% confident that the difference is caused by what you
think and may be due to some unforeseen factor.

Significant findings at the .05 level (p < .05), the translation is that a
chance of less than 1 in 20 (or .05 or 5%) exists that any differences
found between the groups were not due to the hypothesized reason
(the independent variable in the case of a comparison between two
groups) but to some other unknown reason or reasons.

M. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury 2-18

University of Dhaka
Chapter 02 Business Research Methodology

Thank You

M. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury 2-19

University of Dhaka