Business research

methodology
Introduction
Unit 1
What is research?

 Research is a tool that is a building block and a sustaining pillar of every

discipline- scientific or otherwise- that one knows of.
 According to Fred Kerlinger (1986) scientific research is a systematic, controlled
and critical investigation of proposition about various phenomena.
 According to Grinnell (1993) the word research is composed of 2 syllables, re and
search. The dictionary defines the former as a prefix meaning again, anew or over
again and the latter as a verb meaning to examine closely and carefully, to test
and try, or to probe. Together, they form a noun describing a careful, systematic,
patient study and investigation in some field of knowledge, undertaken to
establish facts or principles.
 “Research is in unbiased, structured and sequential method of enquiry, directed
towards a clear implicit or explicit business objective. The enquiry might lead to
validating existing postulates or arriving at new theories and models”.
Types of research

Types of research
Theoretical Cross-
Exploratory
and sectional and
and causal
empirical time series
research
research research
Process of Research

 Business research, no matter what the objective and thrust behind it,
essentially needs to follow a sequential and structures path. The stages might
overlap and sometimes be bypassed or eliminated in some research studies.
while conducting research, information is gathered through a sound and
scientific research process.
 The process of research is cyclic in nature and is interlinked at every stage.
 Data
Management Analysis
Data
and
Dilemma Preparation
Interpretat
ion

Research Data
Reporting
Problem collection

Hypotheses Research Research

Design Decision
1. MANAGEMENT DILEMMA
The need to research might be merely because we want to discover and reinstate some relationships,
the orientation might be purely academic with the purpose of uncovering some new perspectives to
existing phenomena (basic or fundamental research) or there might be an immediate business decision
that requires additional information acquisitions and analysis in order to arrive at any effective and
workable solution (applied research).
For example, an HR consultant or professor might wish to study some aspect of the work-life balance
phenomenon or a soft drink manufacturer might want to test the acceptability of fruit based juices to
his product portfolio.
2. DEFINING THE RESEARCH PROBLEM
This is the first and the most critical step of the research journey. Defining a research problem is a kind
of prelude to the end result one hopes to achieve and therefore it requires considerable thought and
analysis. For example, in the area of work-life balance, the researcher might be looking at the impact of
work-family conflict on turnover intentions. It might be felt that conflict, it could be her work-family
conflict that might impact her job commitment, which in turn, could impact her intention to quit.
3. FORMULATING THE RESEARCH HYPOTHESES
A research might not always begin with hypothesis; in fact, the task of the study might be to collect rich,
in-depth and detailed data that might lead to, at the end of the study, some indicative propositions that
can be construed as hypotheses to be tested in subsequent research. Hypothesis is the presupposition of
the expected direction of the results of a research.
For example, it might be hypothesized that the research might be oriented towards testing a direct
relationship between work-family conflict and turnover intentions. Higher the conflict, higher is the
intention to leave.
4. DEVELOPING THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Once the management dilemma has been converted into defined problem and a working
hypothesis, the next step is to develop a framework of the plan of investigation. It needs to
spell out the research problem, the scope and the objectives of the study and the operational
plan for achieving the same.
5. RESEARCH DESIGN FORMULATION
Based on the orientation of the research, i.e., exploratory, descriptive or causal, the researcher
has a number of techniques for testing the stated objectives. These methods have a clear
indication of the process of systematically controlling the variables under study in order to be
able to establish the association or causality of the relationship under the study.
For example, an exploratory study investigating the kind of hearing disorders prevalent in India
might require a loosely designed framework or secondary information through historical hospital
data; some experts-like doctors and pathologists surveys-to arrive at conclusions.
6. SAMPLING DESIGN
This section refers to how one goes about making an investigation of the respondent population
to be studies. It is also not possible to study the entire population. For example, would you
conduct your price sensitivity study on ENT doctors or consumer using hearing aids? The most
important criteria for this selection would be the representativeness of the sample selected
from the population under study.
7. PLANNING AND COLLECTING DATA FOR RESEARCH
There are a huge variety and number of data collection instruments available to the researcher.
Broadly, these may be classified into secondary and primary data methods. Primary data is original
and is collected first hand for a study. Secondary data, on the other hand, is the information that has
been collected and compiled earlier.
8. DATA REFINING AND PREPARATION FOR ANALYSIS
The collected data should be edited and refined for any omissions and irregularities. It should be
then coded and tabulated for statistical analysis.
9. DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF FINDINGS
This is actually the crux of the researcher’s contribution to the study. This stage requires, firstly, the
selection of analytical tools for assessing the information collected to realize the research objectives.
There are a number of statistical techniques available to the researcher- parametric and non
parametric techniques-these are selected based on the type of the study, degree of accuracy
required, the sampling plan used and the nature of the question asked.
10. THE RESEARCH REPORT
The final report compilation that starts from the problem formulation to the interpretation is the
final part of the process.
Research application in business
decisions

Marketing
function

Personnel
and HRM

Financial Production
and and
accounting operation
Features of a good research study

 It must have a clearly stated purpose

 It must follow a systematic and detailed plan for investigating the research
problem.
 The selection of techniques of collecting information, sampling plans and data
analysis techniques must be supported by a logical justification.
 The results of the study must be presented in an unbiased, objective and
neutral manner.
 Highest ethical standards
 Reliable