RESEARCH METHODS BS4S14

Research Methods

Overview

Topic’s learning objectives:

 a practical understanding of management research

 an understanding of how to: generate a research topic, define
constructs, conduct a relevant literature review in a research study

(Adapted from Research Methods for Business Students (Saunders et al. 2011)

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Introduction

What is business research?

Research is avital component of business decision making and has an important role in
research exploring broader issues that apply to various businesses. Good business research
has two primary constituent parts. Firstly it must use rigorous research methods and secondly it
must address the right questions. Research can be defined as:

a. The systematic investigation into and study of materials, sources, etc, in order to establish
facts and research new conclusions.

b. An endeavour to discover new or collate old facts by the scientific study of a

subject or by a course of critical investigation (Oxford Dictionary)

Business research can influence any part of business including marketing, operations, finance
etc., a n d h e n c e i t i s o f g r e a t i n t e r e s t t o businesses and corporations, public
sector agencies, consulting firms, research institutes, independent researchers, non-profit
organizations and non- governmental organizations. Research can take v a ri o us forms;
Firstly, in its most basic form it would involve creating a report that summarizes some data
that is easily available. Such research would not use most of the methodologies explored in this
module. Secondly, it can be a descriptive study that explores who, what, when, where and
how. Such a study may require some data to be collected from a number of existing sources
and some basic analysis can take place. A third level of sophistication is explanatory. Here the
research goes beyond describing and attempts to explain by answering the questions ‘why’ and
‘how’. Existing theory is used and new theory is created. Lastly there is predictive research
that uses the existing theory to predict what might occur.

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Types of research

The three types of research described are primarily c o n c e r n e d w i t h problem solving,

although theory generation was a l s o mentioned. As illustrated in Figure 1.1 below, ‘basic
research’ focuses on developing theory that can be broadly used whereas ‘applied research’ is
more focused on solving specific problems for particular organizations. One research endeavour
does not necessarily need to be based on one or the other a p p r o a c h , but may lie
somewhere in between and incorporate elements from both approaches.

Figure 1.1: Basic and applied research

Sources: Easterby-Smith et al. (2008), Hedrick et al. (1993)

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What is good research?

Some k e y c o m p o n e n t s n e e d to be present for good research: The purpose should be

clearly defined. i .e. What is the problem that needs to be solved, the decision that needs to be
made or the gap in the theory that needs to be filled?

 The research methodology must be carefully designed to establish high validity.

 The research methodology should be documented to a level of detail that enables another
researcher to replicate it

 Limitations should be reported in detail so that the impact on the findings can be assessed
accurately.

 The conclusions should be justified. They should be based on the data and theory and not
broadened beyond the point where they are still valid.

 The significance and implications of the research should be clear.

 The whole process should be completed in an ethical way especially in relation to

participants.

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The research process

The classic research process involves an observation of a phenomenon, the formulation of a

possible explanation referred to as a hypothesis and the testing of this hypothesis. This process
can be further broken down into smaller elements i.e. identifying a topic, reviewing the
relevant literature, selecting and applying t h e most appropriate philosophical
approach, developing a methodology, collecting data, analysing data and reporting your
findings. See figure 1.2:

Figure 1.2: The research process

Source: © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2011

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Pause for thought

One important characteristic of good research is that the limitations are clearly explained.
Why is it in the researcher’s interest to clearly explain the limitations of their work?

Optional exercise

There are often many definitions of a single term. This is also the case for science. Each
of the following definitions is popular and is used by researchers. For each one, consider
what its strength is and what it incorporates that the others do not. In your work choose
the best definitions for your important terms. If one does not cover all the issues use
more than one.

If there is to be science in managerial work, it must be demonstrated that managerial work

has…procedures that have been prescribed by scientific analysis, (Mintzberg, 1973)

In so far as a scientific statement speaks about reality, it must be falsifiable: and in so far
as it is not falsifiable, it does not speak about reality, (Popper, 1934)

Science alone of all the subjects contains within itself the lesson of the danger of belief
in the infallibility of the greatest teachers in the preceding generation …As a matter of
fact, I can also define science another way: Science is the belief in the ignorance of
experts (Feyman, 1999)

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Formulating your research topic

What is a good research topic?

A topic with potential:

The first criterion your research should meet is that it is in line with your university requirements
in terms of level of research i.e. whether it is sufficiently linked to the theory, whether data
should be collected or existing data should be used, whether it should be based on an
organization or general and so on. Furthermore the level of originality should be clarified.
World class research needs to have a high level of originality. For a university course the level
of originality expected is less but the student still needs to show that they have gone through the
process and have added value with their work. Lastly the outcome must be useful whatever
the analysis results show. Before you start implementing your research confirm with your tutor
that your topic is suitable.

A topic that can be achieved:

The second criterion is whether the researcher is capable of undertaking such a topic. Being
interested in the topic that you choose increases the possibilities that you will complete the
research project. You do not need to know all the theory and have all the skills before you start
but you should be reasonably confident that you can acquire them. For example if you have six
weeks, learning two data collection methods and one analysis method in depth is probably
feasible. Learning three data collection methods and four analysis methods in depth along with
the other module material in six weeks is probably not feasible.

In general, time constraints should be taken into account. A further consideration is financial
constraints. Collecting data can be expensive and analysis often requires specialized software
that needs to be purchased. In a dditi o n, accessing data may be difficult if you are planning to
work with special population. If accessing such a sample is feasible then it may give your
research an advantage but this should be clarified before you reach that stage. For example if
you decide you will research the role of the CEOs of banks in the financial crisis you might
discover that you cannot get access to them.

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Developing your research ideas

There are a number of things to consider when developing research ideas. These can be
divided into rational and creative thinking. All the techniques of the rational thinking should be
used while as a subset of the creative ones can be used. Once ideas are identified they should
be refined by further reading and analysis. The techniques are summarized in the following
table:

Table 1.1: Techniques for generating ideas

Rational thinking Creative thinking

Examining your own strengths and interests Keeping a notebook of your ideas

Examining staff research interests Exploring personal preferences

Looking at past project titles Exploring relevance to business

Discussion Relevance trees

Searching the literature Brainstorming

Scanning the media

Source: © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2011

Turning your research ideas into research projects

The research questions you create from your research ideas can either be descriptive, evaluative
or explanatory. A descriptive question can answer questions such ‘what’, ‘when’, ‘where’,
‘who’ and ‘how’ to some extent. If an answer to the question ‘why’ is being sought then it is
explanatory. Evaluative questions assess and measure something. An example of such a
question could be the following: Was the new marketing campaign successful? Mind maps can
be used to further explore research questions as illustrated in the following example:

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Figure 1.3: Relevance tree of self-service technology and value co-creation

Source: © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2011

Research objectives are often used to identify the steps that will be taken to answer the research
question. In this stage, as with many other stages in the research process, the relevant theory
should be considered. Theories can be divided into three groups: grand that change the way we
see the world, middle range that have a broad impact on a field and substantive that are related
to a specific context.

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Figure 1.4: Grand, middle-range and substantive theories

Source: © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2011

Writing your research proposal

This is a plan of your research and can contain all the parts of the research process, possibly in a
briefer form, apart from the actual data that would not have been collected at this point, the
actual analysis and the findings. It is necessary as it is a step towards the final research that sets
out in detail what will be done and it can act as a guide. The sections a research proposal should
have are the following:
 Title
 Background
 Research questions and objectives
 Methodology
 Timescale
 Resources
 References

The timescale will help both the researcher complete everything on time and other stakeholders
such as tutors, supervisors or clients to know what to expect. This will also make it easier for

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stakeholders to assist the researcher. An example of a Gantt chart developed for a research
project can be seen below:

Figure 1.5: Gannt chart for research project

Source: © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2011

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Pause for thought

Read the following excerpts from an Economist article, or the whole article
(http://www.economist.com/news/business/21568384-can-foxconn-worlds-largest-
contract- manufacturer-keep-growing-and-improve-its-margins-now) and consider
whether the title is a good research question. If not think of how you could adapt it to
become suitable.

‘Can Foxconn, the world’s largest contract manufacturer, keep growing and improve its
margins now that cheap and willing hands are scarce?’
‘As good employees become scarcer, Foxconn is having to pay more attention to working
conditions—an issue on which it has attracted much unwelcome publicity. ‘

‘Besides expecting ever better pay and conditions, today’s new recruits want more
fulfilling lives than those their predecessors put up with.’

‘Peter Deng, a manufacturing director at the firm, recalls that a decade ago Foxconn
gave only one or two days off per month and there was no limit on overtime—“and the
workers didn’t mind.” Now, the firm claims to limit overtime and to insist that workers
take a day off every week. It is also increasing wages and, after scandals, limiting the
use of interns.’

‘First, automation. It takes just three people to prepare the eight tonnes of rice
consumed at lunch. The assembly lines are next. The challenge is that tastes change
quickly in consumer electronics.’

‘Second, a bit of freedom. Workers can now skip the canteen, instead swiping meal cards
at food courts on campus or going off campus to eat. They also now get a housing
allowance, letting them choose between staying in dorms or (as 70% now do in Shenzhen)
living off campus.’

‘Third, outsourcing. The dorms, catering, security and much else at Longhua are now run
by outsiders. Louis Woo, special adviser to Mr Guo, insists this is not to save money but
to improve workers’ quality of life: “they simply do a better job than us.”’

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Optional exercise

A good research question should be specific enough to get to the bottom of a business
issue and broad enough to cover all the elements that are necessary. Assume that your
tutor wants you to research an aspect of the current recession. The recession has many
aspects but one significant one will do. Start asking why and answering the question as
far as you can. You could start with something like this:
Why is there a recession? Because there is negative growth.
Why is there negative growth? Because there is less consumption.
Why is there less consumption? …

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1.2 Literature review

Aims and objectives
By this point in the process the researcher has already explored the literature but a scientific,
often referred to as critical, literature review must serve the following purposes:
 Clarify the context of the problem
 Clarify the problem
 Relate the relevant theory to the problem
 Identify relevant interrelationships
 Review what has been already done
 Show what methodology was chosen
 Analyse the significance of the area
 Create a new perspective on the problem
 Based on all the above present how the research will contribute

Figure 1.6:The literature review process

Source: © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2011

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The process of reviewing the literature may follow the steps p r e s e n t e d above once or it
may take a number of iterations as illustrated in figure 1.6.

A good literature review should contain only research that is relevant to the chosen research
topic. It should cover a range of theories that are relevant to the research question and the
methodology. It should review all the research that has similar research questions. It should
compare and contrast the research findings with the theory. Lastly a good literature review
should conclude by placing the researcher’s work and especially the findings in the existing
work.

Figure 1.7: Literature review structures

Source: © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2011

The structure of the literature review can vary depending on the researcher and the purpose of the
research. In most cases, including an undergraduate thesis one chapter would be used. This is

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also the approach recommended in this module. A large research project may include a number
of chapters, or there may also be a number of reviews in different parts of the research.

One approach would be to discuss each author’s work, one after the other as illustrated by
the vertical arrows in figure 1.7. The second approach, illustrated by the horizontal lines,
that often enables richer analysis and more value to be added, is to cover one theme, and all
the research in that theme at a time. A literature review often combines both approaches as
key papers may be reviewed in sequence and the rest of the literature by theme.

The literature sources available can be divided into three groups as illustrated below. Most
research starts from being primary, develops into secondary and a subset of that becomes tertiary.

Figure 1.8: Literature sources available

Source: © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2011

With all the resources available it is useful to have a strategy of how you will search the
literature. This is also a process that may go through some cycles. As you develop your
knowledge on the topic you may refine your plan. The literature could be limited by some
factors or organized by some factors. These could be language, subject area, business sector,
geographical area, publication period and type of literature. A relevance tree could be used to

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organize the literature as illustrated in the example below. This can be started at the beginning
and developed as the research proceeds by adding new branches.

Figure 1.9: A relevance tree for the literature review

Source: © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2011

While you are implementing your plan and researching the material it is important to
record everything that may be relevant. The minimum that should be recorded are the source,
the full reference details and a copy of the research in PDF or another medium. The reason why
you need the first two despite having a copy of the work is that many journal reports, and
other sources, do not show the source and full reference details. The source is needed in
addition to the reference detail because it may not be included in them. For example the
reference may refer to a journal but the only way to find the paper is from a specific
database. There are softwares such as Endnote, Zotero and Mendeley that go far beyond this.
A screenshot of Endnotes interface is shown below.

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®
Figure 1.10: EndNote library (screenshot © copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters)

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Pause for thought

The areas of literature related to your research question may not always be obvious.
If your research question was: Is the regulation of the banking sector effective?
Which of the following areas of research would be relevant?
 Marketing
 Operations management
 Banking
 Finance
 Accounting
 Financial audit
 IT audit
 Remuneration in the banking sector
 CEO remunerations
 The role of boards in organizations
 Economics
 Globalized economy
 Global companies
 Tax
 Ethics

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Optional exercise

In this unit a Venn diagram was used to illustrate the different types of literature and their
relationship. Primary sources have some overlap with secondary, secondary have
some overlap both with primary and tertiary and so on.

Take the research topic you are considering to use for the assignments of this module, or
the Topic from the ’pause for thought’ above and create a Venn diagram of the relevant
issues literature. Consider which ones overlap and which don’t. Are there some that
overlap with more than two other areas? Are there some that do not overlap with any?
What do the areas that overlap tell you?

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Further Reading

Sekaran U., Bougie R. (2014) ‘Research Methods for Business’, Wiley: New York.

Saunders M., Lewis P., Thornhill A. (2012) ‘Research Methods for Business Students’, 6th ed.,
Pearson: Harlow.

Greener, S. (2009). ‘Business Research Methods’, bookboon.com.

Bryman, A. (2012) ‘Social Research Methods’, 4th ed., Oxford Unity Press: Oxford.

Cassel, C. and Lee, B. (2011) ‘Challenges and Controversies in Management Research’,

Routledge: New York.

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