Unit 1 Research Methods in Business

Meaning of Research
The search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method. Movement from the unknown to known A voyage of discovery

Definition of Research
1. The Advanced Learners Dictionary of Current English a careful investigation or inquiry specially through search for new facts in any branch of knowledge. 2. Redman and Mory Systematized effort to gain new knowledge.

Objectives of Research
1. To gain familiarity with a phenomenon or to achieve new insights into it (exploratory) 2. To portray accurately the characteristics of a particular individual, situation or a group (descriptive) 3. To determine the frequency with which something occurs or with which it is associated with something else (diagnostic) 4. To test a hypothesis of a causal relationship between variables (hypothesis testing)

Significance of Research
1. It helps in solving various operational and planning problems of business and industry. 2. It is an aid to decision making. 3. It establishes the relation between variables. 4. It is equally important for social scientists in studying social relationships and in seeking answers to various social problems. 5. It provides a basis for innovation. 6. It facilitates the process of thinking, analysis, evaluation and interpretation of various situation 7. It provides the basis for nearly all govt. policies in our economic system.
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Types of Research
1) Basic Research It is also known as fundamental or pure research. It is mainly concerned with generalisations and with the formulation of a theory. The main motivation is to expand man's knowledge, not to create or invent something. Gathering knowledge for knowledges sake. There is no obvious commercial value to the discoveries that result from basic research. It lays down the foundation for the applied science that follows. E.g. research concerning human behaviour for generalising human behaviour, research concerning some natural phenomenon or relating to pure mathematics as follows How did the universe begin? What are protons, neutrons, and electrons composed of? How do slime molds reproduce? What is the specific genetic code of the fruit fly? Understanding consumer buying process Examining consumer learning process 2) Applied Research It is a form of systematic inquiry involving the practical application of science. It aims at finding a solution for an immediate problem facing a society or an industrial/business organisation. E.g. Research to identify social, economic or political trends that may affect a particular institution, copy research, marketing research or evaluation research, to investigate improve agricultural crop production treat or cure a specific disease improve the energy efficiency of homes, offices, or modes of transportation Evaluating the impact of a training program on employee performance Examining the consumer response to direct marketing programs 3) Descriptive Research It is also known as statistical research. It describes data and characteristics
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about the population or phenomenon being studied. It answers the questions who, what, where, when and how. It includes surveys and fact-finding enquiries of different kinds. The major purpose of it is description of the state or affairs as it exists at present. How do adolescents spend their time? How many calories do Americans consume per day? What is the absentee rate in particular offices? What are the feelings of workers faced with redundancy? What are the qualifications of different groups of employees? What type of packaging for a box of chocolates do consumers prefer? 4) Historical It is a type of secondary data analysis to determine past social attitudes and community structure and how these have changed over time. It is the process of systematically examining past events to give an account of what has happened in the past. Ideas for historical research topics can come from many different sources such as the accomplishments of an individual, an educational policy, or the relationship between events. The descent of family land in later Anglo-Saxon England Fiscal revolution and state formation in mid seventeenth century Scotland Revolutionary tribunals and the origins of terror in early Soviet Russia Measuring by the bushel: reweighing the Indian Ocean pepper trade Documents on Economic History of British Rule in India, 1858-1947 The Rural World in Contemporary Literature of Bengal in the Nineteenth Century The Sikh Minority Syndrome and the Partition of the Punjab 19201947 5) Exploratory It is a type of research conducted for a problem that has not been clearly defined. It helps determine the best research design, data collection method and selection of subjects. It often relies on secondary research such as reviewing available literature and/or data, or qualitative approaches such as
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informal discussions with consumers, employees, management or competitors, and more formal approaches through in-depth interviews, focus groups, projective methods, case studies or pilot studies. For Understanding a Problem For Screening Alternatives For Discovering New Ideas 6) Experimental It is a systematic and scientific approach to research in which the researcher manipulates one or more variables, and controls and measures any change in other variables. Experimental research is basically the method that can be applied in a research laboratory. The basic structure of this type of research is elementary: two situations (cause and consequence) are assessed in order to make a comparison. It is guided by a hypothesis (or several hypotheses) that states an expected relationship between two or more variables. An experiment is conducted to support or disconfirm this experimental hypothesis. Creativity in advertising has its role in improving sales Career development will improve employee retention Working more than 40 hours in a week leads to decreased productivity 20% increase in price will lead to brand switching of current customers. 7) Ex post-facto It is also known as Causal Comparative Research. Ex post facto means formulated, enacted, or operating retroactively. When translated literally, ex post facto means from what is done afterwards. In the context of social and educational research the phrase means after the fact or retrospectively and refers to those studies which investigate possible cause-and-effect relationships by observing an existing condition or state of affairs and searching back in time for plausible causal factors. In effect, researchers ask themselves what factors seem to be associated with certain occurrences, or conditions, or aspects of behaviour. The ex post facto research method is a method of one using statistics and alternative ways to figure out an event.
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One would not be able to study actual events because they have already happened. Most of these projects are used for descriptive studies in which the researcher seeks to measure such items as, for e.g., frequency of shopping, preferences of people, or similar data. It also includes attempts by researchers to discover causes even when they cannot control the variables. What causes lung cancer? How does having a working mother affect a childs school absenteeism? Teachers with a high level of experience will be more satisfied with their jobs than teachers with low levels of experience. How does part time employment affect the academic achievements of students? 8) Case Study Approach A case study is an intensive analysis of an individual unit (e.g., a person, group, or event) stressing developmental factors in relation to context. The case study has been especially used in social science, psychology, anthropology and ecology. Case studies may be descriptive or explanatory. Case studies emphasize detailed contextual analysis of a limited number of events or conditions and their relationships. The case study research is also useful for testing whether scientific theories and models actually work in the real world. Success story of Amul Satyam scam The Musahar: A Socio-economic study Rights of Women Prisoners in Indian Jails: A Sociological study Credit in Rural India e-Choupal India Case Study Mohandas Gandhi Leadership Case Study

Research Methods Vs. Methodology

Research methods refer to all those methods/techniques that are used for conduct of research. Research methods refer to behaviour and instruments used in
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selecting constructing research techniques whereas research techniques refer to the behaviour and instruments we use in performing research operations. Research methods can be put in following three groups 1. The methods which are concerned with the collection of data 2. Statistical techniques used for establishing relationships between the data and the unknown 3. Methods used to evaluate the accuracy of the results obtained. Last two groups are generally taken as the analytical tools of research. Research methodology is a way to systematically solve the research problems. Research methodology has many dimensions and research methods do constitute a part of research methodology. It is necessary for the researcher to know not only the research methods/techniques but also the methodology. Researchers need to know the techniques used to develop certain indices, application of particular and relevant research techniques. Researcher also needs to understand the assumptions underlying various techniques and they need to know the criteria by which they can decide that certain techniques and procedures will be applicable to certain problems.

Approaches to Research
Both types of research are valid and useful. They are not mutually exclusive. It is possible for a single investigation to use both methods. A. Quantitative Approach It is based more directly on its original plans and its results are more readily analysed and interpreted. It is, as the term suggests, concerned with the collection and analysis of data in numeric form. It tends to emphasize relatively large-scale and representative sets of data Features 1. Its main objective is to quantify data and generalise results from a sample to the population of interest. 2. It deals with numerical and statistical data.

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3.

The researcher employs various data-gathering strategies, depending upon the thrust or approach of his research. It applies the structured questionnaire and interviews for collecting data. 4. Usually it considers a large number of cases representing the population of interest. The respondents are randomly selected. 5. Statistical methods are used to test predetermined hypotheses regarding the relationships between specific variables. 6. It is objective in nature as the researcher tends to remain objectively separated from the subject matter. In gaining, analysing and interpreting quantitative data, the researcher can remain detached and objective. 7. It is confirmatory and deductive in nature. It is moving from general to specific. It means it tests the theory. 8. It involves less cost as compared to qualitative data. 9. Study design is stable from beginning to end. All aspects of the study are carefully designed before data is collected. 10. For the latter part of the research project, Quantitative Research is highly recommended. 11. Quantitative Research provides the researcher a clearer picture of what to expect in his research compared to Qualitative Research. 12. Hypotheses are predetermined. Strengths Precision - through quantitative and reliable measurement Control - through sampling and design Ability to produce causality statements, through the use of controlled experiments Statistical techniques allow for sophisticated analyses Replicable Limitations Because of the complexity of human experience it is difficult to rule out or control all the variables Because of human agency people do not all respond in the same ways as inert matter in the physical sciences
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Its mechanistic ethos tends to exclude notions of freedom, choice and moral responsibility Quantification can become an end in itself. It fails to take account of people's unique ability to interpret their experiences, construct their own meanings and act on these. It leads to the assumption that facts are true and the same for all people all of the time. Quantitative research often produces banal and trivial findings of little consequence due to the restriction on and the controlling of variables. It is not totally objective because the researcher is subjectively involved in the very choice of a problem as worthy of investigation and in the interpretation of the results. This approach further can be sub classified as follows i) Inferential Its main purpose is to form a data base from characteristics or relationships of population. It usually research where a sample of population is studied to characteristics and it is then inferred that the population characteristics. ii)

which to infer means survey determine its has the same

Experimental It is characterized by much greater control over the research environment and in this case some variables are manipulated to observe their effect on other variables. Simulation It involves the construction of an artificial environment within which relevant information and data can be generated. This permits an observation of the dynamic behaviour of a system under controlled condition. The term simulation in the context of business and social sciences applications refers to the operation of a numerical model that represents the structure of a dynamic process. Given the values of initial conditions, parameters and exogenous variables, a simulation is run to represent the behaviour of the process over time. It can also be useful in building models for understanding future conditions.

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B. Qualitative Approach Research can also be qualitative, that is, it can describe events, persons and so forth scientifically without the use of numerical data. This research is concerned with subjective assessment of attitudes, opinions and behaviour. It is more open and responsive to its subject. Qualitative research is only suitable for people who care about it, take it seriously, and are prepared for commitment. Research in such situation is a function of researchers insights and impressions. Throughout the data collecting process, researchers typically record their thoughts and impressions about the emerging data patterns. Qualitative researchers gather data about their research in several different ways or from many different sources. Such an approach to research generates results either in non-quantitative form or in the form which are not subjected to rigorous quantitative analysis. Qualitative methods used in social marketing include observations, in-depth interviews and focus groups, projective techniques. Features 1. The aim of qualitative research is to understand experience as unified. to gather an in-depth understanding of human behavior and the reasons that govern such behavior. 2. It deals with unstructured data in the form of words, pictures or objects. Data can be observed but cannot be measured. 3. The most common methods employed by the researcher for collecting data are participant observation, in-depth interviews, focus group, projective techniques. 4. It considers a small number of cases representing the population of interest. The respondents are non randomly selected. 5. The most common analysis of qualitative data is observer impression. 6. Events can be understood adequately only if they are seen in context. Therefore, a qualitative researcher immerses her/himself in the setting. 7. It is a highly subjective research discipline, designed to look beyond the percentages to gain an understanding of the customer's feelings, impressions and viewpoints. The researcher may actually be involved in the situation of the research. 8. It is exploratory and inductive in nature. It is moving from specific to general. It means it generates theory.
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9. It involves more cost as compared to quantitative data. 10. It is highly flexible. The design emerges as the study unfolds. 11. For the earlier part of the research project, Quantitative Research is highly recommended. 12. In Qualitative Research, researcher may only know roughly in advance what he/she is looking for. 13. During the process, testable and realistic hypotheses are formulated. Strengths Because of close researcher involvement, the researcher gains an insider's view of the field. This allows the researcher to find issues that are often missed (such as subtleties and complexities) by the scientific, more positivistic enquiries. Qualitative descriptions can play the important role of suggesting possible relationships, causes, effects and dynamic processes. Because statistics are not used, but rather qualitative research uses a more descriptive, narrative style, this research might be of particular benefit to the practitioner as she or he could turn to qualitative reports in order to examine forms of knowledge that might otherwise be unavailable, thereby gaining new insight. Qualitative research adds flesh and blood to social analysis. It's flexible, highly-focused, and designed to be completed quickly. Because the results are seen or heard first-hand, management relates to the findings easily. Limitations The problem of adequate validity or reliability is a major criticism. Because of the subjective nature of qualitative data and its origin in single contexts, it is difficult to apply conventional standards of reliability and validity. Contexts, situations, events, conditions and interactions cannot be replicated to any extent nor can generalisations be made to a wider context than the one studied with any confidence. The time required for data collection, analysis and interpretation is lengthy. Researcher's presence has a profound effect on the subjects of study. Issues of anonymity and confidentiality present problems when selecting findings.

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The viewpoints of both researcher and participants have to be identified and elucidated because of issues of bias. The analysis is subjective and deals with a small sample size, projectability is not possible. Another common misconception is the expectation that qualitative research will always produce definitive conclusions. In reality, the results will not provide companies with definitive conclusions, but only with enough information to establish a firm basis for decision making. Trained moderators are essential to the success of qualitative research. This approach further can be sub classified as follows i) Ethnographic The ethnographic approach to qualitative research comes largely from the field of anthropology. The emphasis in ethnography is on studying an entire culture. Originally, the idea of a culture was tied to the notion of ethnicity and geographic location (e.g., the culture of the Trobriand Islands), but it has been broadened to include virtually any group or organization. That is, we can study the "culture" of a business or defined group (e.g., a Rotary club). Ethnography is an extremely broad area with a great variety of practitioners and methods. However, the most common ethnographic approach is participant observation as a part of field research. ii) Phenomenological - Phenomenology is sometimes considered a philosophical perspective as well as an approach to qualitative methodology. It has a long history in several social research disciplines including psychology, sociology and social work. Phenomenology is a school of thought that emphasizes a focus on people's subjective experiences and interpretations of the world. That is, the phenomenologist wants to understand how the world appears to others. Field Research - Field research can also be considered either a broad approach to qualitative research or a method of gathering qualitative data. The essential idea is that the researcher goes "into the field" to observe the phenomenon in its natural state or in situ. As such, it is probably most related to the method of participant observation. The field researcher typically takes extensive field notes which are subsequently coded and analyzed in a variety of ways
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Importance of research in management decisions

1. Doing research in business management is vital as it helps a business plan for the future, based on what may have happened in the past. If carried out successfully it can help a company make informed plans on how to become more viable in its sector. 2. If something has been unsuccessful, for instance, having carried out effective research may help a business avoid future failure. 3. Carrying out research may also help a company decide whether now is the right time to expand into another city or whether it should apply for a new loan. 4. It also helps a business determine whether a procedure should be changed or if more needs to be done to meet the needs of the customer base. 5. It helps to launch a new product on the market by some market research to see if it would be a good idea. 6. Certainly, seeing what works and what doesnt will help a business owner have the knowledge to make informed decisions in specific areas of business. 7. In business, making ill informed decisions may be very precarious as there may be too much money at risk or a companys reputation may be put at stake. Research into business management can either be carried out by an individual by looking at historical research reports or it could even be outsourced. Regardless of how it is carried out, the benefits for the future of your business will be very clear to see.

Benefits of Research
For business and Industry 1. Research provides the basis for nearly all government policies in our economic system the plight of cultivators, the problems of distribution, size and nature of defense services etc. 2. It collects information on the economic and social structure of the nation; which indicates what is happening in the economy and what changes are taking place. 3. Research has its special significance in solving various operational and planning problems of business and industry. 4. It helps to people in business and industry that are responsible for taking business decisions.
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5.

6. 7.

8. 9.

Given knowledge of future demand, it is generally not difficult for a firm, or for an industry to adjust its supply schedule within the limits of its projected capacity. Research with regard to demand and market factors has great utility in business. Business budgeting, which ultimately results in a projected profit and loss account, is based on sales an estimate which in turn depends on business research. Market analysis has become an integral tool of business policy these days. Once sales forecasting is done, efficient production and investment programmes can be set up around which are grouped the purchasing and financing plans.

For Society 1. Important for social scientists in studying social relationship and in seeking answers to various social problems. 2. Research in social sciences is concerned both with knowledge, hopefully this will have some future application(s) and with knowledge for what it can contribute to practical concerns. For professions, philosophers and thinkers 1. Its responsibility as a science is to develop a body of principles that make possible the understanding and prediction of the whole range of human interactions. 2. Because of its social orientation, it is increasingly being looked to for practical guidance in solving immediate problems of human relations. 3. To those students who are to write a masters or PhD thesis, research may mean careerism or a way to attain a high position in the social structure. 4. To professional in research methodology, research may mean a source of livelihood. 5. To philosophers and thinkers, research may mean the development of new styles and creative work; 6. To analysts and intellectuals, research may mean the development of new styles and creative work.

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Various areas of research in business

Through research, an executive can quickly get a synopsis of the current scenario which improves his information base for making sound decisions affecting future operations of the enterprise. The following are the major areas in which research plays a key role in making effective decisions. 1. Marketing Marketing research has become very crucial in taking sound marketing decisions. Marketing research involves the process of systematic collection, compilation, analysis, and interpretation of relevant data for marketing decisions. Research tools are applied effectively for studies involving demand forecasting, consumer buying behaviour, measuring advertising effectiveness, media selection, test marketing, product positioning, and new product potential. 2. Government policies and economic systems It provides the basis for nearly all government policies in our economic system. For instance, govts budgets rest in part on an analysis of the needs and desires of the people and on the availability of revenues to meet these needs. Govt. has also to chalk out programmes for dealing with all facets of the countrys existence and most of these will be related directly or indirectly to economic conditions. Research is considered necessary with regard to the allocation of natural resources. It is also necessary in collecting information on the economic and social structure of the nation. In the context of govt., research as a tool to economic policy has three distinct phases of operation a. Investigation of economic structure through continual compilation of facts. b. Diagnosis of events that are taking place and the analysis of the forces underlying them c. The prognosis i.e. the prediction of future developments 3. Social Relationship It is equally important for social scientists in studying social relationships and seeking answers to various social problems. Research in social sciences is concerned both with knowledge for its own sake and with knowledge for what it can contribute to practical concerns. On the one hand its responsibility as a science
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is to develop a body of principles that make possible the understanding and prediction of the whole range of human interactions. On the other hand, because of its social orientation, it is increasing being looked for practical guidance in solving immediate problems of human relations. 4. Planning and operational problems of business and industry Operation research and market research, along with motivational research are considered crucial and their results assist in more than one way in taking business decisions. Operation research refers to the application of mathematical, logical and analytical techniques to the solution of business problems or cost minimisation or profit maximisation or what can be termed as optimisation problems. Motivational research of determining why people behave as they do is mainly concerned with market characteristics. 5. Production Research enables an organisation to decide on what to produce, how much to produce, when to produce, and for whom to produce in the field of production. Research tools are also of immense help in quality control, and setting up optimum inventory level. 6. Banking Banking institutions have found it useful to setup research departments for the purpose of gathering and analysing information both for their internal operations and for making in depth studies on economic conditions of business. Reserve Bank of India has setup an excellent research department for planning and management reporting. 7. Materials The materials department uses research to frame suitable policies regarding where to buy, how much to buy, when to buy, and at what price to buy. 8. Human resource development The human-resource development department uses research to study wage fates, incentive schemes, cost of living, employee turnover rates, employment trends, and performance appraisal. It also uses research effectively for its most important activity namely manpower planning.
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RESEARCH TRIANGULATION
Triangulation is the application and combination of more than one research perspective in the study of the same phenomenon. Originally used in social sciences, Triangulation is now used extensively in gathering intelligence in business. The purpose of triangulation in qualitative research is to increase the credibility and validity of the results. Cooper and Schindler Qualitative studies may be combined with qualitative ones to increase the perceived quality of the research especially when a quantitative study follows a qualitative one and provides validation for the qualitative findings. Types of triangulation 1) Data Triangulation Time, space, person It entails gathering data through several sampling strategies, so that slices of data at different times and social situations, as well as on a variety of people, are gathered. 2) Method Triangulation Design Data collection It involves using more than one method to gather data, such as interviews, observations, questionnaires, and documents. 3) Investigator Triangulation It refers to the use of more than one researcher in the field to gather and interpret data. 4) Theory Triangulation It involves using more than one theoretical scheme in the interpretation of the phenomenon. Fifth type, multiple triangulation which uses a combination of two or more triangulation techniques in one study.

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